In this series I have attempted to make the case for Jesus’ divinity. We have seen Jesus receiving honor and praise as God. Such worship that he received from His disciples would be blasphemous if He were wrong to accept it. We saw Jesus sharing in the attributes of God. From saying that He existed before Abraham to answering the thoughts of people, Jesus demonstrated a self-image as being eternal and of being all knowing.
We also saw Jesus share in the names of God. From Jesus claiming to be I AM throughout the Gospel of John, to accepting the title Lord (the Greek word Kurios replaced God’s name Jehovah in the Septuagint), we see Jesus associating Himself with the person of God Himself.
And finally, we saw Jesus perform the deeds of God. From walking on water, calming storms, and forgiving sins, Jesus showed a divine authority paralleled by no one else to walk the earth.
The Seat
The last piece of the “Is Jesus divine?” puzzle is whether Jesus was shown as sharing in the seat of God. God’s throne in the highest heavens is the place where angels bow in reverence, where God’s glory is in on full display, and from which is where God judges the living and the dead. Let’s see what we find.
To the Bible
Let’s take a look at Mark 14. Jesus is in the middle of His trial before the Sanhedrin. Those hurling accusations at Jesus are flustered. They are trying to come up with evidence to condemn Him to death. The council brings up false witnesses against Jesus, but they are all contradictory. Then, during the fumbling of testimonies and the anger, a high priest stood up and asked a a string of simple questions:
“Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” – Mark 14: 60b-61
All eyes are on Jesus. You can almost feel the tension that thickened the air. Here is the moment where if Jesus didn’t see Himself as the Messiah of the Son of God, he could have simply said: ‘ No I am not he’.
Jesus looks at them square in the face and… well… according to the text, here is what happened.
Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” – verse 62
Wow. That’s a bold statement.
Mix and Blend
Jesus’ statement allows us to conclude a serious reality: Jesus believe He was God (Notice the ‘I Am’ statement), and Jesus believed the Son of Man and the Messiah to be the same.
Here Jesus blends two texts together. They are Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13.
In Psalm 110:1, David writes:
“The Lord [YHWH] says to my Lord [adoni]:
‘Sit at my right hand,
Until I make your enemies your footstool’”
This passage was made a big deal by Jesus in Mark 12:35-37 when he asked why David calls the future Messiah his Lord when the Messiah would also be his descendant. In this questioning, Jesus seems to be pointing to a serious shift in the 1st century Jewish thought-line. The Messiah would be more than a descendant of David, but a Lord from Heaven who shares equality with God (Trinitarians rejoice).
Jesus is claiming to be sitting at the right hand of God in His very throne room.
Daniel
One of Jesus’ favorite title for himself was Son of Man. Jesus claims this title unto himself in all 4 gospels. And he, Jesus, takes the title in the midst of the Sanhedrin at a trial which would lead to his execution. When Jesus claimed to be the Son of Man, they freaked out.
Why?
Jesus’ claiming to be the Son of Man was NOT simply a claim to being a human being who is completely dependent on the Lord. That would not have meant much to the Sanhedrin. They wouldn’t have beat Him, or ripped their clothes in mourning for that. No.
What Jesus is saying is that he has all of the authority due to a divine figurehead that is well known in the Jewish lexicon.
Check out Daniel 7:13-14
“As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”
The Son of Man
Who is the Son of Man? He is someone who can walk up to the Ancient One and live to tell the tale. He is one who is given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, a type of authority that is due only to God. And he is the one whose rule is eternal. Does this sound like a simple man who is nothing special? No.
This is pointing to some divine figure who is Equal with Yahweh.
Take the Throne
Jesus’ statement before the Sanhedrin was bold. He claimed the name of Yahweh unto himself as well as claiming to be the son of Man who would judge and rule the nations. He claimed to be the ruler of heaven. Jesus, in His statement, claimed to be Lord of the living and the dead who has the right worship. From His miracle working, to His sin forgiving, Jesus walked and talked as if He were this Messiah. This is what led to this court scene in the first place. To say that Jesus was killed because He was simply a trouble maker for Rome or a social reformer would completely miss the Jewish context in which Jesus did these actions and made these claims. It would miss the point when Pilate, the Roman procurator at the time found no fault in Him execution. It would seem that Jesus claimed to be more than a mere mortal.
Through this series we have sought to answer the question: Did Jesus see Himself as divine?
I think the answer is undeniably: Yes He Did.
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