| ASK Y |
 This month’s question…People speak of Jesus being ‘God’ but why when he never actually said he was? You are right that there’s no record of Jesus actually saying in words of one syllable ‘I am God’. So in a literal sense that’s right-but in reality so, so wrong. Think of it this way. I was in a Mexican restaurant waiting for two tons of burritos, tacos and assorted gunk to arrive. The waiter brought nachos and salsa. I asked him ‘Is the salsa very hot?’ He smiled, winked at my table companions and replied, ‘Is it hot?!!!!’ shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Please note the four exclamation marks. This month’s question… People speak of Jesus being ‘God’ but why when he never actually said he was? You are right that there’s no record of Jesus actually saying in words of one syllable ‘I am God’. So in a literal sense that’s right-but in reality so, so wrong. Think of it this way. I was in a Mexican restaurant waiting for two tons of burritos, tacos and assorted gunk to arrive. The waiter brought nachos and salsa. I asked him ‘Is the salsa very hot?’ He smiled, winked at my table companions and replied, ‘Is it hot?!!!!’ shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Please note the four exclamation marks. A moment later a volcano erupted in my mouth. Had the waiter said the salsa was hot? Of course he had, but not in so many words. In the same way, Jesus didn’t use the exact words ‘I am God’. But made it so clear – through other words and actions – that to have used the exact words would have been totally unnecessary. How did he do it? In too many ways to include them all here. But try these for size – Jesus spoke of God and himself being one and the same. He made statements like ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’ and ‘I and the Father are one’. He also said that to receive him was the same as receiving God; to welcome him was to welcome God. He also used the name that Jewish people used for God to speak of himself. God gave his name as ‘I AM’ to the ancient Jewish leader Moses, signifying he had always existed. And Jesus used exactly the same phrase when speaking to Jewish leaders telling them, ‘Before Abraham was born, I AM!’ To our non-Jewish ears that may not sound much. But heard through Jewish ears this claim to be God could be no more blatant than if Jesus had written the words ‘I am God’ in six-foot letters on the side of a house or tattooed them on his forehead. The Jewish people of Jesus’ day believed only God could forgive sins. So, for someone to be healed meant their sin had been dealt with-something only God could do. Which meant whenever Jesus healed sick people-and he did a lot of it-he sent out the same ‘I’m God’ message. This was blasphemy-a crime punishable by death. Which is why killing him was so high on the agenda of those who rode shotgun on the truth. Jesus said he was God so clearly by his words and actions that the authorities wanted him killed. That makes who he is an even hotter issue than that Mexican salsa. Peter Meadows is the co-author with Joseph Steinberg of The Book of Y the basis for the eight week Y Course that explores life’s biggest questions. If you have a Y Question relating to issues of faith and God, Peter or Joseph will do their best to answer it. Send your question to: challenge @veritecm.com Subject: Y Course We hope to publish their responses in future editions. |
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