Do All Four Gospels Reveal That Jesus Is God?

This is going to be a different kind of sermon today. It's not Christian living. It is not prophetic. It's not, per se, doctrinal, unless you want to tie it in with the authority of the Bible. It is more theological. And it actually began about last December. I was having a conversation with Mr. Lee before I left for Florida, and he said to me, so what have you been studying lately? Interesting question. And I told him, I said, well, I've been trying to solve a little bit of a conundrum with what progressive theology teaches regarding the authenticity of the Gospels. And we talked about it a little bit, and I went off to Florida, and I spent two months in my Bible study time. I went through a harmony of all of the Gospels. I took beautiful notes. I pointed out scriptures and verses for a future sermon, and all the things that I wanted to talk about in a future sermon. And then I closed it up. I left it on the coffee table, and when I left for Florida, I forgot to take it, and it sits there on that coffee table to this very day. But I think I have been able to reconstruct most of the main points for this sermon. If you were to attend a progressive or liberal, whatever term you want to define, a progressive biblical college to learn about the Bible, I want to talk about one of the things you would be taught. The mainstream progressive denominations include the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Church of America, Presbyterian, United Methodist, where I grew up, which, by the way, since 2019 has lost 7,600 congregations, or 2.2 million members have left the United Methodist Church. Considered progressive are also the disciples of Christ. So if you decided you wanted to attend one of their colleges, where maybe they're training their ministry, and by the way, colleges are always far more progressive than the general population. That's true in civic society. That is also true in religious organizations. And if you wanted, say, to become a minister of one of these churches, here's something that you may be taught.

You might be taught that the synoptic Gospels, which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke synoptic, because they probably all come from Mark, which might have been at least as pointed to the fact that it was the original of the synoptic, or the three Gospels, written. They're very similar in many ways. So you might be taught the synoptic Gospels, which again are Matthew, Mark, and Luke, were written earlier than the Gospel of John. And by the way, that's true. You might be taught, as continuing on with what they're trying to teach you here, that the Gospel of John was written later and last, and that is true, that John's Gospel explicitly and dogmatically presents Jesus Christ literally as God, more than just the Son of God, more than just a gifted prophet, but literally, blatantly, Jesus Christ is called God in the book of John.

The earlier synoptic Gospels, you may or may not have noticed, if you've ever spent a lot of time in Bible study, are not as blatant, as explicit as John is. The Gospel of John comes right out of the gate. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. It's strong, dogmatic, explicit. The synoptic Gospels are not that strong. So therefore, you would be taught in those classes that the earlier Christians didn't believe that Jesus was God.

They would say, look at the synoptics, Jesus himself doesn't boldly proclaim himself to be God in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. He was simply a preacher, or he was an apocalyptic prophet who focused on ethical living and prophecy. And you would be taught that over decades and decades that slowly the early Christian church came to believe that Jesus was God. Beginning around the end of the first century, and that debate and argument continued for the next couple of hundred years on the divinity of Jesus Christ.

This is what you would be taught in progressive theology. And the idea has been promoted by a popular book entitled, How Jesus Became God, The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, by Bart D. Erman, a very noted and popular theologian historian on the internet. That was a book that he wrote. By the way, I have listened to that book two times on Audible, so I've explored his teaching and his beliefs. And before you dismiss all this and say, well, what does that have to do with the price of putty, Mr.

Thomas? When I attended Ambassador College in 1977, I started out as a freshman in Big Sandy with my lovely wife. Kelly was born in Big Sandy, Texas, and they closed the campus. Hopefully it wasn't due to me, but they closed the campus, and we headed to Pasadena. And in 1977 at Ambassador College, I was in one class, Old Testament theology, in which the associate chairman of the theology department taught the entire class that Moses did not write the book of Moses.

That the Pentateuch was written by four different groups of priests or other influential people at four different times in history that each group edited the writings of the previous one, but Moses was not the author of the book of Moses. That's progressive. I attended another class called The Epistles of Paul, and a gentleman who had the title of evangelist taught us that the only requirement that Gentiles had in the faith were what was stated in Acts chapter 15.

And the instructor went on to say, the Sabbath is not required by the Gentiles, because that's not mentioned in what the Gentiles should do in Acts 15. The holy days are not obligatory to Gentiles. The Ten Commandments are not obligatory to the Gentiles. Only those things mentioned as a result of the ministerial conference in 49 AD. Of course, my hand immediately went up, and I had a little pushback against the man who was teaching the class. The class also, interestingly, had probably about a dozen pastors who were in for so-called sabbatical.

Not a single one of them raised their hands and pushed back on what this evangelist was teaching. So don't ever think that a progressive theological mindset cannot enter the Church of God. So let's begin to deconstruct and look at this theory that you might be taught if you were to attend a progressive Christian theological institution. First of all, it is true that the synoptic gospels were written earlier than the Gospel of John. Many conservative scholars and church tradition hold that Mark was probably written in the 50s AD, Matthew in the 60s AD, and Luke, which was probably the last of the synoptics written before 62 AD. And the reason they say it was written before 62 AD is neither Luke nor Acts, written by Luke, obviously, mention anything beyond Paul's house arrest in Rome.

They don't mention his death. They don't mention the death of James. It doesn't mention the fall of Jerusalem. So it suggests that it was written and finally finished a little bit after 62 AD.

So how about the Gospel of John? Most scholars date the composition of the Gospel of John between 90 and 180 when he was a very old man. And the reason they say that is in John chapter 9 and verse 22, chapter 16 and verse 2, he refers to Christians being expelled out of the synagogue. And that points to the late first century when tensions between the Jewish Christians and the rabbinic Jewish communities collided, caused problems, and the church members were forced out of the synagogues and were on their own. But one thing is clear that John is definitely written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. So let's first begin by looking at the rather dogmatic, blatant discussion of Jesus from the Apostle John. John chapter 1 and verse 1. John chapter 1, verse 1, if you'll turn there with me. John chapter 1 verse 1. He writes, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

You don't get any more clear, blatant, dogmatic than that statement right there.

He was, in the beginning with God, all things were made through him. So this word is also the creator. When you go back to Genesis 1, the very being who's doing all the creation is this word. And without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, again the same being who took that lump of clay and breathed into it, and Adam was formed, a creator. Without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Drop down to verse 14. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So if anyone in the first few verses is trying to waffle and find a way around who this word is, it's very clear, it's very strong, that this word was Jesus, the one who became known as Jesus Christ himself, incarnated into the flesh, dwelt among humanity, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So here it's unmistakable. The word is obviously the being who came to earth and known as Jesus Christ. No writer could possibly be more explicit than the opening of this gospel. Jesus Christ is God. He is the creator. He's not created. He was with God. We know of that term as the Father from the New Covenant understanding. He was with God the Father from the beginning of time. Another example would be John chapter 10 and verse 30, where Jesus says, I and my Father are one. That statement just stunned the audience of the Jewish believers. They immediately picked up stones and to clarify their reason for attempting to stone him, they said, we're not stoning you for your good works, but because you are a mere human being, you're declaring yourself to be God. Rather bold, rather blatant. John chapter 8, the last, probably the last time we'll be in John in this sermon, John chapter 8 and verse 56, very powerful and beautiful statement. He's talking to the Jews and he says, your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. First of all, when did Abraham see the day of Jesus Christ? When did he get it? Do you remember when he was going to sacrifice his son in Genesis chapter 22 and verse 13? And there was a ram caught in the thickets. What did Abraham say?

Did he say the Lord has provided? Nope. He said the Lord will provide. You see, that ram was just a substitute for his son. But Abraham got it. He understood that the world needed a savior. Not just his son needed a physical savior at that time, a substitute or replacement by a ram, but the earth needed the Lamb of God. So it says here that Abraham rejoiced to see a day when there would be a savior walking on earth. And when he saw it and he imagined it, he envisioned it, he was glad. Verse 57, then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and you've seen Abraham. And Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. The Greek word here for I am is ego and me. I am. Then they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Here in the original Greek manuscript of John 8, this specific phrase, ego and me, appear seven times. So Jesus applies here the divine name of God to himself. Again, John is blatant. He's dogmatic. He's upfront. There it is. When questioned by religious leaders about his identity and age relative to Abraham, Jesus clearly asserts his eternal pre-existence using the phrase, I am, directly referencing the name revealed to Moses in Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14. The immediate reaction of the Jews is to pick up stones to execute him for blasphemy, and this underlines that they understood him to be claiming equality with God. So yes, John's gospel beginning in chapter 1 verse 1 and throughout the book of John is explicit and dogmatic about the fact that Jesus is God. I could spend the rest of this sermon time looking at other scriptures within the gospel of John, but I think we get that and understand that at this point. So yes, what we're going to see is that the synoptic gospels are not as blatant, are not as explicit about the fact that Jesus is God. And why is that? Well, for a very good reason.

The difference between the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the gospel of John, is the type of learning approach that they both use. We saw in the two scriptures we just read how sensitive the Jews were to the divinity of God. How they immediately were offended if someone said to them, implied to them, that Jesus is God straight up, pointed out, dogmatic, explicit, what their initial reaction would be. Synoptics, remember, were written before the fall of Jerusalem, and the church in Jerusalem at this time is growing. A lot of the believers are Jewish. Acts chapter 6 and verse 7 says, quote, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. So that's the context of the synoptic gospels being written. John uses a didactic learning method or instruction. This is a traditional teacher-centered approach to education, where knowledge is directly transferred from an authority figure, like a teacher, preacher, educator, and is transferred from that authority figure to the student. It's typically in the form of telling or lecturing. That's how many of our sermons are within our church culture. And John mentions deep discourses Jesus had with others. He writes about unique theological themes, not mentioned in the synoptics. So that's where John is coming from. Remember, when he's writing, Jerusalem had fallen to the Romans in 70 AD already. The church in Jerusalem, which had a major influence on early Christian theology, it was the influential church that everybody looked to. Even in Acts 15, when they had a doctrinal question, they went to the Jerusalem congregation to discuss it. But after the fall of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem church is decimated. It goes to a small city called Pella, and in scriptures it totally loses its influence and is not mentioned often again in scripture or throughout history. So again, didactic learning is the form of lecturing. It mentions the deep discourses with Jesus and others. So that's the gospel of John. It's the synoptics because Jewish believers were still being called into the church before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. It uses a totally different type of learning. It's called experiential or discovery learning. The gospels are a narrative about the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It has a story flow. This is an educational process where individuals acquire knowledge and skills and values through hands-on self-discovery and personal reflection. I'm going to give you an old example from those of us who've been around a long, long time.

In the autobiography of Herbert Armstrong, he wrote how his wife Loma came to believe in the Sabbath day. The woman who helped Loma Armstrong to see the Sabbath, her name was Aura Runcorn. I was thinking the other day, imagine would Mrs. Runcorn have imagined that a hundred years after she lived that people would be mentioning her name to a church audience. I don't know if she would have or not, but she was a member of the Church of God Seventh Day.

And her approach to Loma Armstrong was not to tell her she was wrong, was not to tell her that she was a pagan. It was to say, here's a scripture. Read this scripture and tell me what it says.

Oh wow, this scripture says it. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Here's another scripture. What's this saying? Oh, the Sabbath will be kept in the world to come by all peoples.

Read this scripture. What's this scripture say? Oh, well, Jesus observed the Sabbath.

And read this scripture. You see, this is discovery learning. You have aha moments. Someone is just not pouring something into the side of your head through a funnel. You have the joy and the excitement that comes from learning through self-discovery. And that's very, very important. The approach of the Synoptics is to provide an interesting story flow into the biography of Jesus.

They rarely feature Jesus saying, I am God as dogmatically as the Gospel of John does, but they are filled with his actions, his claims, and his authority that were understood in the first century Jewish context to belonging strictly to God alone. They are written so that the reader comes to the personal conclusion that Jesus was God by self-discovery and not being immediately offended by strong dogmatic statements. So now we're going to explore the Synoptic Scriptures to discover how this was done. By the way, a modern example of discovery learning would be Mr. Lee's interactive Bible studies. He gives people a question in advance. Here's what we're going to talk about. Do some of your own study. Come prepared to talk about what you have discovered or what you understand or what you believe about the Scriptures. And then he provides guidance after asking questions and people commenting on what they believe the reading told them. That's a whole different format than simply being told what is right and what is wrong. So let's begin by going to Mark chapter 4 and verse 35, and we'll see a couple of situations where Jesus exercises authority over nature. Mark chapter 4 and verse 35. Mark records, and remember Mark is most likely the first of the Gospels written. On the same day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him, and a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat against the boat so that it was already filling. Think of the boat just filling up with water. It's going to sink. Probably everyone in there who can't swim is going to die. But he, speaking of Christ, was in the stern asleep on a pillow, and when they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked to the wind, and said to the sea, peace be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. But he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and sea obey him? So you see in discovery learning, the reader of this, good chance that the reader of this is someone of a Jewish background, or at least knows the Hebrew scriptures. We would call it the Old Testament today. The New Testament was not yet written, but in discovery learning, the readers led to ask, who has the authority to dominate and control nature? Hmm, interesting. Who has that authority? By the way, there are similar accounts in Matthew chapter 8 verse 23 and 27 and Luke chapter 8 verse 22. Now let's go to Matthew chapter 14 and verse 22 and see another situation where Jesus exercises authority over nature.

I want you to notice that the learning is subtle. The learning just doesn't tell you the form of learning. Has you asked yourself some questions? It involves you pondering the scripture, you thinking about what the scripture says without it being in your face and telling you.

Matthew chapter 14 and verse 22. Immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side. And while he sent the multitudes away, and when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up in the mountain by himself to pray. Now when evening came, he was alone there, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. Fourth watch of the night is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. in the morning.

Verse, let's drop down to verse 26. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a ghost, and they cried out for fear. But immediately, Jesus spoke to them. They obviously recognized his voice. We all have a unique voice, and after we've heard someone's voice for a while, we can immediately pick them out. Someone may call you in the telephone, and oftentimes, if it's someone I've known for a while, as soon as they only say one word, hello, I can discern who that person is.

They recognized his voice. Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Verse 29. And he said, come. And we're familiar with this story. When Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink and cried out, Lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Verse 32. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased, then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. Now, in discovery learning, if you had a Jewish background, you would be led to ask yourself, who has the authority to dominate and control nature like this?

Who has the ability to walk on water and defy what we know today is Newton's third law of motion? Who can supersede physics is what you would ask yourself. In verse 33, why do the disciples worship Jesus something forbidden in the first commandment? These are questions you would be asking yourself as you go through this process of discovering that Jesus is God.

By the way, this account is also in Mark chapter 6 and verse 45. Another quality that Jesus reveals in the synoptic gospels is forgiving sins in his own name. In Jewish theology, sin is an offense against God's law. Only God can forgive sins. Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 25, I'll read it to you. I, even I am he who plots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. So you're reading this as someone who understands the Jewish faith. And remember, it may not just be someone who's Jewish.

It may be a gentile convert who understands the Hebrew scriptures, may attend synagogue like the centurions and others who are mentioned in the New Testament, but aren't willing to go all the way into Judaism, aren't willing to have body parts lopped off. So they may attend synagogue, support synagogue. They are God-fearers and believers. They understand the Hebrew scriptures, but they're not willing to go all the way into becoming a Jew. Luke chapter 5 and verse 18.

It says, Then, behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in because of the crowd, the place was too crowded, they went up to the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling in the midst before Jesus.

So they were able to remove a number of ceiling roofing tiles and they lower this man down in front of Jesus. That's very beautiful. Picture, isn't it? Verse 20. When he saw their faith, which is interesting. It doesn't say when he saw the faith as a man who was paralyzed. When he saw the faith of the people who loved him so much that they helped intervene in his behalf. He said to a man, your sins are forgiven. And the scribes and the Pharisees began a reason saying, who is this who speaks blasphemies? They immediately get it. Who are you to claim you can forgive sins?

Who can forgive sins but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered and said to them, why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier to say. Your sins are forgiven you or to say rise up and walk, but that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said in a man who was paralyzed, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.

Jesus demonstrates the authority to forgive sin. He states in verse 24 that he has the power to forgive sins on earth. In discovery learning, the leader would stop and think and ask themselves, who but God has the power to forgive sin? This account is also found in Mark chapter 2 and Matthew chapter 9. Another thing revealed to us in the synoptic gospels is Jesus claiming ownership and authority over the Sabbath and the law. The Sabbath, as we know, was instituted by God in creation, Genesis chapter 2, and commanded in the Old Testament. What we call the Old Testament would have been the only scriptures that they had at that time. God alone is Lord of the Sabbath, and we know in the Old Testament there were extensive instructions given on how to observe the Sabbath day. So now we'll go to Mark chapter 2 verse 27, and in context here the disciples dared to pluck some grain on the Sabbath day and chew on the tops of it because they were hungry.

So let's see what happens here and what Jesus says. And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and that's an interesting phrase itself, the Greek word for man there is anthropos. Mark doesn't say the Sabbath was made for Jewish people.

He doesn't say the Sabbath was made for Israelites. He says the Sabbath was made for humanity. If you were to study the science of anthropology, it's not the study of Jewish people.

It's not the study of Israelites and where they located on earth. It's the study of humanity.

And Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. So again, we see here the Sabbath is made for the benefit of humanity, not to enslave humanity is what Jesus is saying. In discovery learning, the reader would be led to ask himself or herself, who has the authority and ownership of the Sabbath day? What does it say and mean about Jesus when he says that he is the Lord of the Sabbath?

Who has that right? Who has that authority? By asserting his authority himself, Jesus is putting himself on equal footing with the God who gave the Sabbath law to Moses. That's not all. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 21. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 21. Once again, we're going to see here that he is claiming ownership and authority over the law. He says, you have heard that it was said to those of old. Moses, priests, later prophets, said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raka, which is a pretty strong term, shall be in danger of the counsel. But whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hellfire. And the Greek word here isn't like we use the word fool. We mean someone who's stupid and an idiot when we use the word fool in English. In the original Greek, this was a term that just basically said you are a worthless bag of manure and you don't deserve to exist. That's what the Greek word meant. It was very strong, very biting, very spiteful.

But whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hellfire. And here, Jesus states authority over the written Mosaic law. He adds a deeper spiritual dimension to the law that was taught in the Hebrew scriptures. Again, those of old are Moses reinforced by the instructions to the priest in the Old Testament by the prophets. But Jesus says, I say to you. Let's see if there's a pattern here. Verse 26, assuredly, I say to you. Who does he think he is? Verse 28, but I say to you. Verse 32, but I say to you.

Again, who does he think he is? Verse 34, but I say to you. Verse 39, but I tell you. Verse 44, but I say to you.

In discovery learning, someone reads that and they're led to ask who but God himself has the authority to supersede the law that was given to Moses and the prophets and has provided additional requirements, strict requirements, frankly, because it's the spiritual aspect of the law. Who is this but God who could reveal this kind of knowledge? Another thing we find in the synoptics is the final judge of all humanity, a claim that Jesus makes about himself. Turn to Matthew chapter 23, 25 and verse 31. Matthew chapter 25 and verse 31. First of all, the context of what someone who's familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures would think, Joel chapter 3 and verse 12, let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Josephat, for there I will sit to judge all of the surrounding nations. That's obviously a bold proclamation of God expressed through Joel chapter 3 and verse 12. Now Matthew chapter 25 and verse 31, when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats and He will set the sheep on His right hand but the goats on His left dropping down to verse 41. Then He will say to those on the left hand, depart from Me, you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Wow! Here Jesus claims He will sit on His glorious throne to judge all nations determining one's eternal destiny based on the relationship with Him. And here in this proclamation of His, by the way, He is bringing the three resurrections together in one story and in one vision. In discovery learning, a reader would be led to ask who but God has the authority to judge the sins of others. Who but God could decide who gets to receive eternal life or eternal death. Another example in one of the synoptics in the book of Mark, again, which we believe to be the first gospel that was written, Jesus does have a single I AM statement. Ego of me? The same phrase that's used in John over and over again. Let's go to Mark chapter 14 and verse 16. I give credit to Mr. Lee for sending this to me before I left for Florida last year. It's easy to miss and it's easy to dismiss it because at first impression, you think, Jesus is just agreeing to a statement He was asked, but when you read immediately behind this statement, Ego of me, it is obviously that He's stating He is of divine godly origin. Mark chapter 14 and verse 60, the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you, but he kept silent and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed?

Jesus said, I am. Now again, that's easy and something that I missed over many years because I just assumed that statement was His affirmation that He was the Christ, the Son of the blessed. But when you look at the original Greek, it's that same phrase, Ego of me, as you find repeated in the book of John, and look what He immediately says afterward, and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power. He's referring to all immediately went to the book of Daniel. We call it chapter seven, Daniel chapter seven. He says, and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. So Jesus combines the statement, I am the only one, time found in the synoptics with the immediate imagery of Daniel chapter seven, where the divine Son of man receives worship and authority in Daniel chapter seven. The Jewish leaders are also aware of a statement in the book of Psalms. We call it Psalms 110 verse 1 that says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So this is what the Jewish leaders are connecting in their minds when they hear this statement, that Jesus says, I am and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power. We know that is God the Father because of the new covenant. And coming with the clouds of heaven, the high priest immediately tears his clothes. He accuses Jesus of blasphemy, showing that they understood him to be claiming divinity, to be more than a prophet, more than a simple teacher, but literally claiming to be divine. In discovery learning, the leader again is led to ask, why does Mark include Jesus's reply, I am directly relating to God's name in the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 3.

Why does Jesus state that he is the Son of man mentioned in Daniel 7 and linking divinity to that title? These are things that someone through discovery learning would be asking themselves. Let's take a look at receiving worship, something else that's mentioned here in the synoptic Gospels. In Jewish monotheism, as you know, worship is reserved for God alone. It says in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me, you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Yet, numerous times in the Gospels, Jesus accepts worship without rebuking anyone who offers it. I'll give you some examples.

We already read Matthew chapter 14 verse 33, the disciples worshiped in the boats when he had saved their lives. In Matthew chapter 15 and verse 25, the woman from Canaan worshiped Christ. It says, then she came and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. Jesus does not say you're violating the first commandment. What's wrong with you? Does he? Matthew chapter 28 verse 9 and also verse 17, the disciples worshiped the risen Jesus. Matthew 28, 9, and it came, or and as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice, and they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. No rebuke. Matthew chapter 28 verse 16, then the eleven disciples went away to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshiped him.

But some doubt it. No rebuke from Jesus. Luke chapter 24 and verse 51, now it came to pass.

While he blessed them that he was parted from them and was carried up into heaven, and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. In discovery learning, the reader is led to ask who but God would accept worship as his right and not rebuke those who are practicing idolatry. Who could accept worship and not condemn them for violating the first commandment? So what have we surveyed today? We've spoken about the synoptics.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, written before the fall of Jerusalem in the temple. The church of Jerusalem at that time, before the fall of the temple, was the most influential church in the entire movement of the early faith. Again, when there was a question about circumcision, people traveled to Jerusalem to have a conference and discuss it. Jerusalem had many potential Jewish believers who had a natural sensitivity about who God is. Their whole lives, they were taught there is only one God, and that God was divine. They couldn't imagine someone being in the flesh, walking on earth, claiming to be God. It was very sensitive to them. They could be easily offended by statements that are bold, dogmatic, in your face. These three gospels are written in an engaging narrative. It's a story flow that encourages the reader to learn about Jesus by discovery learning. By reading the biography of Christ, they can self-discover and come to their own conclusions. Who and what he is. Those are the synoptics. Then there's the Gospel of John, written after the fall of Jerusalem. The church is now majority gentile, and it will be in the future. The Jerusalem church is greatly diminished in dwelling and pella. You never hear of it again because its influence has been decimated. It's lost all of its influence. Large numbers of Jewish believers are not coming into the faith. The Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem, and all the consequences and negativity of that have affected the church as well. John uses a didactic instruction. He's an authority figure. He's an apostle. I was there. I'm not just someone who was an associate of Peter, or I'm not just someone who traveled with Paul. I saw it with my own eyes. John's an authority. He's teaching. He's telling.

He's lecturing. He's dogmatic. He's blatant. He adds history and events that are not mentioned in the synoptics at all. I can't prove this, but I have always believed that it's as if he had at least one of the synoptics and read through it and said, I can add, because I remember, I can add this, this, this, and this to what already exists. Here are things only mentioned by John.

There are a number of unique miracles and healings only in the book of John that are not repeated or mentioned in the synoptics. Key characters like Nicodemus. How can one be born again? Only in John. The Samaritan woman at the well? Only in John. Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus resurrects from the dead? Only in John. Washing the disciples' feet?

Only in John. His extended discourse before his arrest that we read in Passover, John 14 through 17, only revealed by the Apostle John. His prolonged dialogue with Pilate in John chapter 18. His unique details at the cross, things that are said and done that are not in the synoptic Gospels. The unique resurrection appearances that are not mentioned in the Gospels.

These things we have to thank the Apostle John, who was able and willing to use a totally different approach regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ. It's my hope and prayer today that we all better understand that Jesus is God and that that fact is presented in all four of the Gospels.

But one has to know the context and how to approach the Gospels in the day and the sensitivity in the times in which they are written. Yes, it is true in history that during the time of Jesus that many doubted his divinity. And by the way, that's still true today. Many people doubt the divinity of Jesus Christ, but the theory that the divinity of Jesus evolved from him just claiming and his believers believing that he was just a gifted, charismatic preacher and prophet who had a strong ethic that he taught. And slowly over decades as the church or group of people or leaders escalated him artificially into being God, that theory is false. And we need to understand that. It's contrary to what the synoptic Gospels teach, and we saw a number of scriptures together today in the synoptic Gospels. You know, in John chapter 8 and verse 31, here's something that Jesus said. Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word, not if you abide in theories, the opinions of theologians who usually are people who know more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing, if you abide in my word, not the thoughts, ideas, opinions, theories, synopsis, hypothesis of other people, but in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. I wish all of you a wonderful and fulfilling Sabbath day.