Lee Strobel

And so Caesar would be considered divine.

That's right.

That's right.

Exactly.

And the Pharisees didn't like that Jesus was coming in and kind of throwing a monkey wrench into all the rules and regulations that they wanted people to live by and talking more about grace and more about what it means to be a true follower of God.

And so there's a lot of conflict there.

He was making divine and messianic claims about himself.

At one point, Jesus got up before a group and he said, I and the Father are one.

And the Greek word there for one is not masculine, it's neuter, which means he wasn't saying I and the Father are the same person.

He was saying I and the Father are the same thing.

We're one in nature.

We're one in essence.

And the audience got what he was saying.

They pick up stones to kill him.

They said, you, you're just a man and you're claiming to be God.

So Jesus claimed to be God.

And that did not sit well.

With Jews, with the Pharisees.

With the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day.

And, of course, anybody can claim to be God.