Is Jesus God?

Before we start, I think we all agree that a person called Jesus, existed and walked on this Earth, so the next thing we will asked is, is Jesus God? Since we all agreed that Jesus walked on this Earth before, the next thing we agreed is that Jesus was crucified on the cross. Even historian like Josephus, history of Rome, and muslims agreed this fact (But muslims also said that God changed Jesus with Judas Iscariot, so in the end, Jesus didn't die, Judas die. But of course I don't agree with this fact.), that Jesus was crucified on the cross. So the question is, why was Jesus crucified?

First let's see what Jesus claimed himself to be.

Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (John 8:54-59)

Jesus claimed that he exists even before Abraham, the father of Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). Not only so, he claimed himself as I AM.  Let's recall the conversation between Moses and God, when God wants to sent Moses to bring the Israelites out from Egypt.

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:13-14)

So we should know that the words 'I AM' is of great importance, because it is how God refers himself to be, and that is why the words 'I AM' is used in the famous hymn "Before the throne of God above". 

Behold him there! the risen Lamb,
my perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!

And Jesus refers himself as I AM, indirectly claiming himself as God.

* * *

Let's see what Jesus said when he was charged by the high priest, before the crucifixion.

But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy (Matthew 26:63-65).

Jesus claimed that he is the Son of God, and but this the high priests accused him of blasphemy, i.e. the act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God. That's the main reason why the high priest handed him over to the Romans government to be crucified, so is rather contradict for muslims to say Jesus was crucified but he is just a prophet of God.

* * *

Let's see how other people see Jesus as.

But Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." (John 10:32,33)

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Luke 5:20,21)

Even the Jews and the Pharisees can also see that Jesus claimed himself as God.

* * *

And how does the prophets see Jesus as? Let's refer to a very popular verse that quoted during Christmas.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Isaiah wrote this 700 years before Jesus was born as human, and we all know that 'a child' refers to Jesus Christ, and the most important is what he will be called. Isaiah clearly said that he will be called 'Mighty God'.

* * *

How does the disciples looked Jesus as?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2)

We all know that Jesus is the Word of God that came into flesh, and John begins the gospel clarify that Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.

In our walk with Christ, our faith wavers, so does Thomas, the disciple of Jesus. Famously he was known as "Dubious Thomas", why? Simple because initially he don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

So the other disciples told him (Thomas), "We have seen the Lord!" But he (Thomas) said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." (John 20:25)

Only after Jesus appeared in front of him, and let him touch his scares, Thomas believed the resurrection of Jesus.

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:28-29)

Thomas called Jesus as 'my God'. Remember in Revelation, when John saw an angel, he was going to worship him, but the angel said to him "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"  (Revelation 22:9). If Jesus was not God, he should correct him and said something like, "I am not God, I am just the messenger from God". Rather we can see that Jesus accepted the worship from Thomas, and teaches us a lesson that 'blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'

* * *

Some might said Jesus is Son of God, but not God. This is rather interesting, let's refer the most famous number, 3:16.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV John 3:16)

John said Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. A human begets a human, a cat begets a cat. Something begets its own type, never of other type. A human cannot beget a cat, nor a cat can beget a human. So in a same way God beget a person that is of its own type, that is God also. So Jesus is 'the begotten Son of God', simply also means that Jesus is God. (But of course it doesn't mean like God the Father 'gives birth' to God the Son, because each of the person in the Trinity is self-existing, with no beginning and no end, and that's why Jesus is also known as the Alpha and Omega.)

* * *

So we saw how different people: the prophets, the Jews, the Pharisees, the high priests, the disciples, and Jesus himself claimed himself to be. We all know that Jesus is fully human, but Jesus himself claimed more than just fully human, he also claimed that he is also fully God. He never intended to be just known as just 'a good moral teacher' or just 'a messenger of God'. He claimed that he is God.

So this left us three choices:

1. He is a mad man. He is not God, but he thought that he is God.
2. He is a evil man. He is not God, and he consciously knows that he is not God.
3. He is really what he claimed to be, which is God.

The first possibility is out, how can a mad man be a good moral teacher, or a messenger from God? Second possibility is out also, why an evil man will die for other people, and how can an evil man sent by God as prophet? 

Sherlock Holmes said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". We have eliminated all the others impossible possibility, so the remaining one, however improbable for us, must be the truth, i.e. Jesus Christ is God.

Some people asked, how is this possible that Trinity is true? How can one God, exist as three persons? I can answered it with the word of Jesus himself 

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

If our limited mind can understand the unlimited God, then He is not an unlimited God. But praise be to God that He is who He is, He is the unlimited God, and that's why our limited mind, cannot fully understand the full nature of God. If you still cannot believe in God, if you still cannot believe in Jesus Christ, if you still cannot believe the truth of Trinity, then pray to God and say, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief" (Mark 9:27)

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Jesus said, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me,
and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Revelation 22:12-13