Articles
Jesus Is The Son of God
Jesus is the SON OF GOD
There are several themes that weave themselves throughout the gospel of Luke. One such theme is His claim to be the Son of God. On at least six occasions in this gospel He is said to be the Son of God.
When the angel Gabriel appeared unto Mary to announce the coming of her child, he said: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” He then explained that "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God" (Luke 1:32, 35).
Years later when Jesus was baptized by John "and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22).
Following His baptism He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. Twice the devil says: "If you are the son of God…", (Luke 4:3, 9). We read the 'if' in English as a question, understanding (incorrectly) that Satan was trying to discover if this was true or not. In the Greek this was a first class conditional sentence. Bob Utley in his commentary wrote: "This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE and may have several meanings: (1) the statement is assumed true so that the author can make his point or (2) the author is assenting the truthfulness of the statement." The 'author' here is Satan. He was not doubting who Jesus was, but rather is assenting to the truthfulness of the statement. This could be translated 'Since you are the Son of God…". There is no reason to believe that Satan didn't know who Jesus was.
When Jesus entered into the country of the Gerasenes he was met by a demon possessed man. "When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” "(Luke 8:28). Not only did Satan know that Jesus was the Son of God, so did the evil spirits.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain and there He was transfigured before them. When Peter spoke out of excitement, a cloud came and overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One, listen to Him!" (Luke 9:35). Thus God the Father has twice in this gospel declared Jesus to be the Son of God.
After the Jewish leaders have arrested Jesus in the middle of the night and led him away to a mockery of a 'trial', they final ask Him directly: "Are you the Son of God?". Jesus without hesitation or doubt answered "You say that I am" (Luke 22:70 ESV). This is an idiom in their language which makes it hard to translate. The same phrase is translated "You have said it" in the Holman Christian Standard Bible in Matt. 26:64; 27:11; Luke 23:3. The NIV translated it: "You are right in saying I am". It is clear from the reaction of the Jewish leaders that this was an affirmation of their question. From this statement they accuse Him of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God (John 19:7).
They then set about the events that culminated in His being crucified. He died on the cross, was taken down and hastily buried. However that is NOT the end of the story for Paul would later write: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:1-4).
He was declared to be the Son of God by the angel Gabriel, by demons, by Satan, and by God the father. By crucifying Him the Jewish leaders denied this. In the resurrection the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God is vindicated. Hugh DeLong
