THE BLASPHEMY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
…According to the Sanhedrin
By Juan Baixeras
The purpose of this paper is to examine the charges that were brought against Jesus that led him to be crucified. Were the charges that were brought against him that he was claiming to be God, or that he was claiming to be God’s anointed king of Israel? At the same time we will be examining in great detail whom the people thought that Jesus was, and more importantly who did Jesus think he was. In other words, did the people during Jesus’ ministry think that Jesus was claiming to be Almighty God in the flesh as Trinitarian theology claims, or was the conflict in accepting him as the promised Messiah, a man anointed by the Spirit of God from the line of David who would restore Israel to it’s former glory?
The New Testament’s most important function is to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah who will rule in God’s kingdom, and through whom we have forgiveness of sins. In no part of the New Testament does it try to claim or convince us that Jesus of Nazareth is really Almighty God. People throughout history have tried to use John’s gospel in order to try and prove this thought, but the verses that they have used in support of this idea have been taken completely out of context or just irresponsibly misinterpreted. John himself gives us the reason why he wrote his gospel in John 20:31:
"But these things have been written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God."
By using John’s gospel incorrectly to try and prove that Jesus is Almighty God in the flesh, people are actually saying that John doesn’t really know the truth about Jesus. These people are in effect claiming that they know more about John’s gospel than did John. I cannot think of a simpler or more clear way to say why John wrote his gospel than the way he said it in John 20:31. If the writers of the New Testament believed Jesus to be Almighty God it would have been so simple to just write one verse of explanation on this matter. Why didn’t they? They wrote on everything else. Just one verse saying something like, "Jesus who is Almighty God, the second person of the trinity, who came in the flesh," would not only have avoided almost 1800 years of conflict, but it would have been an actual necessity for the early church. When the Second Covenant inaugurated by Jesus made the Mosaic Law of the letter obsolete, that is, when the law of love fulfilled the Mosaic Law, there was great conflict among the early Christians. Paul wrote volumes in almost every letter of his explaining why the Old Covenant was no longer binding because of Christ. If it had been revealed in the New Testament that God was no longer one, as the Jews have always thought of God, but that now God was composed of three separate persons, this would to say the least, have created a major controversy among the early Christians. It would have required volumes of explanations in order to convince the Jews that it was truly so. Yet, there is not one sentence of explanation, nor one writer trying to convince anybody that God is now composed of three persons and not just one as the Jews have always thought of Him. This lack of conflict in the New Testament should be a big RED FLAG to anyone who thinks that the Doctrine of the Trinity is in the New Testament. The lack of conflict is alarming! This paper will not deal in explaining all those verses which some people claim support the Trinity, there are several papers listed at the end of this study which will do just that.
Before we proceed, there are a few titles and one Jewish custom that we must be familiar with in order to correctly understand the Bible. Jesus has several titles which are used for him which all mean the same thing. They are simply different ways of saying the same thing. I will not cover all these titles because most of them are self explanatory, but I will list an explanation of the meaning of "The Son of God" because this title has somehow by some groups been twisted to mean "God the Son," a title that appears nowhere in the Bible.
Messiah = Son of God = King of Israel = Son of Man = Christ = Son of David
All these titles mean the same thing. We will consult some sources and compare their conclusions to many verses in the Bible which use these titles together.
Son of God - This title for Jesus has been given meanings and attributes that were never intended. People have erroneously used the human father-son relationship to describe this title of Jesus’. They have thought that since a human son has the actual essence (made of the same matter) of his father, that therefore, this title implies that Jesus being the Son of God is of the same essence of God. This conclusion will lead you right into the Doctrine of the Trinity. This is the formula they adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD when they said:
"The Son is of the same substance as the Father."
It was at this council that Jesus was first made God. The Holy Spirit interestingly enough was not included in the formula. It was included fifty-six years later at another council. Let’s see what this title really means:
Son of God - In the Old Testament Israel is described as God’s first-born (Exodus 4:22) and is called His son. There is therefore precedence for calling the Messiah "Son of God" for he is Israel’s representative par excellence (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 4 pg. 203-204).
"Son of God" denotes an intimate relationship with the Father. It is obvious that sonship must not be understood in a crude pagan way. This bears out Dalman’s contention that the Hebrew concept of "son" does not denote an extensive circle of relationships" (Ibid, pg. 205). Adam was called the "son of God" (Luke 3:38), God calls King Solomon His "son" in 1 Chronicles 28:6.
For Paul, "Son of God" is essentially a Christological description expressing "the Son’s solidarity with God." Closeness to the Father is the basic meaning of "Son of God" (Ibid, pg 204). This closeness was a relationship that was shared by God’s anointed kings of Israel. Since Jesus is the ideal king of Israel, he is naturally the ideal Son of God. This is how the term came to be synonymous with Messiah and king of Israel. They are all different ways of saying the same thing.
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible vol. 4 pg. 204 states:
"The last chapter of the first epistle of John makes every possible emphasis upon the principle that Sonship is the mark of Messiahship. The same is the case with the fourth gospel where the Son of God is synonymous with Messiah and occurs more frequently than any other title. Haenchen maintains that the same equation:
Messiah = Son of God = Son of Man applies to Mark’s gospel. The same can be said of the rest of the New Testament."
Aspects of Monotheism pg.90 states:
"The notion that the Davidic king was the son of God is well established in the Hebrew Bible in 2 Samuel 7:14 and in Psalm 2:7. It was only natural then that the coming messianic king should also be regarded as the Son of God. To say that the king was the son of God, however, does not necessarily imply divinization."
This is the meaning of the title "Son of God." Messiah = Son of God = king of Israel = Son of Man. The Messiah does have the closest and most intimate relationship with the Father. Now let’s see if the Bible agrees with the sources mentioned.
John 1:41&49: "We have found the Messiah…Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel. "
John 11:27: "I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God."
Matthew 26:63-64: "I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus said to him in reply, ‘You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power."
Matthew 16:16: "You are the Messiah, the Son of God."
Mark 14:61: "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? Then Jesus answered, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power."
Mark 15:32: "Let the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross that we may see and believe."
Luke 22:67-70: "If you are the Messiah tell us…Are you then the Son of God?"
John 19:3&7: "Hail king of the Jews, and they struck him repeatedly…according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
Luke 23:35-37: "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God…If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
Luke 23:2: "He opposes taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king."
John 19: 19-21: "Pilate had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews’…So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews."
Mark 10:47: "He began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David."
There are many more verses, but I think these will suffice in order to keep this paper as short as possible. As you can see the title "Son of God" is used interchangeably or in conjunction with Messiah, King of Israel, Son of Man and Son of David. This is also verified in the Old Testament in Psalm 2:2-7 which uses "My son," "My king," and "Messiah" for the promised savior which is to come. Let’s review the Psalm:
"And princes plot against the LORD and His Messiah…I myself have installed my king on Zion…You are my son, today I am your father."
The writers of the New Testament did not come up with new titles for the Messiah, they used titles that already existed in the Old Testament. Any other definition for Son of God will take away from the true meaning of the title into something that was never intended by its Jewish author.
Now let us look at the reason why Jesus was put to death. The reason the Bible gives us is that Jesus was put to death for blasphemy. Blasphemy for what? Was it for claiming to be God, or was it for claiming to be the Messiah, the king of Israel? Many groups who believe in the Trinity will use John 10:33 in order to claim that Jesus was indeed claiming to be God. This will contradict the reason John gives us of why he wrote his gospel, and it is also a gross misinterpretation of scripture. This verse will be explained later on in this paper.
Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and ultimately sentenced to death by them for the charge of blasphemy. In Jesus’ case the blasphemy was for claiming to be the Messiah. Nowhere in the New Testament do they ever say that the blasphemy was because he was claiming to be God. Let’s take a look at some very specific accounts of his trial.
Mark 14:60-64: "The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, ‘Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?' But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Then Jesus answered, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ At this the high priest tore his garments and said, ‘What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? They all condemned him as deserving to die."
Matthew 26:63-66: "Then the high priest said to him, ‘I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God,' Jesus said to him in reply, ‘You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
‘He has blasphemed!’ What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy, what is your opinion? They said in reply, ‘He deserves to die!"
As you can clearly see, the question that the high priest put to Jesus was whether he was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus answered,"I am," and that they will see him seated at the right hand of the Power (God), which is a reference to Psalm 110:1 which speaks of the Messiah seated at the right hand of God. When the high priest hears this he says, "He has blasphemed!" What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy," And they condemn him to die.
Nowhere is the charge that Jesus was claiming to be Almighty God. The charge is that he was claiming to be God’s anointed, the Messiah. Although the Old Testament does not give us this as a crime punishable by death, the New Testament does tell us that according to the Sanhedrin it was punishable by death. This is possible due to the fact that the Sanhedrin had expanded the laws of God in a way that was never intended by God. An example of this would be in their misinterpretation of keeping the Sabbath. Jesus had several confrontations with them because of their failure to understand the true meaning of the Sabbath. The Sanhedrin had extended the Law of the Sabbath to include such things as forbidding someone to tie a knot on the Sabbath because it was considered work, or throwing out dishwater on the Sabbath because that too was considered work. This was obviously not the intent of keeping the Sabbath. It is very possible that they had extended the law of blasphemy to include a vast array of things in order to suit their purposes.
Because of their own traditions, the Sanhedrin considered Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah as blasphemy and punishable by death. John 19:7 states:
"We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
When Jesus is brought before Pilate the charge is the same, except that the only title that Pilate uses is "King of the Jews." I am sure the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to Pilate and used only this title of Jesus’ on purpose in order for it to have a political connotation so that Pilate would more easily sentence him to die. The Romans cared nothing of the Jew’s religion, but they did care about insurrection, and anyone claiming to be a king other than Caesar was considered to be a threat to the empire and would be severely dealt with. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ trial before Pilate.
Luke 23:14: "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt."
John 19:33,37&39: "So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this on your own behalf or have others told you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘I am not a Jew am I?’…So Pilate said to him, ‘Then you are a king?’…Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews. In all the accounts of Jesus before Pilate, Pilate never asks Jesus if he is the Messiah, the anointed one, or any other title for Messiah. He is only concerned with the title "King of the Jews" because of its association with revolt. When Jesus asks him if he came up with this idea all by himself, Pilate answers him, "I am not a Jew, am I? Of course Pilate did not come up with this idea all by himself, he was not a Jew and would have had no understanding of Jewish beliefs. The Sanhedrin told him about Jesus claiming to be "The King of the Jews." John 19:12&15 continues this thought and has the Jews saying the following in order to have Jesus executed for rebellion:
"Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."
And,
"Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar."
Luke 23:2: "He opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar and maintains that he is the Messiah, a king."
Although Pilate did not find Jesus guilty of the charges brought against him, he succumbed to the their demands in order to satisfy the crowd and avoid a riot (Matthew 27:24 & Mark 15:14).
Nobody at any of the trials of Jesus thought that Jesus was claiming to be Almighty God. Jesus never thought of himself as God, he always claimed to be the Messiah, God’s anointed.
Let’s see who Jesus claims to be from his own lips.
Mark 14:61: "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? Then Jesus answered, ‘ I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power."
In speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus states in John 4:25:
"The woman said, ‘I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed, when he comes, he will tell us everything. Jesus said to her, ‘ I am he,’ the one who is speaking with you."
In Matthew 16:15-16 when Jesus asks Peter "Who do you say I am?" Peter says to Jesus:
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus then replies:
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
Jesus congratulates Peter for his belief, and credits Peter’s revelation as from God.
Jesus never thought of himself as Almighty God as the creeds of the 4th,and 5th centuries claim he is. He thought of himself as the Messiah, the Son of God.
There is a Jewish custom referred to as "Agency" which one must understand in order to better understand Jesus and his role as Messiah. Once you understand this concept, who Jesus is and his role in God’s plan for the salvation of man will really start to fall in place.
Agency - The concept of agency will sound strange to us mostly because we are not familiar with the idea. To a Jew it was nothing uncommon. Many of our customs in the U.S., such as referring to something good as "bad" would completely confuse a scholar of the future who is trying to understand our culture unless he was aware of this custom.
Agency is best understood when we think of a type of ambassador. God has never been seen. His word (will) has come to many people, but he has never appeared personally. To many of us the verses of Abraham speaking with God who had appeared as a man will come to mind, but once you understand this concept you will see that it was not God, but his representative. Angels often fill this role, specifically the Angel of the LORD (YHWH). The Jews believed that it was normal to address the person who is sent on behalf of someone else as that person himself. This is why sometimes the angel of the LORD is seen as a completely separate being from God as in Zecharia 1:2 where the angel of the LORD is having an actual conversation with God, and at other times it seems as if they are the same being. You will always notice that these verses start with "the angel of the LORD," this is who is talking, the angel of the LORD, not God himself. The angel is speaking for God, and in that sense it is God speaking. The representative speaks many times in the first person, and it is common to address the representative as the person who sent him. An excellent example is in Esdras 5:43-56 (Apocrypha) where Ezra questions God’s spokesman, the angel Uriel, as though he were both creator and judge. Ezra uses the same style of address to Uriel ("my lord, my master) as he uses in direct petition to God. An easy way to see that the angel of the LORD is not God himself or Jesus is that he appears in the New Testament such as in Luke 2:9-13 to tell the shepherds that a savior has been born in the city of David. The angel of the LORD and Jesus are in the same place at the same time. People that claim that the angel of the LORD is God or Jesus in the Old Testament will have to explain how God is now really four in one, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and angel of the LORD, a quadrinity.
A.R. Johnson in a monograph entitled The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God, states the following regarding this form of speech:
"In Hebrew thought a patriarch’s personality extended through his entire household to his wives, his sons and their wives, his daughters, servants in his household and even in some sense his property. The "one" personality was present in the "many" who were with him. In a specialized sense when the patriarch’s as lord of his household deputized his trusted servant as his malak (i.e. his messenger or angel) the man was endowed with the authority and resources of his lord to represent him fully and transact business in his name. In Semitic thought this messenger-representative was conceived of as being personally-and in his very words-the presence of the sender."
Aspects of Monotheism pg.94 states: "According to the "Son of God Text" from Qumran, when war ceases on earth, all cities will pay homage either to the "Son of God" or to the "people of God." Although homage in this passage involves political submission, worship in the ancient world was often considered analogous to submission to a great king. Each of these figures, to be sure, can be understood as God’s agent or representative, so that homage to given to them is ultimately given to God."
Let’s take a look at some examples of this form of speech:
"There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush…When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush…But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh…"
(Exodus 3:2-4& 11).
The angel of the LORD appeared in the flaming bush and then proceeds to speak for God. Moses then answers the angel as if he were speaking to God. Notice that it says the angel of the LORD, it is an angel that is speaking for God. This can be confirmed by Stephen in Acts 7:30. He states the following in reference to this event:
"Forty years later, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight."
The angel spoke out of the bush. It was God speaking through the angel. In this same event, God gave Moses the law and specifically the Ten Commandments. It says in Exodus 20:1-17:
"Then God delivered all these commandments: I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me." Etc.
But it is still God speaking through the angel. Stephen again verifies this in Acts 7:35 & Acts 7:53:
"This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, Who appointed you ruler and judge? God sent as both ruler and deliverer, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush."
"You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it."
The law was given to Moses through the angels. As a matter of fact, the whole episode on Mount Sanai was God speaking through an angel. Act 7:38 states:
"It was he who, in the assembly in the desert, was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sanai and with our ancestors, and he received living utterances to hand on to us."
I have saved one of the clearest examples for last. It is Deuteronomy 29:1-6. In this example Moses is speaking to Israel. Then all of a sudden he is speaking in the first person as God. We all know that Moses is not God, it is God speaking through Moses to Israel.
"Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt before your very eyes to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land; the great testings your own eyes have seen, and those great signs and wonders. But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. I led you for forty years in the desert. Your clothes did not fall from you in tatters nor your sandals from your feet; bread was not your food, nor wine or beer your drink. Thus you should know that I, the LORD, am your God."
To someone who is not familiar with this literary device, it would seem that Moses is God. The quote starts off with Moses speaking as himself and ends with Moses speaking as God in the first person. But it is God speaking through Moses to Israel. There are many examples in the Bible of this custom of speech.
The idea is that God gives His authority to His representatives. This idea is pivotal in the understanding of Jesus because Jesus will be God’s representative par excellence, and Jesus will speak on behalf of God. Here are a few verses to illustrate the point of God giving His authority to His representatives:
"See I am sending you an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies" (Exodus 23:20-22).
God sends the Israelites an angel to lead them on their way. God’s authority resides in this angel. Notice that if you heed the angel’s voice you will be carrying out all that God tells you because the angel speaks for God. The angel is God’s representative and thus has the authority of God, but the angel is not God. If we can understand this concept it will make our understanding of Jesus much easier. Jesus will represent God on earth and will thus speak for God and have His authority to forgive sins and to judge.
"For I do not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it" (John 12:49).
"And He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man" (John 5:27).
"Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of God and the authority of His Anointed" (Revelation 12:10).
"But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings"(Matthew 9:6-7).
As you can see, Jesus is representing God to the people. He is speaking on behalf of God. Also notice that he has been given the authority, he did not posses it. This is not a new concept, Moses said exactly this about the future Messiah in Deuteronomy 18:18:
"I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words in his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it."
Let me now read you what The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible says in vol.1 pg.171 about the metaphorical meaning of being anointed. Remember, Jesus Christ means Jesus the Messiah, which means Jesus the Anointed.
"Since persons ritually anointed were believed to have received the holiness and virtue of the deity in whose name they were anointed, it was also believed that they received a special endowment of the Spirit of Yahweh (1 Samuel 10:10; 16:13). There was a transfer of divine powers and authority. By extension "to anoint" became a metaphor for the bestowal of God’s favor (Ps 23:5; 92:10-as parallelism shows), for the designation of someone to a particular place or office in God’s plan (Ps 105:15; Isa 45:1). Anointing indicated preparation for service and the gift of God’s Spirit. In reference to kings, the king became the vassal of Yahweh. Anointing conveyed divine authority."
Carefully notice that whomever God anoints (i.e.Jesus) receives an endowment of His Spirit, and because of that endowment he receives divine powers and God’s authority. Let’s review Acts 10:38 once again:
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
Jesus’ place or office in God’s plan is as our Messiah. As we have shown earlier, God has given Jesus His authority on earth to do anything that He would do. This is why Jesus can forgive sins. In reality it is God forgiving sins through Jesus. Jesus is God’s representative par excellence. When you examine the Scriptures thoroughly you will notice that everything comes to us through Christ, such as grace, forgiveness of sins, etc. This is why Jesus is also called our mediator. With an understanding of this concept, one can finally start to understand who Jesus really is. Also many passages of the Bible will come to life with a whole new meaning, a meaning that does not contradict other Scriptures. The Jewish meaning that was intended.
Now we have the background to approach John 10:33. It states:
"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man are making yourself God."
The argument is that Jesus did claim to be God during his ministry. People will just pick this verse out of the entire dialogue and ignore the rest of the chapter which explains what is truly meant. You must at least read from verse 24 to 36 in order to understand this verse. The subject is still Jesus’ Messiahship. Is he the Messiah or not? John 10:24-25 gives us the subject:
"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah tell us plainly. Jesus answered them,’ I told you and you do not believe."
What is the blasphemy that these Jews are willing to stone Jesus for? The same blasphemy that the Sanhedrin will later accuse Jesus of, of claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus clears up what the blasphemy is in John 10:36. It states:
"Can you say that that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemies because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?"
What is the blasphemy? That Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God. It is still the same subject as in verse 24-25.
So what did the Jews mean when they said that Jesus was making himself God? What they are saying is that Jesus is making himself in function God, not that he is actually God. In simpler terms, they accuse him of putting himself in place of God because Jesus is claiming to do things that only God is supposed to be able to do. In this chapter it is because Jesus tells these Jews in verse 28 that he will give his sheep eternal life.
"I give them eternal life and they will never perish."
The reason that Jesus can give them eternal life is the same reason that Jesus can forgive sins, and the same reason why Jesus will judge the world, because God has anointed Jesus with His Spirit and thus has given Jesus the authority to act on his behalf. In reality, it is God doing these things through His Anointed, Jesus of Nazareth.
John 17:2: "Just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him."
Mark 2:10: "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...He said to the paralytic."
Acts 17:31: "Because He has established a day on which He will judge the world with justice through a man He has appointed, and He has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead."
John 5:27: "And He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man."
Revelation 12:10: "Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of God and the authority of His Anointed"
John 3:34: "For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God."
Finally, look at the answer that Jesus gives the Jews after their statement of Jesus making himself God. Jesus says to them in verse 35-36:
"Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, "you are gods?" If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemies because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?"
This verse can be safely paraphrased as the following:
"If it was okay to call people to whom the word of God came to as "gods," then why is it blasphemy for me whom God has consecrated and sent into the world to say that I am the Son of God?"
Jesus goes to great lengths to clear up the point that he is not God but that he is the Son of God, even though it is not wrong to refer to people to whom the word of God has come to as "gods."
The Doctrine of the Trinity is the product of Greek philosophy upon the early church of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries. It came out of Alexandria mostly through the pens of men such as Origen and Tertullian who were Gnostic and Stoic philosophers as well as Christian. These two beliefs are not compatible and will only lead an individual to false conclusions when they attempt to combine the two, which is exactly what happened.
So how come most people are not aware of all this information and continue to blindly follow the Doctrine of the Trinity? The reason is that most people do not take the time to really read the Bible. Everyone has his or her reasons why. Some that do read it do not want to face the truth because it would mean accepting the fact that they have been wrong for many years. This is very hard on the human ego. Others simply do not want to exert the effort to relearn the Bible. Just remember, as long as you work in the vineyard you will receive your pay, it doesn’t matter at what time you start work. It is never too late.