Hebrews 1:1-6 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
Why is it that so many people hear Christ and reject him? Why is it that whole religions have broken from Christianity on the basis of making Jesus to be less than who he is? The biblical answer is that we are dead in sin and need to be made alive through the regenerating work of God through his gospel. Even so, when the bible presents Christ to us (all through the bible), we are not given any uncertainty about who he is. The magnitude of our responsibility is multiplied by the magnitude of his authority and glory.
When the human author of Hebrews was introducing Jesus, he immediately made a distinct differentiation between Jesus and every other human and every other created being. Prior to the first advent of Christ, God spoke predominantly through his prophets who were servants of his word to his people. The prophets had mixed responses from the people of Israel and were often persecuted for bringing warnings of judgment to a disobedient nation. When Jesus came into this world as God taking on human flesh, God was speaking directly to us in and through the second in the Trinity – the Son. Not only is Jesus introduced as God’s Son, he is introduced as the Creator of all things and the Heir of all things. In Christ, all things exist and in Christ all things are owned. This separates Jesus from both humans and angels who are created beings of Christ. God never spoke about angels or other humans in the same way he spoke about his Son. Furthermore, God who never shares worship, declares that all, including angels, should worship Jesus.
When Mormons uphold their modern day prophets as God’s ongoing revelation and reject that Jesus is the final and full revelation of God, they callously reject the unmistakable scriptural presentation of Christ. Jesus is clearly the fullest revelation of God as the exact imprint of his nature. All the prophets pointed to him and in his special revelation to us; Christ is the fullest expression of God to us. The prophets have been fulfilled, and in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son.
When Jehovah’s Witnesses express that Jesus is a created being and not in fact the One True Living God, the clear presentation of Jesus shows us that as Creator and Owner of all things and as the One receiving all worship, we are left without doubt that the Son is God.
When Jews ignore that Jesus is the Lord and Messianic King of the entire Old Testament, they are rejecting every prophecy fulfilled in his coming into this world from birth to ascension. They reject his purification for sins in the fulfillment of sacrifice and the temple and they reject his authority as the resurrected Lord on the throne of the Majesty on high.
I know that we could continue with a great list of religions that reject the reality of who Jesus is. I know that each of them would have their own attempts to defend their positions. But…. The Scriptures are clear and anyone reading the bible in the light of its countless declarations that it is the written word of God must at least admit that Christ is presented as the all-authoritative God of the universe and only Savior of the world through the substitutionary atoning work of the cross and that he is the Risen King returning to judge. This is who every human is responsible before. To deny what the Scriptures say about Jesus is to deny who Jesus is.
So I ask…. How callous does one have to be to dismiss Jesus?