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Who Is Jesus? The LORD
by Dr. Linda Smallwood, BBS, M.Min., D.Min.
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Is Jesus God? | What Does the Bible Say? Authority as LORD | King of Kings and LORD of Lords
Is Jesus God? The emotionally-charged debate focuses specifically on whether Jesus was God incarnate who died and then bodily rose from the dead the third day following His crucifixion. Some Say He Was a "Good Man"... Jesus BarJoseph of Nazareth said: The statements above are just a few of the claims Jesus of Nazareth made concerning His eternally-existent deity. I know! I know! Most people don't like to think of Jesus that way. It makes them uncomfortable. They prefer to think of Him as "a good man", or "a prophet among many prophets" — and some will even go so far as to say, "He certainly had God's hand on him!" But, they just can't — or rather, won't — believe He was the long-awaited promised Messiah, God incarnate. Consider...
Stop and think about that. Jesus being only a "good man" is logically impossible. Here's why: If He is not God, then He must have been a liar, deliberately misleading the multitudes; or He was a lunatic, sincerely believing Himself to be God, when He was really just a man. However, how can Jesus possibly be a "good man" and crazy, or a "good man" and a liar? Really, there is only one logically consistent alternative: He was telling the truth. In addition to the logical inconsistencies noted above, the historical evidence of His remarkable acts shows that Jesus was neither a liar nor a lunatic. Again, the only position left is that His claim is true. Jesus is Lord and God! Of course, while perfectly logical, that argument is seldom sufficient to answer most skeptics. So, let's delve into the Bible which we know to be the best-preserved record of historical data among all ancient writings/manuscripts. What Does the Bible Say? Prophecies
Fulfillment: Luke 1:31-32— Prophecy: "the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) [The prophet Isaiah was a monotheistic (worshiping one God) Jew. The improbability of him writing about a divine Being, apparently apart from YHWH, who would be born as a human and be called the "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father", is further evidence of the Bible's divine Authorship. It would simply be impossible for Isaiah to write such a radical — and perhaps even blasphemous — statement, except under divine inspiration.] Fulfillment: One of the primary titles Jesus used for Himself during His earthly ministry was "Son of Man". "'But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,'..." (Matthew 9:6) "And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'" (Mark 14:62) (See also Matthew 8:20; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8,32,40; 13:37,41; 16:13,27-28; 17:9,12,22; 18:11; 19:28; 20:18,28; 24:27,30,37,39,44; 25:31; 26:2,24,45,64; Mark 2:10,28; 8:31,38; 9:9,12,31; 10:33,45; 13:26; 14:21,41; Luke 5:24; 6:5,22; 7:34; 9:22,26,44,58; 11:30; 12:8,10,40; 17:22,24,26,30; 18:8,31; 19:10; 21:27,36; 22:22,48,69; 24:7; John 1:51; 3:13,14; 5:27; 6:27,53,62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23,34; 13:31.) Write at least two verses where Jesus refers to Himself as the "Son of Man" from this list of Scripture references: This unique phrase has its background in the vision recorded in Daniel 7:13-14 where Daniel saw one "like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." He Received and Accepted Worship To be clear, whatever or whomever we put first in our lives becomes our object of worship, whether we actually bow down to it/them or not. To put Jehovah/YHWH God first means to worship Him and to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. Therefore, to worship anyone other than Jehovah/YHWH God was to break God's commandment, in fact, the greatest commandment (see Matthew 22:37-38), and was punishable by death (cf. Exodus 22:20; Leviticus 26;30; Isaiah 10:10-11).
Jesus, Himself, Claimed to be God
"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." This is a powerful statement. First, He claimed to exist before His earthly birth; and second He took on the name of God, "I AM", which is the same title Jehovah/YHWH God used in Exodus 3:14 when He told Moses: "...'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'" There was no doubt in Jesus' listeners' minds that this Man standing before them was claiming to be God! So, in obedience to God's Word (cf. Leviticus 24:16, they picked up stones to kill Him! "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) John 10:9— John 10:11— John 11:25— John 15:1— Could it be any clearer? Two thousand years ago, thousands of men and women heard His voice, looked into His eyes, and wondered at the commanding authority of His words. Unlike the skeptics of today, the Jewish rabbis never denied that Jesus claimed to be God. Not everyone believed, but they all knew He was claiming to be equal with God. If those who lived at that time drew that conclusion, how can anyone today presume upon their understanding? The people of Jesus' day, like us today, had only two possible responses: to humble themselves and bow before Him or to reject His claim and judge Him a blasphemer. Unfortunately, the leaders chose the latter. (Even though they judged Him wrongly, we must never think that the leaders of that day made some horrible mistake. No! While they thought they were doing God's work, it was God who used them to carry out His wonderful plan of salvation!) Authority as Lord The dictionary defines "Lord" as "a person who has general authority over others". Another dictionary defines it "master or ruler". The word "Lord" actually comes from Old English meaning "bread keeper" or "loaf" "ward". The Greek word that's translated "Lord" in the Bible is Kurios, a title of authority. People used to say it to show respect, such as the word "sir". The head of a family was often referred to as the lord of his house, slaves called their master "lord", and subjects of monarchies recognized their ruler as their "lord". Kurios was also a title of worship given to the gods of other religions, especially to Zeus, the chief Greek god. And of course, it was a title of worship given to Jehovah/YHWH, the one true God. In this sense the Bible uses the title "Lord" for both God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. To call Jesus "Lord" is to recognize His deity, His union with His Father, His supreme authority over the universe, and His right to rule our lives. Proof of His Authority Jesus Proved His Authority in His Teachings
Jesus Proved His Authority over Nature
Jesus Proved His Authority over Disease and Death
Some people claim that Jesus' miracles were no more than the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him and that the same power is available to any believer today who prays in faith. However, when Jesus changed water into wine, or fed the 5,000 with a few small loaves of bread and fish, or calmed the storm, His followers didn't exclaim, "How great is the power of the Holy Spirit working through this prophet!" Rather, on the Sea of Galilee, the Disciples wondered, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" (Matthew 8:27) Jesus Proved His Moral Authority
Jesus Proved His Spiritual Authority
Luke 7:48-50— Recognition of Christ's Authority On earth today, the universal Church [those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord] recognizes Jesus as Lord. "...Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." (Ephesians 5:23b) The laws that govern the physical body's functions also apply in the spiritual sense. The body does not guide the head, but the head guides the body. And just as the physical body has many different members [fingers, toes, arms, legs, skin, fingernails, heart, lungs, etc.], so the spiritual Body of Christ has many members. And each member has its own place and function in the Body. As we all work together for the good of the Body, then we are able to more efficiently carry out the purpose of Christ, our Head. Romans 12:5-6— "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." (Colossians 1:17-18) And some day the whole world will acknowledge Him as its rightful Ruler and Lord. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) But before Jesus sets up His kingdom on earth, He will take His Church to Heaven and prepare us to rule with Him. He will deal with our faults and failures and reward us for whatever we have done for Him. His rule must be firmly established in every area of our lives before we can rule with Him in His everlasting kingdom. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ1 [not the same as the Great White Throne judgment2], so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Corinthians 5:10) "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10b-12) After Christ judges the Church, there will be a great celebration in Heaven known as the marriage supper [wedding feast] of the Lamb. The word "Lamb" is a designation of honor for what Christ accomplished on earth as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In Revelation, Jesus is called the "Lamb" 27-34 times [the number varies depending on the Bible version one uses]. The church shares that honor as the Bride of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. "And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great. . . . it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure" — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." (Revelation 19:5,8) King of Kings and LORD of Lords He Is Alpha and Omega Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. In calling Himself "the Alpha", Jesus is saying He is the One who initiates, who begins all things, the One who brings all things into being [see "God's Names: YHWH/Jehovah"]; and as our "Omega", He is God's final Word and assurance of fulfilling God's eternal purpose. As Alpha, He created all things and nothing exists that He didn't create (see John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16); and as Omega, He will bring all things back into their right relationship, subdue all evil, and reign forever as the King of kings and Lord of lords! He Is Coming as Judge Matthew 25:31-32— "...but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked." (Isaiah 11:4) He Will Make All Things New "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus . . . Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert . . . And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 35:1,5-6,10)
"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.' "Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!' "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'" (Revelation 5:9-13) ------------------------------------- 2 Great White Throne Judgment  
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No legitimate scholar or historian today denies that Jesus is a real historic figure. All agree that He lived about 2,000 years ago and that He performed many remarkable feats and acts of charity. And all, except Muslims, agree that He died a horrible death by crucifixion just outside Jerusalem. [Islam teaches that the historical Jesus ascended to Heaven without dying, like Enoch (cf. Genesis 5:21-23), and that an imposter died in His place and was buried secretly.]
Revelation 21:3-5—
