Who do you say that I am?

Sometimes as Christians, Jesus can become so familiar to us that we can no longer see him for who he really is. I've been reading Mark Driscoll's 'Vintage Jesus', in order to look at him with fresh eyes and hopefully to improve my ability to convey his uniqueness and his majesty to those who don't yet know him. My quiet time today involved looking up claims that Jesus made about himself, drawn from chapter 1, 'Is Jesus the Only God'. They got me excited, so I thought I'd share them.

Jesus claims:
...he came down from heaven. No other religious figure has claimed to come from heaven, only to have visited temporarily.
(see John 6:38)

...he isn't just a 'good teacher'.
(see Mark 10:17-18)

...he is the Son of Man; the fulfilment of prophecy.
(see Matthew 5:17)

...he performed miracles. Opponents of Jesus outside Scripture even testify to his miracles.
(see John 10:36b-39)

...he is God.
(see Matthew 26:63-65)

...he was sinless.
(see John 8:46, 1 Peter 3:18)

...he can forgive sin. All sin is against God, and only he has the right to forgive it.
(see Luke 5:20-21)

...he is the only way to Heaven and eternal life.
(see John 14:6)

In response to Jesus' claims about himself, a response is essential. Jesus was either a 
liar, manipulating vulnerable people by claiming to be able to forgive their sins;
lunatic, claiming to be God even to the point of crucifixion; or 
Lord, deserving our repentance and acceptance as saviour and redeemer.

Hope this is encouraging!