jesus son of god

Question 1

jesus title 1- son of man

Answer 1

this was a title from the old testament referring to a future eschatological figure in Daniel 7:13 whos coming signals final judgement. the language Daniel uses does align with Jesus’ character.

Question 2

jesus title 2 - Lord

Answer 2

Jesus is referred to as Lord
Lord = Adonai in Hebrew and the terms Adonai and Yahweh (God) are used interchangeably in the old testament

Question 3

jesus title 3 - saviour

Answer 3

he is referred to as ‘saviour who is christ the lord’ in Luke 2:11
=Jesus is the one who saves and the Old testament claims that only God can save - so he must be God

Question 4

jesus title 4 - son of god

Answer 4

indicates a close and unique relationship with god - is this proof of divinity though??! as it bridges a gap and he is fulfilling God’s mission buut

or he is God in human form and is of the hypostatic union so yeah maybe

Question 5

st paul on the hypostatic union

Answer 5

Romans 1:4 jesus ‘has been declared the son of God’

Question 6

jesus baptism proof he is god

Answer 6

matthew 3:17 ‘this is my son, with whom i am well pleased’

Question 7

quote about jesus being god right from creation

Answer 7

John 1:1 ‘in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god’
=jesus was eternally existent

Question 8

why is the hypostatic union justified

Answer 8

if jesus was not fully divine, he wouldnt be able to save people from original sin and reverse the effects of the fall

if jesus was not fully human, he would have not suffered on the cross as a human would
=he msut be both simultaneously

Question 9

when was the hypostatic union affirmed

Answer 9

The council of Chalcedon in 451
‘truly god and truly man’ - not a blend

Question 10

hick critique that jesus wasnt god/didnt know he was x2

Answer 10

1. jesus does not describe himself as the son of god
2. the label was a common title in judaism - adam was also called the son of god.

Question 11

jesus’ language as proof he is and knew he was the son of god x4

Answer 11

1. the synoptic gospels recount Jesus addressing God as ‘abba’ (father) - indicating a unique closeness and consciousness of his nature
2. john 10:30 - ‘the father and i are one’, John 14:9 ‘whoever has seen me has seen the father’
3. even as a child: luke 2:49 ‘didnt you know i had to be in my father’s house?’
4. John’s gospel says Jesus repeats ‘I am’ - linking to Exodus 3:14 when God says ‘i am who i am’

Question 12

Hick critique that Jesus knew he was God in John’s gospel x2

Answer 12

-was written a long time after the other gospels by a confirmed believer who was able to match the theology of early christians. perhaps this was an invention to reinforce Jesus’ divinity
-Hick argues that John is more modern and is putting words into his mouth

Question 13

the baptism of jesus

Answer 13

Mark 1: ‘you are my son, whom i love, and are well pleased’
- a dove (holy spirit) descended and a light from the sky appeared with a voice.

Question 14

the transfiguration

Answer 14

Mark 17
disciples see before them Moses (the law) and Elijah (the big prophet man).
‘this is my son whom i love’

Question 15

john 14:6

Answer 15

‘i am the way, the truth and the light. no-one comes to the father except through me’
=he has the knowledge of salvation so he must be God.

Question 16

Job 9:8

Answer 16

‘he alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea’

Question 17

how does Job 9:8 link to Jesus

Answer 17

Mark 6:47 jesus walks on water proving his divinity and breaking the laws of nature = links to job when God stretches on the waves of the sea, establishing a link and connection between the powers.

Question 18

maurice wiles on Jesus’ miracles

Answer 18

he rejects Jesus’ miracles on moral grounds as he rejects an interventionist God. argues that trivial miracles like turning water into wine yet not intervening in atrocities such as the holocaust or hiroshima leave a debased concept of a god who is unworthy of worship. this reduces the status of an all-loving god, as a mere performer of stunts.

Question 19

healing of the blind man +NT Wright reinforcement

Answer 19

John 9:6
‘if this man were not god, he could do nothing’
=forgiving sins as disabilities punishment for sins
NT WRIGHT ‘only god can cleanse sins and restore sight’

Question 20

messianic prophecy and link

Answer 20

‘then the eyes of the blind shall be opened; and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped’ ISIAH
=Jesus fulfills this and proves his divinity. links to John 9:6

Question 21

bultmann on miracles

Answer 21

modern era, strip away myths.
husk = outer disposable fictitious element of story
kernel = meaning = kerygma
feeding of 5000 = encouraged to share (link to blind man = morality and god
=jesus’ stunts are not proof of his status but are teachings.

Question 22

catechism of catholic church for proof of jesus’ miracles

Answer 22

‘miracle, strengthen faith in the one who does his fathers work ; they bear witness that he is the son of God’

solidifies the fundamentalist approach.
catholics consider miracles as ‘semeion’ - signs of divinity

Question 22

the resurrection

Answer 22

this also fulfil Isaiah 53:10 and psalms 16:10 (both prophesize the resurrection of the messiah)

gods ultimate show of power of evil, conquers death, and victory over sin, offers eternal life, and shows authority over creation and validates claims of his identity of son of God
Also, he is unique he’s the only human to do this

Question 23

prophecies of the resurrection of the lord

Answer 23

psalms 16:10 and Isiah 53:10

Question 24

semeion

Answer 24

miracles are signs of divinity according to the catholic church.

Question 25

Hume’s criticisms of miracles

Answer 25

miracles do not need to be trusted - witnesses to miracles are usually uneducated people with nothing to lose

Is a violation of the laws of nature

‘ESSAYS ON MIRACLES’

Question 26

hume book miracles

Answer 26

essays on miracles

Question 27

counter to hume’s criticism that witnesses are lying

Answer 27

people such as St Peter have been crucified for their loyalty to the Christian God, why would they lay down their life to a lie?

Question 28

jesus knowledge of future events = he is God

Answer 28

he knew one of his own disciples would betray him and that Peter would deny him 3x and that he would be crucified in Jerusalem

Question 29

how many miracles does jesus do

Answer 29

37

Question 30

Karl Rahner on the solution of Jesus’ self awareness

Answer 30

he says Jesus’ divine consciousness was deep within and something he was not always aware of and closer to the surface was human self-consciousness

+ modern psychology suggests we do carry knowledge deep inside our minds.

Question 31

times jesus didnt know he was god x3

Answer 31

1. matthew 26 - jesus cried before arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane - surely he would’ve known
2. mark 5:30 - he was unaware the bleeding woman who touched him. was he pretending to be ignorant
3. jesus told his parents when he got lost in Jerusalem he was unaware they’d be worried.

Question 32

did jesus know he was divine YES x3

Answer 32

1. john ‘i tell you, before Abraham was born, I am’ - links to exodus
2. healing of the blind man John 9:6, walking on water Mark 6:47
3. Luke 2 - ‘didnt you know i had to be in my father’s house’

Question 33

did jesus know he was divine NOx3

Answer 33

-john is not a historical account as it was written much later. much rather an interpretation from someone who already knew Jesus as God
-all 3 synoptic gospels recount Jesus’ agony in the garden of gethsemane
-hesus may have only thought of himself as a moral teacher/liberator

Question 34

counter that his miracles are proof he is God

Answer 34

moses parted the red sea and peter resurrected a young girl

Question 35

4 scholars on jesus’ miracles and divinity

Answer 35

hume - illogical lies
bultmann - demythologise bible in modern era, teachings
NT wright - Jesus’ miracles establish God’s kingdom on Earth. only god can cleanse sins
Maurice Wiles - rejects on moral grounds

Question 36

Paul on the resurrection

Answer 36

‘if christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith’ = bultmann is defeating the point of faith.

Question 37

theories on resurrection x2

Answer 37

swoon theory - he didnt die but fainted BUT Romans describes graphically the tortue endured

inconsistency - raised by Bart Ehrman BUT william lane craig says the details are just peripheral and arent at the heart of the story which is JESUS WAS RAISED.

myths - bultmann. hick, resurrection and incarnation are not literal accounts of raising a body but symbols of beginnings, rebirth and transcending death, symbolic of the triumph of god over evil