The Identity Evidence - Bible Learning Center

Was Jesus Really Convinced That He Was the Son of God?

Some maintain that the myth of Jesus’ deity was superimposed on the Jesus tradition by over-zealous supporters years after his death.
Jesus was a bit mysterious about his identity. He tended to shy away from forthrightly proclaiming himself to be the Messiah or Son of God.
The Jews of Jesus’ day had no concept of the trinity. For someone to say that Jesus was God, or Yahweh, it wouldn’t have made any sense. It would be seen as clear-cut blasphemy.
There were a host of expectations about what the Messiah would look like, and Jesus didn’t want to be pigeonholed into somebody else’s categories. Consequently, he was very careful about what he said publicly.

If the Twelve disciples represent a renewed Israel, where does Jesus fit in? He’s not just part of Israel, but he’s forming the group—just as God in the Old Testament formed his people and set up the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus says of John the Baptist, “Of all people born of woman, John is the greatest man on earth.” Having said that, Jesus goes even further in his ministry than John did—by doing miracles, for example. What does that say about what he thinks of himself?
Jesus makes the truly radical statement that it’s not what enters a person that defiles him but what comes out of his heart. This sets aside huge portions of the Old Testament book of Leviticus. What kind of person thinks he has the authority to set aside the divinely inspired Jewish Scriptures and supplant them with his own teaching?
The Romans hung Jesus on the cross with a sign above his head that said, “This is the King of the Jews.” Either Jesus made that verbal claim, or someone clearly thought he did.

Jesus doesn’t merely see himself as a worker of miracles; he sees himself as the one in whom and through whom the promises of God come to pass. It’s a bold claim of transcendence.
Jesus as “rabbi” taught in a radical new way. He begins his teachings with the phrase, “Amen I say to you,” which is to say, “I swear in advance to the truthfulness of what I’m about to say.”
In Judaism you needed the testimony of two witnesses, so witness A could witness the truth of witness B and vice versa. But Jesus witnesses to the truth of his own sayings. Instead of basing his teaching on the authority of others, he speaks on his own authority.
Jesus used the term “Abba” when he was relating to God. Abba connotes intimacy in a relationship between a child and his father. Jesus and his disciples are the only ones to use this term.
The significance of “Abba” is that Jesus is the initiator of an intimate relationship that was previously unavailable.

Jesus had points in his life of identity confirmation—at his baptism, at his temptation, at the Transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane. These were crisis moments in Jesus’ life in which God confirmed to him who he was and what his mission was.
Jesus saw his mission as coming to free Israel, God’s chosen people. His ministry was not directed at the Gentiles. That was the role of the early church.

Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan has pointed out that the oldest Christian sermon, the oldest account of a Christian martyr, the oldest pagan report of the church, and the oldest liturgical prayer (1 Cor. 16:22) all refer to Jesus as Lord and God.