From the beginning of time, God has promised man a Savior. The LORD has not left us without witness, for “surely The Lord GOD will do nothing, but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets;” [Amo 3:7] and from the beginning of creation, The Messiah was promised when God said to Satan,
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” [Gen 3:15]
And in that the name, “Seed” refers to The Messiah, is evident; for God promised also to Abraham, “in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” [Gen 22:18] and the New Testament interprets, saying, “He says not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to your Seed, which is Christ.” [Gal 3:16] Even immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, (and as it says, “wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” [Rom 5:12]), God gave man hope. For God, who is “not willing that any should perish,” and who says, “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies,” [2 Pe 3:9, Ezek 18:32] bears witness to that desire and love, through His promise of salvation. And not just once in the beginning of creation, but all throughout history God has made promises regarding Jesus’ coming and the salvation that should be made available through Him.
Isaiah, through whom God promised, “my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed,” [Isa 56:1] prophesied regarding Jesus’ coming, saying,
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” [Isa 9:6-7]
This particular prophecy is partially fulfilled as of yet. Jesus has come; for the very same passage in Isaiah speaks of this child, saying, “the people that have walked in darkness have seen a Great Light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined,” and this is fulfilled in Jesus when He, “leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum.” [Isa 9:2, Mt 4:13-16] But the government of the world, though rightfully Christ’s, has not yet been assumed by Him; as it says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [2 Pe 3:9] There is yet a day approaching, when that promise made to Mary regarding Jesus, “He shall be great, and shall be called The Son of the Highest: and The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David,” [Lk 1:32] will come to pass. For it has also been written in another place that Jesus “shall be king over all the earth,” [Zech 14:9] and, “for the kingdom is The LORD’s: and He is the governor among the nations;” [Psa 22:28] and, “for The LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.” [Psa 47:2]
The prophet Jeremiah also spoke of a coming King, of a Messiah who would be salvation and righteousness for God’s people. God spoke through him, saying,
“Behold, the days come, says The LORD, that I will raise unto David a Righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The LORD our Righteousness.” [Jer 23:5-6]
And yet again, in Zechariah,
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes unto you: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon the colt the foal of a donkey.” [Zech 9:9]
Even the oldest written work of The Bible, the book of Job, speaks of Jesus, when Job proclaims, “for I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” [Job 19:25] There is a clear expectation of a physical manifestation upon earth of The Messiah throughout God’s word. But as we have seen one proclaimed purpose for His coming – to be king – there is yet another purpose, as The LORD says through Isaiah about Jesus, “I will also give you for a light to the nations, that you may be salvation unto the end of the earth.” [Isa 49:6] And again, in Luke’s gospel Jesus claims a promise given to Isaiah regarding the Messiah’s coming.
“And there was delivered unto [Jesus] the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are crushed, to preach the year of The Lord’s favor.’ And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, ‘this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.’” [Lk 4:17-21, Isa 61:1-2]
Jesus, of whom Peter said, “you are The Christ, The Son of The Living God,” and to which Jesus said, “blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven;” [Mt 16:16-17] and of whom it was asked under oath, “are you the Christ, The Son of The Blessed?” and who said straightly, “I am;” [Mk 14:61-62] has come. Yes, Jesus “who is called Christ,” [Mt 1:16] has come. The long-awaited Messiah has come. The One of whom it was written, “and The Spirit of The LORD shall rest upon Him,” [f.f., Isa 11:2] came to John the Baptist, and was declared of God to be The Messiah, as it is written,
“And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and, behold, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw The Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘this is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” [Mt 3:16-17]
John the Baptist likewise testified to this event, saying, “and I saw, and bare record that this is The Son of God.” [Jn 1:34] Yes, and again, the One of whom it was prophesied, “but you, Bethlehem Ephrathah…out of you shall come forth to me He that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting,” [Mic 5:2] has indeed come, and “while [Joseph and Mary] were there, [in Bethlehem], the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” [f.f., Lk 2:6] Jesus has indeed come, but along with those prophecies and statements of others, so too Jesus lays claim to. For Jesus, whose name means Yahweh is Salvation, and who came to “save His people from their sins,” [Mt 1:21] makes bold claims of His divine origins and His purposes of coming to earth, going so far as to claim to be God in the flesh and the only source of salvation.
In one particular interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus attributed the divine and solitary title of Yahweh God, “I Am,” to Himself. This name reveals a vital aspect of God’s nature: mainly, that He is eternal – as The LORD says, “I am The First, I also am The Last; and beside me there is no God;” [Isa 44:6] and as Jesus likewise laid claim to, saying, “fear not; I am The First and The Last: I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore…” [Rev 1:17-18] The name of God, “I Am,” bears much significance, reminding us that “before the mountains were brought forth, or ever [He] had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting” The LORD has existed. [Psa 90:2] It is the name God first revealed Himself to Moses as. In Exodus, it is written,
“And Moses said unto God, behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, what is His name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you.” [Ex 3:13-14]
Therefore, having this background and understanding, let us read what transpired between Jesus and the Pharisees on one occasion, taking note of the bold text.
“Then said the Jews unto [Jesus], now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, ‘if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom do you make yourself? Jesus answered, ‘if I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me; of whom you say, that He is your God: yet you have not known Him; but I know Him: and if I should say, I know Him not, I should be a liar like you all: but I know Him, and keep His saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.’ Then said the Jews unto Him, you are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, ‘verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.’” [Jn 8:52-58]
See here that Jesus clearly claims to be God Himself, and the Pharisees knew it; for after Jesus spoke these words, “then they took up stones to cast at Him,” that is, to kill Him, “but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.” [Jn 8:59] Later in John, in a similar vein, Jesus says, regarding those who believe in Him,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” [Jn 10:27-30]
In this word, Jesus again claims Godhood, saying, “I and my Father are one;” that is, that there is no difference between Him and The Father. That He Jesus, of whom it was prophesied He would be, “The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father,” [Isa 9:6] is in fact God, as Hebrews also testifies, saying, “…[God’s] Son…[is] the radiance of His glory, and the exact image of His substance…” [Heb 1:1-3] Again, regarding the same truth, Jesus said, showing us there is no separation between His and God The Father’s character, “If you had known me, you should have known my Father also…he that has seen me has seen The Father.” [Jn 14:7-9]
This type of speech from Jesus was not a solitary event: Jesus often laid claim to characteristics that made Himself out to be God. For example, in another place, Jesus claimed that all men from all of time should give account to Him as judge. That is, that He Himself would be the sole judge for all men, and that they would be judged based upon His words. In John again, Jesus says, speaking of Himself as The Son of God/The Son of Man,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of The Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as The Father has life in Himself; so He has given to The Son to have life in Himself; and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is The Son of Man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” [Jn 5:25-29]
In order for this claim to be true, Jesus must not only be eternal, that is, ever existing, but He must also possess equal authority, status, and knowledge as God in order to judge all men. This is not foreign to the New Testament, Peter also proclaiming “that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead.” [Acts 10:42]
It cannot rightly be asserted that Jesus never claimed to be God, for we have proven it on multiple occasions. The New Testament writers, who spoke of “The Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” [Titus 2:13] did so not out of their own suppositions, but because of Jesus’ own words and works; for it is this man Jesus who says to all men, “if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” [Jn 8:24] And again, the man Jesus, whose challenge to His enemies, “which of you [can] convict me of sin?” went without answer, claimed too, “I always do those things that please [The Father].” [Jn 8:46, 29] There is not a man upon earth today who could be so bold as to say, “I have never once sinned, always obeying God perfectly.” But Jesus Christ has claimed such, and there is not one record in all of religious or secular history to any sin done by Him, for He ”knew no sin,” and “did no sin,” even being “in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” [2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pe 2:22, Heb 4:15]
The more one looks into the life and claims of Jesus, the boldness of His claims only grows stronger and more poignant; for over-and-above His claims of divinity, of Godhood, Jesus claimed to be the single-and-sole source of salvation. That is, Jesus Christ alone – absolutely and fully Him alone – is the only possible way to obtain salvation and eternal life. And to this the New Testament also agrees; for it is written, “neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12] And, “for there is One God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” [1 Tim 2:5] and again,
“And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has The Son has life; and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life.” [1 Jn 5:11-12]
These statements by the writers of the New Testament derive from Jesus’ own words. For Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to The Father, but by me;” and, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that is believing in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;” and, “verily, verily, I say unto you, he that is believing on me has everlasting life.” [Jn 14:6; 11:25; 6:47] Jesus leaves no room in these statements for a secondary savior, nor a secondary trust; for in order to obtain salvation, a man must fully and solely believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done, trusting in Him alone and no other. Jesus says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” [Jn 10:9] See then that Jesus alone is the definitive way, truth, life, door, and source of eternal life. It is Jesus who will stand as judge in the last day, and to those who do not believe and follow Him, He says, “then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that practice lawlessness,” showing us that He is the definitive and sole foundation to a man’s salvation. [Mt 7:23] No other conclusion can be reasonably reached: Jesus’ claims are numerous and clear; for again, Jesus, who said to a certain woman, “I that speak to you am [The Messiah]”, [f.f., Jn 4:26] said also, speaking of “The [Holy] Spirit,” [f.f., Jn 7:39]
“But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a spring of water springing up into everlasting life.” [Jn 4:14]
And, speaking of spiritual fellowship with Him, which leads to life and resurrection,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of The Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” [Jn 6:53-54]
The claims cannot be rightly denied, only disbelieved. The question is not, did Jesus say He was God and did He say He was the only way of salvation; the question is, do you believe that He is? Jesus requires an answer; half-heartedness and lukewarmness will not suffice. For Jesus said,
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple…Whoever he is of you that does not forsake all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.” [Lk 14:26-27, 33]
And again,
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” [Mk 8:34-37]
We have seen Jesus in prophecy and Jesus in history. It has been revealed to us Jesus’ bold claims and requirements. If it has been unclear as of yet, again I declare to you, dear reader, whoever you are – for there is no respect of persons with God – that unless you believe in your heart that Jesus is God and the single, one-and-only source of salvation, and give your life up to follow and believe Him, you shall die in your sins, suffering the torment of hell, “into everlasting fire, [which was] prepared for the devil and his angels.” [Mt 25:41]