The Person of Jesus: Who Is He?
30 min read
Jesus did not merely teach good things about God. He made claims about himself that left no room for casual admiration.
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." — John 14:6
1. Jesus claimed authority beyond any prophet.
The prophets consistently said "Thus says the Lord." They were messengers. Jesus spoke differently: "You have heard that it was said... but I say to you" Matthew 5:21-22. He placed his own word on the same level as — or above — divine revelation. No prophet in Israel's history spoke this way.
2. The "I AM" statements claim divine identity.
Seven times in John's Gospel, Jesus uses "I AM" with a predicate: bread of life, light of the world, good shepherd, resurrection and life, way/truth/life, true vine. But in John 8:58, he strips the predicate: "Before Abraham was, I am." The crowd understood immediately — they picked up stones. "I AM" was the divine name revealed to Moses Exodus 3:14.
3. Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins.
In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus tells a paralyzed man "Your sins are forgiven." The scribes recognize the implication: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (v. 7). Jesus does not retreat. He validates the claim with a healing. His point is that the greater claim — forgiveness — is real.
4. Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God.
In Matthew 11:27 he says, "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." This is a claim of unique, mutual, exclusive knowledge — not a figure of speech.
5. Jesus claimed to be the judge of all humanity.
In Matthew 25:31-46 he describes himself on the throne of all nations, rendering eternal verdicts. In John 5:22 he states, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." No prophet, rabbi, or teacher made this claim.
6. The logic is binary.
A man who makes these claims is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. The popular option — that Jesus was simply a great moral teacher — is not available. A great moral teacher does not claim to be the judge of all humanity and the pre-existent I AM. If those claims are false, he was neither great nor trustworthy. If they are true, mere admiration is insufficient.
Selecting the teachings of Jesus you find agreeable while setting aside the claims you find inconvenient. The teachings and the claims are inseparable.
Read Mark 2:1-12. Write a paragraph on what the scribes understood and why their response was logically consistent — even if wrong.
Submit your list of five claims and one honest reflection on which is hardest for you.
A: The prophets said "thus says the Lord." Jesus said "I say to you" — placing his own authority above the existing revelation.
A: A direct claim to the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
A: Because the things Jesus claimed about himself — to be the judge of all humanity, the only way to God, the pre-existent I AM — are incompatible with that description.
Lord, I will not reduce you to something more comfortable. Help me receive who you actually are, whatever that costs me. Amen.