Nice sermon, but none of those verses say, “I am God.”
John 5:23? The Son is honored because the Father gave him authority. The same chapter says:
“The Son can do nothing by himself.” (John 5:19)
Mark 2:5? Prophets pronounced God’s forgiveness throughout the Bible. Jesus even tells his disciples they can forgive sins (John 20:23). Does that make the disciples God too?
John 20:28? Thomas says, “My Lord and my God!” Yet Jesus had already said:
“I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17)
So let’s summarize the Jesus of the Gospels:
A god who has a God.
A god who can do nothing by himself.
A god who receives authority, glory, and power from another.
A god who says someone else is greater than him.
A god who does not know the hour.
A god who prays to God.
A god who can be seen and touched, while Scripture says no one has seen God.
And then we’re told this is the same being as the Almighty, all knowing, self sufficient God?
At some point you have to ask: are these the attributes of God, or the attributes of a prophet and Messiah sent by God?
Ssekabaka Bukaajumbe Ccwa II, 34th Kabaka of Buganda. Son of Ssekabaka Mwanga II, reigned during the turbulent colonial times after the British exiling his father and installing his in August 1897 at just one year. He's the youngest to ascend the throne in contemporary Buganda.
As you ascend life's ladder, it often extends ever further; remember to pause and rest along the way. Success and achievements are deeply personal and subjective, varying from one individual to the next.
In the end, even the victors succumb in this fleeting game of existence.