Jesus asked His disciples who people thought He was. We should ask others the same question. Many don't believe Jesus is God. If He is, then His claims should be taken very seriously.
At first glance, God in the Old Testament seems harsh, and perhaps callous. God in the New Testament seems loving, and gentle. With respect, this is a simple misunderstanding. It's also not new...this has been a common misunderstanding since at least the turn of the first century AD.
Many skeptics of Christianity believe that Jesus never claimed to be God. Some claim that nobody believed He was God until long, long after His death. Others argue that Jesus' own words show that He believed Himself to be simply a man, or only the Son of God and not God Himself. Still others claim that Jesus' divinity was created by the apostle Paul, and that his teaching and Jesus' teaching are in conflict. From Jehovah's Witnesses to Muslims to atheists, a whole bunch of people deny that Jesus is God.
One of the most popular articles on GodWords is What Does Jesus Mean?. The article gets a lot of comments requesting the meaning of Bible names, so I thought it was time to begin a list of Jesus' name in different languages.
Some people doubt that Jesus actually existed. They claim that some first-century men made up a story, and that a bunch of people were fooled into believing it. I've heard from a lot of skeptics of Christianity, and there's a fair number who claim that Jesus never actually existed.
Some presume that He never got sick because He is God, but they forget or ignore that He is also fully human. He grew in wisdom and stature, got hungry, got tired, got frustrated, felt pain...so there's no reason to assume that He never got sick.
I'd like to even give Brown credit for being imaginative...but I can't. I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail in 1986 or so, and it would be kind to only say that Brown plagiarizes heavily from it. That book was interesting fiction too, despite its claims.
Jewish men of that time, by and large, did not speak to Gentiles (non-Jews). They especially did not speak to women. In fact, it's said that they went so far out of their way to avoid contact with women and Gentiles that they would cross the street to avoid passing next to them.
Yeah, I know...I'm going straight to Hell. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Before you start forming your lynch mob, listen closely: Jesus is NOT in your heart.
Anonymous GodWords Reader asked: "I was told that the name of Jesus is special, and saying His name in a prayer means it will be answered. Is that true?"
Jesus traveled with 12 men throughout His three-year ministry. Here's a list of the original twelve, and the one who replaced Judas Iscariot. Jesus' Disciples: Simon Peter (Cephas), Andrew, James...
