What
Jesus
Said
About
Himself
His message comes from God
and its truthfulness can be tested:
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"My teaching is not my own.
It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will,
he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I
speak on my own."
—John 7:16
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His message is eternal and
will not be changed:
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"Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will never pass away."
—Matthew 24:35
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He came into the world (i.e.
from outside):
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"I came into the world, to
testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to
me."
—John 18:38
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He came from heaven, i.e.
from God:
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"No-one has ever gone into
heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of
Man."
—John 3:13
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God was always with
Jesus:
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"The one who sent me is with
me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases
him."
—John 8:29
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Jesus had this one thing in
mind, to please and honour his heavenly Father and to complete His
task.
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"‘My food’,
said Jesus,‘is
to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his
work’."
—John 4:34
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And why we should believe
him:
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"Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe
me?"
—John 8:46
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Muslims are sometimes taught that all
prophets of God were sinless. That again is a deviation from the
facts. Only Jesus is called sinless or holy (Surat 19:19), while we
read of the sins of Adam (Surat 7:22-23), Moses (28:15-16), Abraham
(26:82), Jonah (37:141-144), David (38:24-25), and also of Muhammad
(40:55, 47:19, 48:1-2).
For us to do the work of God
includes believing in Jesus:
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"The work of God is this: to
believe in the one he has sent."
—John 6:29
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To reject Jesus is to reject
God.
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"He who rejects me rejects
him who sent me."
—Luke 10:16
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He not only came to bring a
message, but to fulfil a task.
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"For the Son of Man came to
seek and to save what was lost."
—Luke 19:10
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He came to call sinners to
repentance and to rescue them from hell. Those assuming themselves
to be good enough to enter God's presence deem themselves not to need Jesus
anyway.
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"It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners."
—Mark 2:17
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To the weary he becomes like
a brother. He wants to bring peace to troubled hearts.
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"Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is
light."
—Matthew 11:28-30
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Water is needed for life.
Spiritually speaking Jesus offers "living water" not only to meet
our needs, but also to be a fountain to let others taste of it as
well.
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"If a man is thirsty, let
him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, streams of living water will flow from within
him."
—John 7:37
"Whoever drinks the water I
give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life."
—John 4:14
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To accept Jesus for what he
is proves our love for God:
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"I know that you do not have
the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name and
you do not accept me, but if someone else comes in his own name,
you will accept him."
—John 5:42-43
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(Following the custom of the
time, Jesus often spoke of himself in the third person). Here Jesus
makes a tremendous claim about himself:
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"Whoever believes in
him (Jesus) is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for
fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth
comes into the light."
—John 3:18-21
"I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life."
—John 8:12
"When a man believes in me,
he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he
looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the
world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in
darkness."
—John
12:44-46
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Jesus often spoke in
parables and used allegories. Here he speaks of himself as a gate
and a shepherd, and his followers as sheep.
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"I am the gate; whoever
enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and
find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full."
—John 10:10
"I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
—John 10:11
"I am the good shepherd; I
know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the
sheep."
—John 10:4
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This ‘laying down’ of his
life was a voluntary act based on his own authority.
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"The reason my Father loves
me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No-one
takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have
authority to lay it down and authority to take it up
again."
—John 10:17
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The ‘life in full’ that
Jesus came to provide includes the assurance here and now of the
life to come:
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"My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my
hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;
no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father
are one."
—John 10:27
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To a person whose brother
had been in the tomb for three days, and then been raised by Jesus
from the dead, he said:
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"I am the resurrection and
the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and
whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?"
—John
11:25,26
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Jesus makes it clear that he
himself is the only means to eternal salvation:
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"I am the way and the truth
and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you
really knew me, you would know my Father as well."
—John 14:6
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Jesus sometimes used
metaphors to illustrate spiritual matters. One is particularly
striking. By it he describes where he came from and his reason for
coming to this earth:
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"The bread of God is he who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
—John 6:33
"I am the bread of life. He
who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me
will never be thirsty."
—John 6:35
"Whoever comes to me I will
never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my
will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of
him who sent me, that I shall loose none of all that he has given
me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that
everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have
eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."
—John
6:37-39
"The Spirit gives life; the
flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and they are life."
—John 6:63
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Here Jesus is quite specific
and to the point:
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"If God were your Father,
you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not
come on my own; but he sent me."
—John 8:42
"You are of this world; I am
not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if
you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed
die in your sins."
—John 8:23,24
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Before his death, Jesus
spoke to his closest followers, saying:
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"I came from the Father and
entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the
Father."
—John 16:28
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He urged his followers to
believe in his divinity and again substantiated his
claim:
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"Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father."
"Believe me when I say that
I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on
the evidence of the miracles themselves."
—John 14:9-11
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In a recorded prayer Jesus
communed with his Father and, referring to his eternal
existence:
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"Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world
began."
—John 17:5
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Because Jesus had a human
mother, he appeared to be and was a real human person. He, like we,
was hungry and tired, felt a need to pray and experienced grief and
pain. But because God had inspired and by that affected his birth
without a human father, he was divine, could heal, raise the dead,
walk on water, forgive sins, still the storm and perform many more
reported miracles. He therefore could claim a relationship that may
shock us at first:
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"They all asked, ‘Are you
then the Son of God?’ He replied,‘You are right in saying I
am’."
—Luke 22:70
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Liberation from fear,
including the fear of death, satanic influences and freedom from
sin comes from him alone:
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"So if the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed."
—John 8:36
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Once Jesus made an
astounding remark about himself. Can we understand what he meant?
His listeners knew!
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"I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was born, I am!"
—John 8:58
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It is important to note that
"I am" in Hebrew is the same as "Jahveh", the very name of God!
This provoked the Jews to kill him. Here we find an additional
explanation. Since God is eternal there is to him no ‘was’ or ‘will
be’. He always ‘is’. What he really says here is: ‘Before Abraham
was, I was eternally alive!’
Even so he is not aloof up
there in highest heaven. He loves you and me! And He wants us to
respond to his love!
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"As the Father has loved me,
so have I loved you."
—John 15:9
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His love is more than just a
kind of fondness. He proved his love!
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"Greater love has no-one
than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
—John 15:13
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Several times Jesus spoke of
his approaching death and the purpose of his dying:
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"The Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many."
—Matthew 20:28
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The word
‘ransom’ is seldom used these days. We read
occasionally that, for example, kidnappers demand a ransom.
This is the price to set a captive free.
Jesus paid the price to set us free
from the condemnation of sin.
Four times Jesus predicted
his death to his close followers. But even to them it made little
sense in the beginning:
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"‘We are going up to
Jerusalem’, he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the
chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to
death and will turn him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and
spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will
rise’."
—Mark 10:33,34
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Before his death the man
Jesus agonized in prayer when he contemplated the terror, pain and
suffering of his imminent crucifixion:
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"He went away a second time
and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be
taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done’."
—Matthew 26:42
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It was not a godless mob
that arrested arrest him. They were the supreme religious authority
of the day, and they feared that their religious authority was
being threatened by Jesus! At his arrest one of his companions drew
a sword wanting to resist and fight. But Jesus said:
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"Do you think I cannot call
on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than
twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be
fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
—Matthew 26:53,54
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To understand the words
“fulfilled Scriptures”, we ought to know that the
prophets in the Old Testament many hundreds of years before had
foretold many of the important events in the life of Jesus. His
pre-existence in eternity, his miraculous birth by a virgin and his
divinity, his death on the cross and his resurrection from the
dead, were recorded. In Jesus they were now being
fulfilled.
Jesus' claim to be
divine was as upsetting to the Jews as it is to many people
today:
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"Again the Jews picked up
stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many
great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone
me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of
these’, replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere
man, claim to be God’."
—John 10:31-33
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Even at this very crisis
situation of his life, Jesus thought not of himself, but of
others.
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"When they came to
the place called The Skull, there they crucified him, along with
the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus
said,‘Father, forgive them, for they do not
know what they are doing’."
—Luke 23:33,34
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After his resurrection from
the dead Jesus joined some of his companions on their way home, but
remained unrecognized by them. They were in great sorrow over his
death, which they could not fathom. Jesus said to them:
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"‘How foolish you are, and
how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did
not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his
glory?’And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained
to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning
himself."
—Luke 24:25-27
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Again Jesus pointed to the
prophecies concerning him in the Old Testament.
Some people have speculated
that Jesus did not actually die, but that he was taken down from
the cross unconscious and later revived. This was quite impossible,
for the soldiers, to make sure he was dead, pierced his chest
before he was taken down (John 19:33). What did Jesus have to say
to that?
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"I am the First and the
Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for
ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (hell)."
Revelation
1:17,18
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Jesus did not come for the
Jews only, as some believe. He said:
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"This is what is
written (in the Law):
The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day; and
repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
—Luke 24:46,47
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39 days after his
resurrection from the dead Jesus was taken up to heaven before the
very eyes of his disciples. His last words to them were:
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"All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the
very end of the age."
—Matthew 28:18-20
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That is why Christian
believers have it on their hearts to make him and his message
known. When the end of time comes, Jesus will be the
judge:
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"The Father judges no-one,
but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the
Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son
does not honour the Father, who sent him. I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the
dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the
Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to
judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a
time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his
voice."
—John
5:21-28
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If nothing else makes us
think and consider - this should! To reject this offer for fear of
any kind is simply foolish.
Jesus encourages us to trust
him and in what he is doing for us:
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"Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are
many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going
there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also
may be where I am."
—John
14:1-3
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Jesus will come again. This
time not to save, but to judge all those who did not accept his
offer of pardon and forgiveness. It is therefore so important to be
prepared for his coming at any time:
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"You also must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect
him."
—Luke 12:40
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How this is going to happen
he told us as well:
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"You will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the
clouds of heaven."
—Mark 14:62
"As the lightning comes from
the East and flashes to the West, so will be the coming of the Son
of Man."
—Matthew 24:27
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Jesus is coming again to
judge the world—all nations and all people. But perhaps we
die before that. In that case he meets us at the point of our
death.
Why is Jesus speaking of
himself as the ‘Son of Man’, and not of the ‘Son
of God’? The title ‘Son of Man’ is first mentioned in the Old
Testament in the year B.C. 555:
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"In my vision at night I
looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with
the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led
into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped
him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass
away, and his kingdom is one that will never be
destroyed."
—Daniel 7:13-14
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In the light of this
statement we can easily see that there is really no difference
between the ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Son of God’?
The time to receive pardon
is not yet over. Jesus is still waiting. He left us with an
invitation:
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"Here I am! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will
come in ...."
—Revelation 3:20
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