Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Perhaps the most important truth we can learn in this life is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Nothing else in life really, ultimately, matters if we don’t have a testimony of this one truth.

Since that is true, it would seem reasonable that one of the paramount things Jesus would do during His mortal ministry would be to testify and show, in every possible way, that He was the divine Son of God, the promised Messiah who would save the world from sin and spiritual captivity.

When I read the New Testament with this one idea in mind many, if not all, of the stories in the four gospels make more sense. This is a perspective, or a skill if you will, I have used as I study the stories recorded in the New Testament. I read the stories and ask myself: How do the events and words in this story testify to me of the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of the world? What do I learn about Him and His divine nature?

New Testament Examples

In Matthew 1:1–16 a lineage is provided. Then in verse 17, Matthew talks about their being 14 generations from Abraham to David, from David until the carrying away into Babylon, and from Babylon to Christ. I think it is significant to note that there are only 13 generations listed from Babylon to Christ. So why did Matthew include the genealogy and then conclude it with a miscalculated summary?

Immediately following his declaration of three sets of 14 generations, Matthew told of the birth of Christ. It was as though he was trying to tell them something about this special baby. Indeed, he was trying to help the Jews connect their ritualistic sacrifices with the birth of the Son of God.

The number 14 had tremendous spiritual significance to the Jews. At a certain time of the year during their annual celebration, the children of Israel spent eight days making sacrifices (Numbers 29:12–34). On each day, the number of sacrifices would change, except the sacrifice of 14 lambs. And those lambs were to be the firstborn and without blemish, as deliberate foreshadowing of the promised Messiah, the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh.

Matthew was, in essence, saying to the Jews of his day, “You sacrifice 14 lambs each day once a year at a holy meeting each year to remind you of the coming of Jesus Christ. This baby who is born of Mary is the fulfillment of those prefiguring sacrifices.”

Once I saw this insight, that seemingly out of place genealogy made more sense and became more than a list of generations from Abraham to the birth of Christ. It became a testimony of the divine Son of God condescending to take upon Himself flesh and blood.

As another example, in Mark 11:12–14 and 19–26, we read the story of Jesus cursing a fig tree. This seems so contrary to His divine nature. After all, this was one of His creations. It seems so wasteful, especially in light of the fact that it wasn’t even time for the fig tree to bear figs (Mark 11:13). So, why did the Lord do this?

The next morning, the disciples were captivated by the swiftly-withered tree. It was certainly a great way to get their attention. They were ready to listen to whatever the Lord had to say and he did teach them of doubt and belief and of prayer and forgiveness. But it seems less than satisfying that the Lord would go to such great lengths only to provide an enchanting object lesson.

In reality, this was one of many, many ways the Lord tried to teach about who He was. He was telling them, and showing them, that He was the Son of God, who had power over all things, including to save them.