Ever since the Christian movement began, followers of Messiah Yeshua have said he was God in human form. However, what did Yeshua say about himself? Who did he think he was? With the rise of textual criticism and the modern study of history, historians have developed tools to unlock this question. Today, Yeshua of Nazareth is no longer just a figure in a stained-glass window. However, he remains a real person of history whose life we can investigate historically. Thus, let us examine the New Testament not as inspired Scripture, but as an ordinary collection of ancient documents. Let us apply to them the standard tests we would use with regard to any other ancient sources. When historians investigate the Yeshua of history, what do they find? First, Yeshua claimed to be the Messiah. The Jews of Yeshua’s day were waiting for a promised Messiah, a descendant of King David, a warrior king, who would bring military victory and spiritual renewal to Israel.
They were familiar with the Prophet Zechariah’s ancient words: Shout aloud O Daughter of Jerusalem beholds, your king is coming to you righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey. Historians attest in independent sources that Yeshua’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, during the final week of his life, remains one of the most important criteria for the historicity of this event. In doing, this Yeshua was claiming that he was the promised Messiah the king of Israel. Moreover, the plank nailed to Yeshua’s cross stated the charge against him in mockery of his Messianic claims. The fact that later Christians did not use this derisive title for Yeshua underscores its authenticity. For first century Jews the word Messiah was packed full of meaning. By assuming this title, Yeshua was claiming all of this for himself. Yeshua also claimed to be the Son of God. Yeshua’s consciousness of being God’s son in a unique sense comes to expression in his parable of the vineyard. This parable matches Yeshua’s teaching style and employs Jewish motifs typical of his day. Such as Israel as a vineyard, God as a father, the religious leaders of that time as tenants, and God’s prophets as servants sent to the tenants. Once there was a man who planted a vineyard. Before leaving the country, he leased it to tenants. At harvest time, he sent a servant to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. However, the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Therefore, the owner sent more servants, but these too were beaten or killed. Finally, he sent his one and only son saying, “Surely they’ll respect my son.” However, those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir, let’s kill him and the vineyard will be ours.” Therefore, they killed the owner’s son.
What do we learn from this parable about Yeshua’s self-understanding? He thought of himself as the only Son of God, because he is God’s messenger to humanity. Yeshua is distinct from all the prophets and even the heir of Israel itself. Third, Yeshua claimed to be the SON OF MAN. This was Yeshua’ favorite self-designation. He used these words many times in the Gospels. These words have convinced the vast majority of New Testament historians that Yeshua did think of himself as the Son of Man. Notice not just a son of man, but THE Son of Man. Yeshua was directing our attention to Daniel’s vision of God. The prophet Daniel who wrote “I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve Him.”
During Yeshua’s trial, the Jewish high priest accused Yeshua. “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?” His answer left no room for doubt. “I am. In addition, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. By applying all three of these titles to him, Yeshua was claiming, clearly, that he was the very God his accusers worshiped. This reveals why the Jewish court charged him with blasphemy and condemned him to death. However, that is not all! New Testament historians concur that the historical Yeshua also claimed to have divine power and authority to perform
PRIMARY SOURCES: Dr. William Lane Craig Videos on Jesus Christ