Matthew 9:6
Jesus Has Authority to Forgive Sins
6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat and go home."
John 8:48-59
Jesus Said He Existed Before Abraham was Born
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Mark 13:1-37
Jesus Will Return at the End of Times
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world,until now—and never to be equaled again.
20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
24 “But in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Mark 14:60-62
Jesus Claims to be the Messiah and the Son of God
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
John 3:12-13
Jesus Claims to Have Come from Heaven
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
John 4:25-26
Jesus Claims to be the Messiah
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
John 10:25-30
Jesus and the Father are One
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
John 11:25-27
Jesus Says He is the Resurrection and the Life
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 14:6-14
Anyone Who Has Seen Jesus Has Seen His Father
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Mark 2:18-22
Jesus Questioned on Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Luke 4:14-30
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Acts 17:24-31
God Has Given Us Evidence
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Some people do not believe that Jesus was and is God in the flesh...And in all four of the Gospels, He makes some outstanding claims...And these claims are not just made at the beginning or the end of His teachings and ministry...He goes about making these claims throughout His three year ministry as He travels from village to village...This in itself is interesting, because we really only get to know about this Man for three years in His life -that alone is remarkable...To make all the claims He did in just three years, is remarkable to me...And His claims, in these three years, as we read and listen to the gospels are Divine Claims, Claims that there is a God, that there is an Eternity, and other Theological Claims (as we examine His claims)...
What Jesus claims to Be and claims in His teachings make you either believe Him or do not believe in Him...
Jesus claims and comes out and says that He has has authority on earth to forgive sins...Jesus also claims that years before Abraham was born that He existed...Jesus told people who were questioning who He was, said this, “Very truly I tell you before Abraham was born, I AM!”...He used the words I AM, and that is the name for God...Jesus is not only saying that He is older than Abraham but by adding the I AM Name, He is making a statement of Eternal Existence and that He has always existed...And the religious officials of Israel pick right up on this claim, as well as the others...
In the Gospel of Mark, He states that He will make a second return to earth in His Second Coming...At the time of His Second Coming, people will see the Son of Man coming in a special way...He will come in on the clouds with great power and glory...And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens...So He tells us He will fly in on clouds and He will be with angels and then gather His elect from the four winds...Most unusual, yet somehow believable in the context of what He has done (with His miracles) and the other things He has said in the gospels...
Jesus states that He and God are One...No one comes to God, except through Him...Anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father...And Jesus said He would be returning to His Father after His death...
And when talking to a Samaritan woman at a well, Jesus claims to be the Messiah of Scripture, thus the Messiah from the Old Testament...Jesus also claimed to be the Messiah to the Sanhedrin, as well as telling them that He is the Son of God...The Messiah was the One who the prophets said would be sent by God Himself...Thus He is claiming Himself to be Divine and to be from God and to have come from heaven...So, if He came from God, this means that God has intervened in our world, and a miracle has happened...
Jesus claims to be the Resurrection and the Life...What does that even mean?...Only by knowing Him and what He has taught and done, can one gather meaning to this...
Jesus was once questioned on fasting, and why He and His Disciples were not fasting...He told the Pharisees that while He was on earth that it was not a time for His Disciples to fast...The time for His Disciples to fast, would be when He was taken away from them...Quite an odd thing to say when fasting is about prayer, a need of God, and dependence on God...
On another occasion, Jesus is in a synagogue in Nazareth...And He makes a most outlandish claim in quoting the scripture of Isaiah...He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up and was raised, and on the Sabbath Day, He went into the synagogue, as was His custom....Then He stood up to read, and He read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah which was handed to Him...Unrolling it, Jesus found the place where it is written...“The Spirit of the LORD is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor...He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor.”...Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down...The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him...He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”...Who would say or what kind of Man would say such a thing in a Sacred Synagogue and on the Sabbath Day?...
He told His Disciples on another day that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him...That He never spoke on His authority, but He spoke on God's authority...We are to believe in Him, when He says that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him...And if we find it hard to believe what He says, then we are to remember the miracles He has done...So He says at least believe on the evidence of the works and miracles that He has done...Very truly He told us, whoever believes in Him will do the works He had been doing...
Jesus is saying He is Divine...All of these claims and statements are Divine Claims...These are not claims of a mortal man...These would be quite odd for a man to say even one of these things...A mortal man cannot forgive sins of other people's doings...A man cannot exist eternally (without God), so how could they talk about returning to earth in their Second Advent and be talking about this Second Coming, if they were only a mortal man?...A mere mortal cannot say He fulfills the Scripture of the Prophet Isaiah...He says He is in the Father and the Father is in Him...(I am not sure how that can even happen, but Jesus is Divine)..Jesus said I and God are One...When He said this, He is making the claim to be One with God...If He is God or the Son of God He is Divine...How can He not be?...And then He says the way to God is not through a mortal man, but through Himself, and that He is the Only Way to God...And His resurrection backs up all the claims that He made and the He talked about and His teachings...Jesus died and then came back to life...How can that be, unless One is Divine...St. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus', says that God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed...He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead...