IS JESUS REALLY GOD

Introduction

George Beverly Shea led the music for the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades all over the world. He had a deep and thunderous voice. He wrote the music that would accompany the words of Rhea Miller:

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame. I’d rather be true to His holy name.

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb; He’s all that my hungering spirit needs. I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin’s dread sway. I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

The question we seek to answer today is: “Is Jesus Really God?” The short answer is YES!

C.S. Lewis was an intellectual atheist. He was an intelligent man with a hard heart toward the things of God. Then came the day that God softened that heart. He then became a man with a strong mind with a soft heart. Listen to what he said in his famous book Mere Christianity.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

“We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative. This man we are talking about either was (and is) just what He said or else a lunatic, or something worse. Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange, or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”

Today we turn to the gospel of John to consider the question: “Is Jesus Really God?” Jesus is going to have an exchange with the Jewish leaders, namely the Pharisees, concerning this very issue. John 8:39-42 prepares us for the exchange that is getting ready to happen (read). Then Jesus adds the words of verse forty-seven after calling them the children of the devil rather than the descendants of Abraham. [read verses 47-59]

There are three reasons why we should consider Jesus to be God from the text.

Reason #1: Consider the Opposition against Him (8:48-53).

The context of the dialogue between Jesus and the Jews was the Temple where He had been teaching (8:2). Jesus forgives the woman, and the Jewish leaders leave in defeat (8:3-12). This incident begins an exchange that will escalate in even more hatred of the Jews toward Jesus. The Jews accuse Jesus of being of illegitimate birth (8:41). They do not stop there. They also call Him a Samaritan, which was ridiculous. Remember that Jesus was instructing the people in the Temple. Samaritans were forbidden to teach in the Temple. So, Jesus is an illegitimately born half-breed Samaritan possessed of the devil (8:48). It is interesting to note that this is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus is accused of being a Samaritan.

For a Jew to be referred to as a Samaritan was the ultimate insult. Samaritans were so negatively viewed that to call another Jew one was a serious matter. In 722 B.C. when Assyria captured the northern kingdom, whose capital was in Samaria, they deported the Jews. They left behind mostly the diseased, the desperate, and the despicable. There were also people from other cultures that were brought in. Subsequently, the Jews who remained in the land intermarried with the pagans around them. They became known as half-breeds.

Jesus calmly responds, “I do not have a demon. I honor my Father. I do not dishonor Him as you dishonor Me (8:49). Unlike His accusers, Jesus was not interested in self -glory. He reminds these that the Father, the one they claim as their God (41), will be their Judge. Christ came to this earth to bring glory to the Father, not to Himself and certainly not these religious self-righteous Jews (8:50).

Jesus makes a promise (8:51). Jesus utilizes a double use of the Greek term of affirmation to get the attention of the opposition. He says, “Amen, Amen!” He goes on, “If anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” That was more than the Jewish accusers could take. They begin to argue with Jesus because this is a direct attack on their hero Abraham (8:52-53). Here is the million-dollar question: “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” In other words, “Jesus, who do you think you are?” In Greek, this question is framed to expect a negative answer: “You are not greater than our Father Abraham who died, are You?” The irony is that, yes, Jesus is greater than Abraham.

To the question, “Is Jesus really God,” we must consider the opposition leveled against Him.

Reason #2: Consider the Qualifications of Jesus (8:54-58).

We now ask the question: “What is it about Jesus that makes Him trustworthy? The qualifications of Jesus reveals why Jesus is trustworthy. We learn that Jesus is the one and only Son of God who came down to this earth as the God-Man to become the Savior of all mankind. He came to pay the guilt and penalty of our sins that the righteousness of God demands. Jesus connects Himself to the Father. The Jewish attackers of Jesus claim sonship with God the Father. However, they are in error. Their Father is not God. Their Father is Satan. Yes, Jesus is greater than Abraham and He is greater than all His accusers (54). Jesus has an intimate knowledge of and relationship with God the Father. This Christ’s opponents did not have. They were liars when they stated their presumptive relationship to God. They did not know the Father intuitively or experientially, but Jesus does and demonstrates it by keep His word, unlike those religious leaders.

Biblical Principle

Obedience reveals identity. To say we love God, yet not obey what He says is to do in His Word makes us a liar.

Jesus comes back on His accusers even stronger (56). What does Jesus mean? Jesus was saying that Abraham was rejoiced at the incarnation of Jesus and the salvation that Jesus would bring. How did the Jews respond (57)? They responded with sarcastic rhetoric (57). These poor Jews just could not get it right. They were so spiritually blind that they refused to see who was standing in front of them. Hatred blinds the eyes to that which is clear. The Jews distorted what Jesus was saying because of their hatred for Him. Jesus never said, “I have seen Abraham.”What Jesus s aid was, “Abraham saw My day.”

In response to the question, “Is Jesus really God,” we must consider the qualifications of Jesus. is is Jesus’ second double “amen” statement. Jesus declared, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” These Jews had no doubt as to what Jesus was saying. This was a clear statement as to the pre-incarnational existence of Jesus. Jesus was claiming to be God. Jesus was saying, “Before Abraham made his appearance on earth, I AM. There was a time when Abraham was not. However, I am forever the great I AM.”

In response to the question, “Is Jesus really God,” we must consider the qualifications of Jesus.

Reason #3: Consider the Experience of Jesus (8:59).

When religious people get mad, let me tell you, it can get ugly and sometimes dangerous. The unmistakable statement of Jesus’ divinity in the previous verse ticked off these religious nuts. The Jews were confronted with a crisis of faith. They had to decide concerning truth. Was Jesus who claimed to be, the living Lord or was He a liar or even a lunatic? Rather than bowing their heads and bending their knees in submission to Him, they picked up the stones of disbelief. Stoning was the regular punishment for what they considered blasphemy against God. However, their plan would not succeed on this day. The phrase “Jesus hid Himself” is literally, “He went out.” This is a reference to Jesus supernaturally slipping away from His opposers.

The enemies of Jesus failed that day. The Jews would have their way soon enough as Jesus would be beaten, mocked, tortured, and stretched out on a cross to die. If the account ended there, God would have broken His promise. In John chapter 20 a woman visits the tomb where Jesus was laid after His cruel crucifixion. She cries bitter tears assuming His body has been stolen. Suddenly, Jesus appears to her, resurrected from the dead. He is not dead. He is alive!

Conclusion

Is Jesus really God? What did Jesus say about Himself? In Scripture, Jesus claims to be the promised Messiah. He claims to be the living God Himself come in human flesh. In our study of John 8:48-59, we are given three good reasons to believe that Jesus is exactly who He says He is. The first reason to believe is the great opposition that surrounded Him and still whirls about Him today. The second reason to believe is because of His qualifications. Jesus left no doubt concerning His identity. He is the only one qualified to be Savior and Lord. The third reason to believe is because of His experience. In the gospel of John alone, the works Jesus accomplished leave no doubt to who He is. He is God Incarnate who came to be our Savior.

Some of the greatest minds in history have changed their minds concerning Jesus Christ. One of those great minds was Blaise Pascal. Pascal was a child prodigy in mathematics and science. When he was sixteen years of age, he made his first contribution to the discipline of mathematics. Pascal was close to his father and wanted to help him. His father was an. Blaise wanted to make his father’s work less burdensome. He began working on a particular machine. He developed fifty prototypes of this machine. Finally, Blaise Pascal presented his gift to his father. Blaise had succeeded in developing and presenting to his father the very first calculator.

This is good but it is not the best part of the story. When Blaise was thirty-one years old, he gave his life to Christ. Before this Blaise Pascal possessed a great mind but a hard heart toward God. After this Pascal possessed both a great mind and a tender heart toward God. He authored a book in which he developed what is known as the Wager Theory. This theory goes like this. If you believe in God and God exists, you gain everything. If you believe in God and God does not exist, what do you lose? If you live a moral life as the Bible teaches and if you care for the needs of others as the Bible teaches and God does not exist, what have you lost? The answer is NOTHING! Then Pascal turns it around. What if God exists and you live as though He does not exist? Then YOU LOSE EVERYTHING!

I challenge you today concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Some people want Jesus to be down here on the shelf where they can control Him. That is what the Jews tried to do with Jesus. For others, Jesus is merely a good teacher and a notable example. That is what the Muslims try to do with Jesus. However, their Jesus does not exist. Jesus is not the object of your control. C.S. Lewis was correct. You must either call Him a demon or you must call Him God. There is no middle ground where Jesus is concerned. He did not give us that choice. You either surrender to Him or you run from Him. That is your choice. Make the right choice and you get it all. Make the wrong choice and you will lose it all. If you are wrong and God is right, you will pay for that choice eternally in a place called hell. It is a choice between life and death. Just as Jesus surrendered Himself to the will of the father and to the agony of the cross on our behalf, I invite you to surrender your will to Christ.