Worshipping Jesus

One night while evangelizing in a park in suburban Minneapolis, I got into a lengthy conversation with a young Muslim couple. Some Muslims I've talked to became belligerent when hearing the truth of the gospel. Fortunately, this couple was quite cordial. One issue they did bring up was the divinity of Jesus. The man actually offered to become a Christian if I could show him in the Bible that Jesus was God. I responded by reading to him this passage from John 20…

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.  Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I pointed out that Jesus didn’t refuse worship from Thomas. Another example that crossed my mind was the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 who approached the Lord about healing her daughter…

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus also received worship from the Wise Men (Matthew 2), His disciples after seeing Him walk on the water (Matthew 14:33), the women on Easter Sunday (Matthew 28:9), and a man healed of blindness (John 9:38). 

If Jesus was only a prophet or messenger, He would have responded like the angel in Revelation 19:10…

“And I fell at his feet to worship him.  But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that!  I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus.  Worship God!  For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”

Although the Muslim couple wouldn’t pray with me, I got to share many other Scriptures about Jesus being the only way to eternal life. They also received a gospel of John from me. It was a seed-planting opportunity.

“that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” – John 5:23