Are Jesus' Claims Unique Among the Religions of the World?
by Gary R. Habermas (with some changes by Troy Brooks)
God is by nature totally apart from His creation. Humans do not reach godhood. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Hindu text), however, the process of enlightenment can be attained by those who return to the Godhead and achieve their own divinity (see 18:46-68). In a certain sense, all persons have divine natures in many cults in Christendom and other religions.
Jesus claimed dual titles of divinity. Particularly, He said He was both the Son of God and the Son of Man.
Jesus said,
"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" (Matt. 11.27). If only Jesus can reveal the Father then Jesus must be in the Godhead logically speaking.
Jesus said,
"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house" (Mark 2.10-11). Only Jesus can forgive sins and perform miraculous healing.
He spoke of His Father in familiar ways (
"Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping," Mark 13.36) and even claimed to forgive sins, for which He was charged with blasphemy because in doing so He was claiming to be God.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy,
Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?
who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2.5-7)
In perhaps the clearest indication of His claims about Himself, when the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus plainly declared that He was. Then He further asserted that He was also the Son of Man who would
co-reign on God the Father's throne and come on the
clouds of judgment. The high priest pronounced these claims as blasphemy.
"But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And
Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death" (Mark 16.61-64). Imagine that! Condemning our Creator to death? How evil. But do not think those who simply state Jesus never existed or was not God are any less reviling. They are just more cunning in their hostility. God knows their hearts.
These sayings of Jesus were recorded by the original disciples or close associates in
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