On the Deity of Christ: Christ Himself Claimed It (Intro.)
I have given some meditation to how to present the claims of Jesus clearly, regarding His Name. There are many places in which Jesus' direct claims that He Himself is YHWH are recorded. Unfortunately, however, most modern readers are unfamiliar with the Old Testament in general, and with Jewish thought on certain personages and passages found therein in particular, which are essential to recognition of the aforementioned claims by Jesus "to be equal with God". Therefore, the majority of these claims will not be immediately obvious. I cannot just quote the relevant passages from the Gospels (and the Revelation) and expect the reader to understand. So, it will be my goal over the next couple (or more) posts on this sub-topic of this series, to lay the exegetical groundwork for comprehension not only of His claims, but of the stark clarity and exactitude of those claims. I will be borrowing heavily from a couple of key sources, and cherry-picking several others, so I will