How Is Jesus Different from Confucius, Buddha and Mohammed?

Jesus claimed to be God, and he allowed Himself to be worshiped as God. After His resurrection, one of His disciples fell on his knees and said, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28) To a good Jew, this would have been blasphemy, but Jesus received it approvingly. Jesus also said, "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 26:64) He identified Himself as the Son of God. (see John 3:16-18) In His lifetime, He said things about Himself that, if they were not true, would have been the words of a madman.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness." (John 8:12) He said, "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35) He told people, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53) He made a series of claims about His own divine nature. When people challenged Him on it, He said, in effect, if I denied my deity I would become a liar, as you are. (see John 8:55)

Mohammed believed he was a prophet. Buddha felt he was a seeker after truth. Confucius never claimed to be anything but a wise teacher. Only Jesus has made claim to be the eternal Son of God. He is God and He proved His deity.

Jesus Christ was dead and buried, but rose again from the dead. (see Matthew 28:7, Acts 13:30-31) He was seen by about five hundred people after His resurrection. (see I Corinthians 15:4-8) He had the ability to walk through doors, (see John 20:19, 26) to travel vast distances in an instant, (see John 6:21) and to ascend into heaven. (see Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9-11) He had taken on a completely spiritual resurrection body. He reached heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower His disciples. This, as the apostle Peter affirmed, proved that he actually arrived in heaven. (see Acts 2:33)

Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.