By Hank Hanegraaff

Jesus not only claimed to be God but also provided many convincing proofs that He indeed was divine.

First, Jesus demonstrated that He was God in human flesh by manifesting the credential of sinlessness. While the Qur’an exhorts Muhammad to seek forgiveness for his sins, the Bible exonerates Messiah, saying Jesus “had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And this is not a singular statement. John declared, “In him is no sin” (1 John 3:5), and Peter said that Jesus “committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Jesus Himself went so far as to challenge His antagonists asking, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46).

Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated supernatural authority over sickness, the forces of nature, fallen angels, and even death itself. Matthew 4 records that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching, preaching, “and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (v. 23). Mark 4 documents Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves saying, “Quiet! Be still!” (v. 39). In Luke 4, Jesus encountered a man possessed by an evil spirit and commanded the demon to “Come out of him!” (v. 35). And in John 4, Jesus told a royal official whose son was close to death, “Your son will live” (v. 50). And all four Gospels record how Jesus demonstrated ultimate power over death through the immutable fact of His resurrection.

Finally, the credentials of Christ’s deity are seen in the lives of countless men, women, and children. Each day people of every tongue and tribe and nation experience the resurrected Christ by repenting of their sins and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Thus, they not only come to know about Christ evidentially, but experientially Christ becomes more real to them than the very flesh upon their bones.

Adapted from The Third Day

When John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Matthew 11:2–5 NKJV

For further study, see William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, rev. ed. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994), chapters 7 and 8.

 

 

***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***