" CHRIST's Compelling Claims "

John 10:36; Luke 22:70; Matthew 16:13-17   "Say ye of HIM, WHOM the FATHER has sanctified, and sent into the world, THOU blasphemes; because I said, I AM the SON of GOD ? . . . Then said they all, Art THOU then the SON of GOD ? And HE said unto them, Ye say that I AM. . . . When JESUS came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, HE asked HIS disciples, saying, WHOM do men say that I the SON of MAN am ? And they said, Some say that THOU art John the Baptist: some Elijah and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. HE said unto them, But WHOM say ye that I AM ? And Simon Peter answered and said, THOU art the CHRIST, the SON of the living GOD. And JESUS answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but MY FATHER which is in Heaven."

     Throughout HIS public ministry, JESUS CHRIST made and authenticated two important and remarkable claims about HIMSELF. First, HE declared that HE was Israel's long-awaited MESSIAH ("CHRIST," "ANOINTED ONE"). This claim was carefully woven into the offers HE presented to Israel regarding the kingdom they had been promised throughout the Old Testament. When HE offered the nation of Israel the kingdom, HE was offering to them HIMSELF as their MESSIAH-KING (Matthew 4:17). However, they were hugely disappointed. The nation felt it needed a great warrior deliverer who would throw off the shackles of the Gentile nations, especially the one dominating them at that particular time: Rome. When this lowly Nazarene arrived, the nation reacted in nearly complete rejection (Matthew 12:14-45): There was no way such a peasant could possibly be the ONE WHO would "save HIS people" ! (Matthew 1:21). They failed to see that the real enemy of their soul (individually and collectively ) was not Rome but rather sin and ultimately Satan himself. The need for the DELIVERER went far beyond their mere temporal and present experience. The Jews believed their religious system, developed from an incorrect and perverted interpretation of the Scriptures, could address their sin problem through the attempt to keep strict religious rites and rituals.

     CHRIST's first coming was as the SUBSTITUTE for sinners, making the sacrifice that satisfied GOD's wrath (1st.John 2:1-2). HE was the LAMB of GOD, taking away the sin of the world (John 1:29). HE came to die, to save sinners.  HE came to buy us back from the slave market of sin. HE came to deliver those who by faith come to HIM for forgiveness.

     The Second claim CHRIST made, and verified time and again, was that HE was and is GOD incarnate (in the flesh). From a purely human perspective this is impossible. How could CHRIST be GOD and human simultaneously ? While the first claim was difficult to believe, as we saw above, this assertion was even more problematic to accept for the Jew of that or any day. The fact that the Jews understood exactly what HE was claiming is clear (John 10:33). JESUS proved valid HIS claim through HIS miracles. Throughout the Gospels HE demonstrated HIS power, multiplying fish and bread for thousands (Matthew 14:19-21) and turning water to wine (John 2:7-9), proving HIS authority over creation. HIS power and command over the realm of the "supernatural" were clear as well - at HIS WORD of rebuke, demons were instantly cast out of people (Mark 1:21-28) !

     Believers in the twenty-first century have become so accustomed to acknowledging the doctrine of CHRIST's deity that it is hard to understand how monumentally difficult this truth was for the first century Jews and Gentiles to embrace ! For the Jews, it was ingrained in them that GOD is not a man (Numbers 23:19) and that for a person to claim to be GOD was blasphemy. For Gentiles, they had accepted "gods" before in their myths and legends, some even believing in Caesar's deity, but recognizing that JESUS was the GOD was another matter. For all who know the LORD JESUS CHRIST as SAVIOR, the doctrine of HIS deity is one that provides us with great comfort and hope in this life (John 1:1-3; Colossians 2:9). The truth that the GOD of the universe would stoop to become a man is a verity that gives us great confidence in HIS promise and authority to save. GDF

Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
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