Is Jesus the Son of God?

• Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)

• Build a case
• Qs about his Deity
• Liar? Lunatic? Lord?

April 13, 2010

 Is Jesus the Son of God?
Building the Case

1. What Jesus said

2. What Jesus did
3. Were His Claims right
4. How did they respond
 1. What Jesus Said

• I AM statements
• Son of Man statements
• Other statements
 1. What Jesus Said
“I AM”

• And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall

see the Son of Man sitting at the right
hand of power, and coming with the
clouds of heaven." - Mark 14:61-62
 1. What Jesus Said
“I AM”

“Unless you believe I AM, you will die in your sins.”

- Jn 8:24

“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will

know I AM.” - Jn 8:28

“Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born

I AM!” - John 8:58
 1. What Jesus Said
“The Son of Man”
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of
His kingdom all stumbling blocks”
- Matt 13:41

“keep alert at all times, praying that you may have strength… to stand
before the Son of Man”
- Luke 21:36

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with
Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”
- Matt 25:31
 1. What Jesus Said
“The Son of Man”
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the
clouds of heaven, One like a Son of Man was coming, And
he came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented
before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a
kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every
language Might serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His
kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
– Daniel 7:13
 1. What Jesus Said
• His teachings point to Him
“ I am the way, the truth and life, no one comes to the the Father but
through me” - Jn 14:6

• But I say unto you……

• Use of the term ABBA

 2. What Jesus Did

• Forgave sins
• Performed miracles in His own name
• Accepted Worship
 2. What Jesus Did
Forgave Sins
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.
Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic,
“Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

And some of the (teachers of the law) said to

themselves, "This fellow blasphemes."
- Matthew 9:2-3
 2. What Jesus Did
Miracles in His Own Name

“And a leper came to Him and bowed down before

Him, and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can
make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out His hand
and touched him, saying ‘I am willing; be
cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was
cleansed.”
- Matthew 8:2-3
 2. What Jesus Did
Accepted Worship

Jesus received worship without hesitation

John 9:38
Matthew 14:33
Matthew 28:16-17
 2. What Jesus Did
Accepted Worship
Others always rebuke the worshipers
Acts 10: Peter
Acts 14: Paul and Barnabas
Revelations 19: An angel

Jesus makes no move to deny worship.

 3. Were His Claims Right

1. His Miracles
2. His Fulfillment of Prophesy
3. His Resurrection
 3. Were His Claims Right

1. His Miracles
• Obvious that He was sent from Heaven
• Validated everything that he said
• Lives changed and transformed
• No miracles of healing mentioned for any of
the founders of other religions
 3. Were His Claims Right

2. His Fulfillment of Prophesy

• 300 Messianic prophecies fulfilled
• Zech 9, Micah 5, Ps 22, Isa 53
• Coincidental? Chances 1 in 1 trillion
• Planned? Birth, Ancestry…
 3. Were His Claims Right
3. His Resurrection

• “If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is

useless, and your trust in God is useless.“-1 Cor 15:14
• "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, this is
my Gospel." - 2 Tim. 2:8
• "...concerning his Son, who was descended from
David according to the flesh and designated the Son of
God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his
resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord”-
Romans 1:3–4
 3. Were His Claims Right
3. His Resurrection ….contd.
a. Execution (He was dead. Not injured. 4 roman soldiers to sign off.
Blood & Water…)
b. Empty Tomb (Controversy surrounding disciples stealing….lack
opportunity, sealing of tomb as ordered by Pilate)
c. Eye Witnesses (500…appeared to many over 40 days Acts1:3,
appearance to James, Saul, Thomas and consequent conversions)
d. Early Evidence (early Christian creeds and creedal hymns….1 Cor.
15:3-4 contains a Christian creed of pre-Pauline origin…antiquity of the
creed less than a decade after Jesus' death…A. M. Hunter said, "The
passage therefore preserves uniquely early and verifiable testimony. It
meets every reasonable demand of historical reliability.“)
e. Emergence of Church (Peter preached in the same city
where it took place….no rebuttals….women’s testimony….No one
would die for a lie)
 4. How did they respond
Jesus’ opponents: took him to trial and
sentenced him to death.
• Matthew 9: “This fellow blasphemes”.
• John 5: “He makes himself equal with
God.”
• John 10: “for blasphemy because you, a
mere man, claim to be God.”
 4. How did they respond
• John called him God
John 20:28: “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord
and my God!’”
John 1: In the beginning was the word…

• Peter’s response
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus
replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this
was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in
heaven. Matthew 16:16-17
 4. How did they respond
From the New Testament
• “Christ…is over all, God, blessed forever” - Romans 9:5
• “(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God” - Colossians 1:15-17

• “For in (Jesus) all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”-

Colossians 2:9
• “our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” - Titus 2:13
• “But of (Jesus) (God) says, ‘Your throne, O God, is
forever and ever’”- Hebrews 1:8
• “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”- 2 Peter 1:1
 Is Jesus the Son of God?

•
•
• Qs about his Deity
• Liar? Lunatic? Lord?
Conclusion

Lord
 Is Bible the Word of God?
Quick Glance
• Influence
• Unity
• Prophetical Element
• Bibliographic Test
– Most Manuscripts + Accuracy
– Earliest copies closest to original
• Archeological & Historical Discoveries
– Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus
 Is Jesus the Son of God?
Quick Glance

• What He said about Himself

• Forgave sins
• Accepted Worship
• His Miracles
• His Fulfillment of Prophesy
• His Resurrection