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NASB | John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 8:58 Jesus replied, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am." [Ex 3:14] |
Bible Question: Why do people believe jesus is god |
Bible Answer: Short Answer: because He has proved Himself reliable, and He said He is. In fact, just about every time He opened His mouth (as recorded for us in the Gospels), He was claiming to be God, usually by association. By that I mean, He was claiming for Himself some attribute of godhood. For instance, when the Old Testament prophets relayed to the people some message of God, they would always preface it with "thus says the Lord", so the people would know this was from God. When Jesus spoke, it was "truly truly I say to you" (Matthew 5:18 is one of many examples). He told people their sins were forgiven, something only God couod do (Matthew 9:1-8). Now, when Jesus would say something like this, He was often confronted with a charge of blasphemy for claiming to be God, so it's clear that His hearers interpreted these claims as such. What was His answer? He would demonstrate miraculous power to prove His claim. Why should we believe these miracles actually took place? Even His enemies did not deny them! When He was accused, the charges were based on His words, not on His miracles (Matthew 26:59-60). It's an interesting point, in my opinion: the leaders and the people were expecting Messiah, and they thought He would be a miracle worker. I'm not sure what kind of expectation they had about what Messiah would say, but they expected He would do great things. Here comes Messiah, saying great things; they accuse Him of blasphemy, so He provides the evidence they say they are looking for, great works, and yet they still don't believe. |