Did the Apostles Believe Jesus Was God?
Jesus of Nazareth spent his first thirty years in relative obscurity, working as an unheralded carpenter in a small village of Palestine. But in the following three years he uttered words that astounded all who heard them, words that ultimately changed our world. He also performed feats no other person has, calming storms, healing diseases, restoring sight, and even raising the dead.
But the greatest difference between Jesus Christ and all other religious leaders is that, according to Christians, he claimed to be God. If this claim of his is false, the message of the gospel loses all credibility. That message is that God loved us so much that He became a man to die for our sins, offering us eternal life with Himself. Thus, if Jesus is not God, then we have been lied to.
Jesus had picked very ordinary men to be his followers. He spent three years with them, teaching them about himself and explaining to them the deep truths of God’s Word. During those three years, Jesus performed numerous miracles, made audacious claims, and lived an absolutely righteous life. Later, these apostles wrote down many of Jesus’ words and deeds. These New Testament accounts have been called extremely reliable, far exceeding all other ancient historical documents for authenticity
After Jesus ascended, the apostles stunned both Jew and Roman by proclaiming Jesus as “Lord”. And the apostles did the unthinkable and worshiped Jesus, even praying to him as if he was God. Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” as he was being stoned to death. (Acts 7:59).
The apostles, most of whom were martyred, passed on their knowledge of Jesus to church fathers who carried on their message into the next generation.
The apostles made Jesus Lord of their lives, wrote of him as the Creator, and worshipped him as preeminent. These first hand eyewitnesses were absolutely convinced that God had visited planet earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, who will return as King of kings and Lord of lords, as well as our eternal Judge.
