My Case for Christ

I heard this once when someone was referring to Jesus. He claimed to be Lord as referred to in John 10:30. Knowing that God is all-knowing, all-loving and perfect, that leaves us with two options. Either Jesus was telling the complete truth or he was the biggest liar in history. There can’t be an in-between. That’s a really scary thought, even for you, Christian. And who is to say Jesus and the Christians had it right? There’s so many different religions. How do we know Jesus truly is the way, the truth and the life and that salvation is only through Him? My Christian, do you know the answer to this question?

It’s about faith. Whatever you believe, it’s going to take faith. But with all that being said, how do you prove Jesus said who He said He was? How do I know that my faith lies in Him? I would recommend reading The Reason for God before you jump into this. But let’s tackle the Jesus debate, how do I know Jesus is God?

The Voice of God

Many people of the Judaism faith like to argue that God never spoke in the New Testament, yet He did. God spoke a lot in the New Testament, just read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The key difference is He just spoke as Jesus. Knowing that that isn’t enough evidence for you, let me give you an example of God speaking in the New Testament, and of course, God speaking as God, not as Jesus.

During the public viewing of Jesus’s baptism – “and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Luke 3:22

“Wait a second, wait a second…how do we know a voice out of heaven refers to God?” Very good question, I’m glad you caught on. There is a parallel verse, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” 2 Peter 1:16-18. Friend, that’s confirmation from God the Father. You can’t tell me that that voice was an angel. Look at the language that was used. Who else would be referred to as “Majestic Glory”?

Another example of God speaking in the New Testament is by Jesus. Jesus is God. Jesus is the only Son of God. Don’t be fooled just because “Jesus claimed ‘I am God'” isn’t in the Bible. Read these passages. Look at what He claimed about Himself. Look at the boldness in His statements.

“I and the Father are one” John 10:30
He forgave people’s sins, something that only God could do (Mark 2)
“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'” John 20:28-29
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” John 14:6

My friend, you can’t tell me that Jesus didn’t claim to be God just because He didn’t say the exact words you wanted to hear. Claiming that He is the way to salvation makes Him a god whether you like it or not. Calling Himself an equal to God makes Him a god. He is God. “Okay, Kira. But I can also claim to be a god. I can claim to be a unicorn. I can claim to be anything. Claiming doesn’t mean that’s who you are.” Yeah, you’re absolutely right. That’s why we must further investigate who Jesus said He is.

One way that guarantees that Jesus is God is by looking at what Jesus did and what He fulfilled. My Jewish friend, Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies. He is exactly who God said Jesus was going to be.

Born of a woman and a virgin (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14 / Matthew 1:22-23)
Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 / Matthew 2:1-6)
Jesus would bring a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31 / Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, etc.)
Jesus would be called God’s Son (Psalm 2:1-12 / Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22)
Jesus would be pierced (Zechariah 12:10 / John 19:31-37)
Jesus would be resurrected (Psalm 16:8-11 / Acts 2:22-32, Acts 13:35-37)
Isaiah 53 clearly predicts the life Jesus faced

Would you believe me if I told you this was only a few of the messianic prophecies? Even the exact family line that the Old Testament called out was fulfilled by Jesus. Don’t overlook this. It was all too intentional for Jesus to accidentally fulfill these prophecies. Truly, look into this. Don’t just take my word for it.

Look into how beautifully the New Testament completes the Old. Look at how beautifully the New Testament ends. There is no reason for another book after it. It’s complete.

The Bible calls out specific people

Admittedly, I almost always skip the verses when it comes to the genealogy. It used to bore me. Who cares about the family tree? My Christian and soon-to-be Christian friends, let’s think logically about the purpose of the genealogy. How many times have you told some unbelievable story and said something like “No, I swear it’s true. Just ask _____. He was there.”

The Bible does the same thing. I personally believe that’s one of the reasons why all these names are called out. Read Luke 1. Read Matthew 1. The genealogies provide another layer of authenticity as it calls people out. That’s another reason how you can know the Bible is true.

Compare how the Bible calls specific people and families out with other religions.

Jesus did everything in public

When He was baptized, when He performed miracles, when He was on the cross and when He rose from the dead, He was in public. Don’t overlook this fact. Out of all my reasons to prove the authenticity and truth of Christianity, it would be how Jesus did everything in public.

My friend, there was no one else when Joesph Smith had his visions. My friend, do you know the story of the self-proclaimed prophet, Muhammad?

Here are only a few of the miracles Jesus performed. Read the Scripture. Look at how many people He performed for. Look at how many miracles He performed.

Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11)
Jesus healed a leper (Mark 1:40-45)
Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-18)
Jesus fed five thousand (Matthew 14:15-21)
Jesus was made perfect and never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5, 1 Peter 2:22, John 8:46)

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Arguably, the most miraculous miracle was when Jesus rose from the dead. Did you know after He rose again, he appeared to hundreds of people?

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-7

The way Jesus was able to perform miracles unlike other self-proclaimed prophets, the way He was made perfect, the way Jesus did everything in public made Him stand out. Christianity is so different from other religions. You can’t overlook this. There’s a reason why we haven’t found Jesus’s body.

As with the Bible calling people out, this is why He did everything in public – so people could verify that He was who He claimed to be.

In Conclusion

With Jesus claiming to be God, and we know that God is perfect (Psalm 18:30), all-loving (Psalm 100:5), always good (Pslam 145:17), either Jesus claimed who He said He was or He was a maniac. Jesus can’t be partly true about who He claimed to be. Friend, you know there must be a God. You know Jesus must’ve been real and must’ve claimed who He said He was. There is no other religion like Christianity. It’s faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. I’m praying for you, my soon-to-be Christians. I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work in you and point you to the truth. Don’t just take my word for it. Question your faith. This is your salvation after all. Research and learn. Truly see the uniqueness in Christianity. Truly see the evidence that points to Jesus. I see a reason for God. Do you?

Friend, it’s faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

⁹If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10