By Deanna Huff, Th.M., Ph.D. | August 18, 2024
Culture offers a steady intake of messages and images of people. It can sometimes influence our perception and shape the way we think about someone. Even in ancient history, culture shaped people’s ideas, and Jesus captured this point when He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” In that, he was asking who do people think I am. The disciples said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”[1] There were some people who suggested Jesus was Beelzebul or that he had lost his senses.[2] And others had an intuition that he was unique because of His wisdom and miraculous healing.[3] Many people were not exactly sure who Jesus was/is, and that same sentiment continues today. Who is Jesus? Three discussion points can help clarify that the biblical Jesus is distinctly different: Jesus is distinct from other religious leaders, Jesus is distinct by His claims, and Jesus is distinct because He is God in the flesh.
Jesus is Distinct from Other Religious Leaders
Some people might equate Jesus to all other religious leaders. However, when taking even a small glimpse at some of the top religions of the world, such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, there are clear distinctions between the ways of their religious leaders. Muhammad, the leader of Islam, was a messenger who was supposedly given recitations that were given by an angel that later became the Qur’an. Muhammad pointed to five pillars as the path to the afterlife. Buddha, the leader of Buddhism, points to an Eight-Fold path that advances a person to Nirvana, where all a person’s suffering ends and life is extinguished.[4] Hinduism points to three paths that instruct followers to do good deeds (good karma) to release them from the cycle of reincarnation to be released to Nirvana to end their suffering and become one with Brahman. These religious leaders point to ways they can be relieved from suffering, but Jesus does not point to a way. Instead, He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.”[5] All humanity has sinned against God and has a debt to pay. Christ paid that debt; Christ did the work for salvation for all who repent and place their faith in Him and the resurrection of Christ shall be saved. They will live in the good kingdom to come. Christ is distinctly different because He is the way and he did the work to save humanity for all who place their faith in Him.
Jesus Is Distinct by His Claims
People often make claims, but Jesus made claims supported by miraculous events, which verified His authenticity. Although He has several claims, the space will limit the discussion to three. First, Jesus claimed He is the resurrection and the life. He evidenced this by raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:25-26. Second, Jesus claimed to have all authority to forgive all sins in Mark 2:7-10. Third, he claimed to have authority to execute future judgment in John 5:22-27. No other world leader made these sorts of claims, yet Jesus made them and supported them with his miracles.
Jesus Is Distinct Because He Is God in the Flesh
The Old Testament expresses actions and behaviors that only God can perform and in the New Testament Jesus reveals these same miracles to express he is God in the flesh. Jesus was fully man, and He was and is also fully God. John 8:19 states, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” The disciples were familiar with God in the Old Testament and when they saw Jesus doing what only God could do then it reinforced that Jesus was and is God. Consider Psalm 65:7 where God stills the roaring of the seas, this same action is presented by Jesus to the disciples when He calms the storm in Mark 4:39. This is one example of many that illustrate Jesus’ coequality and power with God. C.S. Lewis discusses how someone should approach the identity of Jesus. He writes, “People often say about Jesus, ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or else he would be the Devil of Hell. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”[6]
These clarifying discussion points support that Jesus is distinctly different. First, Jesus is distinct from religious leaders because He is the way to God. Second, Jesus is distinctly different because He makes claims and provides evidence of His authority and power to forgive and heal. Third, He is distinctly different because His miracles identify Him as God in the flesh. The next time you encounter someone who might have the misconception that Jesus is equal to all other religious leaders then consider exploring one of these areas that makes Jesus distinctly different.
About the Author
Deanna has been teaching and training for the last twenty-five years equipping people to know their Christian faith and share it with others. She is a contributing writer to Why Creationism Still Matters and Strong Faith. Deanna has led many seminars for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Ladies Retreat, and the State Evangelism Conference. She taught high school students for ten years at Christian Heritage Academy, in Bible, Universal History, Apologetics and Philosophy. Deanna earned a Ph.D. in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University. She holds a Master of Theology in Apologetics and Worldview from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oklahoma.
Deanna is an active member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church where she participates with her pastor in a worldview podcast called The Analysis. She also participates with her daughter in a podcast called but why should i care. She and her husband teach an adult Sunday school class discipling others in the faith.
Notes
[1] Matthew 16:13-14
[2] Mark 3:21
[3] Mark 6:2-3
[4] Daniel J. McCoy, The Popular Handbook of World Religions (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2021), 125.
[5] John 14:6
[6] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Signature Edition (London: William Collins, 2012), 52.
