I.
Introduction: Who did Jesus really think He was?

Thank you for coming out for this presentation. Recently there has been a lot of speculation concerning the real identity of Jesus, especially with the DaVinci Code and the Gospel of Judas in the news this last year. The question we are considering is, did Jesus himself think he was just a great teacher, a social revolutionary, a prophet, a miracle worker even, but still just a human being? Or, did he think he was more? Did he think he was what Christians have been claiming for almost 2000 years, to be the unique, eternal Son of God; that is, God incarnate - God in human flesh?

This is a big topic to tackle at lunchtime, but it is an important one. If Jesus was just a human being, then though his teaching may be special, it can be added to the common pot of human religious wisdom. But if He was somehow God, we had better pay more careful attention to what he said. 

A. Prior Question and a Careful Approach

There is also actually a starting point behind this question “Did Jesus claim to be God?” that needs some attention. What do we mean by “God”? There are many ideas of this floating around today. For instance, much of Western thinking is influenced by Greek thought that had God at a distance, a god who did not enter time and space or get personal with people. The God of Plato and Aristotle was this way, as well as the god of the Arians (an early group related to Christianity), the Jehovah’s witnesses, and even Islam, and many other people today view God in this basic way. But this was not the God of the Jews of Jesus day, or the God depicted in the Bible. The God of the Bible can enter time and space and has an enormous interest in revealing Himself to people and interacting with them personally. We need to be careful with what ideas we are already bringing to the question, “Did Jesus think He was God?” I am using the idea of God found in the Bible which was the common view of the Jews in Jesus’ day.

Also, how we approach this question of Jesus’ identity is important. I think we would all agree that we should go to the most reliable historical sources of what Jesus said and did, and look through them for any statements that would shed light. Since he lived in the first century of this era, we need to go to sources that have proven to be sound historical sources that fit that first century. Through a lot of study for myself I have come to the conclusion that the Gospels in the Bible are the earliest and best historical sources concerning the life and words of Jesus. If you have questions about that, bring them up in the question time.

B. Implicit and Explicit claims

Also, if one looks carefully through the Gospels, they will find that Jesus did make claims to deity. There are both implicit claims and explicit claims. The implicit ones are things like:

the authority he indirectly claimed for himself in how he taught, as well as specific titles he claimed for himself that he then supported with miracles

The explicit ones are direct statements that to someone in the first century would have clearly been an unambiguous claim to be God.

Unfortunately, we do not have time today to look at His implicit claims in detail. But let me at least mention a couple of things about them. These kinds of claims to deity are the most numerous that Jesus made. I think this was because He was a master-teacher and did not want to overwhelm his audience.

For instance, the titles he took for himself contained implicit claims to deity, sometimes bordering on the explicit. Claiming to have authority to forgive sin,[1] exorcising demons in His own authority,[2] calling Himself the Bread of Life,[3] the Resurrection and the Life,[4] the Way, the Truth, and the Life,[5] the Light of the World,[6] the Son of Man,[7] the Son of God,[8] and even the Messiah,[9] to a first century Jewish mindset all had at least some implications of deity. Many books have been written on how these titles implied deity, and if you would like, ask me afterwards and I can give you some recommendations.[10]