World Blog by humble servant.WAS JESUS GOD? At one time or another we have all asked ourselves: Who is God?
WAS JESUS GOD?
At one time or another we have all asked ourselves: Who is God? Having been raised in a
Christian society I had been told that Jesus was God. I wasn’t certain. Was Jesus God?
Who was Jesus?
In trying to answer this question we will be drawing on many sources of information, a
few of which most Christians have not explored.Again, our goal with this book is simply to try to come closer to God. To do that we must
internalize Christ’s teaching to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,
all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30 & Luke 10:27).
Back to our question: Was Jesus God? The answer may come as a shock to many
Christians. Jesus never said he was God. Actually, he said over and over,
and in many ways, that he was not God.
Jesus was a practicing Jew, and such a concept is now, and would have been then, totally
against the law of Moses (Mosaic law).
Johnnie Ellington II
JESUS FOLLOWED MOSAIC LAW
The next few quotes from the Bible show us that Jesus was a devout and learned Jew, a
rabbi:
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and his
reputation spread throughout the region. He was teaching in
their synagogues, and all were loud in his praise. He came to
Nazareth where he had been reared, and entering the synagogue
on the sabbath as he was in the habit of doing, he stood up to do
the reading.
[Luke 4:14-16]
Johnnie Ellington II
The worship of God was always focal in his life, even as a child. The second chapter of
Luke tells us a very touching story of Jesus as a precociously wise child of twelve, sitting
for days among the scholars. His family had accidentally left him in Jerusalem after their
annual visit for the Passover. Nearly frantic, they searched for him:
On the third day they came upon him in the temple sitting in the
midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence
and his answers. When his parents saw him they were
astonished, and his mother said to him: “Son, why have you
done this to us? You see that your father and I have been
searching for you in sorrow.” He said to them: “Why did you
search for me? Did you not know I had to be in my Father’s
house?”
[Luke 2:46-49]
Johnnie Ellington II
As he grew, “Jesus...progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and
men” (Luke 2:52). After he had matured, his opinion was sought, though perhaps not
always respectfully, by traditional Jews. An example of this is John’s narration of the
adulterous woman brought to Jesus for judgment.
Though they addressed him as “Teacher,” they tried to trap him into saying something
which they could use against him. As he straightened up from where he had been writing
on the ground, he issued his famous judgement: “Let him without sin cast the first stone.”
Though they had come to trap him, the scribes and Pharisees could not argue and drifted
away, leaving the woman without harming her. Even those who were hostile to his
teachings respected him
Johnnie Ellington II
OTHER SCRIPTURAL SOURCES
While religious scholars of most faiths would agree that Jesus was a wonderful model for
humanity, the scriptures of almost all the major religions predate Christ, and therefore
give us no new information about him. The one exception to this is the Quran, the
scripture of Islam.
Unfortunately, what the world recognizes as the religion of Islam is really the cultural
tradition of the Muslim world. Most Muslims have not studied the Quran, and they do not
really follow it. Comparing what they do in the name of Islam with the teachings of the
Quran is like comparing the Spanish Inquisition with the teachings of the Bible. The
practice is almost in total opposition to the scripture.
Johnnie Ellington II
Most Muslims have not studied the Quran, and they do not
really follow it.
Johnnie Ellington II
Comparing what they do in the name of Islam with the teachings of the
Quran is like comparing the Spanish Inquisition with the teachings of the Bible. The
practice is almost in total opposition to the scripture.
Johnnie Ellington II
The basic message of the Quran and the Bible are the same. If we look at just the Quran
itself, and leave the culture and tradition behind, we find a great deal of valuable
information about Jesus and what he taught.
According to the Quran, not only was Jesus a young scholar, but he was a prophet from
birth, delivering divine revelations, even shortly after birth
Johnnie Ellington II
She came with him to her family, carrying him. They said, “O
Mary, you have committed something gross. O descendant of
Aaron, your father was not a bad man, nor was your mother
unchaste.” She pointed to him. They said, “How can we talk with
an infant in the crib?” (The infant spoke and) said, “I am a
servant of God. He has given me the scripture, and made me a
prophet. He made me blessed wherever I go, and enjoined me to
observe the contact prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity
(Zakat) for as long as I live. I am to obey my mother; He did not
make me a disobedient rebel. And peace be upon me the day I
was born, the day I die, and the day I get resurrected.” Such was
Jesus, the son of Mary. This is the truth of this matter, about
which they have a lot of doubt.
[Quran 19:27-34]
Johnnie Ellington II
We see from this and the following quote that Jesus taught even as a newborn infant.
(On the Day of Resurrection) God will say, “O Jesus, son of
Mary, remember My blessings upon you and your mother. I
supported you with the Holy Spirit; you thus spoke to the people
from the crib, as well as an adult...”
[Quran 5:110]
Johnnie Ellington II
In the above verse, it is useful to understand the Quranic definition of the Holy Spirit as
the angel who brings divine revelation from God, the angel Gabriel. The Quran teaches
that Gabriel brought the revelation from God to Jesus, who then delivered it to the
people, and this process began even while Jesus was an infant.
This Quranic concept of revelation from God is fully supported by the first two verses in
the biblical Book of Revelation:
This is the revelation God gave to Jesus Christ, that he might
show his servants what must happen very soon. He made it
known by sending his angel to his servant John, who in reporting
all he saw bears witness to the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
[Revelation 1:1-2]
Johnnie Ellington II
BASIC TEACHINGS
As a rabbi, what did Jesus teach? Throughout the New Testament, Jesus exhorted us to
worship God alone and keep the Mosaic commandments. The first and best known
commandment in both the Old Testament and the New Testament advocates total and
absolute devotion to God alone:
The Lord our God is Lord alone! Therefore, you shall adore the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength.
[Deuteronomy 6:4-5]
Johnnie Ellington II
[Mark 12:29-30]
Johnnie Ellington II
Jesus especially stressed this First Commandment:
The scribe said to him: “Excellent, Teacher! You are right in
saying, ‘He is the One, there is no other than He.’ Yes, ‘to love
him with all our heart, with all our thoughts and with all our
strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves’ is worth more
than any burnt offering or sacrifice.” Jesus approved the insight
of his answer and told him, “You are not far from the reign of
God.”
[Mark 12:32-34]
Johnnie Ellington II
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Again, Jesus’ straightforward injunctions to follow the commandments in general, and
the First Commandment in particular, are throughout the New Testament. Significantly,
he described the First Commandment as “The Great Commandment” (Mark 12:29). The
statement of this injunction is very strong:
I, the Lord, am your God who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have any other gods
beside me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape
of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the
waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or
worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God....
[Deuteronomy 5:6-9]
Johnnie Ellington II
For Jesus, this commandment meant more than just an injunction against physically
worshiping idols. Often people use phrases like ‘he worships the ground she walks on,’ or
‘he’s my idol.’ These phrases show the subtle idol worship that pervades our daily lives.
Jesus taught the absolute devotion to God alone:
On one occasion a lawyer stood up to pose him this problem:
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?” Jesus
answered him: “What is written in the law? How do you read
it?” He replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said: “You have
answered correctly. Do this and you shall live.”
[Luke 10:25-28]
Johnnie Ellington II
If you do love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your
mind—literally with your whole being—there is not room for anything else. That is the
definition of devotion.
Jesus taught that this devotion to God must be more than lip service:
“Yet an hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic
worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. Indeed, it
is just such worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and those
who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”
[John 4:23-24]
Johnnie Ellington II
We see that Jesus stressed pure worship of the Father, in spirit and truth. It is not possible
that Jesus could have so strongly taught total devotion to God, and then advocated his
own worship.
Johnnie Ellington II
EARLY CHRISTIAN JEWS
It is also very clear that the early Christians still considered themselves to be Jews, and
thus subject to the Mosaic laws revealed in the Torah. Dr. George M. Lamsa, in his book
NEW TESTAMENT ORIGIN (Aramaic Bible Society, Inc., p. 9), makes a point of the
Jewish origins of Christianity, and his quote from Matthew stresses Jesus’ adherence to
Mosaic law:
...Christians for some time continued to worship in the Jewish temple and in the synagogues,
to observe Jewish customs and traditions, and to keep the Mosaic law and the Sabbath. For
nearly two centuries the bishops of Jerusalem were Semites. In other words, the followers of
Jesus were loyal to the teachings of the prophets as expounded by their Master, who had told
them that he had not come to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. Jesus said:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whoso shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven
(Matt. 5:17-19)
Johnnie Ellington II
In other words, the followers of
Jesus were loyal to the teachings of the prophets as expounded by their Master, who had told
them that he had not come to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. Jesus said:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled
Johnnie Ellington II
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whoso shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven
(Matt. 5:17-19)
Johnnie Ellington II
Evidently Jesus left no doubt in the mind of his disciples in regard to his loyalty to the
commandments and the teachings of the prophets.
ON HIS OWN IDENTITY Jesus’ statements throughout the Bible suggest that any idea
of exalting him to divinity was unthinkable. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus denounces in the
strongest terms those who exalt him by calling him ‘Lord’:
“None of those who cry out, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in
heaven. When the day comes, many will plead with me, ‘Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not
exorcised demons by its power? Did we not do many miracles in
your name as well?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I
never knew you. Out of my sight, you evil doers!’ ”
[Matthew 7:21-23]
Johnnie Ellington II
of exalting him to divinity was unthinkable
Johnnie Ellington II
Jesus’ statements throughout the Bible suggest that any idea
Johnnie Ellington II
Think about this.
Johnnie Ellington II
You love him so much to the exclusion of God.
Johnnie Ellington II
Only God know the future.
Johnnie Ellington II
Inspiration come from God. I hear and OBEY. As such his teaching reflect what God only know.
Johnnie Ellington II
To preach.
Johnnie Ellington II
Jesus would not even accept the praise of a man who called him good:
“Good teacher, what must I do to share in everlasting life?”
Jesus answered: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but
God alone.”
[Mark 10:17-18
Johnnie Ellington II
Why?
Johnnie Ellington II
Because jesus knew nothing is EXCEPT God.
Johnnie Ellington II
If Jesus would not even allow himself to be called good, he certainly would not claim
divine qualities.
Perhaps some of the difficulty that humans have is that we do not really recognize the
qualities of God. When we say that He is omnipotent and omniscient, we do not fully
realize what that means—that God can do anything and that He knows everything,
including our innermost secrets, and those we are not even aware of yet. Unless we do
realize the full meaning of these qualities, it is possible to think of Jesus as having had
them. But the next section shows clearly that he did not.
Johnnie Ellington II
ONLY GOD HAS DIVINE QUALITIES
Matthew 24:36, quoted below, demonstrates that Jesus was not omniscient:
(In relation to the end of the world Jesus said to them:)
“As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the
angels in heaven nor the son, but the Father only.”
[Matthew 24:36]
Johnnie Ellington II
One divine quality is the ability to assign the souls their positions in the Hereafter. Jesus
tells us that only God can do this. When he speaks to the mother of his disciples James
and John, she asks him to promise that her sons will be on either side of him in the
Hereafter:
“...But sitting at my right hand or my left is not mine to give.
That is for those to whom it has been reserved by my Father.”
[Matthew 20:23]
Johnnie Ellington II
Surely, when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane he demonstrated that he was
neither omnipotent nor omniscient:
“Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will
but yours be done.”
[Luke 22:42]
Johnnie Ellington II
Jesus made it clear in many, many ways that he was not God, that God is greater.
Nowhere is this more definitely stated than when he spoke to his disciples about his
imminent departure:
If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the
Father, for the Father is greater than I.
[John 14:28]
Johnnie Ellington II
JESUS’ PRAYER
As demonstrated above, and throughout the Gospels, Jesus prayed to God. This certainly
argues against his being God. God would not pray to Himself.
Like Luke 22:42, the Gospel of Matthew reports that a very human Jesus became
distressed in Gethsemane and turned to God for solace:
He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer. “My Father, if
it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Still, let it be as you would
have it, not as I”
[Matthew 26:39]
Johnnie Ellington II
There were times when Jesus felt the need to pray with special urgency. Luke reports
that, on one occasion, Jesus prayed very hard:
In his anguish, Jesus prayed with all the greater intensity, and
his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
[Luke 22:44]
Johnnie Ellington II
Jesus also prayed to God that the people might believe in him as God’s messenger. This
specifically defines the role of Jesus as deliverer of God’s message:
...Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having
heard me. I know that you always hear me but I have said this
for the sake of the crowd, that they may believe that you sent
me.”
[John 11:41-42]
Johnnie Ellington II
And also he had to check himself by explaining why he said what he said. In realization God know all.
Johnnie Ellington II
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence that Jesus was not God is in the way that
he taught the disciples to pray:
One day he was praying in a certain place. When he had
finished, one of his disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray,
as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray,
say: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us the wrong we have
done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the
trial but deliver us from the evil one.’ ”
[Luke 11:1-4]
Johnnie Ellington II
Matthew 6:9-13]
Johnnie Ellington II
Note that Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, our Creator, not to himself. In fact, he did
not mention himself in any way, nor did he indicate that we should pray in his name. His
instructions were very specific-we are to pray to God alone.
This would not be the case if Jesus himself were God.
Johnnie Ellington II
REPORTED DYING WORDS
Even in the narration of his death, in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, there is an
incident that contradicts the concept of Jesus’ divinity. According to these two references,
Jesus was put on the cross and left to die, then:
At that time Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, Lama
Sabachtani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”
[
Johnnie Ellington II
See God test us to the Grave.
Johnnie Ellington II
Here in clear word
Johnnie Ellington II
jesus accuse God of BETRAYAL
Johnnie Ellington II
He felt after all how could he allow this to happen to him
Johnnie Ellington II
It was revealed to me that at that moment Jesus was raised because he not only showed you he was calling on God he showed you there was a chance if his torture would have continued he would have portrayed God I cannot even fathom asking God why he betrayed me and I know him.Imagine he asked God why did he betray him why has he forsaken him even though he let him raise dead even though he let him heal the lepers he asking why has my God my God why have Thou forsaken me Jesus i'm raising you to me now.If if Jesus wasn't raised right then he might have betrayed God he might have renounced him.Questioning God...What an INGRATE and the most ungrateful person ever. Questioning God Allah...None can Question God.Are ask what have you done.The Most Praise Worthy,Lord of the Universe and BEYOND.Allah.THE only Praise worthy. Not somebody QUESTIONING GOD. About something PREDESTINE as if he wasn't going to DIE.And further show Jesus was starting to believe what the IDOL WORSHIPERS were saying.And what he did he must of thought it had something to do with him huh.Allah the most Exalted.So actually with this answer show you the continuing thought of his CARING MORE about what disbeliever thought and starting to think pass Allah who is providing the proof.The final destiny and the purpose of are life. To worship you God.
Comments
Post a Comment