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This article is also available in English: If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He call Himself the Son of Man? English answer...


Pertama-tama, bahkan ketika sebutan 'Anak Manusia' menunjuk pada kemanusiaan Yesus, itu bukan suatu penyangkalan terhadap Ketuhanan-Nya. Dengan menjadi seorang manusia, Yesus tidak berhenti menjadi Tuhan. Penjelmaan Kristus tidaklah mengakibatkan keilahian-Nya berkurang, tetapi sisi kemanusiaannya ditampilkan. Yesus secara tegas menyatakan dirinya sebagai Tuhan dalam berbagai kesempatan (Matius 16:16,17; Yohanes 8:58; 10:30). Selain keberadaan-Nya yang ilahi, Yesus juga adalah manusia (lihat Filipi 2:6-8). Ia mempunyai dua hakikat (ilahi dan manusiawi) yang menyatu dalam satu pribadi.

Lebih lanjut, Kitab Suci mengungkapkan bahwa Yesus tidak pernah menyangkal keilahian-Nya dengan menyatakan dirinya sebagai Anak Manusia. Istilah anak Manusia justru sebenarnya digunakan dalam Alkitab dalam konteks keilahian Kristus. Sebagai contoh, Alkitab mengatakan bahwa hanya Allah yang dapat menghapus dosa (Yesaya 43:25; Markus 2:7). Tetapi, sebagai 'Anak Manusia', Yesus mempunyai kuasa untuk menghapus dosa (Markus 2:10). Juga, bahwa Kristus akan kembali ke bumi sebagai Anak "Manusia" dengan kemuliaan di atas awan-awan untuk memerintah diatas bumi (Matius 26:63-64). Dalam bagian ini, Yesus menunjuk pada Daniel 7:13 dimana Mesias digambarkan sebagai "Yang Lanjut Usianya," suatu istilah yang digunakan menunjukkan ke-Tuhanan-Nya (lihat juga Daniel 7:9).

Juga ketika Yesus ditanya oleh imam agung apakah Ia adalah 'Anak Tuhan' (Matius 26:63), Ia menjawab dengan tegas bahwa Ia adalah 'Anak Manusia' yang akan datang dengan kuasa dan kemuliaan yang agung Ayat 64). Ini menunjukkan bahwa Yesus sendiri menggunakan istilah 'Anak Manusia' untuk menyatakan keilahian-Nya sebagai Anak Tuhan.

Akhirnya, istilah 'Anak Manusia' juga menekankan siapakah Yesus dalam hubungan dengan penjelmaanNya dan karya keselamatanNya. Di Perjanjian Lama (Imamat 25:25-26, 48-49; Ruth 2:20), kaum kerabat (yang berhubungan secara darah) selalu berperan sebagai 'penebus saudara' dari anggota keluarga yang membutuhkan penebusan dari penjara. Yesus menjadi saudara kita 'berdasarkan darah' (yaitu dengan Ia menjelma menjadi manusia) sehingga Ia bisa menjadi Penebus-Saudara kita dan menyelamatkan kita dari dosa.

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Diterjemahkan oleh: Pangeran Ibrani

Pengarang: Dr. Ron Rhodes of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries.

Hak Cipta, 1999, Ron Rhodes.

The Holy Shroud of Turin is more famous and more controversial now than at any time in its long history.
The precise length of that history is of course one of its most hotly-contested secrets.
Measuring almost 4.5 metres in length, this linen cloth, bearing the clear imprint of a dead, crucified man, was brought to Turin in 1578, but reliable documents tell us that it was known in France over 200 years earlier.

Ironically, the reputation of the shroud has been raised and dashed by technology: raised by the technology of the 19th century and dashed by that of the 20th.
The first photograph was taken in 1898, and the negative which emerged from the developing tank created a sensation, revealing for the first time ever a positive image of the crucified man, since the shroud itself is a negative.
The carbon-14 dating test was made in 1988, and to the dismay of true believers indicated that the cloth was no older than 1260 – although this finding is now under renewed attack.

In the 1970s and 80s, the shroud was the subject of intense popular fascination. In an age dominated by pictures and images of all kinds, the shroud was a big story, promising a flash photograph of one of the most famous and elusive faces of all time. It also promised to yield information about one of the most controversial events of all time, too: the resurrection of Christ.

That event – which is the hinge on which the whole Christian faith hangs – is the great untold story of the four Gospels. All the witnesses arrived on the scene after the event. But what if there was another witness, present at the event itself? What if, lying in the darkness of the tomb, there was something like a large sheet of photographic material? Like the shadows of victims left on the walls of Hiroshima, could it be possible that the features of Christ were imprinted in the cloth which covered him, during a sudden burst of divine energy?

Prayer

A prayer of St Anselm (1033-1109)

Lord Jesus Christ
by the Father's plan and by the working of the Holy Ghost
of your own free will you died
and mercifully redeemed the world
from sin and everlasting death.

I adore and venerate you
as much as ever I can
though my love is so cold, my devotion so poor.

Thank you for the good gift
of your holy body and blood
which I desire to recieve, as cleansing from sin
and for a defence against it.

Jesus Himself claimed to be God and others recognized Him as Deity.
He said, "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
The Greek language, in which the New Testament was originally written, is explicit. Literally, Jesus said, "I and the Father, we are one."

Jesus also claimed that He was the only way to God: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." (John 14:6)
Again, the Greek language is very clear. Jesus used the words ‘the way’ and not ‘a way’.

The question is, can we accept as true what Jesus [God the Son], claimed?
The most conclusive evidence establishing the deity of Christ is the historically verifiable resurrection. The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus "was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead." (Romans 1:4)
If the resurrection of Christ is true, then it is possible and, indeed, logical to believe all His claims and miracles including His assertion of the complete validity of the Old Testament. They would be what one would expect from God.

The primary reason that Jesus is the only way to God is that He forgives sin and offers eternal life, (John 10:28) something that the founder of no other major religion has claimed to do. Think about that!

Every person is separated from a perfect, holy God by sin. According to God’s requirement, either the individual must pay the penalty for sin – death – or he must find someone who is willing and able – who has no sin – to pay the penalty for him. (Hebrews 9:14, 22) Jesus Christ was both able and willing to do this, as demonstrated by His death on the cross. That is why Jesus is the only way to God.

Will you receive Jesus Christ as Savior, and choose to follow Him today? Would you like to know GOD personally?