Durruck
Pirate!
Extra-biblical sources don't dispute that Jesus of Nazareth lived. Other religions, such as Islam and Judaism admit that Jesus lived, and was a man of God. Islam even specifically goes as far as to admit that Jesus was a prophet.
Christianity is the lone exception - we believe that Jesus not only lived, he was not just a prophet, but he was THE Son of the Father; a third of the Trinity. One of the boldest statements in Jesus' ministry was to the Jews, recorded by John 8
With Jesus' statement recorded by John, Jesus is clearly stating that He is, and has always been God. There are two parts to this. Firstly, he states that 'before Abraham...I am" Abraham lived thousands of years before Jesus. Even the Jews to which Jesus was speaking heard the "absurdity" of His claim. How can a man not yet fifty years old have come before Abraham? (John 8:57)
Secondly, this verse is perhaps the clearest that Jesus states that he is God. This is a direct reference to God's revelation to Moses:
Jesus has laid it all out. Anyone who studied Mosaic Law at all would catch the reference that Jesus dropped.
This brings us to the point of the verse. There are only three honest things that you can think about Jesus at this point:
1) He's a lunatic
2) He's a liar
3) He is the Son of God.
Notice that I did not give you the option of calling him a prophet. There is no other "prophet" that claims to be God. There is no other "prophet" who claims to transverse space and time. There is no other "prophet" that claims to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. There is no other "prophet" that spoke with the authority of the Law, rather than one under the Law (John 7:46). There was no other "prophet" that both resurrected the dead and was resurrected.
He was no prophet. He is either a lunatic, a liar, or God. I've met a lot of lunatics, and but not that could heal with a word, walk on water, or turn water into wine. There are too many witnesses to call it a trick, so a liar is out.
That leaves us with The Son of God as our only viable option.
Christianity is the lone exception - we believe that Jesus not only lived, he was not just a prophet, but he was THE Son of the Father; a third of the Trinity. One of the boldest statements in Jesus' ministry was to the Jews, recorded by John 8
With Jesus' statement recorded by John, Jesus is clearly stating that He is, and has always been God. There are two parts to this. Firstly, he states that 'before Abraham...I am" Abraham lived thousands of years before Jesus. Even the Jews to which Jesus was speaking heard the "absurdity" of His claim. How can a man not yet fifty years old have come before Abraham? (John 8:57)
Secondly, this verse is perhaps the clearest that Jesus states that he is God. This is a direct reference to God's revelation to Moses:
Jesus has laid it all out. Anyone who studied Mosaic Law at all would catch the reference that Jesus dropped.
This brings us to the point of the verse. There are only three honest things that you can think about Jesus at this point:
1) He's a lunatic
2) He's a liar
3) He is the Son of God.
Notice that I did not give you the option of calling him a prophet. There is no other "prophet" that claims to be God. There is no other "prophet" who claims to transverse space and time. There is no other "prophet" that claims to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. There is no other "prophet" that spoke with the authority of the Law, rather than one under the Law (John 7:46). There was no other "prophet" that both resurrected the dead and was resurrected.
He was no prophet. He is either a lunatic, a liar, or God. I've met a lot of lunatics, and but not that could heal with a word, walk on water, or turn water into wine. There are too many witnesses to call it a trick, so a liar is out.
That leaves us with The Son of God as our only viable option.
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