Our topic this afternoon has to do with the claims, not about Jesus Christ, but the claims of Christ. In order for us to deal with this subject, I’m going to have to ask you to do something, and that is to erase from your mind almost 2,000 years of human history. That is the impact of what Jesus Christ said concerning Himself has very little relevance today because we have 2,000 years of Christian history behind that. But I want you to pretend that you are a Jew living in the first century, and you are hearing for the first time the things that Jesus Christ said concerning Himself.

Now, would you please turn with me to Matthew Chapter 16. In this passage, Jesus reveals that He was very concerned that people would have a proper understanding of who He was in terms of His person and what He had come to accomplish in terms of His work. Thus, in Matthew Chapter 16 and verse 13 Jesus asked His disciples this question: "Who do people say that the Son of man is?" As you are walking around the marketplace and as you are discussing religious topics with people, what are people saying about the Son of man? And it’s assumed, as we shall see, by "Son of man" He meant Himself. It is a Messianic title in the intertestamental, extrabiblical literature. It has reference to the Son of man mentioned in Daniel.

And He said, "What are people saying about me? I claim to be the Son of man. What are they saying in terms of my person? What is their understanding?"

And they said, "Well, some people say that you are John the Baptist." Evidently, there are those who felt that John the Baptist had been resurrected. Remember, he had been murdered and they said, "Well, this is John the Baptist back again."

Other people said, "No, he’s Elijah."

Other people said, "No, he’s Jeremiah, or maybe he’s one of the prophets." And there was, in terms of opinion, there were a lot of opinions concerning just who this "Son of man" really was.

But then He said to them in verse 15: "Who do you say that I am?" This is how we know in one of the places where He was referring to Himself as the Son of man, and He said, "I want to know, as you have discussed this among yourselves, what conclusions have you come to in terms of an understanding of my nature, my essence, my personhood, my work? Who am I?" "And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’"

When he referred to Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah, he was referring to His work, to His mission, to His calling, to His office as Ha Mashiah. And then He referred to His person by referring to Him as the Son, not just a Son, but the Son of the living God. "And Jesus and answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’" Now, it’s obvious that Jesus was concerned that people would come to a correct understanding of who He was, why He came, and what He was seeking to accomplish with His life.

As we begin to look at the claims of Christ, you must think in terms of a monotheistic, first century Jew and not a Christian who lived nearly 2,000 years later. The impact of what Christ says will not be felt unless you put yourself back in the shoes of that first century Jew.

For example, if you were in the marketplace and you were there and you said, "I’m a Gentile and I want to find out from you Jews: Could you tell me who are the greatest people that ever lived? What are the things, I mean, what are the people and things and events that you look up to that are great?"

The Jew would say, "Well, we must begin with the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, these were great men. Fabulous. This goes back to the beginning of it."

You would say, "Well, what else about the patriarchs? Anything else?"

He would say, "Oh, yes, the Law given by Moses. Moses was a great man. He gave us the laws, you know, like the temple and the Sabbath and sacrifice and all. All those laws, those are great, great things."

"Yes, anything else?"

"The prophets. Not only the patriarchs in terms of the fathers, not only Moses and the Law and the temple and the Sabbath, but the prophets, the mighty prophets of God. These are great men. Great things. Very important. They stand out in terms of human history."

As a Jew, these are the things that you would understand. You would never in your entire life ever claim to be greater than Abraham; greater than Jacob; greater than Moses; greater than the temple with all of its sacrifices and that Holy of Holies—greater than the temple; greater than the Sabbaths; greater than the prophets; greater than even the greatest king, Solomon. What Jew would dare to say that he was greater than all of those things? No one would dare to say such a thing.

Can you imagine the impact upon His audience when Jesus made exactly those claims? "I am greater than." Someone is here who is greater than.

For example—we’ll look at it in terms of the passages as they are laid out—look in Matthew Chapter 12. "At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grain fields and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.’ ‘But,’ he said to them, ‘have you not read what David did when he became hungry? He and his companions? How he entered the house of God and they ate the consecrated bread that was not lawful for them to eat nor for those who were with him; but for the priests alone." You know the Old Testament passage. That bread was for the priests. They ate it. "Or have you not also read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are still innocent. But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.’" Some translations put it in the sense that it should be understood: "Someone greater is here." Something is going on, something is in your presence that is greater than the temple and all of those ceremonial laws. "If you would have known what this means: I desire compassion and not sacrifice, you would have not condemned the innocent. For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." Who was greater than the temple? Who was greater than those laws? Who was greater than even the Sabbath? Jesus said, "Someone is here who is greater."

Look at verse 41: "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and, behold, someone greater than Jonah is here." You think Jonah was great? Someone greater than Jonah is here. Better start paying attention to this.

Verse 42: "The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and, behold, someone greater than Solomon is here."

Now, can you hear, can you see the Jewish audience? "Greater than the temple? Greater than Sabbath? Greater than Jonah or the prophets? Greater than Solomon?" These are stupendous claims. These are phenomenal. This is amazing.

Turn over to John 4. You see, to the Christian ear this is not so shocking; but to the Jewish ear: "Who is this man?! Is He a nut case?! What is this? He’s claiming He’s greater than these things. How can it be?" John Chapter 4, starting at verse 12. In His argument with the lady in the context, she said to Him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where, then, do you get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob are you?" Now, she thought that was a rhetorical question and He would have to say, "Ooh! Of course. Jacob, blessed be his name." But He didn’t do that.

He shows in His answer, "I am greater than Jacob," because listen to this: "Everyone who drank of the water from Jacob will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life." He was greater than Jacob. Jacob could only do an earthly well with earthly water that you could drink it but you would be thirsty yet again and would have to come again. But He, as the Lord of Jacob, greater than Jacob, would give you something in terms of living water that you would never thirst again.

Turn over to Chapter 8. The opposition to Jesus began to heat up now. This is why, verse 52, the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets also, and you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste of death.’" Do you think you’re better than they are? What about the people that heard them? They died. And you say that people that listen to you—"surely you are not greater than our father Abraham." Again, they thought He would say, "Ooh! Abraham, blessed be his name, of course." But no, no, no. They have opened the door that reveals that One stood before them who was greater than Abraham.

They said, "He died, the prophets died. Whom do you make yourself out to be?!" "Jesus answered and said, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say: He is our God. And you have not come to know Him but I know Him, and if I say I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you.’" He definitely had not taken a Dale Carnegie course. "But I do know Him and keep his word." And in terms of whether or not I am greater than Abraham, you had better listen up. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it and was glad.’ The Jews, therefore, said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old and you’ve seen Abraham?’" Abraham looked up to you? He was basking in your light? You’re greater than Abraham? "And Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’" Oh! And they picked up the stones. And they picked up the stones. They knew what He was saying. Greater than Abraham. Greater than Jacob. Greater than Solomon. Greater than the temple. Greater than the Sabbath. "This man! I think He’s crazy. He has a demon! Who would say such a thing? Blasphemy!"

And they really became upset in Matthew 5. There Jesus struck a nerve when He began to teach that He was greater than Moses. He was greater than the law giver. Moses sat on his mountain and Jesus said on his mountain. Later on He would reveal Moses gave his rules about divorce. And He said, "I’m canceling those rules. You can’t just hand her a slip of paper and say, ‘Get lost, honey! I’m changing the divorce rules.’" And, you know, the greater can cancel the lesser. The greater can change what went before Him because He is greater. And this is why we have the significance of that little phrase that appears here in the Sermon on the Mount, beginning in verse 22, "But I say to you." Again, remember, don’t think like a Christian. This is why people can read the Bible for years and they don’t see the impact because they’re not reading it as if they were a Jew who was hearing this man, who was claiming that He was greater, and in this case, Moses, the Law, and all the Torah, and the rabbinical thinking. And Jesus would say, "I know what you have been told," verse 21. "You’ve heard it, all that the ancients were told." And then comes the phrase, "But I say to you"—I am changing the rules. Can you imagine? And then He says, "But I say to you. I know what they said, but I’m talking now." Verse 28, "But I say to you." Verse 32, "But I say to you." Verse 34, "But I say to you." Verse 39, "But I say to you." Verse 44, "But I say to you."

You say, "Well, what does that mean?" Well, honey, are you going to climb on your mountain and sit and teach the people and say, "I know what you were taught, but I say to you, I’m changing the rules? Be it divorce, or be it this, or be it that. I know what you’ve been taught your entire life, and I am now contradicting that, I am changing that. There are new rules." And you see, when Jesus began to speak in terms of this new covenant—this is now no longer a church/state situation. He’s going to deal with personal ethics. He’s not dealing with civil or national ethics. When He says, "Love your neighbor," nations can neither love nor hate. He’s talking about you on a personal level in terms of dealing with your neighbor.

Are you getting the sense at all? Can you feel that if you were a Jew, how you would be shocked and perhaps angry? Greater than Abraham. Greater than the patriarchs. Greater than the prophets. Greater than Moses. Greater than the temple and the Sabbath, the Law. Greater than Solomon. Greater than all of these things. The claims of Jesus Christ—How could He say that He is greater than all these things put together? Could any mere man be greater than all of that?

We not only had these "greater than" claims made by Jesus, we also have the "I am" claims. Please turn back to John Chapter 6. And again, you must think like a Jew. Jews did not run around saying the things that Jesus would say. That’s why they were always picking up stones or rustling Him off to a cliff someplace.

Now, when I was in Israel, you must understand; some of you don’t understand Jewish culture. You don’t understand Jewish thinking. My wife and I were staying in a Jewish home and it came to Sabbath and we hadn’t told them we were Christians because we were taking Jewish tours and we felt we would get a lot better treatment. And we didn’t want to go with those Christian tours because of all the Christian things they did. So we’re in the home with the Jews and they said, "Sabbath, Sabbath...." And he’s getting ready to pray and he hands me the Hebrew Bible.... And he said, "Oh, oh! You said the divine name." And you saw them praying. And he was so shocked. It was "blasphemy!" You do not say the name of God. He said, "You Americans! You American Jews!" Now, we didn’t say we were Jews. We just rented the room, you see. He said, "You Jews from America! You know nothing about religion. You don’t say the name. It’s blasphemy!" Shocked. Horrified. And people were shocked at the claims of Jesus Christ because He was greater than the patriarchs, the prophets, etc.

Look at some of His "I am" claims. John 6:41: "The Jews, therefore, were grumbling about Him because He said, ‘I am the bread that came down out of heaven.’" See, Christians read this and they don’t see the impact of what He is saying. He contrasted Himself to that earthly bread, the manna. And He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven," and they were saying, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say ‘I have come down out of heaven’?" "Who does He think He is, God?!" Yes. "Where does He come off thinking He is better than anybody else?" Because He is better than anybody else.

He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." And Jesus, in verse 43, said: "Do not grumble among yourselves." They were angry. They were not happy. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." You see, in the intertestamental period, most Christians don’t understand this. Elijah is the one who comes and resurrects and he does all these powerful things; then the Messiah comes after Elijah and cleans up everything. That’s why they were looking for Elijah. "Who is Elijah? Where is Elijah?" They were thinking of the Messiah resurrecting and judging and cleaning up and dying. No, no, no; they didn’t have that idea.

And here, Jesus, speaking to them, said, "Listen, you’ve got to understand that, truly, I say to you, that he who believes has everlasting life"—then, in verse 48, here’s another "I am"—"I am the bread of life." Meaning life eternal.

Verse 47, the eternal...remember, eternal life is a qualitative term, not a quantitative term. It’s not speaking of unending existence, but a quality of life—the life of the eternal state; the blessings of impinging now. You get it now. "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." Oh, oh, now, if you were a Jew, you would be hyperventilating! At this point, you would be so upset.

In verse 52, "The Jews began to argue with one another." This man is giving us flesh coming down out of heaven! Living bread! Who does He think He is! He thinks He’s better than us! Better than Abraham; better than all these people. Who is this man! Who is this man! They began to argue. In verse 60, they began to fight among themselves and grumble. Verse 61. And we knew that the Scripture indeed tells us, verse 66, "that some of His followers withdrew and no longer followed Him."

Turn over to Chapter 8, verse 12. "Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world." Who is this man?! "He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." These are astounding claims. What mere mortal, unless he was absolutely deranged, let loose from Bedlam, could have ever said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me"—my laws, my thoughts, my direction—"shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." And if you don’t follow Me, you will walk in darkness.

That’s why the Pharisees got upset at the very next verse. This is not very happy, what He’s saying. Look in verse 23. He was saying to them, "You are from below." Listen to this "I am:" "I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

Did He just step off a UFO? Shades of von Daniken. He’s an alien? He’s not from this planet? He said, "You people come from this world; I’m not from this world. My point of origin is not the womb of the woman who gave birth to me. I come from above. I come from without this realm, outside. I come from heaven to this world. They did not believe in the preexistence of the soul. Well, a few Hellenistic Jews here; a little bit of Philo there. But that was not the main belief. No, no, no. Everybody didn’t walk around saying, "Oh, I preexisted and just happened to come down to the planet." No.

When He said, "I am not from this world. I came from above. You people, your point of origin is here on the earth. Mine is not." Do you realize how astounding...what human being could say this? What was going on? How can it be?

And listen, verse 24, "I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins." You know, I believe in positive thinking and speaking. I was at a church in Lake of the Ozarks and the pastor warned me that there was a whole group in the church that were enamored with Dale Carnegie and other positive stuff. And he said, "They’re very up in arms because I’m having you speak on the cults. See if you can say something." I said, "Oh, I will." So I got up to introduce and I said, "I want to introduce myself to you as the greatest positive thinker and speaker the world has ever known. I am so positive that I’m absolutely positive about being negative. I am positive there is hell. I’m positive there is sin. Now, some of you are negative thinkers because you’re negative about being negative. I’m positive about everything, even about being negative!" And Jesus was absolutely positive when He said, "You shall die in your sins," and I’m absolutely positive about that.

"Unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins." You say, "Well, maybe you’re making this up. You’re building this up. This is theatrics. You mean, people...." Well, look at verse 25. They were saying to Him, "Who are you?! Making these claims! Who are you?! What are you?!" They realized they were listening to things that were absolutely tremendous, earthshaking, radical, and, in their mind, finally, blasphemous. What He was saying was something even greater than any patriarch or prophet would ever say. Would Moses say this? Would Abraham say this? No. No.

Continue on to verse 58. "Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Now, the Jehovah’s Witnesses want to invent a Greek tense and say, "I have been." Doesn’t say that. They say, "Well, that’s only the perfect indefinite tense." Oh, no, no. Ego Eimi.

The Jews understood. Remember, the whole sermon, they’re listening to, their response to the sermon was what many pastors get. Verse 59: "And they picked up stones to throw at him." Well, there are only certain laws that require the casting of stones to kill someone. Now, obviously, He’s not committing adultery. The only thing that would have given them the right to stone Jesus was blasphemy. The Jews understood this man was claiming that He was more than a Jewish rabbi. He was more than a man or a human being. He was more than a prophet. He was greater than the patriarchs, the prophets, and Moses, and the Law and even the temple and the Sabbath, and He was not even from this world. And here He was using the divine name!

"Who are you?" Look at Chapter 10 and verse 7. "Jesus therefore said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Verse 14: "I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know me. Even as My Father knows Me, I know the Father." God’s knowledge of Me is infinite. And He’s saying, I have just as great a knowledge of God the Father as God the Father has of Me. What creature, be him angelic, human, whatever, could make such an astounding claim? Not only saying He is the great shepherd, the good shepherd, the blessed shepherd, the one in Psalm 23; but He is the One who knows the Father.

Look at verse 30. "I and the Father are One," and in the Greek it’s clearly implied that He is not saying one in purpose but one in nature, one in essence. "The Jews took up stones again to stone him because"—they just didn’t like Him? It was a bad day? No. Verse 32, Jesus is going to ask them, I’ve done a lot of good things around here lately: raising the dead, healing the sick, making the blind see, the lame to walk. Would you like to tell everybody for which of these things are you now going to stone me? "The Jews answered and said, "For a good work we do not stone you but for"—ah-ha!—"blasphemy." See, that’s why they were always picking up those stones. "Because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God." Not "a" God. Not Zeus. God, the God of Israel.

And Jesus, in His wonderful way of doing apologetics, loved to take the high ground; agree with an enemy quickly, turned arguments upside down on their heads and said, "You’re upset because I claim to be God? Haven’t you noticed even in the Old Testament, sometimes, you know, the judges and other people, because they functioned like God they’re called God, too, aren’t they?" Heh? Heh? He said, "Why are you all shook up? You say I’m blaspheming because I said"—here’s another "I am"—"I am the Son of God."

Now, see, the Christian doesn’t understand the impact, because, "Oh, we’re all sons of God; we’re all the children of God; and God is the Father of all mankind." To the Jew, No, no, no, no! The Son of God, Psalm 2, "Yet have I set my Son as king." That’s Ho Mashiah, the Christ, the Messiah. The Son. The one in Proverbs. What is his name and what is the name of his Son? The one that Isaiah foretold, that "a Son would be given, a child would be born." The Son was Deity, partaking of the nature of the Father. He said, "So I can be called God; I can be the Son of God because the Son of God partakes of the Deity of God. Don’t be so shook up! Don’t be so upset. There are senses in which that word can be stretched in your own Law."

Turn over to Chapter 11, verse 25. "Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’" Charles Taze Russell couldn’t claim that. He’s dead! Now, you know what happened to Mary Baker Eddy when she died. You will remember, she said there is no death. After she died, they put her in that carriage and drove around three days in Boston waiting for her to resurrect herself on the third day. And when she didn’t, they buried her with a live phone in her coffin, just knowing that Mary would say, "Get me out of here!" When the phone never rang, they finally disconnected it. And she who said there’s no death died.

Well, Jesus, in turn, said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live even if he dies." What is this gobbledygook? There’s a dimension of living beyond death—modern translation. "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." You’ll never really die. "Do you believe this? She said, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even he who comes into the world.’" What a great confession of faith. We forget her confession. We make so much of Peter’s confession. Here’s a woman with her head screwed on.

Turn again over the Chapter 14 and verse 6. Now, are you getting it? Are you getting the sense of how startling and how perhaps some people were getting madder and madder? That’s why the opposition to Y’shua grew and grew through His ministry as He made greater and greater claims.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." You can say, simply in terms of grammar: "I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." Whoa! No one, not even Moses, would have made such a claim. "Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.’" Well, you see, Jesus said, "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you know him and"—underline the next words—"and have seen him."

In other words, all of God the Father that can ever be seen was seen in His Son. Not that the Father is the Son and the Son is the Father, but the Father is invisible but the Son is the expressed image, the effulgence of the glory of the Father and in Him we see everything we’ll ever know about the Father in the Son. And that’s why Philip said, "Show us the Father, and Jesus said, ‘Have I been with you and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father." Why do you say, "Show us the Father"? These are astounding claims. Let them ring in your ears. This man is claiming something here. Well beyond any idea, "Oh, people see me and see the Lord." No, no, no. We’re talking about a much deeper level here.

Chapter 15 and verse 1: "I am the true vine, My Father is the vine dresser."

Revelation Chapter 1. Some of these, oh, I wish we had time to get into them. We have the Nativity scene. We’ve got so much we don’t have time.

Turn over to Revelation 1. Let’s look at some more of these claims. Verse 17: "And when I saw Him"—this is John’s testimony, when he saw Jesus in His exalted and glorified state—"I fell at His feet as a dead man." I fainted. "And he laid His right hand upon me." How tender. "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living One. I was dead and, behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades." Do you understand that when the Jew heard the phrase, "The first and the last," that is Yahweh! That is Jehovah. And Jesus said, "I am the First and the Last."

Chapter 22, verse 16. We’re going to do some running here. I love to preach in black churches because they start shouting and saying, "Go on! Go on! Go on!" In white churches they look at their watch and say, "Lunch is coming! Lunch is coming! Lunch is coming!" "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you for these things for the churches: I am the root and the offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star." Who would make such a claim but God manifested in the flesh?

Verse 20, "I am coming quickly."

Race back to the Gospel of John for point 3 of the divinity claims. These, in addition to the ones we’ve already looked at, John Chapter 5. Very, very important. In John Chapter 5, verse 17: "He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now and I Myself am working. For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He was not only breaking the Sabbath, but He was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." The Gentile or the Christian doesn’t understand what’s going on here. In the Greek Jesus is not simply saying, "God is my Father" in the same sense that He taught the disciples to pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven...." He’s saying, "My Father, who is My Father in a unique relationship that no one else participates in." That’s why He said, "My Father, and your Father; My God and your God...." He never said, "Our Father." He never said, "Our God." His relationship to the Father cannot be paralleled in terms of our relationship to the Father. The sense in which He is the Son of God is so unique, the word monogenes is used, the unique, one of a kind Son of God.

That’s why Abraham had all these different children, but you see, Isaac was called the only begotten son. You say, "Well, then, he was the only son begotten. What happened to the other sons? They got begat by somebody." Well, the word meant "unique." He was the child of the covenant. Oh, Abraham could have had a hundred sons, but there was only one child of the covenant. And Jesus in terms was saying, "My Father, who isn’t your Father in this sense," and that’s what got them all upset and they were ready to kill him because of blasphemy, because He was saying that God was His Father in the unique sense that they participated in the same nature. And then John, thank him, bless his name, adds an interpretation and he says, "Making himself equal with God." That wasn’t the Jews who said that; this was John who said that. And that’s why Jesus could say such things as verse 21, "As the Father raises the dead, even so the Son can raise the dead." Verse 23, "All may honor the Son even as"—underline those words—"they honor the Father." Ooh!

I’ve said to many a Jehovah’s Witness, "How do you honor Jehovah God?"

"We pray to Him. We worship Him."

I said, "Do you do all of that to Jesus?"

"No. He’s a creature."

I said, "You’re to honor the Son, even as you honor the Father."

"I and the Father are One," Chapter 8 and verse 58.

We will close with Chapter 20 and verse 28. It’s very easy to remember. John 20:28 has reference to the Deity of Christ, and Acts 20:28, which is another reference to the Deity of Christ. You all know the story. Good ol’ doubting Thomas. As I will give in the next lecture on the Resurrection, the greatest skeptics were the disciples themselves. They were convinced against their will that Jesus rose. They were not gullible. They didn’t even want to believe it on the basis of first-hand eyewitnesses. Well, as you know what happened, verse 26: The disciples were present. Thomas was there. The doors were shut. There were frightened men. And all of a sudden Jesus pops into the room and the first thing He says is calculated to soothe the alarm of His appearance: "Peace be with you." Why? They were ill, at least and frightened. "Then he said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your finger and see my hands. Reach here your hand and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving but believing." Whew! And Thomas not only believed in the Resurrection at that moment, he went beyond the Resurrection to the Resurrector. "And Thomas answered and said"—and very important. Underline the next two words. They’re in the Greek and they’re in English—"to Him." Not just "said, Oh my God! You’ve been raised from the dead!" As all the cults want to say. It doesn’t say that. "He said unto Him, ‘The Lord of me, the God of me!’" Emphatic! "The Lord of me, the God of me!" In the face of this statement—and there are those scholars who point out that in Hellenistic Jewish worship, that phrase, "The Lord of me, the God of me," was used as part of the worship of God.

What was His response to the statement concerning His nature that He was God as well as Lord? This is not simply Thomas blaspheming. "Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen me have you believed?’" What a rebuke. "Blessed are they who do not see and yet believed." Believed what? The confession of faith that just flowed from the lips of Thomas: That Jesus is to be viewed as Lord and as God.

What human being, what angelic being could ever make these astounding claims? I submit that no one could make these claims and make them stick. Jesus was either the greatest lunatic that ever lived—and the life of all those who followed Him in terms of their works do not demonstrate that they were following a nut case—His life does not indicate that He was a nut case; there was nothing about Jesus to indicate that we’re dealing with a lunatic. Now, when we’re dealing with the cults, here’s a cult leader. He can say, "I am God. Fall down and worship me." But the guy has purple hair. He wears a white robe. He has three earrings and a nose ring. He eats weird food. You can’t eat this, you can’t eat that. He dresses this way. And all the followers are doing...they’re crazy! Jesus dressed, ate, He was a normal man. He did not have a weird hairdo. He did not have a weird diet. He didn’t tell people to do weird things like go and kill somebody. He healed the sick. He comforted the mothers. He blessed the children. Everything that Jesus did is an indication that He was not a lunatic. The claims of Christ, once you consider them from His youth, when He said in Luke 2:41-51 at twelve years of age: "I must be about My Father’s business," which revealed He knew His Messianic consciousness. At His baptism where the Holy Spirit descended and the Father spoke, Matthew 3:13-17. At the Temptation in Matthew 4 when He said to Satan, "Be gone." And we learn from Jude that not even Michael the Archangel could rebuke the devil but said, "The Lord rebuke thee." But Jesus is not Michael the Archangel, despite the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other people.