No serious scholar now holds to the non-historicity of Jesus. But who was Jesus? People give different answers. Some say he was an itinerant Jewish sage who never claimed to be God. Others say he was a holy man and a wise ethical teacher who emphasized the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Still others see him as a revolutionary who sought to counter the influence of the Jewish establishment. However, Oxford University literary scholar and Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis pointed out that the record of Jesus's life and teachings do not permit those answers. He stated that Jesus's claim to be God incarnate throughout the Gospels present us with a trilemma:
This trilemma has been labelled "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?".
If the four Gospel accounts of Jesus's life and ministry are taken at face value1, Jesus definitely claimed to be God. While Jesus never directly stated the words "I am God. Worship me" as some secular opponents and Muslim apologists often demand, He did demonstrate His deity in several other ways. The following passages are examples taken from three of the four Gospels:
In the Gospel of Mark, which is universally regarded as the oldest of the Gospels, Jesus claims to "have authority on earth to forgive sins". (Mark 2:10) When a paralyzed man is brought before Jesus, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." The Jewish scribes who were present objected saying, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" (v7). Jesus responds with a sign:
"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven;' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your pallet and walk? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man2 has authority on earth to forgive sins' He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.' And he rose and immediately took up the pallet and went out in the sight of all; so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.'" (Mark 2:9‐12)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states that he will judge all humanity at his second coming. He is, therefore, claiming to exercise a prerogative attributable only to Deity.
"But when the Son of Man2 comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me'. Then the righteous will answer him, saying 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"
"Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew. 25:31- 41)
At one time when Jesus and His disciples were in Caesarea Philippi in the north near Mount Hermon, he asked them who they thought he was.
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist; some say Elijah; and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Simon Peter answered and said, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered and said, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjonas, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'" (Matthew 16:13-17)
"Finally, when Jesus stood before the Jewish Council after his arrest, the chief priests and scribes stated, 'If you are the Christ, tell us.' Jesus replied, 'If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.' So they said, 'Are you the Son of God, then?' And he said to them, 'You say that I am.' Then they said, 'What further testimony do we need? We have heard it from his own lips.'" (From Luke 22:67‐71)
Here Christ is affirming their conclusion. He does not deny that he is the Son of God.
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1Some readers will immediately question the reliability of the Gospels as historical accounts. However, most mainstream scholars affirm the basic historical nature of the gospel accounts and also affirm that they fairly represent the words and acts of the historical Jesus. See The Reliability of the Gospels for additional information.
2"Son of Man" is a title Jesus applied to himself. It comes from the book of the Prophet Daniel, where Daniel states, "And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13‐14)