Blasphemy Against Jesus

The charge that calling Jesus a real man, but not Almighty God, is blasphemy must be tested against the Bible scripture’s descriptions of both blasphemy and Jesus.

What Blasphemy Means in Scripture

Biblical blasphemy concerns contemptuous speech and defiant dishonour, not every mistaken belief. Leviticus 24:10-16 records cursing and blaspheming the divine Name. Numbers 15:30-31 joins reviling God with defiant conduct and despising his word.

Exodus 20:7 forbids misusing God’s name, while Leviticus 19:12 prohibits false oaths that profane it. Misusing the name dishonours the authority and character it represents.

Conduct can also dishonour God. After David confessed his sin, Nathan condemned his deed as scorn for God (2 Samuel 12:13-14). Romans 2:17-24 addresses hypocrisy, because people boast in God and teach his law while breaking it themselves. Paul describes the result:

Ezekiel 36:16-23 corroborates the connection between conduct and profaning God’s name. Israel’s conduct and exile profaned his holy name among the nations, and God declared that he would vindicate its holiness.

Honour the Human Messiah

Jesus’ own description is plain:

Man

The apostles call Jesus a man attested by God, whom God raised and made Lord and Christ (Acts 2:22-36). God’s appointed judge is also a man (Acts 17:31). Paul contrasts Adam with the obedient man Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15-19). Resurrection likewise comes through a man; Christ is the last Adam and the second man (1 Corinthians 15:21-22,45-49). He is the human mediator between the one God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5).

Son of Man

Jesus also calls himself Son of Man when describing homelessness (Matthew 8:20), authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), service and giving his life as a ransom (Mark 10:45), and heavenly honour (Mark 14:62). This is an honoured title, not an insult.

Human life and limits

His descent from Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1; Romans 1:3), birth from a woman (Galatians 4:4), and coming in the flesh (1 John 4:2) affirm real ancestry and embodied life.

The accounts record hunger after fasting (Matthew 4:2), fatigue from travel (John 4:6), thirst on the cross (John 19:28), sleep during a storm (Mark 4:38), grief at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35), and temptation in the wilderness (Mark 1:13).

Jesus prays in solitude (Mark 1:35), submits his will to the Father’s will (Mark 14:36), and does not know the day or hour that the Father knows (Mark 13:32). His death, burial and resurrection are also recorded as real events (Mark 15:37; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Authority received from God

Jesus says that he acts through dependence on the Father, and that his judgement seeks the sender’s will (John 5:19,30). His teaching belongs to God Who sent him (John 7:16).

Humanity does not make Jesus ordinary or unimportant. God’s promised prophet must be heard (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), and Jesus requires honour (glory) just as for the Father who sent him (John 5:23).

The Accusation in John 10

After Jesus says that he and the Father are one (John 10:30), his opponents charge him with blasphemy for making himself God (John 10:33).

Jesus cites Scripture’s use of the title gods for those to whom God’s word came (John 10:34-35). Reading the figures in Psalm 82:6-7 as human judges or rulers is an interpretation. Bearing that title does not make its bearer Almighty God. It depends on the context.

The Jesus explain the context in which he had identified his own claim:

The Father consecrated him, meaning set him apart, and sent him into the world with a commission. The answer distinguishes the Father as the source of the Son’s mission.

Greater Caution About God’s Identity

God’s own testimony distinguishes him from a man:

Altough the context of both statements concern God’s mercy in Hosea and faithfulness in Numbers, both prophets compared God with a human and used that as evidence to strengthen their statements. This warrant caution about calling the LORD (YHWH or God the Father) a man.

Jesus identifies the Father Who sent him as the only true God:

After his resurrection, Jesus still identifies the Father as his God (John 20:17). The distinction between the one God and the human mediator in 1 Timothy 2:5 agrees with this relationship.

God is identified as the Father (YHWH) as Almighty God, and Jesus as his genuine human Son and Messiah (Christ). Swapping or conflating those identities risks misrepresenting God’s testimony and dishonouring His name.

Conclusion

Calling Jesus a real man, Son and Messiah is safe according to Bible scriptures. Greater caution concerns identifying Jesus as Almighty God, calling God the Father a man, or conflating Father and Son, not the human description Scripture itself gives him.