What claims did Jesus make?
Jesus of Nazareth never wrote a book, yet more has been written about him than anyone else in world history. Jesus never travelled, yet he has more followers worlwide han any other person, living or dead. His birth split time [BC/AD]. His influence on the ancient and modern world in incredible, yet the truth is that many people still have not looked into the amazing claims that Jesus made.
Jesus of Nazareth never wrote a book, yet more has been written about him than anyone else in world history. Jesus never travelled, yet he has more followers worlwide han any other person, living or dead. His birth split time [BC/AD]. His influence on the ancient and modern world in incredible, yet the truth is that many people still have not looked into the amazing claims that Jesus made.
Ask most people who they think Jesus was - and you'll probably get one of these replies: a nice person, a good teacher, or perhaps a prophet. However, the truth is that many of the people that hold this opinion have never read one of the biblical biogaphies of Jesus. Few people seem to want to expose the true man, and his true teaching, for fear that he might not be as inoffensive as we pretend. And so they think of Jesus as a frail character who floated around telling people that it's good to be good for goodness' sake. We think of Jesus as someone who had no real message at all, except to tell people to be nice to each other. A person who doesn't really have anything to say to us in the 21st century. Someone we can effectively dismiss as a good man or good teacher from a bygone age. A man we formed our opinions on at infant school, and which haven't really been challenged since then. Isn't it worth looking at Jesus’ teaching to see the claims he made about himself? If Jesus is such a good teacher, isn’t it worth reading some of his teaching? Prepare to be amazed by some of the things that Jesus claimed….
Jesus claimed to have lived a perfect life
Jesus could look at a crowd of people angry at his claims to be God and ask, "Which of you can point to anything wrong in my life?" Even more amazing is that none of them could give a reply – they merely claimed he was mad! No human being has ever lived a perfect life, except for Jesus.
‘Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me--he has not deserted me.”’ [John 8:28-29
'Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don't you believe me? Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don't, it proves you aren't God's children." The people retorted, "You Samaritan devil! Didn't we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?"'
Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way to God
Not one of several ways, but the one and only way. Not to teach the way, but to be the way to God. Nobody has ever made claims like that before and backed them, but Jesus did through his love, balanced life, and miracles.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [John 14:6]
*Note: No other world religious leader, such as Buddha, Confucius, or Mohammed ever made this claim.
Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sins
One of the reasons that the Jewish leaders were so angry with Jesus was his continual practice of forgiving people's sins. The religious leaders understood clearly that since sins were rebellion against God himself, only God could forgive sins.
One of the reasons that the Jewish leaders were so angry with Jesus was his continual practice of forgiving people's sins. The religious leaders understood clearly that since sins were rebellion against God himself, only God could forgive sins.
Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man "Son, your
sins are forgiven."
[Luke 5:20-21]
Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."
Jesus claimed to be a heavenly King
“But the time is soon coming when I, the Son of Man, will be sitting at God's right hand in the place of power.” [Luke 22:69]
Then the entire council took Jesus over to Pilate, the Roman governor. They began at once to state their case: "This man has been leading our people to ruin by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king."
Then Jesus said, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
Jesus claimed to be able to give everlasting life
He didn't just tell people how they could find everlasting life, or deepen their own life experience. He actually claimed to give life himself.
“For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life--that I should raise them at the last day." [John 6:40]
"I assure you, anyone who believes in me already has eternal life.” [John 6:47]
“I give them [my followers] eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one."
“Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.” [John 11:25]
Jesus claimed to have shared the glory of God in Heaven
Jesus claimed to have pre-existed the people he spoke with. The apostle John--who shared bread with Jesus--wrote that Jesus ‘was in the beginning with God. ‘He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make.’ [John 1:2-3]
“And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.”
Jesus claimed that he would die and come back to life
"The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it again. For my Father has given me this command." [John 10:17-18]
'"And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this to indicate how he was going to die.’ [John 12:32-33]
‘Gathering the twelve disciples around him, Jesus told them, "As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans to be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will whip him and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again."’ [Luke 18:31-33]
sins are forgiven."
[Luke 5:20-21]
Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."
Jesus claimed to be a heavenly King
“But the time is soon coming when I, the Son of Man, will be sitting at God's right hand in the place of power.” [Luke 22:69]
Then the entire council took Jesus over to Pilate, the Roman governor. They began at once to state their case: "This man has been leading our people to ruin by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king."
Then Jesus said, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
Jesus claimed to be able to give everlasting life
He didn't just tell people how they could find everlasting life, or deepen their own life experience. He actually claimed to give life himself.
“For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life--that I should raise them at the last day." [John 6:40]
"I assure you, anyone who believes in me already has eternal life.” [John 6:47]
“I give them [my followers] eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one."
“Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.” [John 11:25]
Jesus claimed to have shared the glory of God in Heaven
Jesus claimed to have pre-existed the people he spoke with. The apostle John--who shared bread with Jesus--wrote that Jesus ‘was in the beginning with God. ‘He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make.’ [John 1:2-3]
“And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.”
Jesus claimed that he would die and come back to life
"The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it again. For my Father has given me this command." [John 10:17-18]
'"And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this to indicate how he was going to die.’ [John 12:32-33]
‘Gathering the twelve disciples around him, Jesus told them, "As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans to be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will whip him and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again."’ [Luke 18:31-33]
Jesus claimed that he would return again to judge the world
"For as the lightning lights up the entire sky, so it will be when the Son of Man comes… And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” [Matthew 25:31-32]
‘Jesus made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?" Jesus said, "I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven."’ [Mark 14:61-62]
… just who Jesus think he is?!
… just who Jesus think he is?!
Then the high priest said to Jesus, "I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God."
So often we want to dismiss Jesus as just a good man or a great teacher, but Jesus’ teaching means that this is an impossible position to hold. As we have seen Jesus about himself claims are far too radical to be set aside as good teaching.
In his famous book Mere Christianity, Professor CS Lewis made this statement, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either he was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."
If someone comes to us and said the sort of things Jesus said, we wouldn’t just say, 'OK, you seem like a nice enough person, we believe you.' We’d be forced to make a decision about the claims that they make. In fact, there are only three possibilities:
Jesus' claims are only those that God could have made so either...
His claims were false:
- He knew his claims were false – he was a liar, a hypocrite and a fool, because he died for his lies.
- He did not know his claims were false – he was sincerely deluded lunatic.
His claims were true:
- He is the Lord – you can accept
- He is the Lord – you can reject
Christians are people who are convinced that Jesus was telling the truth in his teaching. We believe Jesus claims about himself, and we believe Jesus when he says that because of his death we can have friendship with God. We believe that the only way to make sense of Jesus’ life and teaching is to make the amazing conclusion that Jesus really was God in human form.
Don’t rest until you have come to a sensible conclusion regarding Jesus’ teaching – is he a liar, a lunatic or the Lord? Why not start your decision-making now by reading one of the gospels in a Bible? Or why not consider coming along to Encounter [see below]?
As John, one of the gospel writers wrote, “Jesus' disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life.” [John 20:30-31].
All Bible quotes have been taken from the New Living Translation.
This leaflet has been produced by the UCLan Christian Union, Our aims are to present Jesus’ claims and life as clearly as possible to as many students on campus as possible, and to support Christians in their faith. For more details, or for a free copy of John’s Gospel from the Bible, see the "contact us" tab at the top of the page, or email cucommittee@hotmail.com.
UCLan CU is organizing an informal course called ‘Encounter’, running over coffee on Tuesday evenings at 5.30pm in the Atrium, in the Students’ Union. Encounter is a place where can you look into Jesus’ life and claims for yourself. You can bring your questions, which we’ll try to answer honestly, and you won’t be asked to pray out loud or sing! We’d love to see you – for more details contact cucommittee@hotmail.com.
UCLan CU is organizing an informal course called ‘Encounter’, running over coffee on Tuesday evenings at 5.30pm in the Atrium, in the Students’ Union. Encounter is a place where can you look into Jesus’ life and claims for yourself. You can bring your questions, which we’ll try to answer honestly, and you won’t be asked to pray out loud or sing! We’d love to see you – for more details contact cucommittee@hotmail.com.
