Who is Jesus?

[hosam]

Who is Jesus?

Without a doubt, you have often heard the claim that Jesus is God, the second person in the "Holy trinity." However, the very Bible which is used as a basis for knowledge about Jesus and as the basis for doctrine within Christianity clearly belies this claim. We urge you to consult your own Bible and verify that the following conclusions are not drawn out of context:

1. God is All Knowing.....but Jesus was not
When speaking of the day of judgment, Jesus clearly gave evidence of a limitation on his knowledge when he said, "but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the son, but the Father." Mark 13:32, and Matt 24:36. But God knows all. His knowledge is without any limitations. That Jesus, of his own admission, did not know when the day of judgment would be, is clear proof that Jesus is not all-knowing, and that Jesus is therefore not God.

2. God is All Powerful.....but Jesus was not
While Jesus performed many miracles, he himself admitted that the power he had was not his own but was derived from God when he said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do..." St. John 5:19. Again he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." St. John 5:30. But God is not only all-powerful, He is also the source of all power and authority. That Jesus, of his own admission, could do nothing on his own is clear proof that Jesus is not all-powerful, and that therefore Jesus is not God.

3. God does not have a God.....but Jesus did have a God.
God is the ultimate judge and refuge for all, and He does not call upon nor pray to any others. But Jesus acknowledged that there was one whom he worshipped and to whom he prayed when he said, "l ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." St. John 20:17. He is also reported to have cried out while on the cross, "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?" Matt 27:46. If Jesus were God, then couldn't this be read, "Myself, myself why hast thou forsaken me?" Would that not be pure nonsense? When Jesus prayed the Lord's prayer (Luke 11:2-4), was he praying to himself? When in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt." Matt 26:36-39. Was Jesus praying to himself? That Jesus, of his own admission and by his own actions, acknowledged, worshipped, and prayed to another being as God is clear proof that Jesus himself is not God.

4. God is an invisible spirit.....but Jesus was flesh and blood
While thousands saw Jesus and heard his voice, Jesus himself said that this could not be done with God when he said. "No man hath seen God at any time." St. John 1:18. '"Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape." St. John 5:37. He also said in St. John 4:24. "God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." That Jesus would say that no one had seen or heard God at any time, while his followers both saw and heard him, is clear proof that Jesus was not God.

5. No one is greater than God and no one can direct Him but Jesus acknowledged someone greater than himself whose will was distinct from his own.
Perhaps the clearest indication we have that Jesus and God are not equal, and therefore not one and the same, come again from the mouth of Jesus himself who said in St. John 14:28, "My Father is greater than I." When someone referred to him as good master in Matt 19:17, Jesus responded, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God..." Furthermore, Jesus drew clear distinctions between himself and God when he said, "I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself but He sent me." St. John 8:42. Jesus gave clear evidence of his subordination to God, rather than his equality with God,when he said in Luke 22:42, "not my will but thine be done" and in St. John 5:30, "I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me." That Jesus would admit that he did not come into the world on his own initiative but was directed to do so, that he would acknowledge another being as greater than himself, and that he would negate his own will in deference to affirming the will of another, give clear proof that Jesus is not the Supreme One and therefore Jesus is not God.

Conclusion
The Church recognizes the Bible as the primary source of knowledge about God and Jesus. But since the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is not the Supreme Being and the Supreme Being is not Jesus, upon what basis have you come to believe otherwise?

My brother or sister, the belief that the Supreme Being is a Trinity is false and completely inconsistent with the words of Jesus as presented in the Bible. God is one, not three. He is a perfect unity.

If you are interested in the truth about God and your relationship to Him, we invite you to investigate the religion of Islam.


What is the word of God about Jesus:

A. Regarding Sonship of Jesus:
That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing he but says to it "Be", and it is. (Qur'an 19:34,35).

And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent of it and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh fall down crashing for that they have attributed to the All-Merciful a son; and it behoves not the All-Merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but comes to the All-Merciful as a servant (Qur'an 19:88-93).

Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust, then said He unto him, "Be", and he was. (Qur'an 3:59).

People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers. and say not, 'Three', Refrain, better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be on Him - that He should have a son! To Him belongs that which is in the heavens and on the earth, God suffices for a guardian. (Qur'an 4:171)

B. Regarding Jesus being God:
And when God said. 'O Jesus son of Mary,did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God?" He Said, 'To You be Glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, You knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within Your soul; You know the things unseen. I only said to them what You did command me: "Serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when You did take me to Yourself the Watcher over them; You are the witness of everything. (Quran 5:116,117)

C. Regarding Crucifiction of Jesus:
And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a mighty calumny, and for their saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God'...yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they did not slay him of certainty... no indeed, God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, All-Wise. There is not one of the people of the Book but will assuredly believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them. (Qur'an 4:156-159)

[Belle13]

God is Everything. He is a supreme being he knows everything and I know by myself that He is my Savior. I know he takes care to everyone of us.

[rafterman]

God is Everything. He is a supreme being he knows everything and I know by myself that He is my Savior. I know he takes care to everyone of us.

He's obviously blessed your dope plantation as well

[Toddstar]

I thought Jesus was a guy on a train. Oh man, I hope he doesnt ignore me at the club tonight. He drives a 'vette!

[MetalPhoenix]

Here is my question.

WHY do you believe this?
There is no proof. The only reason you believe this is because you happen to live in a certain location at a certain period in time.

If you lived in current day India, you'd probably believe in Shiva
If you lived in the middle east, you'd believe in Mohammed and Allah
If you lived in Scandinavia, a couple of hundred years ago, you'd probably believe in Thor and Odin
If you lived in ancient Greece, you'd be praying to Zeus

You're an atheist to all these religions. Why should THIS particular "god" be real and not the others?

[scott green]

The Resurrection is the Corner Stone of the Christian Faith, and I find it really interesting that people could use that as the basis of their faith when it is riddled with contradictions.

With that in mind, let’s look at each eye witness account, and see what really happend when Jesus rose from the dead -

Account 1 : According to Paul, Jesus rose straight to heaven. Ephesians 4:7-10 - No sightings, no appearences, no nothing. We just have to take his word for it.

Account 2 : Mark's Gospel, in its original form, doesn’t say what happened. The women simply saw an empty tomb, where a young man told them that Jesus had risen. There were no appearances by the resurrected Jesus. But thankfully verses Mark 16:9-20 were added by a later author, to fill in the parts that Mark possibly just forgot to write down, or maybe he wrote it down and lost it? Either way, this brings this Gospel more or less into line with the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which were obviously more correct??

Account 3 : Matthew's (Matthew 28) Gospel says the women who had gone to the tomb saw Jesus while on the way to tell the disciples of their experience. Finally, the eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee and saw Jesus. Or at least some of them believed they did and worshipped Jesus, while others doubted it was really Jesus, or didn’t recognise him in the slightest. (All this is kinda explained in accounts 4 and 5)

Account 4 : Luke's (Luke 24) Gospel records that Jesus appeared to two men, Cleopas and Peter, on the road near Jerusalem, but they did not recognise him as Jesus either, they just saw a young man they didn’t know walking along the road, and even after conversing with him, inviting him home, and eating dinner with him, they STILL didn’t recognise him! It’s unbelievable! But later that night they 'assumed' that he was Jesus based on his words and behaviour, but then amazingly he just vanished out of their sight! Isn’t Jesus wonderful! Jesus appeared to the disciples once more and showed them his wounds, before being drawn up into heaven.

Account 5 : In John's (John 20) Gospel, Mary Magdalene was the only woman who went to the tomb. She saw Jesus standing, but she didn’t even recognise him either, supposing that it was the gardener. Possibly Jesus changed his appearance to look like a gardener? It’s incredible! But Jesus didn’t accompany Mary, when she went to report his message to the apostles. Jesus next appeared amongst the disciples, except Thomas, coming through a door that was closed, showed them his wounds and breathed the Holy Ghost upon them. Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to all the disciples, and once again we are assured that the door was shut when he walked through it! He can walk on water AND through doors! Isn’t Jesus amazing! And Finally, Jesus appeared to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberius but they dared to ask who he was, presumably meaning that his identity was not that obvious. Maybe he looked like the gardener that Mary had seen? …or like the young man Peter had invited to his house for dinner? He had probably taken another person’s appearance. It's unbelievable! I guess he is God's son after all. He can do anything he wants!?

All these are Biblical accounts of what happened when Christ rose from the dead, and all of these are completely different, with some eye witnesses seeing an empty tomb, while others see Jesus there, while others see a gardener who turns out to be Jesus, and other having dinner with a young man no-one recognises who was Jesus all along?? I find it absolutely astounding that the Resurrection is the main belief and proof that Jesus was God's son, yet every single eye-witness account are completely different!