High View Church

Jesus

Introducing Jesus is no easy task. With many ideas as to who Jesus was/is, I thought it best to allow Jesus to introduce himself. The following verses are taken from the Bible and are Jesus' words. Listen to his claims about himself, and you will hear the God-like plan he had to "make all things new." If you would like information about how to become a Christian, please download our brochure by clicking HERE.

Jesus said He was God

Mark 14:61-64 “Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’”

John 8:58-59 “I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

John 10:30-33 “I and the Father are one.’ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’”

John 14:8-9 “Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ’Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?’”

There are not many people who would not (without hallucinogenic assistance) claim to be God. For example, such religious leaders as Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, and Ghandi did not claim to be God. But, Jesus clearly and repeatedly said He was God.

Jesus said He came from heaven

John 6:38, 41-42, 60, 66 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me . . .’ At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ’I came down from heaven’?’ . . . On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ . . . From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

John 16:28 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Coming from Boston brings an accent and some "wicked-awesome" chowder. But, being from heaven lends itself to a statement of divinity. People claim to have "seen a bright light" during a near death experience. But Jesus said that he is from heaven (not a visitor).

Jesus said He was sinless

John 8:46 “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”

Claiming sinlessness is a gutsy statement. Surely no one reading this article would make a claim. Why? Because we have done some bad things in our day. But Jesus stood in front of crowds who have known him from birth and said he had never sinned. The only accusations they could muster up were claims man by men paid to testify in a corrupt Jewish court. Amazing. No credible person refuted Jesus claim of sinlessness. Surely he was more than human.

Jesus forgave sin

Mark 2:5 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”

While much of the resources in our world are spent on dealing with the effects of sin (e.g. war, illness, death, depression, crime, poverty, etc.) there is still no way for people to have their sins forgiven so that they might be cleansed from their stains. At best, some religions try to teach their adherents what they can do to work hard at paying God back through such things as good works and reincarnation, they still lack any concept of forgiveness. But, Jesus forgave sin because He was/is God and since all sin is ultimately committed against Him, He alone has the power to forgive the sins of sinners.

Jesus said He was the only way to heaven

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.’”

While there are many religious and spiritual teachers who claim that they can point you to heaven’s path, they themselves do not claim that they are that path. But, Jesus promised that He was the way to eternal life in heaven. This also proves that Jesus was/is God because since heaven belongs to God, it is God alone who determines who will live with Him forever there. And, Jesus’ ability to give spiritual life after physical death to those who believe in Him is further evidence that He was/is God who rules over heaven and our eternity.

Jesus confirmed to others He was God

Matthew 26:63-65 “But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.’”

Not only did Jesus repeatedly declare that He was God, but He also reiterated this fact when others who doubted or opposed that claim inquired of Him. For example, as the verse above describes an occasion in which a religious leader sought to condemn Jesus publicly for committing blasphemy, or declaring Himself to be God. The penalty for blasphemy was death and if Jesus were not convinced that He was God then we would expect Him to clarify the misunderstanding about Himself in an effort to avoid a bloody death. But, Jesus declared that He was God which further proves that everyone throughout history who has believed that Jesus claimed to be God has not misunderstood His words but rather understood them clearly.

Jesus accepted worship as God

Matthew 14:33 “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

John 9:38 “Then the man said, ‘Lord Jesus, I believe,’ and he worshiped him.”

The 10 Commandments which governed the life and worship of God’s people begin with the declaration of who God is and the commands to worship God alone and no one or nothing but Him (Exodus 20:1-17). To worship anyone or anything other than the One True God as the incredibly sin of idolatry that is forbidden throughout the Bible. But, Jesus freely welcomed other people to call Him God and worship Him as God without correcting or rebuking them for being in error. Therefore, Jesus acceptance of worship also proves that He was God.