Although millions, perhaps billions, of people have heard of a man named Jesus, far fewer are aware of who Jesus claimed to be. Some believe He was simply a good teacher; others hold to the idea that He was a lunatic, or even a sorcerer. On the other hand, religions such as Islam and Judaism label Him as a prophet. To determine Jesus’ true identity, however, one must examine the claims He made concerning Himself, as recorded by both followers and secular authors. Throughout all these testimonies and references, one thing is clear: Jesus declares to be the Messiah, sent by God to redeem His people. In addition, Christ professes His divinity in a number of ways. According to both Scripture and extra-biblical sources, Jesus claims to be the Son
…show more content…
As seen in the book of Acts, God employs these phenomenons to, among other reasons, “confirm that a message or messenger is from Him” (“Purpose of Miracles”). In this case, God allowed His Son to perform abundance of supernatural wonders as signs to a hostile world that He was indeed the Christ. John also reveals to his readers that the reason he includes such occurrences in his Gospel is so that “[they] may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and… have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). Even secular sources record His “wonderful works,” as seen in the written work of first century Jewish historian Josephus (qtd. in Wayne). Back in the Gospels, according to scholars, John accounts for a number of the miracles in a specific order, starting with the “least astonishing” and progressing to the greatest spiritual event in history. These range from Jesus changing water into wine (John 2:1-11) and feeding the 5,000 (John 6:5-14), to the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) and, finally, the Resurrection (John 20:1-10). By rising from the grave on the third day, Jesus not only becomes the propitiation for all sin, but also makes the ultimate claim of
As seen in the book of Acts, God employs these phenomenons to, among other reasons, “confirm that a message or messenger is from Him” (“Purpose of Miracles”). In this case, God allowed His Son to perform abundance of supernatural wonders as signs to a hostile world that He was indeed the Christ. John also reveals to his readers that the reason he includes such occurrences in his Gospel is so that “[they] may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and… have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). Even secular sources record His “wonderful works,” as seen in the written work of first century Jewish historian Josephus (qtd. in Wayne). Back in the Gospels, according to scholars, John accounts for a number of the miracles in a specific order, starting with the “least astonishing” and progressing to the greatest spiritual event in history. These range from Jesus changing water into wine (John 2:1-11) and feeding the 5,000 (John 6:5-14), to the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) and, finally, the Resurrection (John 20:1-10). By rising from the grave on the third day, Jesus not only becomes the propitiation for all sin, but also makes the ultimate claim of