John the Baptist wondered the same
thing, so he sent his followers to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one we have
been waiting for?” Jesus replied by giving three answer to prove he was the
promised Messiah sent by God to take away the sins of the world.
- . Fulfill prophecy
- . Perform miracles
- . Rise from the dead
Jesus told the followers to report to
John the Baptist that He had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy for the
coming Messiah (quoting the above qualifications from Isaiah 61) and that He
had performed many miracles, curing leprosy, blindness, deafness and raising
people from the dead.
Then, Jesus performed the one unique
miracle no other prophet had accomplished—predicting and fulfilling one’s own
death and resurrection—a feat only God Himself could do.
Finally, by aligning himself in a
unique relationship with God (“I and the Father are one” John 10:30) and
speaking with such authority, Jesus clearly presented enough evidence that He
was God. It was so clear, the religious leaders wanted him dead for blasphemy.
They knew he had performed
miracles. They knew he called himself
God. They just didn’t like what he was
saying.
What more evidence did Jesus need to
present?