Does Jesus have to be divine?

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According to Christian theology, Jesus had to be God for his sacrifice to be sufficient to atone for the sins of all humanity. As a human, his death would have been finite, but because he was God, his sacrifice was infinite and could pay the infinite penalty for sin against an infinitely holy God. Being both fully God and fully man, Jesus could act as a mediator and provide a way for people to be reconciled with God, secure righteousness, and receive eternal life. 

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The explanation above is one that I embraced for most of my life. It made sense. If human beings were sinful by nature then they would need a divine being to atone for their sins. This idea dominated my theology from a very early age. Until it didn't.

I won't go into the ideas of blood atonement here as I delved into it here. I also will not speak to the problems with the original sin dogma as I did here. Suffice to say that I no longer embrace the orthodoxy of those views and see human beings in a different light.

So what I would like to discuss here is the question of not whether Jesus is divine but whether he has to be. For sure, If one believes that humanity needs blood atonement for their sins, then it makes perfect sense that Jesus has to be divine. But what if they do not?

I think that there are a few things that might point us to the answer of whether Jesus might be divine. One caveat that I might mention is the aspect of faith. For sure, no one can confess Jesus as Lord apart from believing in his Lordship. So it is important to weigh that in.

So here are a few scriptures that I suggest that might deal with Jesus' deity.

• Jesus says, ‘anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’.
  
  This is an amazing statement because of the implications. One that I freely accept. In his life, Jesus showed us an amazing image of what a perfect human being might look like. I think that he also gave us a credible reimagining of what God is like. Gone are the pictures of a wrathful Zeus-like deity judging humanity because of their sins. Gone is the idea that the Father is angry with us. In contrast, in Jesus we see a picture of One who cares deeply for the poor and is not too happy with those who do not help them. These images present a compelling case for Jesus' divinity.
  
  
• Jesus also says. I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
  
  This is an outrageous claim if made by any human. In saying this, Jesus separates himself from the prophets, the rabbis and all others. The miracles he does might seem to be evidence enough of this but his words give an extra degree of validity to the idea that he is divine. In calling himself 'the Son', I think that he is teaching us something about himself. I think that he is pointing to a divine connection that the most spiritual among us lacks. In my view, I think that points us to the idea that Jesus saw himself as more than human.
  
  
• A question from Jesus: "Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?"
  
  One listening to him might ask Jesus, 'Who are to speak to us in this way?' For sure Jesus gave commands that seemed odd to many. I mean telling people to love their enemies went against the human grain and brain. Calling the poor blessed did not seem logical by any stretch of the imagination. Rebuking his elders seemed wrong. So how in the world could he command the absolute obedience of his disciples. What verse in the Hebrew Bible could he quote? Why should any agree with him? It might make a case for his divinity?
  
  
• Jesus got in trouble when he said: "I and the Father are one."
  
  The Jewish leaders threatened to stone him saying that he committed blasphemy by claiming to be God. To be sure, he did deflect their accusation using an obscure verse from the Jewish scriptures, but I think that their reaction was well founded. This idea of oneness with God often got Jesus in trouble. Even a casual reading of the scriptures bears this out. I think that he had a spiritual oneness with God that revealed itself in his miraculous ministry and extraordinary teachings.  He is one who has had no equal in all of history. 

So, while I am not inclined to believe in Christ's divinity based on some sort of atonement theory, I am fully in, based on his character, his ministry, his teachings and his testimony. I have tried to model my life after his. In my view, he is matchless. And worthy of emulation. There is no one like him.

So back to the question. Does Jesus have to be divine? As I have indicated, to some degree, it is a matter of faith. That said, I think that there is enough evidence in the gospels to indicate that he is. Yet even if he is not divine, I believe that his life of love is one that is worthy of emulation. 

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... this devotion is part of a series on my spiritual deconstruction. Click here to read more.