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Is there proof that Jesus is the son of God? What is the proof, and how do we know it’s true?
According to Lee Strobel in The Case for Christ, there is proof that Jesus is the son of God. The question of Jesus’s divinity has long been debated by scholars. However, Strobel believes that there is proof that Jesus is the son of God.
Keep reading to find out more about whether or not there’s proof that Jesus is the son of God.
Did Jesus Exhibit the Traits of God?
It goes without saying that Christians believe Jesus is God, but what exactly does being God entail? The Old Testament provides a number of details about God that, if Christian doctrine is right, would have to hold true for Jesus as well. But what’s the evidence that Jesus is God? For example:
- God is omnipresent (He exists everywhere, at all times).
- God is omniscient (He is all-knowing, and can see all of eternity).
- God is omnipotent (He is all-powerful).
- God is eternal (He is both beyond time and the source of time).
- God is immutable (He is total in form and substance and never changes).
Some of these attributes immediately present problems for Christian apologists. For example, how can Jesus be omnipresent? When he was delivering the Sermon on the Mount by the Sea of Galilee, he wasn’t simultaneously standing on a street in Nazareth!
To get some clarity on these issues, Strobel visits D. A. Carson, a professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Carson has authored or edited over 40 books and reads a dozen languages. He holds a bachelor of science from McGill University and a doctorate in the New Testament from Cambridge, and provides what he believes to be evidence that Jesus is God.
The Question of Jesus’s Omni-ness
Whereas the God of the Old Testament is omni-everything, Jesus appears limited in all sorts of ways: he can’t exist in two places at once, he admits that he doesn’t know when he’ll return to Earth, and he’s unable to perform miracles in his hometown (there goes omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence). The case against Jesus’s deity, at least how deity is understood in the Old Testament, seems closed. This is not proof that Jesus is the son of God.
However, theologians throughout the years have been able to explain these “contradictions” using a variety of approaches. Two of the most prominent pieces of evidence that Jesus is God are:
- A Jesus of Two Minds
- Theologian Benjamin Warfield, who was active in the late 19th century, theorized that Jesus was both distinctly divine and distinctly human. In other words, when Jesus does something that seems to undermine his deity—for example, confesses he doesn’t know when he’ll return—he’s evincing his humanity. When he performs an unprecedented miracle—for example, raising others from the dead or rising himself—he’s acting as God.
- An “Emptied” Jesus
- This solution grows out of Philippians 2, which finds Paul telling the reader that, because Jesus didn’t want to “exploit” his equality with God, he “emptied” himself. There have been various interpretations of what Paul meant here, the most compelling of which is that Jesus relinquished the independent use of his divine powers. That is, while incarnated, Jesus only acted as God when God the Father commanded it.
For Carson’s part, though, the quest for an exhaustive explanation misses the point. Incarnation—the event of spirit becoming flesh—is a miraculous process that can’t help but be mysterious. It is an act of God, and so it should come as no surprise that mortals have difficulty comprehending it.
Nevertheless, proof that Jesus is the son of God comes from clear textual evidence that Jesus satisfied all five of the key attributes of God:
- Jesus is omnipresent (in Matthew 28:20, he says “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”).
- Jesus is omniscient (in John 16:30, the author admits, “Now are we sure that thou knowest all things”).
- Jesus is omnipotent (Matthew 28:18: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” Jesus says).
- Jesus is eternal (John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the World was God”).
- Jesus is immutable (from Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same today and yesterday and forever”).
To Forgive Is Divine: Proof That Jesus is the Son of God?
For most Christians, Jesus’s miracles are the core piece of evidence for his deity. However, New Testament scholars concede that figures other than Jesus were able to perform miracles. So what sets Jesus apart? Was Jesus the son of God?
One less-remarked-upon trait of Jesus that indicates his deity is his forgiveness of sin. In the Jewish tradition, when men sinned, they sinned against God and subsequently had to beg his forgiveness. Jesus’s ability to forgive sin Himself indicates his deity, for God alone can forgive sin.
And not only was Jesus able to forgive sin: He was utterly without sin himself. Other than God, no being is morally perfect, and so, therefore, Jesus is God.
More Proof That Jesus is the Son of God: The Question of Jesus’s Createdness
Was Jesus the son of God? The most definitive sign of God’s divinity, arguably, is the fact that He is the creator of all things. But in a number of places in the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as having been created—for example in John 3:16 and Colossians 1:15. Does this mean Jesus isn’t truly God?
The notion that Jesus was created stems from flawed translations of the original New Testament Greek. In John 3:16 for example, when the author calls Jesus the “begotten” Son of God (King James Version), the Greek word typically translated “begotten” actually means something closer to “unique and beloved.” That is to say, the original Greek doesn’t have the connotation of “created.” (More modern translations use “one and only Son” in lieu of “begotten.”)
Was Jesus a Secondary God?
At certain points in the New Testament, Jesus seems to diminish his own primacy. For example, in John 14:28, Jesus tells his disciples that the “Father is greater than I,” implying that Jesus’s deity isn’t foremost. So was Jesus the son of God?
Whereas many misreadings of Jesus’s pronouncements have their origin in poor translation, others stem from the omission of necessary context. In the case of John 14:28, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his ascension to Heaven, and the lines before the above-quoted phrase fill out Jesus’s meaning: “If you loved me, you’d be glad for my sake [that I’m going away], because the Father is greater than I.” In other words, Jesus, as the mortal incarnation of God (the Son of God), is simply saying that God the Father is in a better place than Jesus is currently. That Jesus says “the father is greater than I” isn’t a denial of his deity; it’s a comparison between equal beings.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best summary of Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" at Shortform .
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- How an atheist lawyer-journalist researched Christ and began believing
- The key arguments against the existence of Christ, and why they don't hold up
- How to make up your own mind about whether Christ existed
Dear Christian friends,
Christianity rises or falls on the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. If this event did not happen, “your faith is in vain”, wouldn’t you agree? The big question then is: What is the evidence for this claim?
Eyewitness testimony? Experts are divided on the eyewitness status of the Gospels. The eyewitness status of 2,000 year old stories in which people see and hear a walking, talking resurrected corpse is therefore disputed. Regardless of what you personally may believe about their historicity and reliability, disputed eyewitness testimony is not strong evidence.
The changed character of the disciples? Dramatic conversions accompanied by dramatic changes in behavior occur in all religions, sects, and cults. A dramatic change in behavior and character is therefore not strong evidence of the veracity of any particular religion or belief system.
The disciples would not die for a lie? I agree. Most people would not die for a lie. But many people have died for a mistaken belief. It is entirely possible that the disciples of Jesus experienced illusions, false sightings (cases of mistaken identity), or even delusions which convinced them that Jesus had appeared to them. If hundreds of people believe that Mary, the saints, and even Jesus appear to them today, why should we be surprised that a small group of first century peasants and fishermen believed similar appearances occurred to them? Alleged sightings of a dead person, even by groups of people, is not good evidence.
The rapid growth of Christianity proves it is true? This is a logical fallacy. Just because a lot of people believe a story to be true does not make it true.
Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies? Most Jewish Bible scholars and even a significant number of Christian Bible scholars question the existence of “Jesus prophecies” in the Jewish Bible. For example, even some evangelical apologists such as Josh and Sean McDowell now admit that the “virgin birth” prophecy in Isaiah 7 was not about Jesus. Disputed prophecies are not strong evidence.
So a brief review of the historical evidence does not support the conservative Christian claim that there is “strong” historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Disputed evidence is not strong evidence.
What other evidence is there for the bodily resurrection of Jesus?
Answered prayer? Even Christians must admit that answered prayer is very hit and miss. Not every person who prays for healing is cured. Not every person who prays for recovery from cancer or other terminal illnesses recovers. Statistically, answered prayer is no better than flipping a coin.
The testimony of the Holy Spirit? As a former evangelical, I can tell you that for most evangelical Christians, the perception of the presence of Jesus within them is the strongest evidence for them that Jesus rose from the dead, is alive and well, and is the ruler of the universe. But how reliable are feelings and subjective perceptions of an invisible, inaudible presence? Not very! Feelings and perceptions are notoriously unreliable! That “still, small voice” you believe to be Jesus may well be…you: your inner dialogue with yourself!
So if none of the evidence for this fantastical, never heard of before or since event is “strong” by any rational, objective definition of that word, why do you and millions of other Christians believe it? I would venture to bet the reason is this: It provides you with so much comfort and security! But is that sufficient reason to be teaching gullible adults on the internet and your own children that this ancient supernatural tale is an historical fact?
Please check your conscience, my friend. Belief in the supernatural is the cause of much of the world’s violence and suffering. Give up your comforting superstitions. Do it for the good of humankind.
Gary
Simply, child-like faith. One must have the faith of a mustard seed for the mysteries to open up for you. You will never experience the presence of the living God in and around you and your world, unless you have a slight bit of belief that Jesus is God, and there is a God. I have experienced such guidance through many seeminly minor and major miracles in my life and know those miracles were from God Almighty, God, the Father, God, the Son, Jesus, and God, the Holy Spirit in one . Time is ticking, and unless you step off the edge with faith, you’ll never see Him, feel Him or be guided by Him, Holy Spirit of God, and you will go to hell to live for eternity. Many atheist have experienced this beautiful transition and belive. You can too. And I pray that you do. in Jesus’ name..
You forgot one very important fact. When Jesus was accused of being a fake at his trial by Pilot, and Jewish leaders he went as a Lamb to slaughter. He said nothing to change his claim, he said nothing in his defense, he accepted his terrible fate and horrific punishment bcuz God told him that he must do that. The night before in the Garden he was afraid. He died saying, “ Father forgive them, they know not what they do,”