Who is Jesus?

 

John 1:1 KJV

The most obvious verse to answer this question is John 1:1 KJV, which reads “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.  If anyone is ever looking for something that clearly says Jesus is God, this is it!  In the past, I always liked this verse because it helped me understand how Jesus and the Father could both be God.  Because, after all, God himself says in Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD”.  There is one God.  Jesus is the Word of God, and God’s Word is a part of who He is.  In fact, the Greek word for "word", logos, means much more than just "word", but also all the reason, thinking, and truth behind it. Granted, my thinking was (and still is) a little too simplistic, but it was a good start to understand the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

However, the NWT doesn’t translate John 1:1 in the same way, instead calling the Word “a god”.  I don't bring this up to debate the correct translation, but merely to point out that there is a verse accepted widely throughout the history of Christianity that explicitly says Jesus is God.  That being said, is there any evidence outside of John 1:1 to support Jesus's divinity?  Let’s explore!

Romans 10:9-13 NWT

For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.  For the scripture says, “No one who rests his faith on him will be disappointed”.  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.  There is the same Lord over all, who is rich toward all those calling on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”

I really like how verse 13 is translated here.  Verse 13 is a quotation of Joel 2:32a, which reads “And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved”.  The underlying Greek in this verse, however, is actually the word for Lord, Kurios, which is a common title for God.  The passage being quoted, though, Joel 2:32, does use Jehovah in the original Hebrew.  So although the NWT deviates here from the Greek text, it does translate correctly the source of the text, and its meaning, that anyone who calls on God (Jehovah) will be saved.

This section of scripture, however, begins with the public declaration of Jesus as Kurios (Lord), and ends with the promise that “everyone who calls on the name of [Kurios] will be saved”.  Because Kurios is used for Lord in verse 9, and again in verse 13, it’s clear that, in context, anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord God will be saved.  You should be able to say it either way: Jesus is Lord, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Jesus is Jehovah, and everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.

John 8:56-58 NWT

[Jesus replied] “Abraham your father rejoiced greatly at the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” Then the Jews said to him: “You are not yet 50 years old, and still you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”

Verse 58b in the KJV reads as most other English translations read, “Before Abraham was, I am”.  The Kingdom Interlinear also confirms the last phrase to read “Before Abraham to become I am” (which is a choppy translation only because it is a direct translation of each Greek word).  This should sound familiar – it’s the same name that God used when he spoke to Moses from a burning bush in Exodus 3:14!  Jesus’s poor grammar in verse 58 that occurs in most translations is actually not poor grammar in Greek.  The last word in this verse (am), the Greek word eimi, is in the jussive form, like a command or a request, not past tense. The more common vernacular of the day would have been to just use that word, "eimi" to say "(I) am" without using the pronoun "I".  But Jesus here says "ego eimi", which puts a definite emphasis on the pronoun "I" (ego), clearly linking his statement to God's holy name, essentially claiming Himself to be God.  His claim to deity sure stood out to the Jews, too, because in verse 59 they picked up stones to throw at Him.

John 20:27-29 NWT

Next [Jesus] said to Thomas: “Put your finger here, and see my hands, and take your hand and stick it into my side, and stop doubting but believe.” In answer Thomas said to him: My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen me, have you believed? Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

After Thomas sees the risen Jesus, he confesses Jesus to be Lord and God.  Jesus doesn’t correct Thomas and tell him that He isn’t God.  He does the opposite.  He confirms Thomas’s confession in verse 29, and pronounces a blessing to all who believe who haven’t seen with their own eyes.

Is it possible Thomas’s “confession” was actually an expression of shock?  I find that very hard to believe he’d use the Lord’s name in vain right in front of the risen Jesus.  That, and, that Jesus would opt not to correct him.

Jesus is Worshiped

There are several instances in which the disciples worship Jesus even though Exodus 20:3-5 reserves worship for God alone, confirmed by Jesus himself when being tempted by Satan in Matthew 4:10.  A few of these examples include:

·        Matthew 2:11 – The wise men worship baby (toddler) Jesus

·        Matthew 14:33 – The disciples worship Jesus after He walks on the water

·        Matthew 28:9 – The women who meet Jesus after finding the empty tomb worship Him

·        Matthew 28:17 / Luke 24:52 – The disciples worship Jesus before/after His ascension

·        Revelation 5:13-14 – God the Father and Jesus together are worshiped in heaven by every living thing

And my list above still doesn’t include Palm Sunday or Thomas’s expression of worship in the previous section.

If Jesus is an angel, even an archangel, should He be worshiped?  Of course not – angels are created beings and, like us, are subject to God.  In Revelation 19:10, John speaks to an angel and bows down in worship.  The angel says (NWT) “Be careful!  Do not do that!  I am only a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who have the work of witnessing concerning Jesus…”

Likewise, if Jesus is just a human being, He shouldn’t be worshiped.  In Acts 10:25, Cornelius bows to Peter in reverence, and Peter refuses the worship in verse 26, saying (NWT) “Rise; I too am just a man”.

Aside – I am aware the NWT translates the Greek word for “worship” instead as “does obeisance”.  The underlying Greek is translated as “worship” elsewhere, when it’s not an instance of someone worshiping Jesus.  I can compile a list of these verses if that will be helpful to the conversation.

How is God referred to in name or title throughout the New Testament?

First century Jews were careful to not use the name of God out of reverence.  When translated into English, the Hebrew scriptures containing God’s name YHWH, were replaced with LORD in all caps.  In the New Testament, the Greek word for Lord, Kurios, is often used in reference to God. 

For example, when asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus responded in Matthew 22:37 (KJV) “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  Although the NWT translates Lord as Jehovah, the Kingdom Interlinear confirms that the underlying text uses “Lord”.

Another example is in Mary’s song, when she visits Elizabeth who is also pregnant.  Mary sings in Luke 1:46 (KJV) “My soul doth magnify the Lord”.  Again, NWT translates Lord here to be Jehovah, recognizing that Mary is singing to God.  The Kingdom Interlinear confirms that the underlying text again reads “Lord”.

There are many examples of this through the New Testament.  There are likewise also many many cases where Lord is used for Jesus, all throughout the Gospels and the Epistles alike.  Just a few of the most reverent cases that stand out include:

·        Revelation 17:14 (NWT) “These will battle with the Lamb, but because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them…”

·        1 Corinthians 12:3 (NWT) “… nobody can say: ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by holy spirit”

·        Philippians 2:11 (NWT) “and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father”

·        1 Peter 3:15 (NWT) “But sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts…”

My point is that “Lord” is a common title attributed to God throughout the Old and New Testaments.  The title Lord is also given to Jesus, and in ways much higher than just a title of respect.  Jesus is referred to as Lord in ways that only God is referred to as Lord.  In the scripture examples above that I selected, you could easily replace the name Jesus with God, and the statement would still be true.

One last example, which isn’t totally related but I found really interesting, is in Revelation 1:8 (NWT) where God speaks: “’I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says Jehovah God, ‘the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty,”.  At first glance, this isn’t anything surprising… this isn’t an uncommon way to describe God.  The one thing that caught my attention, though, is that God describes Himself as the One “who is coming”.  All throughout Revelation, isn’t it Jesus who is coming?

Then if we skip down to verse 17 (NWT) when John sees Jesus, Jesus speaks to him, saying “Do not be afraid.  I am the First and the Last”.  This phrase sounds familiar… it’s how God described himself 9 verses earlier!  There can only be one who is First and Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, and that is God alone.

What is the evidence for Jesus being a powerful spirit?

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus to be the archangel Michael.  Is there biblical support for that? 

The supporting passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NWT) “because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.”

It’s not clear from that verse that Jesus is an angel.  When I read the passage, I take it to mean Jesus will bring archangels with Him, and their voices will be heard.  Same with God’s trumpet – Jesus is coming with it, and we’ll hear it when He comes.  Traditionally, the Old Testament Jews recognized a heavy use of angels as intermediaries between God and men.  Angels are used throughout scriptures to deliver messages (e.g. Abraham), deliver help (e.g. Hagar), and are often present in visions (e.g. Daniel).  It should be no surprise that archangels will precede, or participate in, the return of Jesus!

I believe the suggestion of Jesus being Michael is gleaned from references in Daniel 10 to Michael being “your prince”.  Unfortunately, Satan is also referenced several times as the “prince of this world”, e.g. in John 14:30 (KJV).  Archangels, such as Michael, certainly can be referred to princes, as they can have positions of great power, but all of them are still subject to King Jesus who is above all!