How Is Jesus Different from Confucius, Buddha and Mohammed?

Jesus claimed to be God, and he allowed Himself to be worshiped as God. After His resurrection, one of His disciples fell on his knees and said, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28CloseJohn 20:28 "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) To a good Jew, this would have been blasphemy, but Jesus received it approvingly. Jesus also said, "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 26:64CloseMatthew 26:64 Jesus replied, "You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand* and coming on the clouds of heaven."* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He identified Himself as the Son of God. (seeJohn 3:16-18CloseJohn 3:16-18 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) In His lifetime, He said things about Himself that, if they were not true, would have been the words of a madman.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness." (John 8:12CloseJohn 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He said, "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35CloseJohn 6:35 Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He told people, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53CloseJohn 6:53 So Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He made a series of claims about His own divine nature. When people challenged Him on it, He said, in effect, if I denied my deity I would become a liar, as you are. (seeJohn 8:55CloseJohn 8:55 but you don't even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

Mohammed believed he was a prophet. Buddha felt he was a seeker after truth. Confucius never claimed to be anything but a wise teacher. Only Jesus has made claim to be the eternal Son of God. He is God and He proved His deity.

Jesus Christ was dead and buried, but rose again from the dead. (seeMatthew 28:7CloseMatthew 28:7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,Acts 13:30-31CloseActs 13:30-31 But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He was seen by about five hundred people after His resurrection. (see I Corinthians 15:4-8) He had the ability to walk through doors, (seeJohn 20:19-26CloseJohn 20:19-26 That Sunday evening* the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),* was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, "We have seen the Lord!"  But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side." Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. "Peace be with you," he said. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) to travel vast distances in an instant, (seeJohn 6:21CloseJohn 6:21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) and to ascend into heaven. (seeLuke 24:51CloseLuke 24:51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,Acts 1:9-11CloseActs 1:9-11 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) He had taken on a completely spiritual resurrection body. He reached heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower His disciples. This, as the apostle Peter affirmed, proved that he actually arrived in heaven. (seeActs 2:33CloseActs 2:33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.