*** Disclaimer ***
I don't specifically believe in what I am
about to reveal, nor does it reflect any majority beliefs or accurate
historical or biblical scholarship. I am only representing this
information to show you an example how the conflicting verses in the
Bible can be used to theorize just about anything, including today's
Christian dogma.
***************
What if I told you I can show you directly from the Bible that Jesus did NOT die on the cross, and that he survived the crucifixion?
Well if you haven't read the above disclaimer you would probably close this window and count it as garbage rhetoric.
We
must first start with the witnesses surrounding Jesus during the time
of his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection accounts.
Mary Magdalene One of the only witnesses to Jesus' crucifixion and the first to see Jesus outside of his tomb
Joseph of Arimathea
Jesus' secret disciple, member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Witness to
Jesus' trial and crucifixion. Took Jesus from the cross to the tomb on
his personal property.
Nicodemus Also a member of the Sanhedrin, witness to Jesus' trial and helped Joseph of Arimathea with Jesus' body
Pontius Pilate Prefect of Judaea, judge at Jesus' Roman trial.
Doubting Thomas Apostle Thomas, who rejected the idea of resurrected Jesus, until he physically seen his wounds.
Crucifying "to put to death by nailing or binding the wrists or hands and feet to a cross"
deaths usually occurs from asphyxiation from not being able to support your body weight.
Resurrection "the state of one risen from the dead"
Resurrection according to the Bible:
1 Corinthians 15:35-45 "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."
The resurrected body is raised as a spirit.
Luke 20:27-36 "nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels..."
Jesus states the body cannot die again, and they are spiritualized.
Hebrews 9:27 "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment"
One death, then judgement day.
TIMELINE:(approximates)
*Friday before Passover during the night. Gethsemane Mark 32-41
*6:00am - Trials Mark 15:2-5 Matthew 27:11-14 Luke 23:1-5 John 18:28-37
*7:00am - Sentenced to death. Matthew 27:26 Mark 15:15 Luke 23:23-24 John 19:16-17
*8:00am - Led to Calvary Matthew 27:32-34 Matthew 27:32-34 Luke 23:26-31 John 19:17
*9:00am - Placed on Cross Mark 15:24-25 Luke 23:33
*10:00am - Mocked - Matthew 27:39-40 Mark 15:31 Luke 23:36-39
*11:00am - Jesus speaks to Mary John 19:26-27
*12:00pm - Mark 15:33
*3:00pm - Jesus Dies Matthew 27:45-50 Mark 15:33-41 Luke 23:44-49 John 19:28-37
*?? Friday Night- Placed in Tomb Matthew 27:57-61 Mark 15:42-47 Luke 23:50-56 John 19:38-42
*Saturday - Passover. No mention of any events, only mention of the day is in Mark Mark 16:1
*Sunday - Mary goes to the tomb. Mark 16:1 Matthew 28:1-10 Luke 24:1-12 John 20:1-10
Now we have a overview of the timeline.
We will start with the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane.
Jesus gets arrested and then "ALL" his disciples fled. Mark 14:50 Matthew 26:56
Except Peter Matthew 26:58
Then Peter is spotted and he denies Jesus 3 times. Even to the point of cursing.
This was just hours before Jesus' death.
During
Jesus' trial Pilate shows very little interest in extending punishment
onto Jesus. He even goes out of his way to release a murderer. Matthew 27:15-18 Mark 15:9-11
His wife even thinks Jesus is innocent because of a dream she had. Matthew 27:19
Pilate tells them he has found no basis to charge him, and neither did Herod. Luke 23:13-16
Through the entire trial Pilate tried to set Jesus free. John 19:12 Luke 23:20-22
Because
the priests riled up the crowd, Pilate unwillingly releases Jesus to
them to be crucified, stating he washes this mans blood from his hands. Matthew 27:24
Nowhere
in the Bible does it say Jesus is beaten to a bloody pulp to an inch of
his life. Actually in Luke it fails to mention any flogging, he is
simply handed over.
Before Jesus is handed over Pilate has him flogged. Mark 15:15
Now if Pilate thought Jesus was innocent, would he then have Jesus
flogged to the point of an inch of his life? The soldiers had nothing to
do with Jesus' arrest, they had no personal vendetta against Jesus to
cause them the need to punish Jesus with a horrific flogging.
Rationally, Pilate would have given the people a small show to satisfy
them, then quickly handed him over to get it over with.
Pilate made a sign out of rebellion of what was happening, and the priests took notice. John 19:19-22
Some interesting things happened on the way to be crucified:
1) Matthew 27:32 Mark 15:21 They forced a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry the beam.
Why
did they force this Simon to carry the beam? If John the beloved was
there why didn't they make him carry it? It is also interesting that in
the gospel of John he fails to mention Simon at all and states Jesus
carried his own cross. John 19:17
"According to some Gnostic
traditions, Simon of Cyrene, by mistaken identity, suffered the events
leading up to the crucifixion, and died on the cross instead of Jesus." Simon of Cyrene Second Treatise of the Great Seth
Although
if these ancient texts were deemed historically accurate we end this
right here, but this was just an example that there were people who
considered themselves followers of Jesus that believed he had not died
on the cross.
2) Matthew 27:34 According to Matthew, Jesus takes a sip of wine mixed with gall. Then he refuses it.
Now
gall is a form of bile, which is very bitter. It is suggested that the
gall used in the drink of Matthews gospel was opium based from poppy. It
also could be from gall extracts made into poison or venom. Gall
Jesus tastes this and either he knew what it was, or the taste of it was so bitter. Either way he refuses it.
It
would be important to note that regardless of what the drink was
intended for, a mixed drink made of a bile substance that was given to a
man about to endure a cruel death penalty was rationally high
concentrate. So even a sip would have had some small effect.
Some
suggest that it was this drink or the drink that was given to him later
that he actually consumed contained venom that lead to Jesus'
"perceived" death.
3) Matthew 27:35 Mark 15:24 Luke 23:34 John 19:23-24
It's
unanimous that Jesus' clothes were removed from him and divided and
handed out by casting of lots. Also look at John's account, It is
important to note this gospel makes a point that Jesus was completely
stripped naked as even his underwear had to be decided by casting of
lots.
Continue on to Part 2.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Problems with Jesus' Temptation
The temptation of Jesus is one of the more well known stories of the
new testament, but once you analyze it you will see the doctrine of
Jesus being God highly conflicts with the story. Also the temptation
story is riddled with many flaws.
Here are the 3 versions.
Mark 1:12-13 - No real story here Jesus is tempted and angels attend to him.
Both Matthew and Luke have pretty much identical stories. Considering the Q-Document theory, this story was most likely pulled from that source.
Matthew 4:1-11
Luke 4:1-13
Before analyzing the the story, going back on the subject of Jesus' divinity... If Jesus is God... and God can't be tempted(James 1:13), then it can be deducted that Jesus can't be God in the sense.
If we take today's current version of divine Jesus(100% God and 100% man, in nature), when being tempted God would have to "hide" Himself or "separate" Himself from the man nature of Jesus. Therefore Jesus is left alone as man not in "one" with God. If God is one with Jesus then He would have been deceitful in allowing the temptation attempt.
Furthermore, if Satan knew Jesus was God he wouldn't have tempted him in the first place. Especially with power over God's own creation.
Analysis:
1) So right in verse one, in Matthew we read "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness...". According to Matthew Jesus was led by the Spirit, putting Jesus and the Spirit separate. But Luke felt the need to add that Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit".
2) The devil tempts Jesus in using his God given powers(Jesus claims alone he can do nothing) to change the stone into bread. Here Satan is tempting a hungry man into abusing his God given gifts. Humans get hungry, God has no need for food.
3) The devil takes Jesus to the highest of the temple and tempts Jesus to jump and quotes scripture.
Now interestingly enough if we take a look at this scripture in full context instead of just these 2 verses we find something that stands out. Psalm 91:1-16 If you look at the last verse... "With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
Not only will God protect him, he will satisfy him with "long life". If dying in your early 30's is a long life even in ancient times then something about this scripture conflicts. Immediately afterward Jesus acknowledges this scripture and quotes his own, telling the devil don't test God. Because if Jesus were to jump it would be God who would have to send his angels to save him, not Jesus saving himself.
4) Satan takes him to the highest mountain and shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the "world". Unfortunately Matthew and Luke still believed in a flat world, because there isn't a place on earth or even in the universe that you can see all the kingdoms of the world, even in the 1st century.
What does Satan tempt Jesus with? Power. Power over God's own creation. God has no need for worldly things or power over kingdoms. But if Jesus were a mere man and a prophet of God, this would be a temptation indeed.
Satan offers this up in return Jesus must bow down and worship Satan. If Jesus were God... then Satan(who knows God) wouldn't tempt God with his own creation and absolutely wouldn't ask God to worship him.
5) Jesus denies Satan his temptations with one last scripture. ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Jesus doesn't tell Satan to worship himself, he tells him to worship the Lord your God.
Summary of the Facts:
1) The temptation account is riddled with verses that conflict with the doctrine of God Jesus.
2) The temptation would be a farse if God had to hide himself to let Jesus be tempted.
3) Other than the flat earth & the assumed long life(Which conflicts either way)... If Jesus was just a man and prophet of God, there is no conflict.
Here are the 3 versions.
Mark 1:12-13 - No real story here Jesus is tempted and angels attend to him.
Both Matthew and Luke have pretty much identical stories. Considering the Q-Document theory, this story was most likely pulled from that source.
Matthew 4:1-11
Luke 4:1-13
Before analyzing the the story, going back on the subject of Jesus' divinity... If Jesus is God... and God can't be tempted(James 1:13), then it can be deducted that Jesus can't be God in the sense.
If we take today's current version of divine Jesus(100% God and 100% man, in nature), when being tempted God would have to "hide" Himself or "separate" Himself from the man nature of Jesus. Therefore Jesus is left alone as man not in "one" with God. If God is one with Jesus then He would have been deceitful in allowing the temptation attempt.
Furthermore, if Satan knew Jesus was God he wouldn't have tempted him in the first place. Especially with power over God's own creation.
Analysis:
1) So right in verse one, in Matthew we read "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness...". According to Matthew Jesus was led by the Spirit, putting Jesus and the Spirit separate. But Luke felt the need to add that Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit".
2) The devil tempts Jesus in using his God given powers(Jesus claims alone he can do nothing) to change the stone into bread. Here Satan is tempting a hungry man into abusing his God given gifts. Humans get hungry, God has no need for food.
3) The devil takes Jesus to the highest of the temple and tempts Jesus to jump and quotes scripture.
Now interestingly enough if we take a look at this scripture in full context instead of just these 2 verses we find something that stands out. Psalm 91:1-16 If you look at the last verse... "With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
Not only will God protect him, he will satisfy him with "long life". If dying in your early 30's is a long life even in ancient times then something about this scripture conflicts. Immediately afterward Jesus acknowledges this scripture and quotes his own, telling the devil don't test God. Because if Jesus were to jump it would be God who would have to send his angels to save him, not Jesus saving himself.
4) Satan takes him to the highest mountain and shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the "world". Unfortunately Matthew and Luke still believed in a flat world, because there isn't a place on earth or even in the universe that you can see all the kingdoms of the world, even in the 1st century.
What does Satan tempt Jesus with? Power. Power over God's own creation. God has no need for worldly things or power over kingdoms. But if Jesus were a mere man and a prophet of God, this would be a temptation indeed.
Satan offers this up in return Jesus must bow down and worship Satan. If Jesus were God... then Satan(who knows God) wouldn't tempt God with his own creation and absolutely wouldn't ask God to worship him.
5) Jesus denies Satan his temptations with one last scripture. ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Jesus doesn't tell Satan to worship himself, he tells him to worship the Lord your God.
Summary of the Facts:
1) The temptation account is riddled with verses that conflict with the doctrine of God Jesus.
2) The temptation would be a farse if God had to hide himself to let Jesus be tempted.
3) Other than the flat earth & the assumed long life(Which conflicts either way)... If Jesus was just a man and prophet of God, there is no conflict.
Is Jesus God? (Part 2)
Jesus being God is the foundation of today's Christianity. If this
key element is that important, shouldn't Jesus have expressed that
himself without any uncertainty?
Shouldn't there be verses where Jesus states "I am God and you should worship me. I have come to die for your sins, so that you will be eternally forgiven"? or at least something along those lines?
Wouldn't his closest disciples understood this to the fullest?
If Jesus is God, why is it that Jesus prayed to God? This would indicate that they are separate, not one.
God has no need to pray to himself. And the argument that Jesus was setting an example isn't logical since many of the below references are Jesus going off by himself and praying.
Mark 1:35 , Mark 6:46 , Mark 14:32-41 , Mark 15:34
Matthew 11:25-27 , Matthew 14:23 , Matthew 26:36-46 , Matthew 27:46
Luke 3:21 , Luke 5:16 , Luke 6:12 , Luke 9:18 , Luke 9:28-29 , Luke 10:21 ,
Luke 11:1-4 , Luke 22:31-32 , Luke 22:39-46 , Luke 23:34 , Luke 23:46
John 11:41-42 , John 12:28 , John 17:1-26 , John 19:30
Jesus prays quite a bit, he prays for himself, his disciples, and even the people who condemn him. He even prays to God to dismiss himself from his upcoming death.
So did Jesus actually claim divinity?
Let us look what Jesus actually said according to the Gospels.
According to the Gospels Jesus himself clearly states he is not God...
Mark 10:17-18 - "“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.""
He denies being good and says only God is good. This is pretty profound, considering even as a human God that is considered Holy, he states he is not good.
John 5:30 "By myself I can do nothing..."
Jesus says he can't do anything by himself. later in the verse he states he seeks to please the one who sent him. Not only does he not have the full power of God alone, he acknowledges that it is God who sent him and that he didn't send himself. \
John 5:19 "“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself..."
Same as the previous example. Jesus again saying he can't do anything by himself.
Mark 5:25-34 This passage clearly shows that Jesus was not in control of his power and that it was God who healed people through Jesus.
A woman who had a rare bleeding disorder came to touch Jesus' cloak while he was teaching in a crowd. Once she touched it.... "Jesus realized that power had gone out from him." Jesus turns around and asks who had touched him. This in itself shows that he he didn't purposely heal the women on his own, it was God who had healed her because of her faith. After some time trying to figure out who had touched him... he found her and said “Daughter, your faith has healed you." Not "I" have healed you ... your faith.
John 14:28 "...for the Father is greater than I."
Again Jesus explicitly states he is not God and actually God is greater than Jesus... If Jesus is God and is equal to him.. why would Jesus say he was not equal?
Matthew 24:36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father."
Another statement from Jesus separating himself from God. Only the Father knows the Day... not Jesus, not man, not the angels, not the Holy Spirit, only the Father.
John 7:16 "“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.""
John 12:49 "For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken."
John 8:26 ""But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from Him I tell the world.”"
John 14:24 "These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
God taught Jesus, God sent Jesus.
John 20:17 "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."
Jesus claims he has a God and it is the same God as your God. Also if you notice God is our Father the same as he is Jesus' Father.
Some say Jesus is divine and that he claimed it because many times the priests tried to stone Jesus.
Jesus spoke in many parables and his teaching weren't always understood by his disciples let alone some priests that were already biased toward him looking for any little reason to put Jesus to death.
John 10:6 "Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."
Mark 8:21 "He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”"
Matthew 13:34-35 "he did not say anything to them without using a parable."
Jesus spoke in parables and people did not understand.
Luke 18:31-34 "The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."
Jesus describes to the twelve disciples in detail what was about to happen to him, and they didn't understand at all.
John 20:3-10 "They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead."
Even after death they still had no clue.
Acts 19:1-2 "They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”"
Long after Jesus' death there was no knowledge of Jesus as a triune god by his disciples.
If Jesus claimed to be God and his words were proof of this, why couldn't they convict him of this in his trial even with false witnesses?
Matthew 26:59-60 "...they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward."
Mark 14:55-56 "The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree."
So all the evidence and even false evidence couldn't convict Jesus of blasphemy. Where were all the priests who took up the stones who believed Jesus to claim divinity?
Under Jewish laws at the time, claiming to be God was blasphemy and punishable by death(stoning). Under Jewish law at the time there were many things that you could be put to death for. One example in the Bible is the attempted stoning of the adulterous woman(John 8:1-11). After all the evidence and even people who falsely accused Jesus, the priests were still unable to justify stoning Jesus to death. So they had to take him to the Romans and concocted a scheme for the Romans to put him to death for claiming Kingship equal to the current Caesar.(Jesus considered and admitted to the title "King of the Jews").
Summary of the Facts:
1) Jesus prayed to God. God doesn't need to pray to himself.
2) Jesus referred to God as a separate being from himself and clearly expressed that God was greater than him and that all the knowledge and power he had was given to him by God.
3) Jesus was never convicted for claiming divinity even with false testimony.
Shouldn't there be verses where Jesus states "I am God and you should worship me. I have come to die for your sins, so that you will be eternally forgiven"? or at least something along those lines?
Wouldn't his closest disciples understood this to the fullest?
If Jesus is God, why is it that Jesus prayed to God? This would indicate that they are separate, not one.
God has no need to pray to himself. And the argument that Jesus was setting an example isn't logical since many of the below references are Jesus going off by himself and praying.
Mark 1:35 , Mark 6:46 , Mark 14:32-41 , Mark 15:34
Matthew 11:25-27 , Matthew 14:23 , Matthew 26:36-46 , Matthew 27:46
Luke 3:21 , Luke 5:16 , Luke 6:12 , Luke 9:18 , Luke 9:28-29 , Luke 10:21 ,
Luke 11:1-4 , Luke 22:31-32 , Luke 22:39-46 , Luke 23:34 , Luke 23:46
John 11:41-42 , John 12:28 , John 17:1-26 , John 19:30
Jesus prays quite a bit, he prays for himself, his disciples, and even the people who condemn him. He even prays to God to dismiss himself from his upcoming death.
So did Jesus actually claim divinity?
Let us look what Jesus actually said according to the Gospels.
According to the Gospels Jesus himself clearly states he is not God...
Mark 10:17-18 - "“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.""
He denies being good and says only God is good. This is pretty profound, considering even as a human God that is considered Holy, he states he is not good.
John 5:30 "By myself I can do nothing..."
Jesus says he can't do anything by himself. later in the verse he states he seeks to please the one who sent him. Not only does he not have the full power of God alone, he acknowledges that it is God who sent him and that he didn't send himself. \
John 5:19 "“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself..."
Same as the previous example. Jesus again saying he can't do anything by himself.
Mark 5:25-34 This passage clearly shows that Jesus was not in control of his power and that it was God who healed people through Jesus.
A woman who had a rare bleeding disorder came to touch Jesus' cloak while he was teaching in a crowd. Once she touched it.... "Jesus realized that power had gone out from him." Jesus turns around and asks who had touched him. This in itself shows that he he didn't purposely heal the women on his own, it was God who had healed her because of her faith. After some time trying to figure out who had touched him... he found her and said “Daughter, your faith has healed you." Not "I" have healed you ... your faith.
John 14:28 "...for the Father is greater than I."
Again Jesus explicitly states he is not God and actually God is greater than Jesus... If Jesus is God and is equal to him.. why would Jesus say he was not equal?
Matthew 24:36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father."
Another statement from Jesus separating himself from God. Only the Father knows the Day... not Jesus, not man, not the angels, not the Holy Spirit, only the Father.
John 7:16 "“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.""
John 12:49 "For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken."
John 8:26 ""But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from Him I tell the world.”"
John 14:24 "These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
God taught Jesus, God sent Jesus.
John 20:17 "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."
Jesus claims he has a God and it is the same God as your God. Also if you notice God is our Father the same as he is Jesus' Father.
Some say Jesus is divine and that he claimed it because many times the priests tried to stone Jesus.
Jesus spoke in many parables and his teaching weren't always understood by his disciples let alone some priests that were already biased toward him looking for any little reason to put Jesus to death.
John 10:6 "Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."
Mark 8:21 "He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”"
Matthew 13:34-35 "he did not say anything to them without using a parable."
Jesus spoke in parables and people did not understand.
Luke 18:31-34 "The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."
Jesus describes to the twelve disciples in detail what was about to happen to him, and they didn't understand at all.
John 20:3-10 "They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead."
Even after death they still had no clue.
Acts 19:1-2 "They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”"
Long after Jesus' death there was no knowledge of Jesus as a triune god by his disciples.
If Jesus claimed to be God and his words were proof of this, why couldn't they convict him of this in his trial even with false witnesses?
Matthew 26:59-60 "...they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward."
Mark 14:55-56 "The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree."
So all the evidence and even false evidence couldn't convict Jesus of blasphemy. Where were all the priests who took up the stones who believed Jesus to claim divinity?
Under Jewish laws at the time, claiming to be God was blasphemy and punishable by death(stoning). Under Jewish law at the time there were many things that you could be put to death for. One example in the Bible is the attempted stoning of the adulterous woman(John 8:1-11). After all the evidence and even people who falsely accused Jesus, the priests were still unable to justify stoning Jesus to death. So they had to take him to the Romans and concocted a scheme for the Romans to put him to death for claiming Kingship equal to the current Caesar.(Jesus considered and admitted to the title "King of the Jews").
Summary of the Facts:
1) Jesus prayed to God. God doesn't need to pray to himself.
2) Jesus referred to God as a separate being from himself and clearly expressed that God was greater than him and that all the knowledge and power he had was given to him by God.
3) Jesus was never convicted for claiming divinity even with false testimony.
Is Jesus God? (Part 1)
This topic is one of the most debated topics. It is even debated
amongst Christians themselves. (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and
Unitarians)
First we must put Jesus to the "God test". In my previous post I went over the traits of God that He alone possesses. So lets see if Jesus has these.... God's Attributes
Is Jesus ETERNAL?(No beginning, No End)
Now logically analyzing this... You have to ask yourself was Jesus created?
If you answered yes, then logically it was God who had created Jesus, therefore Jesus is NOT eternal.(He has a beginning)
If you answered no, then besides non explicit verses about Jesus being the creator, Where in the Bible does Jesus "share" the almighty throne? There are verses that proclaim that "the son of man" will sit at the "right" hand. Is a Boss's right hand man also the Boss?
As far as Jesus on earth, he had a beginning and an end.
Genesis1:1 "In the beginning God created..." Not God and Jesus.
Isaiah 44:24 "I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself" All by "MYSELF" God created the heavens and the earth.
Is Jesus HOLY?
If Jesus was human on earth, he could not be considered Holy. This would be the only trait that is not provable for or against, but I will list some non Holy actions by Jesus.
Jesus and Secrets:
Mark 4:11-12 “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you." Jesus only speaks without parables to his disciples alone so that the "outsiders" don't understand.
Mark 4:33-34 Again here Jesus only speaks clearly when he is alone with his disciples.
John 18:20 "I said nothing in secret." In his trials he proclaims that he spoke openly to the Jews and nothing in secret. If he had spoke openly and clearly to the them, then why then did Jesus explain everything clearly once he had the disciples alone?
Jesus creates a scene:
John 2:13-16 Jesus is angered that merchants are making money off of people during the Passover on the Temple grounds. He fashions a whip and drives off the animals and overturns some tables. This may have been the only way he could get his point across, it is not the nature of actions of a Holy man.
Mark 11:12-14 Here Jesus is hungry, he goes to the fig tree and it has no fruit because it is out of season, so he smites it to never bear fruit again. At no fault of the tree Jesus, who fails to acknowledge the season, smites the tree. again not the actions of a Holy man.
Is Jesus UNCHANGING?
If Jesus was a spirit prior to becoming flesh on earth, that in itself is definition of changing. On earth he was human and in his death he had become spirit.
Is Jesus OMNIPOTENT?
Mark 6:1-6 "He could not do any miracles there..." Jesus goes to his home town and is unable to perform any miracles. Not characteristic of Almighty or All Powerful.
John 5:30 "By myself I can do nothing" Jesus explicitly proclaims he can't do anything by himself(without God's power) So he himself denies being omnipotent.
Is Jesus OMNIPRESENT?
If Jesus was here on earth and in his death he is now at the right hand of God Mark 16:19
then it would be unexplainable without creative theology to represent Jesus as omnipresent.
Now if proven that Jesus is God, then yes assuming Jesus is God then Jesus would be omnipresent.
Is Jesus OMNISCIENT?
So is Jesus all knowing?
Luke 2:52 Jesus "grew" in knowledge, he was not born with the knowledge of God he had to learn.
Mark 11:12-14 Again the story of the fig tree... Jesus didn't "know" that the tree was not in season.
Mark 13:3 The Son doesn't know when judgment day will happen. If Jesus were God he would surely "know" everything(omniscient).
John 8:28 "...what the Father has taught me."
It is God who teaches Jesus. Jesus learns from God therefore is not omniscient.
Is Jesus ONE?
Well we know there is only one Jesus... but is Jesus the one and only God? Is he one with God? or Is Jesus and God one in the same? Let's look at what Jesus says...
John 14:28 Jesus proclaims "...for the Father is greater than I."
Of all the verses that Jesus says about the Father this one explicitly states that not only is the Father separate from Jesus, the Father is greater than Jesus. So the two are different and are not the same.
Luke 22:41-42 Jesus prays to God. If Jesus is God why is he praying to God? Just doesn't make sense. Also in this passage Jesus is asking God to not go through the death that is coming upon him. If Jesus were God and in Jesus' death being the most important event in Christian doctrine, why would he even think about changing his mind?
Elsewhere in the NT...
Acts 7:55-56 Colossians 3:1 Revelation 5:7 Here Jesus is clearly at the right hand of God in heaven. So even after Jesus' ascension Jesus is separate from God.
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,"
One God "AND" One Mediator between God and Man.. the "man" Christ Jesus. Couldn't get more explicit than this. Two separate entities, and Jesus is called a man.
In each attribute there are many more verses that explicitly deny Jesus of that specific attribute. Out of redundancy I do not list them all.
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS:
1) Jesus never claimed to be God nor showed any traits that belong to God alone. Just as God did with many of His other prophets and messengers, God gave Jesus the power to perform many miracles and gave him knowledge that wasn't known to man. God however did not give Jesus all His power or all His knowledge as is evident in the examples above.
2) If Jesus even fails one of the attributes of God, then he by definition is not God.
First we must put Jesus to the "God test". In my previous post I went over the traits of God that He alone possesses. So lets see if Jesus has these.... God's Attributes
Is Jesus ETERNAL?(No beginning, No End)
Now logically analyzing this... You have to ask yourself was Jesus created?
If you answered yes, then logically it was God who had created Jesus, therefore Jesus is NOT eternal.(He has a beginning)
If you answered no, then besides non explicit verses about Jesus being the creator, Where in the Bible does Jesus "share" the almighty throne? There are verses that proclaim that "the son of man" will sit at the "right" hand. Is a Boss's right hand man also the Boss?
As far as Jesus on earth, he had a beginning and an end.
Genesis1:1 "In the beginning God created..." Not God and Jesus.
Isaiah 44:24 "I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself" All by "MYSELF" God created the heavens and the earth.
Is Jesus HOLY?
If Jesus was human on earth, he could not be considered Holy. This would be the only trait that is not provable for or against, but I will list some non Holy actions by Jesus.
Jesus and Secrets:
Mark 4:11-12 “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you." Jesus only speaks without parables to his disciples alone so that the "outsiders" don't understand.
Mark 4:33-34 Again here Jesus only speaks clearly when he is alone with his disciples.
John 18:20 "I said nothing in secret." In his trials he proclaims that he spoke openly to the Jews and nothing in secret. If he had spoke openly and clearly to the them, then why then did Jesus explain everything clearly once he had the disciples alone?
Jesus creates a scene:
John 2:13-16 Jesus is angered that merchants are making money off of people during the Passover on the Temple grounds. He fashions a whip and drives off the animals and overturns some tables. This may have been the only way he could get his point across, it is not the nature of actions of a Holy man.
Mark 11:12-14 Here Jesus is hungry, he goes to the fig tree and it has no fruit because it is out of season, so he smites it to never bear fruit again. At no fault of the tree Jesus, who fails to acknowledge the season, smites the tree. again not the actions of a Holy man.
Is Jesus UNCHANGING?
If Jesus was a spirit prior to becoming flesh on earth, that in itself is definition of changing. On earth he was human and in his death he had become spirit.
Is Jesus OMNIPOTENT?
Mark 6:1-6 "He could not do any miracles there..." Jesus goes to his home town and is unable to perform any miracles. Not characteristic of Almighty or All Powerful.
John 5:30 "By myself I can do nothing" Jesus explicitly proclaims he can't do anything by himself(without God's power) So he himself denies being omnipotent.
Is Jesus OMNIPRESENT?
If Jesus was here on earth and in his death he is now at the right hand of God Mark 16:19
then it would be unexplainable without creative theology to represent Jesus as omnipresent.
Now if proven that Jesus is God, then yes assuming Jesus is God then Jesus would be omnipresent.
Is Jesus OMNISCIENT?
So is Jesus all knowing?
Luke 2:52 Jesus "grew" in knowledge, he was not born with the knowledge of God he had to learn.
Mark 11:12-14 Again the story of the fig tree... Jesus didn't "know" that the tree was not in season.
Mark 13:3 The Son doesn't know when judgment day will happen. If Jesus were God he would surely "know" everything(omniscient).
John 8:28 "...what the Father has taught me."
It is God who teaches Jesus. Jesus learns from God therefore is not omniscient.
Is Jesus ONE?
Well we know there is only one Jesus... but is Jesus the one and only God? Is he one with God? or Is Jesus and God one in the same? Let's look at what Jesus says...
John 14:28 Jesus proclaims "...for the Father is greater than I."
Of all the verses that Jesus says about the Father this one explicitly states that not only is the Father separate from Jesus, the Father is greater than Jesus. So the two are different and are not the same.
Luke 22:41-42 Jesus prays to God. If Jesus is God why is he praying to God? Just doesn't make sense. Also in this passage Jesus is asking God to not go through the death that is coming upon him. If Jesus were God and in Jesus' death being the most important event in Christian doctrine, why would he even think about changing his mind?
Elsewhere in the NT...
Acts 7:55-56 Colossians 3:1 Revelation 5:7 Here Jesus is clearly at the right hand of God in heaven. So even after Jesus' ascension Jesus is separate from God.
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,"
One God "AND" One Mediator between God and Man.. the "man" Christ Jesus. Couldn't get more explicit than this. Two separate entities, and Jesus is called a man.
In each attribute there are many more verses that explicitly deny Jesus of that specific attribute. Out of redundancy I do not list them all.
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS:
1) Jesus never claimed to be God nor showed any traits that belong to God alone. Just as God did with many of His other prophets and messengers, God gave Jesus the power to perform many miracles and gave him knowledge that wasn't known to man. God however did not give Jesus all His power or all His knowledge as is evident in the examples above.
2) If Jesus even fails one of the attributes of God, then he by definition is not God.
Who is God?
Who is God?
This is very important in understanding the topics I have and will bring up. I will put this in the form of God's characteristics in which he is defined by in the Bible.
God is the creator of the Universe. Genesis 1:1
God is ETERNAL:
Genesis 21:33 "he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God."
Psalm 90:1-4 "from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
Deuteronomy 33:27 "The eternal God is your refuge"
1 Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God"
God is HOLY (without impurities):
Leviticus 11:44 "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."
Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty"
Exodus 15:11 "...majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"
1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord"
God is UNCHANGING:
Psalm 102:25-27 "But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
Malachi 3:6 "I the Lord do not change."
James 1:17 "...coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change..."
GOD is OMNIPOTENT (All Powerful, Almighty):
Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power;"
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted."
Matthew 19:26 "...with God all things are possible.”
GOD is OMNIPRESENT (Present Everywhere):
Psalm 139:7-12 "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."
Jeremiah 23:23-24 "“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord."
Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,..."
Genesis 28:15-16 "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
GOD is OMNISCIENT (All Knowing):
Psalm 139:1-6 "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."
Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."
Job 37:16 "...those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?"
1 John 3:20 "...God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
Most importantly....
GOD is ONE:
Deuteronomy 4:35,39 "besides him there is no other." , "God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other."
Deuteronomy 6:4 "The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
Deuteronomy 32:39 "There is no god besides me."
2 Samuel 7:22 "...and there is no God but you..."
1 Kings 8:60 "...the Lord is God and that there is no other."
2 Kings 19:15 "...you alone are God..."
1 Chronicles 17:20 “There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you..."
Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the Lord."
Psalm 18:31 "For who is God besides the Lord?"
Isaiah 37:16,20 "...you alone are God" , "...you, Lord, are the only God."
Isaiah 43:10-11 "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." , "...and apart from me there is no savior."
Isaiah 44:6,8 "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." , "Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 46:9 "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."
Hosea 13:4 "You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me."
Joel 2:27 "I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other"
Zechariah 14:9 "On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."
John 17:3 "...that they know you, the only true God..."
Romans 3:30 "since there is only one God..."
1 Corinthians 8:4 “There is no God but one.”
Galatians 3:20 "...but God is one."
Ephesians 4:6 "one God and Father of all..."
1 Timothy 1:17 "...the only God..."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God..."
James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
Jesus proclaims it is "The Most Important Commandment"
Mark 12:28-34 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him."
"When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Summary of the Facts:
1) God has many attributes, even though there are more than I listed here, these are attributed to God alone.
2) The facts are laid out simply by the links of the verses.
This is very important in understanding the topics I have and will bring up. I will put this in the form of God's characteristics in which he is defined by in the Bible.
God is the creator of the Universe. Genesis 1:1
God is ETERNAL:
Genesis 21:33 "he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God."
Psalm 90:1-4 "from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
Deuteronomy 33:27 "The eternal God is your refuge"
1 Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God"
God is HOLY (without impurities):
Leviticus 11:44 "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."
Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty"
Exodus 15:11 "...majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"
1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the Lord"
God is UNCHANGING:
Psalm 102:25-27 "But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
Malachi 3:6 "I the Lord do not change."
James 1:17 "...coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change..."
GOD is OMNIPOTENT (All Powerful, Almighty):
Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power;"
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted."
Matthew 19:26 "...with God all things are possible.”
GOD is OMNIPRESENT (Present Everywhere):
Psalm 139:7-12 "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."
Jeremiah 23:23-24 "“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord."
Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,..."
Genesis 28:15-16 "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
GOD is OMNISCIENT (All Knowing):
Psalm 139:1-6 "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."
Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."
Job 37:16 "...those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?"
1 John 3:20 "...God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
Most importantly....
GOD is ONE:
Deuteronomy 4:35,39 "besides him there is no other." , "God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other."
Deuteronomy 6:4 "The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
Deuteronomy 32:39 "There is no god besides me."
2 Samuel 7:22 "...and there is no God but you..."
1 Kings 8:60 "...the Lord is God and that there is no other."
2 Kings 19:15 "...you alone are God..."
1 Chronicles 17:20 “There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you..."
Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the Lord."
Psalm 18:31 "For who is God besides the Lord?"
Isaiah 37:16,20 "...you alone are God" , "...you, Lord, are the only God."
Isaiah 43:10-11 "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." , "...and apart from me there is no savior."
Isaiah 44:6,8 "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God." , "Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 46:9 "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."
Hosea 13:4 "You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me."
Joel 2:27 "I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other"
Zechariah 14:9 "On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."
John 17:3 "...that they know you, the only true God..."
Romans 3:30 "since there is only one God..."
1 Corinthians 8:4 “There is no God but one.”
Galatians 3:20 "...but God is one."
Ephesians 4:6 "one God and Father of all..."
1 Timothy 1:17 "...the only God..."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God..."
James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
Jesus proclaims it is "The Most Important Commandment"
Mark 12:28-34 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him."
"When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Summary of the Facts:
1) God has many attributes, even though there are more than I listed here, these are attributed to God alone.
2) The facts are laid out simply by the links of the verses.
Who Arrested Jesus and Why?
Growing up I was under the impression that the tyrant Romans were the one who arrested and crucified Jesus.
I also was taught that Jesus was crucified because he proclaimed that he was God.
This isn't the case with all teaching of Christianity, but I am putting this info out there for anyone who may have been under the same impressions about these events as me.
We will start with the arrest and since the arrest was in all 4 accounts of the Gospels, we will go through each one.
Mark 14:43-52
"With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders."
So a crowd sent by the "chief priests" which were teachers of the law and the elders. The ones they are referring to here are the Sanhedrin , The Sanhedrin were responsible for the religious laws of the Jews not governmental or civil laws. Romans are not mentioned here at all. He is then taken to the Sanhedrin for questioning then taken to the Romans.
Luke 22:47-53
"While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them"
"Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him"
Pretty much same as Mark's account.
Matthew 26:47-56
"With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people."
And of course Matthew also agrees.
John 18:1-12
"So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees"
This is the only passage i see that could possibly hint toward the Romans involvement in the arrest. the detachment of soldiers and in verse 12 they even have a commander.
But reading further John 18:28-31 After the trial of the Sanhedrin they bring Jesus to Pilate and he has no clue why they brought him there, in fact he tells them to take him and judge him themselves.
"So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”"... "Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”"
If the prefect of Judea for the Roman army didn't know anything about the arrest, then the soldiers mentioned obviously didn't belong to the Romans.
Now moving on to why Jesus was arrested, and why he was crucified.
Jesus' teaching stirred up a lot of attention, the priests heard that people were calling Jesus the Messiah and falsely claiming to be the Messiah was blasphemy.
They had no basis for arresting him but they schemed and plotted and knew that his disturbances need to be stopped.
Mark 14:48-49
"Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me."
Mark 14:55-59
"The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any."
They had nothing to go by for arresting Jesus and even after the arrest they couldn't find any evidence. Even the false testimonies of people didn't hold up.
Matthew 26:59
same as Mark's account
Matthew 26:62-68
After admitting he was the Messiah, with no such proofs but his words they struck him and while striking him they mocked him for claiming to be the Messiah.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Luke and John proclaim the same thing, Jesus is arrested for claiming to be the Messiah. While the priests are unable to put to death Jesus for this under their law since they have no proofs that he isn't the Messiah, they bring him to the Romans who will put to death anyone who claims to be a "King" next to Caesar.
Mark 15:1-15
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
Jesus was crucified because of his admittance to being a "King" not because of any other claim. In fact Pilate tries to save Jesus by customarily releasing him and gave the crowd a choice between Jesus and a murderer Barabbas, the chiefs stir the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
After being handed over for crucifixion, they put a crown of thorns over his head and a purple robe, and mocked him for his claim for being King of the Jews.
Mark 15:16-20
18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
Summary of the facts:
1) It was the Jewish priests of the Sanhedrin, that plotted and arrested Jesus for his disturbances and claims of being the long awaited Messiah.
2) The priests could not conjure up any viable proofs that would condemn Jesus to death under Jewish law, so they brought him to the Romans for Jesus' claim of being a King.
3) Jesus was crucified for claiming Kingship next to Tiberius Caesar, which was considered treason and punishable by death .
I also was taught that Jesus was crucified because he proclaimed that he was God.
This isn't the case with all teaching of Christianity, but I am putting this info out there for anyone who may have been under the same impressions about these events as me.
We will start with the arrest and since the arrest was in all 4 accounts of the Gospels, we will go through each one.
Mark 14:43-52
"With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders."
So a crowd sent by the "chief priests" which were teachers of the law and the elders. The ones they are referring to here are the Sanhedrin , The Sanhedrin were responsible for the religious laws of the Jews not governmental or civil laws. Romans are not mentioned here at all. He is then taken to the Sanhedrin for questioning then taken to the Romans.
Luke 22:47-53
"While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them"
"Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him"
Pretty much same as Mark's account.
Matthew 26:47-56
"With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people."
And of course Matthew also agrees.
John 18:1-12
"So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees"
This is the only passage i see that could possibly hint toward the Romans involvement in the arrest. the detachment of soldiers and in verse 12 they even have a commander.
But reading further John 18:28-31 After the trial of the Sanhedrin they bring Jesus to Pilate and he has no clue why they brought him there, in fact he tells them to take him and judge him themselves.
"So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”"... "Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”"
If the prefect of Judea for the Roman army didn't know anything about the arrest, then the soldiers mentioned obviously didn't belong to the Romans.
Now moving on to why Jesus was arrested, and why he was crucified.
Jesus' teaching stirred up a lot of attention, the priests heard that people were calling Jesus the Messiah and falsely claiming to be the Messiah was blasphemy.
They had no basis for arresting him but they schemed and plotted and knew that his disturbances need to be stopped.
Mark 14:48-49
"Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me."
Mark 14:55-59
"The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any."
They had nothing to go by for arresting Jesus and even after the arrest they couldn't find any evidence. Even the false testimonies of people didn't hold up.
Matthew 26:59
same as Mark's account
Matthew 26:62-68
After admitting he was the Messiah, with no such proofs but his words they struck him and while striking him they mocked him for claiming to be the Messiah.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Luke and John proclaim the same thing, Jesus is arrested for claiming to be the Messiah. While the priests are unable to put to death Jesus for this under their law since they have no proofs that he isn't the Messiah, they bring him to the Romans who will put to death anyone who claims to be a "King" next to Caesar.
Mark 15:1-15
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
Jesus was crucified because of his admittance to being a "King" not because of any other claim. In fact Pilate tries to save Jesus by customarily releasing him and gave the crowd a choice between Jesus and a murderer Barabbas, the chiefs stir the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
After being handed over for crucifixion, they put a crown of thorns over his head and a purple robe, and mocked him for his claim for being King of the Jews.
Mark 15:16-20
18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
Summary of the facts:
1) It was the Jewish priests of the Sanhedrin, that plotted and arrested Jesus for his disturbances and claims of being the long awaited Messiah.
2) The priests could not conjure up any viable proofs that would condemn Jesus to death under Jewish law, so they brought him to the Romans for Jesus' claim of being a King.
3) Jesus was crucified for claiming Kingship next to Tiberius Caesar, which was considered treason and punishable by death .
Were Jesus' Miracles Unique to Just Him?
Many of God's Prophets performed miracles, but i've heard it many
times that Jesus' miracles were unique and that because of his miracles
it proves his divinity.
Although many of the Prophets performed miracles and most were unique to them, there was one prophet that performed miracles which are practically mirrored to that of Jesus' miracles.
2 Kings 4:32-35 Elisha Raises a Boy from the Dead
2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha feeds 100 Men with just 20 loaves
2 Kings 5:1-14 Elisha Cures a man of Leprosy
2 Kings 6:17-20 Elisha cures Blindness
2 Kings 13:20-21 Even after death Elisha's bones raise a man from death.
Some of these sound quite familiar.
After Jesus' death some of his disciples were able to perform these miracles also.
Acts 3:6-7 Peter healing a cripple
Acts 5:14-16 Peter casting out demons and healing the sick
Acts 9:36-41Peter even raising the dead
Acts 8:5-7 Philip cast out demons, healed the sick and paralyzed
Acts 14:8 Paul heals a cripple
Acts 16:17-18 Paul cast out a demon
Acts 20:9-10 Paul too is able to raise the dead
So in conclusion the miracles throughout the Bible are pretty similar in nature and type, but if you read this passages more carefully you will notice they all were miracles of God, not of the person that was performing them.
Summary of the Facts:
1) Jesus performed many miracles that were not unique or specific to Jesus.
2) The miracles performed were done so by the power of God alone.
Although many of the Prophets performed miracles and most were unique to them, there was one prophet that performed miracles which are practically mirrored to that of Jesus' miracles.
2 Kings 4:32-35 Elisha Raises a Boy from the Dead
2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha feeds 100 Men with just 20 loaves
2 Kings 5:1-14 Elisha Cures a man of Leprosy
2 Kings 6:17-20 Elisha cures Blindness
2 Kings 13:20-21 Even after death Elisha's bones raise a man from death.
Some of these sound quite familiar.
After Jesus' death some of his disciples were able to perform these miracles also.
Acts 3:6-7 Peter healing a cripple
Acts 5:14-16 Peter casting out demons and healing the sick
Acts 9:36-41Peter even raising the dead
Acts 8:5-7 Philip cast out demons, healed the sick and paralyzed
Acts 14:8 Paul heals a cripple
Acts 16:17-18 Paul cast out a demon
Acts 20:9-10 Paul too is able to raise the dead
So in conclusion the miracles throughout the Bible are pretty similar in nature and type, but if you read this passages more carefully you will notice they all were miracles of God, not of the person that was performing them.
Summary of the Facts:
1) Jesus performed many miracles that were not unique or specific to Jesus.
2) The miracles performed were done so by the power of God alone.
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