One of the many arguments that many people insist on promoting is that Jesus never said he was the Son of God. So what is the big deal if he did or he didn’t say that he was the Son of God? The significance of whether Jesus said he was the Son of God or not is that if he did say he was, then by his own testimony he admitted to be divine and thereby made himself equal to God. If he did not say that he was the Son of God, then many people’s faith has been misplaced in something that is not simply true.
Many believers in Christ, can tell of a number of places in the Gospels that Jesus inferred directly or indirectly that he was the Son of God. Also that Jesus testified to being the Son of God deliberately so that there was no mistaking what he meant. To find this to be so, all anyone has to do is to read the reaction to whoever he declared that he was the Son of God to. When he said it to those who were willing to believe or did believed that he was the Son of God, they acknowledged Jesus as such and worshiped him. To which Jesus did nothing to prevent people from worshiping him and believing that he was the Son of God, in fact he took it to mean that people honored him and God, his father when they chose to believe. When he said that he was the Son of God, directly or indirectly to those who were not willing to believe his testimony, they thought it was their legal right to have him killed for committing blasphemy.
Here are a few examples from both sides of Jesus’ declaration that he was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God:
A. Examples of when Jesus told those willing to believe or did believe that was the Son of God.
1. John 9:35-38: Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” And Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him.
2. Matthew 14:22-33: And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when evening was come, he was alone. But the ship was not in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, “Be of good cheer; It is I; Be not afraid.” And Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee on the water. And he said, “Come.” And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,”Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, “Of a truth, thou are the Son of God.”
3.John 4:20-26: “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus saith unto her, “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” The woman saith unto him, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” Jesus saith unto her,”I that speak unto thee am he.
4. John 1:44-49: Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the Law , and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said unto him, “Can anything good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip saith unto him, ”Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, “Behold and Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathanael saith unto him, “Whence knowest thou me?” Jesus answered and said unto him, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” Nathanael answered and saith unto him, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”
5. Mark 8:27-29: And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto to them, “Whom do men say that I am?” And they answered, ”John, the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.” And he saith unto them, “But whom say ye that I am?” And Peter answereth and saith unton him, “Thou art the Christ.”
6. Mathew 16:14-18: When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” And they said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” He saith unto them, “But whom say ye that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
The point is, whether he told them directly or indirectly, in private or in front of others, Jesus told those who were willing to believe him that he was the Son of God. Furthermore Jesus did not refuse the worship of his adherents for he also said,
John 5:23: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
B. Here now are some examples of when Jesus testified that he was the Son of God to those who were not willing to believe him.
1 John 8:47-59: “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, say we not well that art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” Jesus answered, “I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” Then said the Jews unto him, “Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a may keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” Jesus answered, “If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: 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, “Thou are not yet fifty years old, and hast thou see Abraham?” Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” Then took up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
2. John 10:27-36: “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 to me, is greater thatn all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?” The Jews answered him, saying, “For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, Ye are gods’? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, ‘Thou blasphemest’; because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’”
3. Matthew 26:62-65: And the high priest arose, and said unto him, “Answereth thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?” But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus saith unto him, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall ye 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, saying, “He hat spoken blasphemy; what futher need have we for witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.”
4. John 19:4-7: Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, “Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.” Then Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him.” Pilate saith unto them, “Take him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
5. Matthew 27:37-40: And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, “Thou that destroyeth the temple, and buldest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
6. Matthew 27:41-43: Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
The point is, that whether or not he told them directly or indirectly, they all heard Jesus declare that he was the Son of God and by his own testimony accused him of the crime of blasphemy, which is according to the Law of Moses punishable by death. For it is written:
Leviticus 24:16: And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well as the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
By Jesus proclaiming and testifying to be the Son of God, the people who heard him that were not willing to believe him, believed that he was committing the crime of blasphemy. Yet other people who also heard him believed his testimony because they also believed that God send the Christ, the Messiah and he would be God’s son. When Jesus gave them the evidence to be believe that he was the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God, some believed and some refused to believe the evidence. They regarded Jesus as a man born out of wedlock, whose real father was a Samaritan and that he was possessed by a devil. So when Jesus declared that their God was in fact his father, they believed he was committing blasphemy and they had a legal responsibility and recourse to kill him. They just could not do so according to the prescription of the Law of Moses. The problem was they could not exact capital punishment upon Jesus for the crime of blasphemy because their Roman rulers would not allow it without first hearing the offender’s plea. When the Governor of Judea, Pontcus Pilate, heard that the charge against Jesus was that he testified that he was the Son of God, he knew he had a real problem. The Romans had only one man who they deemed divine, that man was Caesar their Emperor. Therefore, anyone that proclaimed himself a God, or a son of God or divine and a king was considered a threat to Caesar and had to be executed under Roman Law.
While Pilate was conducting a private inquiry about the charges against Jesus with Jesus, he testified to Pilate that he was indeed a king, but he was not a king of this world. That he was a King of truth. After Pilate heard that testimony, he reasoned that this testimony of Jesus is not worthy of the capital punishment of execution that the Jews desired, so he sought to let Jesus go free. When the high priests and other religious leaders heard that Pilate was going to set him free, the Jews told Pilate that he was not a friend of Caesar, if he let Jesus live as a Messiah, and as their king. This made Pilate more afraid and so the Jews were given authority to kill Jesus by Pilate.
The method of punishment of a man for the crime of calling himself a king of the Jews was crucifixion. The Jews did not care how Jesus died, they just wanted Jesus to die, in accordance with what they perceived was the directive in the Law. They had no reason to suspect that Jesus was actually who he said he was. The Jewish religious leadership where given authority, again by Pilate, to command the Roman guards to guard the sealed tomb so that Jesus’s disciples could not secretly steal the body of Jesus and proclaim that Jesus rose from the dead.
After Jesus rose from the dead, the Jewish religious leadership paid the Roman guards to spread the story that the disciples were successful in stealing the body of Jesus. The only problem with this lie was that Jesus, for being someone that was so openly and brutally crucified and buried in a sealed tomb, kept appearing everywhere after his death and burial to those who was willing to believe in him as the Christ, the Messiah and the Son of God, just as he is doing in various parts of the world today.
So did Jesus say that he was the Son of God? Yes he did. He said it to those who were willing to believe him and to those who were not willing to believe him. The question remains are you willing to now believe in him now that you have the evidence that Jesus did say that he was the Son of God?
John 1:12+13: But as many as received him, who believed in his name, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to those that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, not after the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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