| − | [[Jesus]] was careful to avoid wording that committed the crime of [[blasphemy]], which was punishable by death under the [[Old Testament]] and by a lesser penalty under Roman law,<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02595a.htm</ref> and which would have resulted in the prosecution of Jesus before he completed his ministry. Hence he implied his divinity without expressly saying so. This is made particularly clear by how Jesus used the phrase immediately after his divinity was revealed to several [[Apostles]] and [[God]] confirmed Jesus is His son: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ... Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”<ref>Matt 17:5,9 ([[ESV]]).</ref> | + | Of necessity, [[Jesus]] could only imply during his ministry that he was divine, in order to avoid being put to death for [[blasphemy]] before his preaching and works were completed.<ref>Blasphemy was punishable by death under the [[Old Testament]] and by a lesser penalty under Roman law. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02595a.htm]</ref> '''''Because of blasphemy laws, Jesus often could only imply his divinity without expressly saying so'''''. <ref>This is made particularly clear by how Jesus used the phrase immediately after his divinity was revealed to several [[Apostles]] and [[God]] confirmed Jesus is His son: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ... Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matt 17:5,9 ([[ESV]]).</ref> |
| | The Greek version of how Jesus described himself is "'''ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου'''," which is best translated as "'''the Son, a human being''' or, more simply, "'''the Son, a man'''." A full, wordy translation of the Greek would be "The Son, with the character of man." The Greek is likely a translation of an Aramaic phrase "bar enosha," which has the connotation of "a human."<ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2011/08/son-of-man-or-human-one-tough-translation-questions-raised-by-the-common-english-bible/</ref> The Greek wording implies the divinity of Jesus in a non-blasphemous manner, without Jesus expressly claiming to be God. [[Faith]] is then required to accept the obvious implication that Jesus was divine, and his opponents thereby had a difficult time catching him in the crime of blasphemy during his ministry.<ref>Other possible translations are less consistent with the Greek, and would have constituted the crime of blasphemy: "God as a man," "Son of Man from God," "God became man," "God descended as man," or "Christ, Son of [[God]]."</ref> | | The Greek version of how Jesus described himself is "'''ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου'''," which is best translated as "'''the Son, a human being''' or, more simply, "'''the Son, a man'''." A full, wordy translation of the Greek would be "The Son, with the character of man." The Greek is likely a translation of an Aramaic phrase "bar enosha," which has the connotation of "a human."<ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2011/08/son-of-man-or-human-one-tough-translation-questions-raised-by-the-common-english-bible/</ref> The Greek wording implies the divinity of Jesus in a non-blasphemous manner, without Jesus expressly claiming to be God. [[Faith]] is then required to accept the obvious implication that Jesus was divine, and his opponents thereby had a difficult time catching him in the crime of blasphemy during his ministry.<ref>Other possible translations are less consistent with the Greek, and would have constituted the crime of blasphemy: "God as a man," "Son of Man from God," "God became man," "God descended as man," or "Christ, Son of [[God]]."</ref> |