Decoding The Da Vinci Code – part 5
“Who Does Jesus Really Claim To Be?”
Pop culture on “Who Is Jesus?” – Video Clip (have clip earlier in service but refer back to it now) – no wonder so many are ready to accept Dan Brown’s claims in the Da Vinci Code. There don’t seem to be many who have really studied for themselves who Jesus is or seem interested in pursuing it.
Dan Brown –
p. 233 – “Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole Jesus from His original followers, hijacking His human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity.”
p. 234 – “Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.”
p. 256 – When referring to never seen documents he believes exists, “In those trunks are reputed to be the Purist Documents – thousands of pages of unaltered, pre-Constantine documents, written by the early followers of Jesus, revering Him as a wholly human teacher and prophet.
Jesus Seminar – Jesus was human – a sage – perceived as a prophet and an enemy to the Jewish religious establishment.
Cult Leaders -
1. Charles Russell, leader of the Jehovah’s Witness cult said, “The man Jesus is dead, forever dead.”
2. Brigham Young, of the Mormon cult said, “Jesus Christ was a polygamist; Mary and Martha the sisters of Lazarus, were His plural wives, and Mary Magdalene was another.”
3. The Christian Scientist founder – Mary Baker Eddy – said, “God is indivisible. A portion of God could not enter man; neither could God’s fullness be reflected by a single man.”
Other religions
Islam, - Jesus was one of God’s many human prophets who were chosen to teach Islam to mankind at different stages; the final and completed stage being taught by God’s final prophet, Mohammed. Jesus was one of God’s highest ranked and most beloved prophets sent for the guidance of Children of Israel and who was born miraculously without any human biological father by the will of God.
There is no god except the one true God. God does not have a son. Thus, as with all prophets, Jesus was a human being.
Almost anyone can accept these pictures of Jesus – very non-threatening. A billion Muslims will say: "Prophet, yes. God, no!" Jews scattered around the world will say: "Teacher, yes. Messiah, no!" Liberal Protestants and people of various religions will say: "Incredible man and teacher, yes. Divine, no!" There is only one problem. It doesn’t take into consideration what Jesus claimed for Himself. It ignores Jesus’ own voice, His own words.
When people say they have no problem with Jesus – just with organized religion, they are making a statement in ignorance. They don’t really have a clue who Jesus was – what He claimed. Because Jesus didn’t leave us with an identity option that He was just a good man, teacher or prophet.
If you’re in Lake City, Florida one of these days and happen to run into a 50-something fellow with a sandy moustache, a receding hairline, and aviator glasses, you may be in the presence of “I Am Who I Am.” Really. But that’s because Columbia County Court turned down his first request for a new name: “God.” The former Charles Haffey says he wanted a new identity because of lingering feelings of anxiety over his military service in Vietnam. (10/15/02 News Headlines from The Christian Science Monitor) I guess anyone can claim to be God, but there is something about Jesus claiming to be God that is much more important. People sense that if Jesus claimed to be God, that we ought to take notice, listen and consider. That’s what He wanted.
Who Did Jesus Really Claim To Be? (remember we are looking to the N.T. after we have established that it meets all the tests of a reliable witness of Jesus).
1. Key passages about Jesus. (just a sampling)
John 1:1-18 –
Vs. 1 - “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God.”
Vs. 3 – “He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make.” -
Philippians 2:5-11
Vs. 6 – “Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.”
John 20:28
“My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.”
Hebrews 1:8 (Psalm 45:6)
“But to his Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal power is expressed in righteousness.’’
Titus 2:13
“while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”
2. How Jesus makes direct claims to His deity.
Mark 14:61-64
Vs. 61-62 - “Then the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?’ Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God’s right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven.’”
Notice the reaction on the High Priest (vs. 63). He tears his clothes – the reaction to blasphemy. Jesus’ use of the words “I Am” were a direct claim to be God – the very words The Father had used at the burning bush with Moses to give His name.
John 10:30-33
“The Father and I are one." Once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, ‘At my Father’s direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?’ They replied, ‘Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself God.’”
Again, notice the reaction of the people – what they understood Him to be claiming (vs. 31, 33).
John 8:58-59
“Jesus answered, ‘The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!’ At that point they picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus hid himself from them and left the Temple.”
Literally Vs. 58 - “Before Abraham was, I Am.” – the same name used again.
Again, notice the reaction of the people (vs. 59).
John 8:19
“‘Where is your father?’ they asked. Jesus answered, ‘Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know my Father, too.’”
To know Jesus is to know the Father.
3. How Jesus asked for and accepted worship:
The Bible tells us that only God is worthy of worship, and therefore is the only one to be worshiped. This is true because of who He is – the only uncreated being, the only eternal one, the only true God (see Matthew 4:10 – “You shall worship the Lord God and serve Him only”; Revelation 4:11; 19:10; 22:9; Acts 10:25-26).
The Gospels show that Jesus was worshipped and that He accepted worship. In doing so, He was clearly allowing only that which is reserved for God. Therefore, He was claiming to be God.
Matthew 2:2, 11 – the wise men
Matthew 8:2 – a leper who was healed
Matthew 9:18 – synagogue official
Matthew 14:33 – the disciples after Jesus calmed a storm
Matthew 15:25 – a Canaanite woman who wanted Jesus to heal her daughter
Matthew 28:9 – The disciples after seeing Jesus risen from the dead
John 9:35-39 – a blind man Jesus healed
John 20:27-29 – Thomas after seeing Jesus risen from the dead
4. How Jesus forgave sins.
5. The Testimony of the Early Church Fathers – who did the first Christians see Him to be?
Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Ephesians,” 110 A.D.: “Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church of Ephesus in Asia…” predestined from eternity for a glory that is lasting and unchanging, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father,” listen to this next phrase, “in Jesus Christ our God.” That was written A.D. 110.
Irenaeus, “Against Heresies,” 189 A.D.: (referring to Christ) “Nevertheless, what cannot be said of anyone else who ever lived, that he is himself in his own right God and Lord.”
Clement of Alexandria, “Exhortation to the Greeks,” 190 A.D.: “The Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both of our ancient beginning—for he was in God—and of our well-being. And now this same Word has appeared as man. He alone is both God and man, and the source of all our good things.’”
We have other quotes from Tertullian, Origen, and other early church fathers who obviously worshiped Jesus Christ as God in the flesh. This was the understanding of the church from the very beginning.
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And that is what makes Christianity unique. It’s the claim of Jesus Christ, who he claimed to be and who his followers worshiped him as. They worshiped him as the unique Son of God, as God in the flesh. And so that’s what separates the Christian faith from all the other major world religions. And I think it’s vitally important.
Jesus gave his disciples a Pop Quiz on the road to Caesarea Philippi. Peter passed the test, but the world mostly fails it. It is a test you must take.
Who do you say that I am? Matthew 16:13-16 – “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.’ Then he asked them, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’”
Notice no one said, “a nice guy – a good role model.” Jesus was much too controversial to wear those titles.
And Jesus said you must make a decision. Who do you say Jesus is? This is where the rubber meets the road! A right confession of Jesus’ identity is essential to our very salvation (Romans 10:9–10; 1 John 2:18–23; 4:1–3) Eternity hinges on Jesus’ identity and your belief in it.
C.S. Lewis put it so well when he said he was trying “to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him us for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.” (Mere Christianity, pp. 55-56)
Jesus was fully human and fully God – and that is why His death on the cross is more than a tragic death. It is why His death and resurrection brings us the offer of salvation and eternal life.
So John 14:6 is critical – “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’”
And I think the book The Da Vinci Code and others like it are going to cause a lot of Christians to get on their toes a little bit and do a little more research. You know, in my own life, I think I am more at the top of my game, so to speak, when I am rubbing shoulders with people who are skeptics; when people do have serious questions and doubts about Christianity, as opposed to always rubbing shoulders with believers.
So 1 Peter 3:15 is important – “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”
And one of the titles that people used against Jesus was that Jesus Christ was a friend of sinners. And I am glad he was a friend of sinners because I am a sinner. And I’m very good at sinning. It comes naturally to me. And I think so many times we forget that. He came to save us from our sin and what that sin does to us.
