Day 10: A Seemingly Crazy Claim – Part 4a
Did God visit Earth?
Bible References (NIV)
15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.
4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,
7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.
54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.
56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him:
58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’ ”
59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60 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?”
61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.
64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.
65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Devotional
Have you ever pretended to be something that you are not and got away with it? I’ve always been an honest type of person, but I certainly pretended to be more confident than I was when I was young. It’s difficult to sustain something that’s just an act!
Today we’re looking at Jesus and his claims, which are amongst the most radical ever made. To cut to the chase: Jesus claimed to be God visiting Earth!
This claim is so radical that some sceptics of the Bible have suggested that Christians have misunderstood Jesus. If we study the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see that Jesus often avoided making a direct claim to be the ‘Son of God’. He instead refers to himself as the ‘Son of Man’. Bible sceptics used this detail to suggest Jesus was actually trying to tell everyone he was just a man – not God. They suggest he only later on changed his mind and claimed to be God on Earth.
The video clip you are about to watch will explain more about this. However, to be clear, it’s abundantly clear at all times from the Gospels that Jesus knew exactly who he was. When Jesus was a teenager we’re told of him going missing on the annual family trip to Jerusalem. The family search party then finds Jesus in the Temple where he says to them, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). In one of the Scriptures you just read we see Jesus at the start of his ministry. He reads a portion of the Scriptures that predict the Messiah’s coming and then says, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The claim was clear. There are many examples. Consider the paralytic lowered on a mat through the ceiling. Jesus claims to forgive his sin – while everyone present knows that only God can do that.
As you’ll soon hear in the video, there were reasons Jesus avoided stating his claim directly until near the end of his ministry.
An example of his more direct claims would be when he rode the donkey into Jerusalem just before his crucifixion (Mark 11:1-11). The crowds became excited – with celebrating, singing, dancing and the laying down of palm branches for him to walk over. Why? Jesus had intentionally fulfilled a prediction about the promised Messiah written in Zechariah 9:9. He was claiming to be the true King of Israel. To illustrate, imagine a throne that only the king could sit on – and then you go sit upon it. Your action would be a claim to be the king. That’s what Jesus was doing.
While this topic might seem silly to many students of the Bible, it’s important because we have to understand who Jesus was claiming to be before we can understand and know him. Also, God certainly could visit Earth as a human if he wanted to. God can do anything. The real questions are, Why would he – and did he?
Video clip: A Seemingly Arrogant Claim – Part 5b— 5mins
Reflection questions
- In what ways did Jesus state his claim to be God in flesh?
- What led some Western scholars in the prior century to doubt that Jesus was claiming to be God?
- Why didn’t Jesus always state his claim directly?
- What was the significance of Jesus quoting from the prophet Daniel (Daniel 7:13-15) at his trials (Mark 14:61-65)?
- Why is it important to know for certain that Jesus really did claim to be God on Earth / the ‘Son of God’?
For prayer
“Thank you, God, for coming in Jesus. Thank you for reaching out not only through prophets and their writings but also in person. You have done far more for us than we would ever have imagined. Thank you.”
related topics
coming up in our next devotion
Day 11: A Seemingly Crazy Claim – Part 4b
Have you ever held a belief that you later changed after coming across new information? Today we’re looking at Jesus’ resurrection, and you’ll be surprised to discover how many academics agree that the evidence says it happened.