Jesus is God because of his miracles . many christian missionaries try and persuade
muslims and others that Jesus must be God because of these amazing miracles that he did .
now i want to share with you some scholarly reflections on this claim , to be found in this
marvelous book called the "The Bible: A Historical and Literary Introduction" by Bart D. Ehrman . now this is
published by Oxford University Press and they say on the cover of this book which they publish many
of Bart Ehrman's more academic works and they say : the most engaging introduction to the bible ,
offering cutting-edge historical and literary scholarship from renowned biblical scholar and
New York Times best-selling Author Bart Ehrman . now this book which obviously comes highly
recommended by Oxford University Press and they only publish the cream of a scholarship
and i had this , i've read this and it's a very readable informative and
an excellent introduction . so if you want a good solid fairly basic introduction to
the scholarly understanding of the bible , then you couldn't really get a much better book than this .
he actually comments on this very question in a passage on page 125. i just want to share with you
his reflections on this claim that Jesus is God because of his miracles and then i'll come to a
few passages in the Quran which also speak of this subject . so Bart Ehrman says : many readers
of the new testament gospels today believe that if Jesus did all the miracles attributed to him
then surely he must be God . who else would be able to make nature obey him or heal the sick with just
a word or a touch or raise someone from the dead . no one who does such things could be none other
than god in the flesh right ? anyone who has read their old testament carefully knows the answer
to this question . throughout the Jewish Bible , Prophets of God such as Moses , Elijah and Elisha
can do spectacular miracles . in fact , very similar to the kind of miracles to those reported of Jesus .
this is not because any of them was god himself come to earth
but because the power of God was at work through them . and so in the narratives of 1 and 2 kings
we find both Elijah and Elisha multiplying the food to feed those in need miraculously .
see 1 kings 17 and 2 kings chapter 4 . and compare Jesus feeding of the multitudes , also in 1 and
2 kings , we see them making nature obey their commands . 1 king 17 and 2 kings 6.
and compare this with Jesus's calming the storm . also in these passages we see
the healing of the sick in 2 kings chapter 5 as of course does Jesus . and even raising the dead
in 1 kings chapter 17 and 2 kings chapter 4 as of course does Jesus . and interestingly at the
end of his life , Elijah ascends to heaven without dying . in 2 kings chapter 2.
when Jesus does his miracles in Matthew , Mark and Luke , it is not because he is God Almighty ,
it is because he is god's prophet . this is recognized even by those he helps as
in Luke chapter 7 verses 11 to 17 where Jesus raises a boy back to life , the crowd responds
not by declaring that Jesus must be God but by exclaiming a great prophet has risen among us .
i just want to read this story in the Gospel of Luke , to be found in my Holy Bible and it says :
soon afterwards , Jesus went to a town called Nain , and his disciples and a large crowd went with him .
as he approached the gate of the town , a man who had died was being carried out .
he was his mother's only son and she was a widow and with her was a large
crowd from the town . when the lord saw her , he had compassion on her and said : do not weep .
then he came forward and touched the beer and the bearers stood still . and he said : young man ,
i say to you rise . and the dead man sat up and began to speak and Jesus
gave him to his mother . fear seized all of them and they glorified god saying : a great prophet
has risen among us and god has looked favorably on his people . this word about him spread throughout
Judea and all the surrounding countryside . so these miracles , even the most amazing miracles
lead people to conclude that Jesus was a great prophet of god not god himself . so lastly just
want to look at what the Quran says about this because it actually talks about the same incidents .
it says in the third Chapter of the Quran , in verses 48 onwards , and this is Jesus speaking : i
will heal the blind and the leper and bring the dead back to life with God's permission .
and then a little later : i have come to you with a sign from your lord , be mindful of god obey me .
god is my lord and your lord , so serve him that is a straight path . so extraordinary the Quran here
is expressing exactly the sentiments of those who witness jesus raising that young man from
the dead and agreeing with the Jews and the Author of Luke's Gospel that Jesus did his miracles by
the permission of God , by the power of God , by the will of God , not because he was god himself .
if there's a single verse in the new testament which sums this up in one , just one
verse i would suggest it's acts chapter 2 verse 22. now this is a statement apparently uttered
by Peter after Pentecost , so this is after the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus ,
when the disciples have received the holy spirit . so basically they've arrived and now
they're going to spread the gospel and this is what Peter says Jesus is . so who is Jesus
and what about his miracles ? so now peter understands who Jesus is , he's no longer in
the early ministry unclear (you know : are you the messiah and so on) . no he knows who Jesus is now
and this is who Jesus is and i think Muslims can agree with this completely ,
ironically . fellow Israelites listen to this : (says Peter) Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by
God to you by miracles , wonders and signs which God did among you through him as you yourselves know .
there we go so that's acts 2 22. so i conclude from that , that there was God and there was Jesus
the man : two separate different beings . but God worked through Jesus just as the Quran says .
and Jesus did these miracles of rising the dead and healing and so on .
so this verse completely agrees with the Quran's understanding and those Jews who were
amazed and proclaimed that a great prophet had risen among us . and i think in conclusion ,
i'm reminded of a statement that Dr Shabir Ally made in a debate which i thought was
incredibly in incisive and insightful about this . and he was talking about the status of
Jesus and the resurrection and does because many christians say : well the resurrection of Jesus
proves that he was God as well and this is another miracle . so he Jesus rose from
the dead , he rose himself from the dead and this proves that he was God . and Shabir Ally says this :
moreover , the repeated proclamation in the new testament is that God raised Jesus from the dead .
the resurrection is therefore not a proof that Jesus is God but rather that he has a God ,
the one God of all . and i think that sums it up perfectly , if you look endlessly god is alleged
to have raised Jesus from the dead not Jesus rising himself from the dead . and this is a proof
therefore that Jesus has a God , and this is the one god of everyone . so i think that's a a very
clear and helpful statement by Dr Shabir Ally . i hope you found that of interest . till next time .