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Is Jesus Who He Claimed to Be or Not?

By Lisa Haven on July 30, 2013 • ( 2 )

A few years ago my daughter, who was six years old at the time, asked to pray with me prior to a speaking engagement I was giving at a women’s luncheon later that afternoon. Astonished by her considerate offer, we both reverently bowed our heads as my daughter tenderly grasp my right hand in hers. Unexpectedly the most sticking words came out of her mouth that would forever be etched in the memory of my brain. She passionately began, “Dear Lord, thank you for my mommy, bless the women during this teaching, and thank you for holding mommies right hand. Amen!” at that I broke into tears! It may sound like something juvenile, but at that time, these words were the most powerful words she could have uttered. You see, just prior to her precious proclamation, the Lord gave me a Scripture that read, “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:13) My daughter knew nothing of the Lord revealing this verse to me, yet here she was thanking God for something He had promised me He would do in the quite of my heart. She faithfully grabbed my right hand, thanked God for grabbing her mommies right hand, all the while not knowing what God had revealed to me about Him holding my right hand! My six year old was given profound prophetic insight into my life and God used her to speak directly to me. It was at that moment that the Lord became more real to me, than ever before!

Christ is who He claims to be, but the tragic part is, many people today still assert that Christ is not God. They blaspheme his name, drag him through the dust, and even insult Him. In fact every major world religion has confronted the historic person of Jesus in some way. Islam believes him to be a Prophet and an ordinary man, Jews view him as a good man, Buddhists regard him as a “bodhisattva” (or a perfectly enlightened being who vows to help others), New Agers proclaim him to be a great moral teacher, while Hindus believe him to be a wise man. But there is a problem with their theology. You can’t accept that He is only a good teacher and then deny the fact that He claimed himself to be God. Let’s be realistic. How could a great moral teacher, knowingly mislead people at the most important point of his teaching, his own identity. It doesn’t make sense.

C.S. Lewis wrote these words in his book Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: [which is] ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. [He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice.] Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”

So who is the real Jesus? Now that is the most important question you’ll ever have to answer in your entire life.

“[Then Jesus] asked his followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah, and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am.” Matthew 16:13-17

The same question is being asked of you today….Who do you say, that Christ is?

No legitimate scholar (secular or Christian) deny the fact that the historic person of Jesus walked the earth some 2,000 years ago. There is simply too much evidence from the early Christian era that proves He really did exist. The debate is not if He existed, rather the debate is, “Is Jesus who He claimed to be or not?”

“The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” John 10:33

Jesus is who He claimed to be. You see, there had to be a reason why the sign above His head read, “Jesus, KING of the Jews.” Or how about this, Jesus had twelve disciples yet He was not one of the twelve. If the twelve represented a renewed Israel, where does Jesus fit in? Jesus was not just part of Israel; rather He was the founder of the group, the leader. Just as God in the Old Testament formed his people and set up the twelve tribes of Israel, so too did Jesus form His group of twelve disciples.

In addition, hundreds of years before Christ was born, the Old Testament contained more than 300 prophecies foretelling his arrival. All of which came true: His miraculous birth, His sinless life, His many miracles, His death and His resurrection, his betrayal, his riding on a donkey, etc. The chances of him fulfilling every prophecy in the Scriptures are 1 x trillion 13 power. In other words, it’s impossible! Yet Jesus himself, fulfilled every single one!

As a Christian, Jesus has shown Himself in innumerable ways in my life. If you are truly a believer, chances are Jesus has already made an impression on you and this, by far, is one of the most evident signs of the reality of Christ; the fact that he can take sinners like you and me and turn our lives around. Jesus is…..

Omniscient (all knowing)-“Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.” John 16:30

Omnipresent (present everywhere)-“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Omnipotent (unlimited authority)-“Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” Revelation 19:6

Immutable (never changing)-“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Eternal –“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Sinless –“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

So I ask you one last time: Is Jesus who He claimed to be?

YES! He is the Messiah, the Son of God, everlasting King, and Savior!

Love you all!