Jesus in the Bible: the Son of God

The Titles of Jesus in the Qur'an and the Bible

« Jesus in the Bible: the Son of Man

At the time of Jesus the Jewish people failed generally to believe in him and to follow him but despite this they did not fail to grasp his claims about himself. When Jesus stood before the Council on the last night before he died, he said "From now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God" (Luke 22:69), to which the Jews promptly replied "Are you the Son of God, then?" (v. 70) Although he had called himself the Son of Man,, what he had said about the Son of Man seemed to imply that he was also the Son of God. Jesus answered "You say that I am", meaning, "Indeed what you have said is true - I am the Son of God - and you have borne witness to the fact".

Likewise we find a similar answer from Jesus when the High Priest said to him, "I adjure you, by the living God, tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God" (Matthew 26:63). Jesus answered "I am - and you have said so" (Mark 14:62, Matthew 26:64). To this answer the High Priest exclaimed "He has uttered blasphemy" (Matthew 26:65).

Jesus had been arrested by the Jews on the order of the High Priest because he had learnt that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. At his trial no evidence could be brought which could be made to stick against Jesus, so the High Priest stood up and asked him the one question that was on his heart. "Are you, the Son of God?" The question was as unambiguous and as plain as it could be - and Jesus was put on oath before God to give him the true answer. Jesus replied in equally obvious language: "I am".

Not only did he confirm without reserve that he was the Son of God but he did so in the full knowledge of the consequences - that he would immediately be sentenced to death for blasphemy by the unbelieving Jews.

This was the climax of the growing hostility of the Jews to Jesus because of his repeated assertions that he was the Son of God. When they were angry with him for healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus answered:

"My Father is working still, and I am working". (John 5:17)

As a result of this claim they sought all the more to kill him because he made himself the Son of God by calling God his Father and by unreservedly equating his work with the Father's work.

On another occasion Jesus again incurred the wrath of the Jews for saying "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). They did not except to his claim to pre-exist Abraham but were struck by the present tense, "I am", which implied that he had an eternal spirit. To them this was the equivalent of God's statement to Moses "I am the God of Abraham" (Exodus 3:6). So they took up stones to stone him for blasphemy.

A third time Jesus said to them "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) - an emphatic statement that God was his Father and that he existed in absolute unity with him - and was therefore the Son of God. Again the Jews took up stones to stone him for blasphemy.

Now their own scriptures confirmed that the expression "Sons of the Most High" faith was used metaphorically of all true believers (Psalms 82:6). Why then were they accusing him of blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God in an absolute sense? (He at no time took exception to their conclusion - he reacted solely against their charge that he was falsely claiming to be the Son of God). His own words were:

"Do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world "You are blaspheming" because I said "I am the Son of God?". (John 10:36)

For two reasons the Jews could not validly accuse him of blasphemy. Firstly, they could not genuinely object to terminology like "I am the Son of God" because their own scriptures used such terminology only in a metaphorical sense while Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God in an absolute sense, they still could not sincerely charge him with falsehood because the good works he did from the Father showed that his claims for himself were equally good and that this proved that he as indeed the Son of God.

All this had come to the ears of the High Priest and to avoid any further dispute, he put Jesus on oath to say whether he was indeed the Son of God to which Jesus replied "I am". The Jews then promptly went too the Roman governor, Pilate, seeking the execution of Jesus - for only one reason: Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. The Jews said to Pilate:

"We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God". (John 19:7)

Once they thought they had succeeded in their designs, when Jesus hung on the cross, they exclaimed:

"He trusts in God, let God deliver him now, if he desires him, for he said ‘I am the Son of God’" (Matthew 27:43)

It is of great importance to observe the thrust of the accusation of the Jews against him - "he has made himself the Son of God"; "he said ‘I am the Son of God’". While many men since that day have accused the Christian church of making Jesus the Son of God, the Jews heard it from his own lips - and they accused him of making himself the Son of God. Jesus made no attempt to deny this charge. So we see that Jesus himself is the source of Christian belief that he is indeed the Son of God.

Just as the expression "son of man" is found elsewhere in the Bible in a general sense, so is the expression "sons of God", but just as Jesus took the title Son of Man for himself in an exclusive and glorious sense as a majestic title, so he claimed to be the Son of God in the same exclusive sense.

No one can honestly doubt that Jesus himself claimed to be the Son of God. Only one question remains, however, - was he indeed speaking the truth when he made this claim for himself or was he uttering blasphemy as the High Priest alleged?

In three definite ways God bore witness to the truth of Jesus' claim to be the Son of God. When he promised the Jews centuries earlier that the Messiah was to come from David's line, God said of him:

"I will be his father and he shall be my son". (2 Samuel 7:14)

God made it clear that the Messiah was to be his own Son and this prompted Jesus to say to the Jews at the end of his ministry among them:

"What do you think of the Messiah ? Whose son is he?" (Matthew 22:42)

When the Jews replied that he was to be the Son of David, Jesus pointed to a Psalm where David called him his Lord. How then could he be his son, Jesus asked? The Messiah was to be the offspring of David but had not God said that he would be his own Son? Secondly, God spoke from heaven of Jesus at his baptism, and later again, at his transfiguration and said:

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased". (Matthew 3:17)

Thirdly, Jesus was raised from the dead three days after his crucifixion according to his own predictions to this effect (Matthew 16:21, etc.). In this way God bore witness to the fact that everything Jesus said about himself was true - including his oft-repeated claim to be the Son of God. His resurrection proved beyond shadow of doubt that he was indeed the Son of God (Romans 1:4) and that God was truly his Father.

It was the express united will of both the Father and the Son that Jesus should die as a man on a cross to redeem men to God. Perhaps the Father was never less obviously revealed in the Son than during those hours when Jesus hung, forsaken of his Father, on the cross as he took the sins of men on himself. But never was the absolute and awesome love of the Father and the Son more revealed to hell-deserving sinners than during those moments when Jesus endured what is rightfully due to all other men for their sins.

You must answer this question as well - what do you think of the Messiah? Whose Son is he? Will you agree with God and testify that Jesus, the Messiah, is indeed his Son? Will you not commit yourself to Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and receive the salvation he obtained for you by dying on the cross for your sins? Will you not believe in him fully and recognise that eternal life is found in him alone? Will you not receive forgiveness of sins in his name?