(3) Can You Prove It?

There are many exciting, life changing truths yet to be discovered in our study of Jesus: Up Close & Personal that will fill our hearts with wonder and worship. But let me bring our wonder and worship to a screeching halt with a challenge: What if Jesus was not God?

“What? Jesus not God? How dare you suggest such a thing? Of course He’s God!” Well, let me ask you a question, “Can you prove it?” How well would you fare in a debate with someone where you had to prove from scripture that Jesus was in fact God? Do you believe this because you have seen it for yourself in scripture or just because that’s what you’ve always been taught?

Let’s say that next Saturday morning you’re relaxing at home and there’s a knock on the front door. You glance through the window and see two strangers there. They’re dressed nicely and have Bibles and Watchtower papers in their hands. You know who it is, don’t you? Jehovah’s Witnesses.

So many thoughts run through your head. “I don’t want to be bothered!” “But I know it shouldn’t be a bother.” “I don’t have time for this.” “Well, I was just relaxing.” “They need Jesus.” “But they don’t believe in Jesus, don’t’ even believe He’s God.” “I don’t know what to say.” “I really, really don’t know what to say.” “Where does the Bible say that Jesus is God?” “Where??” “I really don’t know what to say!!”

Could this be you? Can you show someone from scripture that Jesus is in fact God? Can you handle their objections? Interact with them knowledgeably regarding the deity of Jesus? Remember, many Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as practicing Jews reject the deity of Jesus and are also very well versed in scripture they will use to support their beliefs. Would you just have to say, “I believe Jesus is God, I know the Bible teaches that Jesus is God, I just can’t show you where.” How convincing would you be?

So how can we be better prepared to prove the deity of Jesus from scripture? Where do we go in scripture to find the proof? Well, before we get to the matter of proof, perhaps it might be good for us non-lawyer types to get a crash course in matters of legitimate, legal proof. Try to bear with me for a moment, this will get a bit technical.

In a court of law, in order to establish proof of a fact or circumstances of an event, one presents evidence. This evidence may be an object like a knife or gun. The evidence may be the testimony of a witness to the facts. There is also circumstantial evidence meaning that when you put two established facts together, it leads to an obvious and reasonable conclusion that supports the facts or events in question. All of this evidence is joined together to establish a case for judgement. The goal is for the evidence to show “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the facts have been established, guilt or innocence can be determined. “Beyond reasonable doubt” implies that there may be some slight thread of doubt, but the evidence is such that this minor doubt is not enough to change the verdict in the matter. In the end, there will never be enough evidence for the person who is determined to believe something no matter what they hear or observe. The lawyer’s job is to present adequate evidence that a reasonable person who is open to discovering truth can make a rational evaluation. In the end, no matter how many facts or how much evidence is presented it still comes down to a person’s choice as to what they will believe.
 
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