Have you ever heard anyone accuse Christians of exaggerating the message of Jesus, saying that Jesus never said He was God or asked people to worship Him, and in fact, that did He only ever claimed to be a prophet? Well, was Jesus just a prophet like all those who came before Him or was He the divine Son of God? Stick around and see for yourself how to best answer these false accusations.
Welcome to answers from an apostolic faith.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
Was Jesus Christ just a prophet like all of the prophets of the Old Testament that came before Him or was He God incarnate? This question has been posed by so many generations of people over the last 2000 years. You see, confusion about who Jesus is has been around for centuries. And many theories have been proposed and thrown around by far too many groups of people.
But the real answer that we should be investigating is who Jesus Himself claimed to be and who His direct followers, the apostles, believe Him to be. After all, they are the people who spent the most time with Jesus and received direct instructions from Him as to what they should teach others about Him. So, to answer this question properly, let's first take a look at some of the accusations that people make and investigate them further. The two main accusations are the following:
#1: The people during Jesus' time believed Him to be a prophet and even Jesus Himself implied it. Therefore, Jesus must merely be a prophet and not God.
#2: Jesus never claimed to be God nor did He say: Worship Me. Therefore, it must have been a fabrication of Christians after Jesus' death.
In this video, we will tackle the first point and leave the second to another video. Let's take a look at the first claim more in depth.
Some of those who would stand against the Christian faith would say that the Gospels give us ample evidence that everyone around Jesus during His life believed Him to be just a prophet. They will reference passages like the following that we're going to look at. For instance, when He entered into Jerusalem, in Matthew, chapter 21, verse 11:
'' 11 So the multitudes said, ''This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.'' '' (Matthew 21:11)
When the Lord raised the son of the widow of Nain, in Luke, chapter 7, verse 16:
'' 16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, ''A great prophet has risen up among us''...'' (Luke 7:16)
Again, when the disciples of Emmaus were walking on the road in Luke 24, verse 19:
'' 19 (...) [And] so they said to Him, ''The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all [of] the people.'' '' (Luke 24:19)
And in referencing these passages, our accusers would have us believe that, because these things are written in Scripture, then this must mean that Jesus is merely a prophet. Unfortunately for our accusers, this is absolute nonsense and we will prove it.
So, let's begin with the obvious: yes, of course, Christians confess that Jesus was a prophet. And He was a prophet, just as He is also a priest and a king, the three holy offices and callings for all of humanity. These three, priest, prophet and king, are each perfectly fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. And while we know this to be true, our accusers would push further and say that because we can give Him the title of prophet, He, therefore, cannot be God. And this is where we must stand against false reasoning and explain the truth of our faith.
In many cases where people reference such verses, they fail to read them in context and are simply proof texting the Scriptures to find statements that support their own ideas. For instance, in Luke 7:16, while they say the people said a great prophet has risen up among us, they will omit the very next part of the exact same verse that clearly stipulates: and God has visited His people. Isn't it interesting that the second half of the verse would be left out conveniently when it says plainly that it is God who has come to them?
In the passage of Luke 24, when the disciples of Emmaus are on the road, they describe Jesus Himself as a prophet. Our accusers say: Well, there you have it! His own disciples say He is nothing but a prophet. Conveniently, they fail to read the rest of the passage where, when Jesus reveals Himself to them in the breaking of bread, they then immediately go back to join the rest of the disciples and they boldly proclaim, in verse 34:
'' 34 (...) ''The Lord is risen indeed''...'' (Luke 24:34)
The Lord... Κύριος (Kyrios) in Greek: a title befitting God, the Messiah. How interesting that if they had read just a little further, they would have realized that snipping passages out of their context is not a good idea.
Finally, in Matthew 21, verse 11, the people yet again say that Jesus is a prophet from Nazareth, nothing further. But if we read this same chapter again in greater detail, we discover that this
is embedded in the story of when Jesus enters Jerusalem. And the people receive Him with cries of hosanna! This word, hosanna, was typically an exclamation of praise directed to God; a joyful plea for salvation. Why would they shout to a mere prophet? And how can this mere prophet, just three verses later in verse 14, begin to heal the blind and the lame that were in the temple?
This was such a scandalous scene that even the Jewish leaders turned to Jesus and said: Do you hear what these are saying?, implying that this is blasphemy... Make the children stop! And it is Jesus' answer to the priests and the scribes that shows His divinity. He replies and He says the following:
'' 16 (...) ''Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?'' '' (Matthew 21:16)
Here, Jesus is referencing Psalm 8, which says beautifully:
'' 1 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have ordained strength, [and] because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.'' (Psalm 8:1-2)
This psalm was directed at God Most High. Where the psalmist says that even the babes and the infants speak of the glory of God to silence the enemies of God, Jesus is telling the Jewish leaders that this very moment where the multitudes cry out hosanna! and the children join them in praises is that very moment where He, God, is receiving the praise. How unfortunate that our accusers who extracted only a small portion of the text would have missed out on this clear evidence of Christ's divinity, which was only just a few verses down from where they themselves were reading!
As you can see clearly, taking a single verse out of its proper context can be so misleading. But to read it in its full context shows the beauty of our Holy Scriptures.
Okay, what about the times when Jesus implies that He is a prophet? In all three synoptic Gospels, we read about how Jesus was rejected by His own people in Nazareth and He says the following, from Mark 6, verse 4:
'' 4 (...) ''A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.'' '' (Mark 6:4)
You can also see this in Matthew 13 and Luke 4. Now, some would argue that this statement stands as proof that Jesus spoke of Himself implicitly as if He were just a prophet. Again, our answer would be to look at the full passage. The Lord only makes this statement after the
people had rejected the very claim that He was indeed the Messiah, the fulfilment of the prophecies of Isaiah, the Lord God made manifest to them. Let's read Luke chapter 4, together.
'' 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 ''The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'' 20 [Now, when] He [had] closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, ''Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'' (Luke 4:16-21)
The Lord here witnesses in front of everyone after reading the prophecies that Isaiah 61 was indeed pointing to Him. The very first section of the reading of Isaiah had always been understood by the Jews to point to the anointed of God, the Messiah. Furthermore, the list of all of the things this messiah will do is only things that God Himself can do, pointing to how God will be at work in this messiah; both a divine and human prophecy.
So, for Jesus to proclaim the prophecies are fulfilled, He's saying just that: I am the fulfilment, the divine and human manifestation of this promise; I am the God-man. St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on this and he says the following:
''By these words he himself tells us very clearly by the voice of the prophet [Isaiah] that he would both be made man and come to save the world. For we affirm that the Son was anointed in no other way than by having become like us according to the flesh and taking our nature. Being at once God and man...'' (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Homily 12)
This is St. Cyril's commentary on the Gospel of Luke. For our accusers to suggest that Jesus was, therefore, making the statement that He was just a prophet is foolish. The very reason he was rejected and not honoured in His own home was because they refused to believe his claim to be the Holy Messiah, the Son of God Most High whom the prophets foretold about.
Therefore, when read it its proper context, it is clear that this passage in Luke and in the other synoptic Gospels actually points to Christ's divinity. It cannot be taken seriously as some sort of proof that Jesus claimed to be merely a prophet. My beloved, when we read the Holy Bible in its full context, we can immediately see that, while Jesus did indeed have a prophetic ministry, He was the incarnate Word of God, our divine Lord and Saviour.
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