The 2nd tenet of the Christian faith is that of Jesus being the Jewish Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), which would make him the 2nd person of the Trinity and actually God incarnate - that is to say: God in human flesh.This is the entire message of the Bible, and it's the one critical doctrine that distinguishes between Christian and non-Christian. In fact the Bible, as a history book, could be re-titled as "His-Story" since every book in both the New and Old Testaments declare him.
(Psalms 40:7)Salvation (being saved from Hell) is determined by believing in Jesus as Christ, the Jewish Messiah (see Salvation 101). So a persons understanding of who he is could literally be a matter of life or death!
Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me.
Who is Jesus?
What did Jesus say about himself?
What did others say about Jesus?
What did Jesus do to prove he was the Messiah?
The page will focus on Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies of being the Messiah, and the New Testament passages proclaiming both that he is Christ and "God the Son".
See The Trinity page and The Messiah page for more information.
The Jews knew from the prophecies about the Messiah, that he would be God walking as a man among them. But their expectation was that the Messiah would first show up as the conquering hero, just when they needed one, to liberate them from the Roman Empire. Instead he came as the suffering servant.The trap of false expectations, by not understanding the complete body of scripture, makes it impossible to see how Jesus truly did fulfill the prophecies of the Messiah, and that he is who he said he is.
All who deny Jesus as Christ (Judaism, Jehovah's Witnesses etc), while still claiming to believe in the Bible, fall into this trap.
So let's look at what the Bible does say about Jesus as Christ - The Messiah.
First let's see what Jesus said about himself, then the proofs, and finally what others said about him.
WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT HIMSELF
He claimed to be the Messiah:
(John 4:25,26)That one claim was enough to get people talking, but he didn't stop there!
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
He claimed to be the God of Moses.
In this example he claims pre-existence to Abraham and calls himself God:
(John 8:53-59)They wanted to kill him because they understood Jesus was claiming to be God by referring to himself as God. They knew only God can be called God:
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 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:
55 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.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him
(Exodus 3:13,14)He claimed to be the conqueror King of Israel by reading from Isaiah 61:1,2 which begins a prophetic chapter in the book of Isaiah announcing the Messiah King:
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
(Luke 4:18-21)What's fascinating about the passage above, in verse 19, Jesus stopped reading half way through Isaiah 61:2! So naturally all eyes followed him back to his seat wondering why he didn't finish it.
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord...
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
When we read the second half of Isaiah 61:2 we can see the reason:
(Isaiah 61:2b)By only reading the 1st half of Isaiah 61:2, and not reading the 2nd half, Jesus announced he's only fulfilling the "Suffering Servant" prophecies of the Messiah at this time. The conquering king prophecies will be fulfilled at a later time. That is not the message the Jews wanted to hear.
...and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.
But after the role of being the Suffering Servant, after his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus did claim omnipotence as God:
(Matthew 28:18)And finally to leave no doubt, in the last book of the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, he confirms everything by saying he's the one who was crucified and resurrected and God Almighty in multiple ways:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
(Revelation 1:8,17,18)Again he used language that only God could use, thereby proving the one who was "living, and was dead" (crucified and resurrected) was God.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
(Isaiah 41:4)In addition to what Jesus said about himself, there are many other places where he alluded to being the Messiah by saying such things as he was the bread of life and the light of the world. Some of which will be covered below as we look at what Jesus did to prove he is the Messiah.
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
PROOFS THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH
Everything that Jesus did was proof that he was the Messiah. It would be impossible to list them all here in the space available. In fact the Apostle John said a similar thing:
(John 21:25)Instead, I will present a few examples that cover the main qualifications of being the Messiah.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
The proof that Jesus was the Son of God:
He was the seed of woman and fathered by God, he had no earthly father.
(Luke 1:31,34,35)Being born of a virgin is physical proof that he had no earthly father:
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
(Luke 1:26,27)Just as God prophesied in Isaiah:
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
(Isaiah 7:14)
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The proof that Jesus had power over Nature:
(Matthew 8:24-27)The wind and the sea obeyed him because he created them and hold all things together as only God can.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
(Colossians 1:16,17)
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
The proof that Jesus had power over demons:
(Matthew 8:28,29)The two possessed men instantly recognized Jesus for who he was - the Son of God, which is the Messiah.
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
And they acknowledged that he had authority over them.
The proof that Jesus had power over sin and disease:
(Mark 2:4-12)Isaiah prophesied such:
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 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,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
(Colossians 1:16,17)
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAID ABOUT JESUS
In fact they were so upset at Jesus for this claim that it is the charge they leveled at him before Pontius Pilate. Rebellion against the Roman Empire was a capital offense. The Jews mocked him by making the charge, and Pilate mocked both him and the Jews with the same charge:
(John 19:7)
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
(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 the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
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