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1.2.3.4 Because he performed
miracles?
Well then, is Jesus the son of God because he raised the
dead? If so, then what about Ezekiel who is said to have
raised many more dead bodies than Jesus ever did. Ezekiel is
said to have raised a whole city from the dead (Ezekiel
37:1-9)
If we are looking for Godly powers and miracles as proof
of godliness then what about Joshua who is said to have
stopped the sun and moon for one whole day: (Joshua
10:12-13). Can anyone but God Almighty do this?
Elisha is said to have raised the dead, resurrected
himself, healed a leper, fed a hundred people with twenty
barley loaves and a few ears of corn, and healed a blind
man: (2 Kings 4:35, 13:21, 5:14, 4:44, and 6:11.)
Elijah is said to have raised the dead, and made a bowl
of flour and a jar of oil inexhaustible for many days (1
Kings 17:22 and 14.)
To say nothing of Moses (pbuh) and his countless
miracles. Of his parting of the sea, of his changing of a
stick into a serpent, of his changing of water into blood,
..etc.
And so forth...
Even Jesus (pbuh) himself tells us that miracles by
themselves do not prove anything:
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect"
Matthew 24:24
So even false Christs can supply great wonders and
miracles of such magnitude that even the most knowledgeable
among men shall be deceived.
Jesus (pbuh) had a beginning (the begetting) and an end
("and he gave up the ghost") Melchizedec, however, is
said to have had no beginning of days nor end of life but
was "made like unto the Son of God" !.
"For this Melchizedec, king of Salem, priest of the
most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter
of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a
tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is,
King of peace; Without father, without mother, without
descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life;
but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest
continually. Now consider how great this man [was],
unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the
spoils."
Hebrews 7:1-4
Solomon is said to have been with God at the beginning of
time before all of creation, Proverbs 8:22-31.
Well then, is Jesus (pbuh) god because he performed his
miracles under his own power while others needed God to
perform them for them? Let us then read:
- Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth."
- Luke 11:20: "But if I with the finger of
God cast out devils."
- Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit of God."
- John 5:30: "I can of mine own self do
nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent me."
- John 10:25: "the works that I do in my Father's
name."
- John 8:28-29 "...I do nothing of myself;
but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left
me alone; for I do always those things that please
him."
- Acts 2:22 "Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by
him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know"
So we see that even the apostle of Jesus (pbuh), Peter
"the Rock,"* bore witness many years after the
departure of Jesus not that Jesus was "God, the Son of
God, who did miracles through his Omnipotence," rather,
he openly bore witness before all those present that Jesus
was "a man." He then went on to make sure that
the masses would not be mislead by Jesus' miracles into
thinking that he was more than a man by emphasizing that it
was not Jesus who did the miracles, rather, just as was the
case with countless other prophets before him, it was God
Himself who did these miracles and that God's prophets are
simply the tools through which He performed His miracles. In
other words, the point that Peter was trying to drive home
to these people was for them to remember that just as Moses'
parting of the seas did not make him God or the son of God,
and just as Elisha's raising of the dead did not make him
God or the son of God, so too was the case with Jesus.
What was the goal behind the performance of these
miracles? Let us read John 11:42 where we find that just
before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he made a point
of making sure that the crowd would not misunderstand what
he was about to do or why he did it, so he publicly stated
before God while they were listening that, just as was the
case with all previous prophets, the reason why he was given
these miracles was in order to prove that God had sent Him
and he was a true prophet:
"And I knew that Thou hearest me always; but because
of the people standing around I said it, that they may
believe that Thou didst send Me.".
John 11:42
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