Is Jesus just a Prophet or God?

by Jeremy Butler

Baha’i Viewpoint

1. Jesus Christ is Divine and that He also pre-existed before His human form.  At the same time Baha’is believe that there are three levels of being: humankind, Manifestations or Prophets of God, and God. 
2. The various prophets that formed the various religions of the world are equal.  There is no superiority or inferiority among them.  So Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Moses, and Abraham are all equal. 
3. All of the various prophets of God are seen as pre-existent.  So this means that Abraham, Moses and Buddha were not born as normal humans, but were pre-existent in the spiritual realm.  

Biblical Viewpoint

1. Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, so we cannot say that there is a distinction between Jesus and God.  We believe that Jesus is God in the flesh.   
   
   1. John 1:1-3 states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
   2. John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
2. As Christians we do see Moses and Abraham as great men whom God used to make known His will to mankind, but they both sinned and both died, so we do not see them as divine in any way or as being equal to Jesus.
   
   1. Abraham and Moses both sinned and were not perfect. 
      
      1. Abraham lied to Pharaoh in Egypt about Sarai being his wife in Genesis 12:10-20.
      2. Abraham again lied in Genesis 20 about Sarai being his sister instead of his wife.
      3. Moses murdered an Egyptian in Exodus 2:11-22 and had to flee Egypt.
      4. Moses was excluded from the promised land because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it to extract water.  Numbers 20:1-13; Numbers 27:12-14 and Deuteronomy 32:51.
      5. Jesus was sinless.  2 Corinthians 5:21 states: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
   2. Abraham and Moses both died, but were not resurrected back to life like Jesus was.
      1. Abraham died and was buried with Sarah.  Genesis 25:7-11
      2. Moses also faced death.  Deuteronomy 34
      3. Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  Luke 24:5-6; John 2:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 are just a few of the passages in the Bible that show that Jesus rose from the dead.
3. We do not see Buddha, Muhammad, or any other of the prophets of other religions as being a prophet from God or being God.  We see them as being normal human beings who are in need of a Savior.
   1. These various prophets all died physically and were not physically resurrected.
      1. Muhammad died in 632 A.D.
      2. There are some various dates for the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama.  Some would say that he died in 486 B.C.  Some report his death in 483 B.C.  Some would even suggest a revised date of death in 410 B.C.
      3. The traditional birth of Zoroaster is in 17th Century B.C., but there is debate about this issue.  It is also believed that he died around the age of 77.
      4. Baha’u’llah passed away on May 29th, 1892.
   2. Jesus physically died, but also was also physically raised from the dead.
      1. Luke 24:5-6: “And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen.’”
      2. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”
      3. John 20:24-29 shows us that Thomas actually saw and touched the wounds of Christ.  This shows that Jesus physically rose in the same body that He died in.
      4. Jesus broke bread and gave it to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35.  The disciples saw and heard Jesus on this encounter, and it is very possible that he ate with them on this encounter.
      5. Luke 24:36-49 shows us that Jesus actually ate a piece of fish.  Verses 42-43 states: “And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”  How can someone who is not in a physical body eat?
      6. John 21:12-14 states: “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’  None of the disciples ventured to question Him, ‘Who are You?’ knowing that it was the Lord.  Jesus came and took the break, and gave them, and the fish likewise.  This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.”  It is implied here that Jesus ate with them.  At the very least they saw and conversed with Jesus.