Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God?

Jesus Is Called “God with Us” His name is to be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). “Emmanuel” describes the concept of the incarnation—God becoming man. Jesus being called “God with us” is consistent with John 1, which refers to Jesus as the Word who was with God, and who was God, and who became flesh (John 1:1, 14). Jesus Is Identified with Yahweh John the Baptist fulfills Isaiah 40 as he preaches the kingdom. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’” (Matthew 3:3). The one who was coming would be God himself. We can deduce that Jesus is Yahweh because John the Baptist, as the forerunner of Jesus, fulfills the Old Testament prediction that he would prepare the way for Yahweh (Isaiah 40:3). Jesus Healed or Performed Other Miracles In the gospels, we see that Jesus healed many people and demonstrated power over nature in other ways. The question is whether Jesus acted as God or simply as a prophet requesting the Father to perform the works. The words of Jesus and the reaction of those impacted by these miracles suggest that Jesus was acting as God and not simply as a prophet. He healed the demon possessed, epileptics, and paralytics (Matthew 4:23–24).The healings had to be accomplished with divine power. A leper came to worship Jesus, saying, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus healed the leper by touching him and saying, “I will; be clean” (Matthew 8:3). Jesus did not refuse the worship of the leper; this means he must either be God or ungodly. His healing of the leper demonstrated that he was not ungodly, and it helped to prove that he is God himself. He healed many more who were sick, and cast out demons with a word (Matthew 8:5–17).
On a stormy night at sea, Jesus appears walking on the water toward the disciples’ boat. Peter asked Jesus if he could come meet him. Jesus said, “Come.” and Peter walked on the water until he began to be afraid. As he was sinking, he cried, “Lord, save me.” Jesus caught him and rebuked him for doubting (Matthew 14:22–31). Peter had enough faith in Jesus as “Lord” to be empowered to walk on water! When they got into the boat, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:32). The response of the disciples was that they worshipped him, calling him the Son of God (verse 33). They treated him as God because he acted as God. At Gennesaret, the men brought all who were sick, and they begged Jesus that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched his garment were made well (Matthew 14:36). Here was divine power exuding from Jesus. When the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus, he immediately knew “in himself that power had gone out from him” (Mark 5:30). Jesus sensed his divine energy being used, and the woman was healed of her disease. When Jesus healed the great multitude, “power came out from him and healed them all” (Luke 6:19). Jesus can be said to have healed because power went out from him to do the work. Raised the Dead Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Matt. 9:23-26), showing he had divine power over death. He also raised from the dead the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:14): another demonstration of his power over death. Showed Uniqueness in Wisdom and Divine Authority Matthew shows how Jesus exercised divine authority (or claims to) in
Matthew 5, 9, 10, 12, 21, and 22. Jesus taught the beatitudes in Matthew 5. He said that he came not to destroy the law but fulfill it. He taught that murder and adultery begin in the heart. He taught that marriage is sacred and binding. In doing so, he forbade oaths, said to go the second mile and to love your enemies (Matthew 5). Jesus clarified the law, emphasizing that it must be kept in the heart. The divine authority to do this is assumed. He called his disciples and gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness, and all kinds of disease (Matthew 10:1). He had the divine authority to give his disciples power over unclean spirits and disease.
Jesus went into the temple, driving out the money changers. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’” (Matthew 21:13). He certainly acted with authority here. Was he even suggesting that the temple was his house? Jesus silenced the Sadducees by the way he answered the question about the Resurrection (Matthew 22:23–33). Again we see the unique wisdom and authority of Jesus. No one could answer him, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore (Matthew 22:46). Jesus made a distinct impression on them as the authoritative Son of God. Jesus taught in the synagogue of his own country and the people there were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Matthew 13:54). Jesus was unique in his wisdom and in his miracles. The Pharisees marveled at the way Jesus responded to their question about paying taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:21). Jesus was unique in his wisdom and authority.
Accepted Worship Jesus accepted worship, after saying that only God is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10). If he was a holy man who was not divine, he would have stopped people from worshipping him. Of course, it’s possible for someone to accept worship as a pretender, but Jesus backed up his own claims of deity, as pointed out many times in this article. A ruler came to worship him (Matthew 9:18–26). Since Jesus accepted this, he must have viewed himself as God. After Jesus walked on water, those in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Their worship of him as God was an acknowledgement that he was acting as God in his miracles. While the women were on their way to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, Jesus himself met them, saying “Greetings!” So they came and took hold of his feet and worshipped him (Matthew 28:9). Jesus was worshipped—as God. There’s no indication here that he tried to stop his worshippers from honoring him as God. Instead, he told them not to be afraid and asked them to go tell the disciples to meet up with him. When the disciples later saw Jesus, they worshipped him (Matthew 28:17). Again, Jesus received worship. In fact, he declared at that point that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him (vs. 18). Jesus Showed Amazing Knowledge Jesus rebuked the cities in which he had done his mighty works, saying, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21). Jesus showed that he had access to divine omniscience by knowing how people would have responded under different conditions.
Jesus knew thoughts (Matthew 12:25), a divine action. Jesus told two of his disciples, “Go into the village in front of you and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me.” (Matthew 21:1–3). Jesus knew where the donkeys were. Jesus helped his disciples catch a huge load of fish by telling them to let down their nets for a catch (Luke 5:1–7). Jesus’ supernatural knowledge and power is active here. Jesus told one of the criminals he was crucified beside, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Jesus was able to understand the heart of the criminal, give him the assurance of his salvation, and predict his future.
Jesus Predicted the Future Though the ability to accurately predict the future is not by itself proof of Jesus’ deity (God sometimes revealed the future to prophets who were mere humans), this knowledge of the future is what you would expect of someone who claimed to be God and backed it up with his miracles. If he were God, he would be able to predict the future. Jesus predicted to his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hand of the Jewish leaders, be killed, and rise from the dead the third day (Matthew 16:21). Jesus knew the future. Jesus said that some would not die before they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Matthew
16:28). Jesus knew the future and predicted his glorification, or transfiguration. Again Jesus predicted his arrest, beatings, death, and Resurrection (Matthew 20:18). Jesus knew about these events beforehand. Jesus warned about false Christs and false prophets that would come. The true Son of Man would appear again like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west (Matthew 24:3–28). Jesus predicted a tribulation after which the Son of Man would come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Jesus said that at that time he would send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet and gather in the elect (Matthew 24:29–31). Not only did Jesus know what is going to happen in the future, but he also had the authority to send his angels and gather in the elect. The only one with that kind of authority would be God. At the Last Supper, Jesus accurately predicted that Judas would betray him (Matthew 26:20–25). Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times that night (Matthew 26:30–35). It happened as Jesus had predicted. Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the great tribulation (Mark 13:2).\
Mark 1:2-3 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, Mark makes it clear that John’s coming to preach in the wilderness was a fulfillment of the following OT texts: Malachi 3:1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord (ha adon) whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a
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plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken**.”
According to the above texts, an agent would be sent to prepare the people for the coming of Yahweh God to his own temple. Mark tells us that that agent was the John the Baptist. It’s clear that Jesus isn’t simply an agent who comes for God but that he is Yahweh Lord of Hosts who comes to his temple. The agent in Malachi is already presented in John the Baptist he is the agent who represents Yahweh so that he can come in his glory to his people. Early Writers clearly say this Irenaeus, AH (B.3, Ch.11) “By what God, then, was John, the forerunner, who testifies of the Light, sent [into the world]? Truly it was by Him, of whom Gabriel is the angel, who also announced the glad tidings of his birth: [that God] who also had promised by the prophets that He would send His messenger before the face of His Son, Malachi 3:1 who should prepare His way, that is, that he should bear witness of that Light in the spirit and power of Elias. Luke 1:17 But, again, of what God was Elias the servant and the prophe
confess. John, therefore, having been sent by the founder and maker of this world, how could he testify of that Light, which came down from things unspeakable and invisible?**,”
Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen (Ch. 1) “In a word, we may say, The beseeching voice of the Word crying in the wilderness. What do you cry, O voice? Tell us also. Make straight the paths of the Lord . Isaiah 40:3 John is the forerunner, and that voice the precursor of the Word; an inviting voice, preparing for salvation — a voice urging men on to the inheritance of the heavens, and through which the barren and the desolate is childless no more. This fecundity the angel’s voice foretold; and this voice was also the precursor of the Lord preaching glad tidings to the barren woman, as John did to the wilderness.”
· Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen (Ch. 1) “In a word, we may say, The beseeching voice of the Word crying in the wilderness. What do you cry, O voice? Tell us also. Make straight the paths of the Lord . Isaiah 40:3 John is the forerunner, and that voice the precursor of the Word; an inviting voice, preparing for salvation — a voice urging men on to the inheritance of the heavens, and through which the barren and the desolate is childless no more. This fecundity the angel’s voice foretold; and this voice was also the precursor of the Lord preaching glad tidings to the barren woman, as John did to the wilderness.”
· John further proclaimed that Jesus would actually baptize people with/in the Holy Spirit, e.g. Christ will grant the Holy Spirit to all who believe in him, which is a work that only Yahweh carries out according to the OT writings Mark 1:8 “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Old Testament verses proclaim Yahweh to do this divine act “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and
you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-28 – cf. 37:12-14; 39:29 “Then you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, that I am Yahweh your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. And afterward, I will pour out MY Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out MY Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh. And everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as Yahweh has said, even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:27-32 – Psalm 104:29-30; Isaiah 30:8; 32:14-15; 34:16; 44:1-3; 59:19-21
· Hence, in order for Jesus to be able to grant his followers the Holy Spirit he must be Yahweh God Incarnate. // // If Jesus is God according to the NT Scriptures we would therefore expect to find him doing that which Yahweh alone can do, namely, pardon sinners and do things exclusive to
Yahweh Mark 2:5;7,10 “5.And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”…7.Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”…10. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” We See Christ forgiving sins and claiming that he has the authority on earth to forgive sins just as his father does in heaven. We see God forgiving sins alone in the OT Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Micah 7:18:-19 “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Daniel 9:9 “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him” If it’s not clear enough Jesus Christ has Divine prerogative to Forgive sins and remove transgressions here are some Church fathers and Scholars
· “… Jesus addresses the paralytic with ‘Man’ for a wordplay with ‘the Son of Man,’ which he’ll use for himself shortly (5:24). The point of the wordplay will be that as a human being Jesus has forgiven the sins of a fellow human being… Who has forgiven his sins, though? Jesus hasn’t said. But the scholars and Pharisees take him to mean that he himself has forgiven the paralytic’s sins and therefore consider his statement
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blasphemous, since in their view God alone can forgive sins. Jesus has made only one statement, so that we expect the scholars and Pharisees to accuse him of ‘blasphemy’ (singular). But they’re so outraged that they accuse him of ‘blasphemies’ (plural), as though every word of his statement constituted a discrete blasphemy. Supposedly, these blasphemies consisted in Jesus’ arrogating to himself an exclusively divine prerogative, that of forgiving sins. Such an arrogation slanders God, they reason, by verbally robbing him of an authority that he alone possesses. (‘Blasphemy’ means ‘slander.’)… So Jesus sets about to prove that as the Son of Man (about which self-designation see the comments on Mark 2:10-11) he has authority on earth to forgive sins just as God has such authority in heaven. In other words, Jesus agrees with the scholars and Pharisees that his saying, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven for you,’ meant that he, Jesus, had claimed to forgive them…” (Robert H. Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament: Verse-by-Verse Explanations with a Literal Translation [Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI 2010], p. 245; bold emphasis ours) // //
· John Chrysostom, Homilies of Hebrew (H.5
For this too ought to have taken place first, and for this purpose He came, to save them and then through them the rest, although the contrary came to pass. This also the Apostles said at the first, To you [God] having raised up His Son, sent [Him] to bless you Acts 3:26: and again, To you was the word of this Salvation sent. Acts 13:26 Here he shows the noble birth of the Jews, in saying, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For a while he speaks in this way. For that it is He who forgives the sins of all men, He declared both in the case of the paralytic, saying, Your sins are forgiven”
· Ambrose, Exposition of the Christian Faith, (Book III, Ch.4) “The Lord’s Cross, then, is my wisdom; the Lord’s Death my redemption; for we are redeemed with His precious blood, as the Apostle Peter has said. 1 Peter 1:19 With His blood, then, as man, the Lord redeemed us, Who also, as God, has forgiven sins. Mark 2:8-12” // // To continue in Mark 2, Christ does something that is clearly stated as to be Only to The God of Israel Mark 2:8 “And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?” The Scriptures are crystal clear that this act of knowledge is exclusive to God alone Psalms 44:21 “Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.” 1 Kings 8:38-39 “whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart,
spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You ALONE know the hearts of all the sons of men,”
· Christ is claiming to be God of all who proclaims and shows them his deity by proclaiming what they knew in their hearts, some of the greatest commentaries of the early church see this aswell John Chrysostom, [Homily on the Paralytic Let Down
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Through the Roof] “If then any one else appears thus doing the same thing He also is God, God even as that one is God. But let us observe how Christ argues with them, how meekly and gently, and with all
tenderness. And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: this man blasphemes. They did not utter the word, they did not proclaim it through the tongue, but reasoned in the secret recesses of their heart. How then did Christ act? He made public their secret thoughts before the demonstration which was concerned with the cure of the paralytic’s body, wishing to prove to them the power of His Godhead. For that it is an attribute of God alone, a sign of His deity to show the secrets of His mind, the Scripture says Thou alone know men’s hearts. 1 Kings 8:39”
· [3:07 AM]
· Onto the Next, we see more passages such as Mark 2:28 “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Christ is clear on what he’s saying that he is Lord of the Sabbath because as seen in many places as in Mark Ch.8, 9, 10 that Christ is the Son of Man. He says that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. The context is that his disciples were picking grain on the Sabbath, which was against the Law of
Moses. Jesus is claiming the ability to restore God’s law to its original intent and be the one who is the Law Giver (ie. God) – he shows that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of people, not to enslave man or burden them. Mark isn’t applying this title to Everyman that would be ludicrous, every-time in Mark the title “Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου” is used it’s undoubtedly used for The Lord Christ. The previous passage in Mark 2:27 is not said by Christ so that he can demonstrate that all men are lord of the sabbath but that the Pharisees were wrongly applying the law and burdening man with the Sabbath. Jesus did not say that man is in control of the Sabbath the OT clearly refuted this Numbers 15:32-36 “While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.’ So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.” If man was Master of the Sabbath why stone the man doing labor? I thought he was a master of the Sabbath doing as he wishes? As it’s clear that man isn’t master of the Sabbath, what blasphemy it would be to say such a thing. // //
The OT clearly states who is authoritative of the Sabbath Isaiah 58:13 If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; Leviticus 23:3 “There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”
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Numbers 16:25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. It should be clear from the foregoing that Jesus’ point wasn’t that man could do what he wanted on the Sabbath because he was its ruler. Rather, what Jesus was saying is that the Sabbath was not designed to enslave man but to benefit him by allowing him to refrain from work so as to focus his energies on worshiping God. And, as the Divine Son of Man, Christ had the complete authority to define what constituted resting on the Sabbath and what acts violated it. Here’s some commentary of the Early Church on these passages
· Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke (Sermons 12-25) “He replies, the God of all did not enact the law of the sabbath for Himself, but for us rather, whose neck is bowed to it. Thou sayest well; I assent to thy words; therefore that which is divine is free from the compulsion of the law. Why, then, dost thou blame Christ for wishing also to shew mercy on the sabbath, and benefit a living soul? And were it our wish to examine closely the law enacted for the sabbath, we should find it ordained by God for purposes of mercy
For He commanded to/ do no work on the sabbath, and entirely to abstain from labour, and even to give rest at the same time to the irrational animals. For He said, that its purpose was, “that thy manservant may rest, and thy maidservant, thy ox, and thy beast of burden, and all thy cattle.” But He Who has mercy on the ox and other animals, how would not He pity on the sabbath day a man who was attacked by a severe and irremediable malady?” Ambrose, (Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book V.204) “Could the Lord be ignorant of a day Who Himself said of Himself that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath?” Tertullian, Against Marcion, B.4, Ch.12) “By God, however, would that be done which the man Christ was to do, for He was likewise God…. the Sabbath forbade—even human works; and what it enjoined—even divine works, which might be done for the benefit of any soul, He was called “Lord of the Sabbath,” because He maintained the Sabbath as His own institution. Now, even if He had annulled the Sabbath, He would have had the right to do so, as being its Lord, (and) still more as He who instituted it.” Novation, On the Trinity (Ch.11) “And in the same manner as He is as man the Son of David, so as God He is proclaimed David’s Lord. And in the same manner as He was made as man under the law, so as God He is declared to be Lord of the Sabbath.”
· Next Point in Mark is in Mark 3:9-12
And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.” Mark 5:4-5 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” From the previous passage you can see how the evil spirits react to Jesus
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Christ when he comes near them, they have utter fear of him and the fall before him and worship (προσκυνέω/proskuneó) him. Is this just a reverence for him? No the word προσκυνέω is used for divine worship all over such as in (Matthew 4:8-10, Acts 10:25-26, Revelation 19:10 etc.)
clearly it’s context which determines weather it is divine worship or just reverence. It should be very clear from the context this is divine worship. Satan himself is bowing down in utter fear begging for mercy. When has a demon bowed down to anyone but God himself? The demons see Jesus coming and keep in mind this is the first time this group of demons have witnessed Jesus, and they immediately recognized him, fall to the ground and worship him. They also realize that he has the power to send them to eternal torment. Here are some early church Fathers on this //
· Athanasius, On the Incarnation (Ch.15) For if they looked with awe upon the Creation, yet they saw how she confessed Christ as Lord; or if their mind was swayed toward men, so as to think them gods, yet from the Saviour’s works, supposing they compared them, the Saviour alone among men appeared Son of God; for there were no such works done among the rest as have been done by the Word of God. 5. Or if they were biassed toward evil spirits, even, yet seeing them cast out by the Word, they were to know that He alone, the Word of God, was God, and that the spirits were none.” Clearly the use of the phrase Son of God in Mark isn’t just in a “general sense” but that Christ is the eternal Som of God who the demons confess him to be since the beginning. If it’s just a regular sense why does the scriptures say “And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.” If the term Son of God was just in a general sense and not in the exclusive divine sense. // /
· John Chijioke Iwe says, On the occasion of Jesus’ baptism, God, the divine voice from heaven, confirms that Jesus is his beloved Son: Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός ἐν ὦ εὐδόκησα – <> (1:11). And this is addressed to Jesus himself, adding
audition on top of vision to heighten Jesus’ awareness. It is generally accepted that ἀγαπητός (<>) can also mean <> or <> (יָחִ֖יד in Hebrew), and may be because an only son is naturally beloved36. Thus, <>37. Here then we are not concerned about a function, but a relation; not about an event but a state. On the other hand, <>38. There is thus a new and vital relationship to God which transcends Messiahship as it was understood in Jewish thought. In fact, <>39. Thus, the words of the divine
voice in Mk 1:11 (as against Ps.2) stands on itself and expresses a state, a stable relation, the relation of Jesus to God, which one presents as the personal relation of <>40. Hence God enters into Jesus’ story, as a character, to confirm the special and unique relationship existing between himself and Jesus, before he begins his messianic mission. (Jesus In the Synagogue of Capernaum: The Pericope and It’s Programmatic Character for the Gospel of Mark: An Exegetico-Theological Study of Mk 1:21-28 (Rome, Italy: Gregorian University Press, 1999), pp. 172-173).
· If it’s not clear Jesus isn’t just a “Son” in a regular sense but Son by nature to the Father, the unique Son of God who has all that his father has. Son of God in Mark is used as a divine title for Christ in the most clearest way, this is precisely why Jesus commands the evil spirit to not make the title of Christ known. Next up is in Mark 4 Mark 4:39-42 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Christ the Lord of All creation is sovereign over everything and he demonstrated this to his very apostles, the they ask “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” It’s clear that they knew no mere man can do such an act because this is once again an exclusive divine prerogative as stated in the OT Psalm 107:28–30 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Psalms 65:6-8 “the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.” If it hasn’t been shockingly clear Jesus is demonstrating that he is the one who leads his people out of distress and calms the waves (AKA. God all mighty) Marks Gospel was written in for the church in Rome, if they had any familiarity with the Psalms, they would’ve picked up what he was laying down.
· If it’s not clear Jesus isn’t just a “Son” in a regular sense but Son by nature to the Father, the unique Son of God who has all that his father has. Son of God in Mark is used as a divine title for Christ in the most clearest way, this is precisely why Jesus commands the evil spirit to not make the title of Christ known. Next up is in Mark 4 Mark 4:39-42 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Christ the Lord of All creation is sovereign over everything and he demonstrated this to his very apostles, the they ask “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” It’s clear that
they knew no mere man can do such an act because this is once again an exclusive divine prerogative as stated in the OT Psalm 107:28–30 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Psalms 65:6-8 “the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.” If it hasn’t been shockingly clear Jesus is demonstrating that he is the one who leads his people out of distress and calms the waves (AKA. God all mighty) Marks Gospel was written in for the church in Rome, if they had any familiarity with the Psalms, they would’ve picked up what he was laying down.
In Luke/Acts Jesus is depicted as the Son of Man who rides the clouds and sits at God’s right hand: “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55-56 “And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:27 “When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away to their council, and they said, ‘If you are the Christ, tell us.’ But he said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of man shall be seated ay the right hand of the power of God.’ And they all said, ‘Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ And they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.'” Luke 22:66-71
Jesus claiming to be the Lord whom David spoke of in Psalm 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.'” – cf. Luke 20:41-44 He is also identifying himself as the Son of Man that the prophet Daniel saw in his vision: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14 Daniel’s Son of Man is clearly a Divine Being appearing as a man since he is worshiped by all the nations and reigns forever like God, “And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,and all dominions shall serve/worship and obey him.” Daniel 7:27 And even rides the clouds like God! “An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.” Isaiah 19:1