Board index ‹ Jesus

[Newbie]

God spent thousands of years and the entire old testament saying that the worst thing you can do is worship anyone other than him, under the penalty of death. Then, all the sudden Jesus appears and claims to be god. If you don't believe this man, you are condemned to hell. Is this fair?

I realize Muslims will say he never claimed to be god, and Jews realized the contradiction hence the crucifixtion, but I've seen it spelled out in other threads how it was pretty clear that Jesus was claiming to be god. I guess this can be part of the debate as well. But if the first two commandments are about not worshiping ANYONE else, how are we supposed to call Jesus "god," our creator, without risking idol worship or blasphemy?

Also, there were prophecies of a savior in the old testament, but as far as I know, the OT never said god will come down as himself in human form. If I stated anything incorrectly in my premise (which I very well may have) point that out as well. Thoughts??

[jimwalton]

Suppose you wanted to write a book, and you were going to be the main character in the book. You wanted the character to be you in every way: he would think what you think, say what you would say, and do what you would do. He's YOU in every sense of the word, but he's different from you, because he's the incarnation of you in the story. But he's you. In not even the smallest way does he diverge from you.

As it turns out, then, if you respect ("worship") the character in the story, you also respect the author, and vice versa. Though the two are different, they are one and the same.

As far as the OT, there are several places. Isaiah 9.6 would be one of them. A sign is given that a child will be born—an actual incarnation, not a metaphor. He's obviously royal, but never here called a king. The reference can't be to a contemporary king (such as Hezekiah), because the language is clear that this is no mere human king. A messiah is being predicted. This child will be, among other things, The Mighty God, used in Isa. 10.21 to refer to YHWH.

Another place may be Malachi 3.1, where there is a dual fulfillment. The "near" fulfillment of the messenger was Mal himself; the "far" fulfillment was John the Baptist. The second half also has a dual fulfillment. The "near" was is Jesus coming right behind John the Baptist (the "messenger of the covenant" is alluded to in Ex. 23.20-21); the "far" one is when Jesus will come again in the future.

So, back to my original analogy: Jesus is the WORD in the book, and YHWH is the author of the book, and even though they are different in that sense, they are one and the same "person." So to worship Jesus is to worship God, so no idol worship or blasphemy.