COMMENTARY
In Abdulahi Sufi's column "Wells Hall preachers don't consider what they say or who they judge" (SN 3/13), Sufi makes the assertion that "Jesus Christ and God Almighty are not the same," and attempts to show that Jesus was just a prophet and nothing more (which is the Muslim position on Jesus' identity).
Regrettably, Sufi shows a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures in general and the New Testament in particular.
Although there are no passages in the Bible where Jesus states, "I am God," there is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates that Jesus taught others he was God and both his followers and his enemies understood his claim to deity.
This evidence is in the form of the prerogatives that Jesus claimed, which his Jewish audience understood as belonging to God alone.
These prerogatives included: being worshipped (Matt 28:9, 17; John 9:38; Luke 24:52; Revelation 5:11-14); existing before Abraham (John 8:58); coming from Heaven (John 3:13; 3:31; 6:38); being able to forgive sins (Luke 5:20-24; 7:48); ruling over his angels and the Kingdom of God (Matt 13:41); and declaring himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).
Would a mere man, even a prophet, truthfully claim to be "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13)?
There is no question that the various writers of the New Testament recognized Jesus as being God (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17; Philippians 2:6-11; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1-3).
What is equally, if not more informative, is the fact that the enemies of Jesus also recognized in his teachings the claim of being Deity (John 5:18; 10:33).
In light of both his disciples and his enemies recognizing that Jesus the Messiah identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (John 8:58), the Muslim assertion that Jesus was merely a prophet, or a good teacher, simply cannot be sustained.
Although one might claim that they are a follower of Christ and love him, the truth is that, by denying his eternal power and divine nature they are following a Jesus that exists only in their imagination.
One can accept or reject his claims as being God and Savior, but one simply cannot call him a mere prophet.
