John Hagee
“Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah.”
—John Hagee
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?”
—Apostle John (1 John 2:22a)
In a video (no longer available on YouTube) promoting his book In Defense of Israel, Pastor John Hagee made the following statements:
“Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah.”
“Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah…”
It’s easy to prove these claims false.
[Hagee] “Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah.”
[Fenemore] Jesus did come to be the Messiah:
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1, NASB);
“Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah” (Matt. 1:16, NASB);
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35, ESV throughout unless otherwise noted);
“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28);
“…for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28);
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16);
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Tim. 1:15).
If Jesus didn’t come to be the Messiah, then John Hagee has no Savior and remains condemned.
[Hagee] Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah…
[Fenemore] Jesus did claim to be the Messiah:
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6);
“13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’” (Matt. 16:13-17);
“25The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ 26Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he’” (John 4:25-26).
Jesus identified himself to the high priest by referring to Messianic prophecies in Ps. 110:1 and Dan. 7:13:
“62And the high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ 63But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ 64Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ 65Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ 67Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?’” (Matt. 26:62-68).
Those present at Christ’s trial understood he was claiming to be the Messiah because they sarcastically referred to him as “Christ.”
Conclusion: John Hagee is either shamefully ignorant or a liar.
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