Question time???????

[Eda]

Heres a question that was asked this weekend.

Is Jesus a Good Person, a Prophet,
Or is Jesus God?

[Cagueno]

Jesus called himself Son of God and congratulated Simon-Peter for him declaring it before the other disciples. Son of God, like Son of Man, did not mean “little god” like the word “son” coveys in our Western minds (English, Spanish, Latin, Greek, all these cultures see “son” as a smaller version of the father). In the Jewish culture “son” conveys the idea of being like, have the same characteristics as the father, being equal to the father. Since we are looking back, we know that Jesus was born of a virgin, and therefore he was not truly the son of a man. So when Jesus called himself “Son of Man”, it meant he was calling himself Man, the representative of Mankind. This is important when we look at the label that John the Baptist gave Jesus: the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. In light of what the Prophet Isaiah said seven hundred years before, of a Righteous Man dying for the sins of all the Unrighteous people, we know that when Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man he was not referring to he being a son of a man (which he wasn’t), but as that Righteous Man that Isaiah had foretold, who would be the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE for all humanity. Following the same logic, when Jesus is titled Son of God, the title conveys to the Jewish people (their culture and language) the notion of Jesus being GOD himself. That is why the High Priest got so angry when Jesus told him he is the Son of God he ripped his tunic:

Matthew 26:62-65 says: <<Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. >>

Now, some people may say: Jesus is a good person, or he is a prophet, but that is to deny that HE HIMSELF said that he is GOD. It is up to each one of us to decide if He is or not. If I choose not to believe that He is God, then I have only two ways of looking at Him: 1- he was crazy, that is, he did not know what he was saying; 2- or that he is a deliberate liar, he knew he wasn’t God and yet he presented himself to be that to his disciples and to the rest of the people of his day. I don’t know about anyone who might read this message, but in light of the David Koresh’es of life, and the Jim Jones’es, I know that the world is full of liars, so I would test Jesus words [liars do play with words]. One thing he said to His disciples was that He would rise from the dead [and not in the form of a ghost]. And He did: a- there was an earthquake when He rose from the dead, b- an angel opened up the tomb and scared twelve Roman soldiers to death, c- the tomb was empty when the disciples came to see what had happened, d- the Jewish authorities had to bribe the Roman soldiers and concoct a lie on what had happened to the body, e- Jesus presented himself to his disciples during forty days, f- he ate fish before his skeptic disciples, and on, and on. So, to an un-biased observer Jesus has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is God. If you are like me: skeptic, then I suggest you read more in the Bible and find out for yourself whether he is God. Then you can truly be sure, and you will not be repeating what others say like a mere robot or zombie. And the Bible itself promises that those who are convinced that Jesus is God will have Eternal Life; thus this is not a small DECISION in life.

[guarionex05]

JESUS IS GOD

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PEACE BROTHERS AND SISTERS

[Eda]

Very good...Now, how would you go about explaining that Jesus is God to Children? I dont mean to sound naive, but that same question was given to a group of kids and tryin to explain was crazy......

[guarionex05]

WELL I TELL THEM. SEE I'M YOUR FATHER.I GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED.SO IS GOD OUR FATHER AND GIVE US WHAT WE NEED.NOT WHAT WE WANT,THAT'S NOT ALWAYS BEST FOR US.WHY WE CAN'T SEE HIM? WELL, HIS BUSY EVERY BODY NEEDS HIM AT THE SAMETIME,BUT HE KNOW WHAT WE NEED AND SOME DAY THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING TO SEE HIM.

[Cagueno]

I would tell them that God became a human being to save humanity from our sins, the bad things we do. Every time we do something evil (like lie, cheat and steal) we are breaking the God's rules. The punishment for breaking God's rules is eternal separation from Him. So He became a human being to take all the punishment we deserve, so that no one that accepts His sacrifice gets punished. This in turn requires us to believe in His sacrifice, follow Him and turn from our evil ways (all of this is really Gratitude on our part, being grateful). If we reject His sacrifice then we don't get the benefits of that sacrifice. [This is what the Bible says in paper and ink.]

I would also say to the kids, it is like if there was a Man who made a flea farm. All the fleas were mean to each other and declared war on the Man. All the fleas are going to be destroyed for being mean to each other and for revolting against the Man who made and owns the flea farm, but the Man who made them turns into a flea to pay for all the "broken dishes". The fleas who accept that sacrifice by the Man who made and owned the flea farm get spared.

[LaSunTrain]

Jesus is God. Just as government is separated into 3 powers, all three form the government. One cannot function without the other, they complement each other. So is God; God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; aka the Trinity.
The age of the children determins how you explain this to them. If they are too young, the example of the fleas might throw them completely off. I must admit, I was a little confused after reading that also. Most kids can comprehend that Jesus loves them, and that he died for them and that they have to believe in him to get to heaven. That is why Jesus said we must become like children who find it easy to believe.
Since I work with children between the ages 4 and 6, I have learned to never underestimate what they are capable of understanding.
One thing that I always find helpful is to pray for direction from the Holy Spirit and He will give you the words that will reach the children.