“Before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58)
A lot happened before Abraham was born…
- The great builders, built.
- The Great Deluge had come and gone.
- Iron tools and weapons, and many musical instruments were invented.
- Men lived hundreds of years at a time.
Speaking of Abraham, when he visited Egypt, the pyramids were already there; some were almost 1,000 years old.
Yet, Jesus – who walked several thousand years after the pyramids were built – said he lived before Abraham was born.
In nearly the same breath Jesus also said that Abraham was looking forward to his (Jesus’) “day” (John 8:56).
How? How did Jesus exist before Abraham, but Abraham was also looking forward to Jesus’ arrival?
The Bible also claims that Jesus is both the descendant (son) of David, and the root (origin) of David (Revelation 5:5). Why, or how would David call his son his ruler?
There are only two natural possibilities to this mysterious language: (1) Jesus was invented and this is incoherent nonsense; or (2) Jesus was real but crazy.
But there is a third, supernatural possibility: (3) Jesus was real, and spoke of himself both as human and divine.
If Jesus is not invented or crazy, then we are left only with the supernatural possibility (it is not within the scope of this short article to argue against the first two points).
As divine, he antedated Abraham and David.
As human, he came after Abraham and David, as their earthly descendants.
The only feasible solution to the claims of Jesus involve his being both human and divine. This is the only lens through which all what is recorded of him makes sense.
Rejecting this explanation, one is left with the arduous task of discrediting either the sanity of the authors, or the sanity of Jesus.
Ockham’s razor would suggest these are both failures in comparison to the Bible’s clear claim:
Jesus, the man, is God.