Top Ten Reasons Jesus is God
Top Ten Reasons Jesus Is God
Apologetics, Part II
Jesus of Nazareth was not just another face on an already populated religious scene.
Jesus made a claim, which was never made of any of the founders of the world’s major
religions. He claimed to be God—a claim which Buddha, Confucius, nor Mohammad
ever made. Such a claim cannot be ignored, it must be believed or refuted. To ignore
the question of Jesus’ deity is to reject Jesus Himself. If Jesus is truly divine, then His
coming to earth is the most important event in history. If Jesus is God, then his message
of redemption is the most important message we will ever hear. Jesus not only claimed
to be God, but also He claimed that His way of salvation is the only way sinful men can
be restored to a right relationship with the Holy God. There is compelling evidence that
demonstrates that Jesus is God and His message is true.
1. History of Christ
The message of Christianity centers on the truth that God became a man. Many
skeptics today have asserted that Christianity is a myth invented by a group of
religious extremists. Some have sought to dismiss Christianity into the realm of
fiction maintaining that Christianity holds to no historical basis. Some skeptics have
even questioned whether Jesus actually ever existed. Knowledgeable historians
never make such claims. Those who have actually studied the historical authenticity
of Jesus admit to being overwhelmed by the abundance of evidence that exists.
Those who attempt to dismiss Christ as a myth do not do so on the basis of
historical evidence. In fact, the evidence is so great that even if we did not have a
Bible, we would still know the story of Christianity and of its Christ. The following
non-Christian sources give credence to the life of Christ:
(3) Secular References:
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• A.D. 52 – Thallus
- Samaritan historian; witnessed and wrote about the darkness the
consumed the earth at the time of Christ’s Crucifixion; he did not deny His
existence
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• A.D. 93 – Josephus
- Jewish general turned Roman historian, wrote about Christ in The
History of the Jews,
"At that time lived Jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a man; for he performed many
wonderful works. He was a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He
drew over to him many Jews and Gentiles. This was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the
instigation of the chief men among us, had condemned him to the cross, they who before
had conceived an affection for him did not cease to adhere to him. For on the third day he
appeared to them alive again, the divine prophets having foretold these and many other
wonderful things concerning him. And the sect of Christians, so called from him, subsists
to this time."
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• A.D. 112 – Pliny the Younger
- Governor in Asia Minor; wrote to the Emperor Trajan about the Christians
he had been persecuting at the time;
“…made them curse Christ, which a genuine Christian cannot do.”
2. World Impact
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• Jesus split time – B.C. and A.D.
History itself is divided by two epochs—before Christ (B.C.) and after
Christ (A.D.). Everything is dated with reference to the birth of Jesus
Christ—even the homework you have to do tonight has to have a date on
it!
• Jesus and the Bible
Jesus never wrote a book, and yet he remains the subject of more books
than anyone in history. His biography, the New Testament, is the greatest
selling book of all-time. It gives very few details of his life but focuses on
his brief three-year itinerant ministry. From this short period sprang the
largest religious following in history. Few persons have ever evoked such
devotion as Jesus of Nazareth. His recorded deeds and teaching have
been judged as true by countless millions. Jesus was no mere mortal with
an extremely high IQ, but his impact is best understood in light of His
claim that He was God.
3. Messianic Prophecies
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“Prophecy” defined is ‘knowledge of the future obtained from a divine source.’
The Old Testament is filled with promises of the coming of the Messiah. The
“Messiah” refers to the promised deliverer who would come to establish the kingdom
of God. “Christ” is the Greek equivalent of the term “Messiah.” Jesus is one of over
forty Jewish men who have claimed to be the Christ, so how do we know that Jesus
of Nazareth is really the promised Messiah?
• 456 of 456 were fulfilled by Jesus
• The chance of anyone fulfilling just 48 of these prophecies is a probability
of 10 to the 157 power. According to Borel’s single law of chance, anything
beyond 10 to the 50 power is impossible!
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• 1947 – Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, a young shepherd boy in Israel was throwing rocks in a cave and
suddenly he heard glass break. So he went in to discover what he broke
and it ended up being the first of over 100,000 fragments of the Dead Sea
Scrolls. All together, they excavated 11 caves full of scrolls! They found
every book of the Old Testament (including all of Isaiah) except for Esther.
The Bible they found matches up perfectly with the Bible you brought here
today!
If you were going to try and fulfill these prophecies, these are a few things that
have to be done:
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1.) You have to be called Mighty God (see Isaiah 9:6, Titus 2:13)
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2.) You must be born of a Virgin
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3.) You must be able to perform Miracles
4. Miracles of Jesus
It is one thing to claim to be God, but it is another matter to prove it. A claim of deity
must be accompanied by extraordinary evidence. One of the ways that Jesus
demonstrated He was divine was by performing miracles. Even Jesus’ enemies
admitted that He could do miracles. His miracles can be categorized into (2) types:
“Nature” and “Healing”.
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Nature miracles:
- Stilled the Storm
- Walked on water
- Feeding the 5,000 (not including women and children)
- Turned water into wine
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Healing miracles:
- Lepers
- Paralytics
- Deaf
- Blind
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The Talmud acknowledges Jesus’ ability to do miracles
The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, ethics,
customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative.
Basically, it’s Judaism’s holiest book next to the Torah. The Talmud has an
ancient record of the Babylonian Sanhedrin acknowledging Jesus’ ability to do
miracles and likened his ability to sorcery. The document goes on to say that
Jesus did miracles by the power of Satan; and it refers to him as a curse word
(a word that describes an illegitimate child).
Miracles occur in the Bible as a means of authenticating divine revelation.
When Jesus began His ministry, He unleashed a series of miracles that
arrested the world’s attention. Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind,
fed thousands of people from a handful of food, demonstrated power over
nature, and even raised the dead. These miracles were performed in the
open and served to validate His claims.
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Acts 2:22 – Peter talks about Jesus’ “public miracles”
Jesus told His listeners that if they did not believe His words, they should believe
His works. John 10:37-38
5. Virgin Birth – Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23
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700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah prophesied, (read verse). “Immanuel”
means “God with us.” Isaiah predicted that one of the major “signs” of the anticipated
Savior would be His coming by means of a virgin birth.
Many deny it because it is a biological impossibility
The virgin birth assures Jesus’ sinless nature – He didn’t inherit His
father’s sinful nature…
Jesus made the claim to be your “Sinless Savior”
Listen, we all came to this earth to make a decision, because we are born into sin
and “condemned already” (John 3:18). We need someone to save us not only
from our sins, but from Hell itself! When choosing a religious lifeguard, it’s smart
to choose Jesus, because Jesus is alive! Dead lifeguards cannot save. Listen, if
Mohammad was God, why is he recorded toward the end of his life saying, “I am
in need of forgiveness”???
6. Attributes of God - 2 Corinthians 5:21
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Omnipotent – “All Powerful” – Matthew 28:18
(over creation, men, angels, Satan, death)
Omnipresent – “Everywhere” – Matthew 18:20; 28:20
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Omniscient – “All Knowing” – Matthew 9:4 (sees all, knows all)
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Preexistent
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Creator of the Universe
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Sinless
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Raise the Dead (Lazarus, the Ruler’s Daughter, Widow’s son at Nain, and all
of us when He returns!)
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Power over Disease
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Holy – set apart, sanctified
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Immutable (Same)
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Accepts Worship
7. Forgives Sin – Mark 2:5 – He heals the paralytic
8. Power over Nature – Mark 4:41—Wind and wave obey Jesus
9. Heals – John 9:25-32 – When the healed blind man testifies about Christ
10. Jesus is Eternal – John 1:1-2 – He is the eternal Word!