Theology-104
May 4, 2011
Reflection Paper
Introduction
Did Jesus claim to be God? If a person is a Christian, does it matter how they live their life? What can your local Church do to better communicate God’s love to your community? These are just three of many questions when it comes to being a Christian living in the world we live today.
Section 1: Did Jesus Claim to be God?
Jesus is never recorded in the Bible as saying the precise words, “I am God.” That does not mean, however, that He did not proclaim that He is God. Take for example Jesus’ words in (John 10:30), “I and the Father are one.” We need only to look at the Jews’ reaction to His statement to know He was claiming to be God. They tried to stone Him for this very reason. “… You, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was claiming—deity. Notice that Jesus does not deny His claim to be God. When Jesus declared, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He was saying that He and the Father are of one nature and essence. John 8:58 is another example. Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” The response of the Jews who heard this statement was to take up stones to kill Him for blasphemy, as the Mosaic Law commanded them to do (Leviticus 24:15).Jesus clearly claimed to be the Messiah and Son of God: Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (John 4:25-26), Jesus affirmed Peter's statement that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mt 16:15-17, see also Mark 8:29-30, Luke 9:20-21), Jesus told the high priest that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mark 14:61-62, Mt 26:63-64, Luke 22:70.
If a person is a Christian, does it matter how they live their life? This is a good question to ask because true Christians certainly do follow the laws of the land that they live in. This is an important teaching of the Bible (for example,