Good...God
A few days ago, I posted an entry entitled "Did Jesus Change God?" There is an assumption made in that posting that I should probably clarify - the assumption that Jesus is God.
I realize that many people would debate that point. Hindus would say that Jesus probably was a god - but he is just one of many gods. Muslims would say that Jesus was a prophet, much as Muhammed was a prophet. Buddhists would claim that Jesus was enlightened...a spiritual teacher. Athiests would say...god...what god??? But the problem with these views is that Jesus did not say he was a good man, a prophet, or one of the gods. He claimed to be God.
In John 8, Jesus was talking to some Jewish leaders who knew that God revealed His name to Moses as "I AM." With that backdrop, they had this conversation...(Jesus speaking) "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.
The Jewish leaders wanted to stone Jesus because they knew exactly what he was saying. He was claiming to be God. Further, in passages like Mark 14:60-62, Jesus repeats this claim. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
"I am," said Jesus.
So, what do we make of a good man who claims to be the Most High God? Some would say that the disciples misunderstood. There seems to be no misunderstanding that when Jesus was rasied from the dead and appeared to his disciples (plus over 500 other witnesses), they believed He was truly God. When one disciple saw Jesus after the resurrection, he proclaimed him, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). Wouldn't Jesus refute this claim if it was not true?
Some would say that these claims of Jesus' deity did not surface until hundreds of years later. But if these claims really did not surface until years after Jesus' death, why was he crucified? The remaining historical and Biblical evidence point to the fact that Jesus is, in fact, God. So, based on the evidence and based on my personal experiences with God, I conclude that Jesus is more than a good man. He is a Good God.
