JESUS: Man or God Almighty?
The first place to start with Jesus is whether He existed or not. That's the easiest to answer when it comes to Jesus. Tacitus, the heathen historian, mentions Christ ("Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus..." Tacitus, Annals 15.44). He goes on to mention an implied religious trouble that followed. Jocephus, an Orthodox Jew, makes mention, also, in Antiquities, Book 18, 3:3. "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." The Babylonian Talmud makes mention of him, as does Lucian, who hated Christ and Christians. The Letter of Mara Barsarapion currently residing in the British Museum makes mention of Jesus by implication (Jews murdering their 'wise king'). Thallus, the secular historian, records details about the eclipse of the sun (when Jesus died), as does Phlegon, another secular historian. The Roman historian Suetonius mentions the disturbances of Christ and the Christians. Hierocles, scornful of all things Christian, admit that Jesus, Peter, and Paul all used sorcery and not divine miracles (because they couldn't disprove the miracles). Several others make mention of events (like the killing of the babies at Jesus' birth by Herod) that occur around the time of Jesus' life. The historical record exists intact, meager as it is. That Jesus existed is without doubt. Of course, there is also the Bible as an historical record, and only the truly deluded would claim that Jesus was just a myth.
So, Jesus lived on this planet at one time. The best way to prove his supernatural existence as mentioned in the Bible would be to continue with the most common points raised by skeptics about the death of Jesus. Or maybe I should say, the resurrection of Jesus. The entire Christian religion rests on the resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection, there is nothing. So what are the arguments about the resurrection? An atheist lawyer once set out to disprove the resurrection based on the historical accounts. He was sure that he could do it, especially using the "fallible" bible that was "full of contradictions." But, if you've been reading my site, we know that the Bible is 100% consistent. The resulting study was published in a book titled "Who Moved The Stone?" by Frank Morrison. Here are the best arguments the skeptics can come up with to say the resurrection never happened:
* "Jesus never rose from the dead." Answer: With the massive "cult" following that arose after His death, you would think that His tomb would have been an instant pilgrimage site. No such site has ever existed. Christians today argue over empty tombs. Further, the Jews, who were guarding the tomb, could have pulled the body of Jesus out at any time to prove He never rose from the dead. They never did because they couldn't have - the body was gone.
* "The Jews took the body and hid it to keep it from becoming a holy relic to attract pilgrims." Answer: Sure, and all the Jews had to do was pull the body out and Christianity would have died immediately. They never did because the body was gone.
* "The Christians took the body and hid it." Answer: Every single disciple told and retold the resurrection story without alteration. Scattered and alone, every single disciple stood by their story when faced with death. Remember "doubting" Thomas? He refused to believe that Christ had risen. He only believed when he put his fingers into the wounds of Jesus. "Doubting" Thomas went on to the hardest place to preach, the far east, and attempted to spread the word. With a brahmin sword at his gut, he was told to recant his story and tell the truth. "Doubting" Thomas could not, did not, and died to the sword. If a liar is confronted with death and a choice to recant or die, the liar will always save his skin. So says human psychology. Not a single disciple, all alone, each and every one of them, ever broke "under the strain" and admitted the whole thing was a hoax. The simple fact is, as demonstrated by the horrible deaths the disciples endured, is that they all believed it. Which means, they didn't have the body.
* "The Christians made a mistake and went to the wrong tomb." Answer: This one is the most stupid. But there's an historical fact about this that most of us aren't aware of. Back in those days, this was actually a very good argument, but it couldn't have lasted more than a day or two before falling apart. I'll talk about that later. Wrong tomb? Fine, but the tomb was guarded by the temple guards. "Oops, this is the wrong tomb, it's over there by the guards." Further, if the Christians went to the wrong tomb, then the Jews would have the body of Jesus and they could have totally destroyed Christianity at any time. The fact that they never did shows that they don't have the body because the body was gone.
* "The body wasn't there because Jesus didn't really die. He revived in the tomb." Answer: This is the most absurd claim that is trotted out by the skeptics. You don't survive a Roman crucifixion! This from a study of crucifixion, and in particular, Roman crucifixion: "If, however, the victims are tied with their hands extended over their heads and left hanging, death can occur within an hour or, in minutes if the victims legs are nailed so that he cannot use his arms to elevate the body to exhale. For exhaling to occur in a normal manner two sets of muscles are needed, the diaphragm and. the intercostalis muscles between the ribs. With the victims being suspended by their arms directly over their heads, these sets of muscles cannot function properly which results in the victims inability to exhale and results in asphyxiation. Eyewitness accounts by prisoners of war in Dacchu during WWII reported that victims suspended from beams by their wrist, which were tied, expired within ten minutes if their feet were weighted or tied down and within one hour if their feet were unweighted and the victim was able to raise and lower himself to permit respiration. Death in this manner, which is one form of crucifixion, was the result of suffocation." Ever wonder why there was mention about breaking legs of those crucified? It sped the agonizing death along where the crucufied individual could no longer support himself and thus his respiration became impossible. Not only that, but a revived Jesus would have been extremely weak and bloody as all heck. That doesn't match the record of visions of a healthy and vital Jesus in the days following. Neither does it match the conviction of the disciples about his resurrection. There is not a single historical account of a bloody man walking around without being recognized by the authorities, nor of any Jesus after the crucifixion.
He came out of that tomb. Want to know why the mistaken tomb story arose? It ties in with His time spent in the tomb. First, people say He was crucified on a Friday. BZZZZT. Wrong. And that He rose on the Sunday. Finally, they got one right, but not the way they think. People point to the Passover being on Fridays and assume Jesus was crucified then. Nope. The Jewish feast calendar does not follow specific days of the week - it follows times and seasons. The Passover that Jesus celebrated occurred on a Wednesday. Don't do the math yet, unless you understand Jewish days. The Jewish day starts at twilight, not midnight. That makes a big difference. On Tuesday evening (to us), after dark, Jesus sat down for Wednesday's Last Supper (Passover). All that night He prayed... well we know all that. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, He was taken by the Jewish authorities. They questioned Him early and then sent Him to Pilate. We know all the rest of that, too. Jesus is crucified on a Wednesday, during the day. As it begins to turn to evening, Jesus dies. The world turns to darkness as a result of the death of Jesus and this causes the Jews to request the legs be broken on those crucified as there should be no one killed on the sabbath, which in this case was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Thursday, which began Wednesday evening at sunset. Jesus is buried at sunset and is thus in the tomb all of Thursday, Friday, and all day Saturday until sunset, which begins Sunday, the day after sabbath. Mary Magdalene had to wait all day Saturday until it began to get dark to bring spices to the tomb (sort of like how we bring flowers, they spice the dead body so it don't smell bad). THAT is why the rumor runs that Mary got the wrong tomb. She couldn't go until it was nighttime. But this whole theory falls apart the next day when anyone could point out the proper tomb. It was a prominent tomb of a wealthy man. Tombs don't get "lost."
Jesus came out of the tomb. The only logical conclusion, albeit supernatural, is that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended, just like He said He would do.
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So, Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead. But was He really God? Was He God Almighty? Or just a "little" god as the Jehovah's Witnesses like to claim? I have a huge pile of scripture references and notes that are all packed away while our house is being renovated, so I'm going to have to run this all off the top of my head. But here goes:
Almighty God says: "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." Isaiah 45:5. In case that wasn't enough, He repeats it over and over and over again: Isaiah 45:6, Isaiah 45:14, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21, and if you're still dense about there being only one God, He repeats it some more: Isaiah 45:22 and back in Isaiah 44:8.
The Jehovah's Witness and others might say, "But but but! Doesn't 1 Corinthians 8:5 say that there are many lords and many gods?" Sure. But let's not just pick part of the verse and then ignore verse 6 which says that there is only one God. The overly obvious indication there is that all the gods and lords of the world are false gods - gods that man had made as idols.
Maybe God "made" a "little" god to sit beside Him? Nope: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Isaiah 43:10. Either God was telling the truth, or God is a liar. Well, God cannot lie, so He has to be telling the truth (Titus 1:2). That means that there is only one God. No other gods were ever made, and the only other gods that exist are false gods men made. Jehovah said it.
Now, let's look at John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Huh? Look at John 1:14 for the clue. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Pretty specific. The "Word" is Jesus. Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. So, in the first verse we see that the Word was in the beginning (not made), the Word was with God (but remember the Isaiah verses where it says no gods were with God), and the final clue is the last part of the verse: the Word was God. John 1:1 basically says that jesus is God Almighty. If there are no gods other than God Almighty, and that God never made any others, and John 1:1 calls Jesus God, then Jesus and God Almighty are one in the same.
What did Jesus say? Look at John 8:58: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM." Verily verily? What's that mean? The double use means that what is being said is so true that it's true-true, so pay attention. Well, Jesus said "I am." So what? Ahem, take a look at this: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Exodus 3:14
Jesus is the I AM that is God Almighty.
Is there more? You betcha, and unfortunately I don't have all my notes to bore you with endless quotes, but I do have a few. God says in Isaiah 44:6: "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." Pretty straightforward. Jehovah says He's the first and last and that there are no other gods with Him. Uh oh, you know what's coming. Jesus says something about that, too. What does He say in Revelation? Revelation 22:13: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." In case you didn't get it, He said it three different ways. "Are you sure that's Jesus talking?" Yep. Look at verse 16. "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." Uh oh. That opens up a whole realm of "I am the Alpha and Omegas..." See Revelation 1:1 first of all. It's the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Now look at Revelation 1:8: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Remember there's only one Almighty God? Revelation 1:11: More Alpha and Omega, in case you missed it the first time. Revelation 1:17-18: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Remember that Almighty God, the Lord of Hosts claimed to be the only first and last? Revelation 2:8: "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive..." Jesus repeats the first and last bit and about Him being dead and now alive, in case you missed it the first time He said it in 1:18.
How many times does God have to repeat Himself?
Let me take a skeptic's point and trash it. Supposedly we're all supposed to lose our faith because someone points out smugly that Jesus prayed to God on the cross. If He was God, why was He praying to himself? Oh no, God has just fallen off His throne. Let's all wail with grief because some head-wagging idiot thinks he's scored. Nope, he hasn't "scored." Too bad for him. Jesus was the Word, was with God, and WAS God. Later, He became flesh. God voluntarily lowered Himself to become a man. Does ALL of God have to be in one place? Or could Jesus have been just an aspect of God? The skeptics try to say that God can only be in one place at any time. Pretty limited brain capacity to think that the infinite is finite. Check this verse from Hebrews 2:9 for the answer: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour..." Well, guess what, there's the answer. Jesus is born into the flesh, lower than the angels for the suffering of death. It was temporary, as we see in Revelation. Jesus WAS God, but at that moment that Jesus assumed all the sins of mankind on Himself, He was separated in the flesh from God Almighty. Thus, in this temporary separation, He made his prayer asking why He was forsaken. It had to happen. God the spirit could not assume sin, but God in the flesh could. There was a separation due to the sin.
Back to the deity of Jesus. Without any doubt, Jesus is God Almighty, Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, the first and last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Savior and Redeemer. In the flesh, He was the son of man to prove that flesh was going to keep the commandments and pave the way for the salvation of mankind.
Claiming that Jesus was just a man or a little god is the most supreme insult to God Almighty. God saved me and everyone else, not some "good" man. God did it. That's why I am a Jesus-freak.