The works done by Jesus Christ during his life are enough evidence for the conviction that he was and is the Son of God. That is, God in flesh. No man has done or does legitimate and incredible miracles as he did in plain sight of all, and convincing enough to draw thousands without any advertising or television specials. No man spoke words such as he spoke or such profound truths, and for now we will ignore the empty claims of some in our time that Christianity “copied” words and claims from past spiritual giants.
I said last week that I would discuss the verbal claims of Jesus and those around him within Luke’s gospel alone, so here is the discussion in brief, with a few references to other books. Please forgive me for any ugly ads added by WordPress. This is a long post – feel free to scroll.
LUKE’S GOSPEL: NOT WRITTEN HUNDREDS OF YEARS AFTER THE FACT
Scholar Gary Habermas tells us that according to a consensus of New Testament scholars, including atheists and skeptics, Luke’s gospel was written down around 85 AD (note 1). John MacArthur gives reasons why it was more likely written around 62 AD. The book of Acts, Lukes second work which follows nicely on from the gospel, ends with Paul still alive and teaching in Rome. Luke also records Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD, but says nothing of the fulfillment of this prophecy, an unusual omission if that’s what it is, because Luke liked to point out the fulfilment of prophecies. Luke also makes no mention of the great persecution which began under Nero in 64 AD (note 2).
SON OF GOD FROM THE OUTSET
Luke’s account of the nativity and events leading up to it are full of evidence that Jesus was no ordinary man: angels appearing; the virgin giving birth; a prophet like Elijah being born to a barren woman; prophecies given by those characters who spoke not of a man but of someone who would accomplish great and mighty things in fulfilment of the words of the prophets. An angelic host praised God for the birth of a savior.
Gabriel said that the coming one would be called “the son of God” (Luke 1:32 and 35). This would make no sense if all men were regarded as sons of God. Gabriel told Mary,
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (1:21-32).
How many “sons of the most high” are there?
The coming savior’s reign, said the angel, would last “forever” (verse 33). Specifically, he would reign over the house of Jacob – Israel. How could Gabriel say such a thing, when according to Scripture, God himself is Israel’s king? Speaking of Jacob, God says:
“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King” (Isaiah 43: 15).
Was God about to step down from his throne? Of course not. In “giving” the throne to Jesus he was not giving it away, since the Father and the Son are essentially one in the Godhead and reigning on the same throne.
ONE SAVIOR
The name “Jesus” means “Savior”, and this is what Gabriel told Mary to name her son. Why did the angel tell Mary to name the boy “savior”, particularly the savior of Israel? If he was speaking of a man politically or militarily delivering Israel as a nation, Jesus failed, didn’t he? However, the term “savior” is God’s self – designation according to his own word, and equally importantly, there is only one savior:
“For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3).
“I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).
If you’re thinking that maybe God commissioned another savior for New Testament times, think again, because he said,
“I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another” (Isaiah 42:8).
MESSIAH, CHRIST
A devout Jew called Simeon had been looking for the Messiah all his life:
“It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (Luke 2:26).
When the angels appeared to shepherds in the fields, they were clear that the baby which had just been born to Mary was the Messiah, and they called him “the Lord”:
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke 2:11).
The term “messiah” is a Hebrew one meaning “anointed one”. In Greek the word “Christ” has the same meaning. In this case, what significance to our study is it that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ? To Jews the messiah would be a conquering prophet of great significance. He would be sent by God: they refused to believe that Jesus, this meek man who didn’t appear to want to drive the Romans out of their land, was the one.
GOD MADE FLESH
However, Jesus was far more than just a conquering warrior, and he called these Jewish leaders out on the fact later in his ministry. Here’s the encounter:
Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” (Luke 20: 41-44).
Jesus is here asking an amazing rhetorical question, and one which they were unable to answer from their biased position: How can the messiah be both the son of David and David’s “Lord”? Further, David spoke of the Messiah before Jesus Christ was even conceived. How can the life of a mere man be foretold and planned out centuries before his birth?
The answer is inescapable. It’s laid out in all of Scripture for us, including the words of Jesus himself: The Messiah – the Christ – is both human and divine. He is the Son of God. He is God in the flesh.
CHRIST AND KING
The term “Christ” comes up many times in Luke’s gospel. In the 22nd chapter we find Jesus confessing his authority, despite the fact that he is being interrogated. The council of elders question him:
“If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God” (Luke 22:66-69).
Here is a grandiose statement indeed, if Jesus is just a man. He declares that from this time on, he will be sitting at the right hand of God, a place of great authority and of judgment. Jesus is essentially answering their question with a “Yes, I am”. They continue:
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips” (verses 70-71).
In this account Jesus doesn’t state it as plainly as we may expect or want him to, but to the Jews present, he had incriminated himself by tacitly confessing he was the Son of God. This to them was blasphemy. Luke stops a little short of the whole dialogue. If we look at Matthew’s account of this scene, we find that Matthew made it clearer for us:
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered (Matthew 26:63-66).
The Jews finally arrived at a conviction among themselves because Jesus had declared that he was the Messiah – the Son of God – and no mere man or prophet. He had described himself as their judge, and they just could not stomach that.
THE MESSIAH OF SCRIPTURE
On the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion two disciples lamented his death. Jesus drew close to them without revealing who he was:
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27. See also verse 44).
How did the Scriptures contain information about Jesus Christ two thousand years before he was born? And how significant is it that deep down and fundamentally, Christ is the subject of the Old Testament? In fact, you can go all the way back to the beginning – to the Fall – and find him mentioned there. Speaking to Satan of the first couple’s offspring, God said:
“… he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
KING OF THE JEWS
Messiah was a king, according to the Jews’ own words to Pilate:
“We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied (Luke 23:2-3).
Jesus didn’t say to Pilate “Yes I am a king”, but what he was saying was essentially the same thing, or “You said it yourself”. Again, the Jews only recognised one king-God himself. You would think that Jesus, in an effort to escape judgment and the following sentence, would simply answer “no” if he didn’t regard himself as a king. John’s account describes another piece of dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, in which he acknowledges his kingship:
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).
Don’t forget the legend Pilate installed above the crucified Jesus, and according to John the Jews protested it:
The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews” (John 19:21).
HOW DEMONS AND SATAN SAW JESUS
When dealing with Legion, a mass of demons inhabiting one man, we are left in no doubt as to Jesus’ authority and position:
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” (Luke 8:28).
The demons were in complete submission to Jesus and recognized that he was their future judge. This is a common theme in the gospels.
Satan recognised who Jesus was during the Lord’s time of temptation in the wilderness. Here’s a sample of what was said:
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3).
FORGIVING SINS
One reason the Jews opposed Jesus is that he was forgiving sins, and therefore in their eyes committing a serious sin. The man healed after being lowered by his friends through a roof received such healing:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:20-21).
Indeed, according to Scripture and not the theology of certain denominations and cults of today that we could mention, only God is able to forgive sins in an ultimate sense, as recognised by those who dealt with such matters. Yet here was Jesus doing just that. Not only so, but miraculous healings were synonymous with such forgiveness of sin:
Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home” (Luke 5:22-24).
ALL THINGS COMMITTED TO JESUS
When Jesus sent out seventy two disciples they returned overjoyed by their successful mission:
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17).
They had used the name of Jesus as their authority. Can this be done with a man’s name?
Here is a part of Jesus’ response to the seventy two
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:22).
Why would the Father commit “all things” to a man or even a prophet, and how could he? Surely, mere men are finite and unlimited: unable to run their own lives successfully, let alone an entire planet and a plan of salvation from sin.
OUR RESPONSE
Much more could be said about Christ’s divinity and authority as seen in Luke’s gospel. This is a summary of the most important points I’ve personally seen in my studies. So what should be our response to the fact that Jesus is no mere man but the only Son of God and the judge of all? We need to bow our knees to him, to ask for that forgiveness which he offers, to believe what the Scriptures say about him, and to follow him in humility.
NOTES
1 YouTube videos: The Early Creeds and Their Historical Significance, with Gary Habermas, and Highly Evidenced Facts for the Resurrection, with Gary Habermas.
2 The Mac Arthur Bible Commentary.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 