Why Did God Not Shout More Clearly?

” In John 8:58, Jesus identifies Himself as God by using the very name of God, I AM. The Jewish leaders seemed to understand just exactly what he was saying. After all, they picked up stones to execute him, and rightly so. For a Jew to claim to be God, was the highest form of blasphemy, (unless, by chance, he was telling the truth.) But the Jews had no way to discern whether or not Jesus was telling the truth. Why did God not authenticate the deity of Jesus right then and there? Why hold the Jews responsible for sincere ignorance?”

How God deals with sincere ignorance is a topic for another article. I do believe He takes ignorance into account, for what it’s worth. As for the primary question, the answer is quite simple: God did establish Jesus. No, He did not speak to the Jews right out of the sky at that particular moment, but He had used exactly that very theophany before.

When Jesus was baptized, God spoke out of the sky saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Today, that might seem to mean little more than God saying, Jesus, like all of us, is one of His children. But in the days of ancient Israel, the term, “Son of God ” meant something quite different. The title was a very specific claim to deity. (See article linked below.)

Throughout the remainder of Jesus’ ministry, He performed miracles, signs and wonders. He healed the blind, the deaf, and the mute. He also multiplied fish, cast out demons, walked on water, and calmed a storm.

During His crucifixion, the sky turned dark, and many Old Testament saints resurrected, making numerous appearances to the Jews. The priests of the temple witnessed the curtain to the Holy of Holies being supernaturally torn in two. This indicated that the Old Covenant was over and that access to God was now granted. No longer would people need the High Priest alone to seek atonement for their sins.

On the following Sunday morning, there was an earthquake and the visitation of an angel to Roman guards who reported the incident. This same angel rolled the stone away from the sepulchre where Jesus’ body had been buried. Finally, the resurrected Jesus Himself appeared to 500 people.

I would say that God did a fairly good job of authenticating Jesus.

“But all these incidents are in the Bible. What if we do not accept the Bible?”

Now you are altering the premise of your question. A moment ago, you were accepting the Bible when you pointed out that Jesus claimed to be God in front of the Jews without immediate authentication. If you are going to pose a question from within the parameters of the Bible, then we must answer within these same boundaries. I.E. your objection was: According to the Bible, it does not look as if God proved the claims of Jesus Christ. My answer simply follows the rules of your own question: Actually, according to the Bible, God did demonstrate the credentials of Jesus.

Now, having said that, there are other ancient documents which authenticate these same events, (Josephus, Tacitus, Acts of Pilate, Talmud) but for today, we are looking at the Biblical narrative.

FOR FURTHER READING: I’d Like To Believe In Jesus, But… By Bob Siegel. Available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.