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Who is Jesus? Is there any proof that Jesus is the Son of God, a divine part of the Trinity, and not merely a wise teacher who lived 2,000 years ago? And what is the Trinity anyway?
The Trinity is how Christians understand God – we believe that God is one being who exists as three persons; The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. While the term “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible, the concept of God existing as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is taught throughout its pages. To learn who the Son of God is, the first place we should look is the Bible. Scripture assures us that Jesus really is the son of God:
· an angel tells Mary that her son will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35)
· Jesus asks his disciples who they say he is. To this, Peter answers “You are the messiah, the living Son of God” (Matthew 16:16)
· Jesus refers to God as his own father (John 5:18)
· Jesus claims to be God (John 10:30-33)
We can also support these biblical claims that Jesus is the Son of God with evidence from prophesy, miracles, and the resurrection.
Prophesy is divine revelation; it is the Lord speaking through a person (a "prophet").
There are many Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming "chosen one" or Messiah. The prophecies were a gift from God to enable people to recognize the Messiah when He arrived on earth. In Psalm 2, David prophesied that the Messiah would be called the Son of God.
Do the Old Testament prophecies, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, uniquely point to Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God? Amazingly, there are hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus. These fulfilled prophecies include that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, that He would heal the blind and deaf, and that He would ride a donkey.
Fulfilled prophecies are divine evidence telling us who Jesus really is – He is the promised Messiah and the Son of God.
Prophecies aren’t the only evidence that shows us Jesus is the Son of God. We should also consider the supernatural miracles of Jesus.
The New Testament documents many miracles, including when Jesus healed lepers, restored sight, calmed a storm, fed 5,000 people, turned water into wine, and raised Lazarus from the dead.
There is also evidence outside of the Bible that corroborates that Jesus was performing miracles on earth. Critics in biblical times didn’t deny that miracles took place during the ministry of Jesus. Instead, they attributed these incredible events to sorcery rather than to the power of God.
The purpose of the miracles reaches far beyond Jesus showing compassion to people He encountered. The miracles provide us with evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. In John 14:11, Jesus says “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 works themselves...”
Read those words again and notice that Jesus is not only pointing to His role in the Trinity, but He is also encouraging us to look at the evidence to confirm his identity. The ministry of Jesus while He was on Earth wasn’t just about teaching philosophy or sharing advice on how we should live our lives. The ministry of Jesus also provided evidence that Jesus is in fact the Son of God.
Any examination into the identity of Jesus must consider the resurrection. The resurrection was the ultimate proof that Jesus was exactly who He said He was. The resurrection confirmed the identity of Jesus as the son of God.
The New Testament details many post-resurrection appearances by Jesus. The post-resurrection sightings happened to large and small groups, to skeptics and believers alike. There are many different things you could investigate when seeking evidence to support the resurrection, and the empty tomb is an excellent place to start.
In his book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Dr. Gary Habermas says the vast majority of scholars, including skeptics, agree that the empty tomb isn’t just a poetic metaphor or legend. The empty tomb is a historic fact. There are many reasons for the consensus on the empty tomb.
One reason we can be confident that the tomb was empty on Easter Sunday is by looking at how enemies of Jesus responded to the numerous resurrection claims. The response wasn’t "no it isn’t possible that you saw and spoke with the resurrected Jesus and here is the dead body to prove it." There was no body. The tomb was empty. Instead, enemies of the early church were forced to come up with a different strategy.
Matthew 28:11-15 describes how soldiers guarding the tomb were instructed to claim they fell asleep and suggest that Jesus’ disciples had stolen the body. This tactic is documented outside of scripture as well. In Dialogue with Trypho, Justin Martyr discussed how the stolen body theory was still being promoted in his time, more than a hundred years after the resurrection. This strategy to end the extraordinary claims of resurrection confirms that the tomb of Jesus was empty.
Not only did Jesus claim to be the son of God, but there is ample evidence to support this conclusion. Jesus has proven His divine role in the Trinity by uniquely fulfilling prophecies, performing miracles, and by His resurrection. We can thank God for giving us tangible evidence to discover and grow in our faith.
We as a church exist to help you meet, know and follow Jesus. No matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, God loves you and you are welcome at Sun Valley.