Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: sam4628@summa.tamu.edu (MCCLUNEY, STEVEN ALEXANDER) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Questions about the Messiah Message-ID: Date: 18 Feb 91 03:31:26 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Academic Computing Services, Texas A&M University Lines: 23 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , math1h3@jetson.uh.edu writes... >In article , ejh@sei.cmu.edu (Erik Hardy) writes: >> I have some questions about the Messiah: > >> When Jesus was asked if he was the Messiah, he answered in the affirmative; >> to my knowledge, he never said he was the son of God. I know that he was wont >> to say 'my father' and such, but, to me, that just sounds like artistic >> license; after all, he did teach us to pray 'Our Father, who art...', so I >> can't think of his use of 'my father' as a discriminator in this. My suspicion >> in this matter is that his words were construed afterward, but I'm open to >> reasonable discussion. One other verse to consider is John 8:54, in which Jesus says, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'...." This was certainly taken as definitive by the Jews at the time, along with the following statement in which Jesus claims the proper name given by God the Father to Moses: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM." The name of God, YHWH (transliterated Yahweh or Jehovah) means I AM. The reaction of the Jews (they tried to stone Him) shows that contemporary audiences knew that this implied a unity with God. Steven M. Texas A&M University