jesus is god! (part ii — see jan. 8)
"When He had cleansed us from our sins, He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs." —Hebrews 1:3-4
As we are about to celebrate the two-thousandth anniversary of Jesus' Incarnation, we proclaim the astounding truth that Jesus is fully God and fully man. Both Jesus' divinity and His humanity have been attacked for two thousand years, but His divinity has been more frequently rejected — from the Jews of the first century, to the Arians, and to over four billion people today. Jesus, Who called Himself the I AM, Yahweh, God (Jn 8:58), has not been accepted as God except by a small minority of people.
When Jesus walked the earth, His divinity was rejected in many ways. Some thought John the Baptizer was the Messiah (Jn 1:20) and the light of the world instead of Jesus (Jn 1:8). If John was greater than Jesus, then Jesus certainly wasn't divine. Some religious leaders during Jesus' public ministry maintained that Jesus cast out "demons with the help of the prince of demons" (Mk 3:22). If Jesus was possessed by the devil, He obviously wasn't God. In the first century, many believed that the angels were superior to Jesus (see Heb 1:4). If this were true, it would disqualify Jesus from being God.
Muslims think Jesus is a great prophet but not God. Mormons say Jesus is a god but not the God. Jehovah's Witnesses picture Jesus as a super-man but not God. Who will believe that Jesus is God? Who will live a life of worship, obedience, self-sacrifice, evangelization, and service which would only make sense if Jesus is God?
Prayer: "Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All!"
Promise: "Come after Me; I will make you fishers of men." —Mk 1:17
Praise: Martha prayed for decades for her husband to be converted. At her funeral, he made a pledge to become a Catholic. Now he receives Jesus in the Eucharist every day.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert J. Buschmiller, June 11, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 20, 1998