Bible Question:
First, I would like to ask why do Christians believe in Jesus and accept the New Testament as written by God? Why do Christians insist on saying that the death of Jesus was a miraculous event? Second, what is the philosophical meaning of Jesus being the son of g-d? Everything G-d creates becomes a part of g-d so all human beings are part man and part g-d. What is the difference between Jesus and other human beings except that he did not sin according to your belief? I really want to learn more about Christianity and I would appreciate it if you would consider my questions seriously.
Bible Answer:
You have asked some important questions.
Believing In Jesus
Christians believe in Jesus Christ because of the prophecies and the historical evidence about Him. For example, some of the prophecies predicted that He would be a descendent of the ancient patriarch Judah. He would be born in the town of Bethlehem, and He would be taken to the land of Egypt. One of the most significant prophecies (about 525 B.C.) predicts the exact year, 33 A.D., in which He would die. Now that is precise, and we will talk about that some more in the next section. The prophecies also predict that He would return to life, and He did. Historical evidence says that Jesus would return to life. Changed lives and the martyrdom of Christians are witnesses to the truth. For these reasons we also believe that the Bible is truth. Its prophecies are accurate. The historians witnessed miracles and incredible events about Jesus, and the lives of people have been transformed.
When we read the four gospels in the New Testament we find that there are no elaborate details about the things that Jesus did, except for a few accounts. The gospels move quickly from one event to another, providing an overview of events. The gospels span His entire earthly life but concentrate on the last three years. There is not an account of every day for those three years. Why? The answer is simple. Jesus’ disciples are interested only in providing us with an overview of His life. They are not trying to impress us with every detail. They are sending us a message that Jesus is God.
Son of God
The gospels tell us that Jesus is the Son of God. The expression “Son of God” was another way of saying that Jesus was God. The gospel of John explains the meaning of this expression in the following conversation that Jesus had with some Jewish leaders.
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” . . . Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? (NIV) John 10:31-33, 36
Notice that the Jews understood the meaning of “son of God.” The Jews said He was claiming to be God. They did not believe that He was God because they were jealous of Him and because Jesus was preaching against them. They had distorted God’s teachings in the Old Testament and Jesus was correcting them. They were angry and were not open to the truth. This is a common response.
Miraculous Death
Jesus’ death was a miracle. The miracle was not that He died, since we all die! His death was a miracle for two other reasons.
First, His death was predicted in 444 B.C. or about 450 years before He actually died. The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26 predicts the exact year in which he would die. Anyone who died before or after that week would not satisfy this prediction, nor would he satisfy thirty other key predictions. So God became a man, lived a sinless life, and thirty-three years later died in order to forgive our sins. If we believe that Jesus is God, died for our sins, returned to life, and returned to heaven, then God will forgive our sins if we want Him to do that. I would encourage you to visit the study about His death. It is entitled, “Prophecy of Daniels’ 70 Weeks. ” I would also encourage you to look at all the links in the section entitled “Predictions About Christ.” It is impossible for any other person to fulfill all of these predictions but Jesus.
Second, the events surrounding His death were miracles. Historians tell us that when Jesus died, the sun was darkened. The book of Luke in the New Testament says this occurred just before His death.
And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (NASB) Luke 23:44-45
Why would a man’s death cause the sun to become dark? The first response one might have is that this did not happen, that this was the imagination of some religious people. However, secular historians saw the same darkness. You can read about this event and quotes from many non-Christians in the section entitled “Voice From The Past. ” You will want to select the links entitled “Phlegon ” and “Thallus ” and then the links on each of those pages.
Jesus death was a miracle. Since man is a sinner, our holy God had to take on human flesh in order that a man could live a sinless life and then die. God cannot die, but sinless man can. Therefore, our holy God became a man in order to provide forgiveness for our sins.
Part god and part man. How can we be part-god in any sense? The Bible says that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We have some of His characteristics but we are not God. In fact, God says we are not even close to being like Him.
You thought I was altogether like you . . . (NIV) Psalm 50:21
God makes it very clear that we are very different from Him.
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (NASB) Numbers 23:19
He also told us that He created us. We did not and cannot do this.
Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves . . . (NASB) Ps 100:3
We are not part-god in any sense. He existed before us. Since we did not exist then, we are not a part of Him. He makes it clear that there is no other God.
Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. (NASB) Isa. 43:10
This is what the LORD says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. (NASB) Isa 44:6
Conclusion:
We pray that God will give you understanding. It is God’s great passion that you will seek to know Him and find Him. We encourage you to read the page “Searching for God” to learn more.