The Gentile centurion and those that were with him watching Jesus during His crucifixion acknowledged Him to be the Son of God when they saw and felt the effects of the earthquake and the other extraordinary things that occurred. They were convinced of His sonship when the Jews were not. Even evil spirits acknowledged Him to be the Son of God even though the Jews would not (See Matt. 8:29, Mark 3:11 & Luke 4:41). How clearly does this show the blindness and hardness of heart they had been given over to. 

    Jesus was called "the Son of God" by Mark, John, John the Baptist, Nathanael, Peter, Martha, the disciples, and by the angel Gabriel (See Matt. 14:33, 16:16, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:32, 35, John 1:34, 49, 3:16, 18, 11:27 & 20:31). The general recognition of His claim to being the Son of God can be seen in Matt. 4:3,6, 14:33, 17:40,43 & 54, & John 19:7. 

    One of the reasons the Jews sought to kill Christ was because He affirmed that God was His Father, and they knew that He was thus declaring Himself to be "equal with God" (John 5:18). It is interesting to observe that the very thing they most hated Him for is the thing upon which our hope most firmly rests---His eternal power and Godhead (See Romans 1:2); for if He was not "God manifest in the flesh" we have no reason to believe our sins have been put away or that we will ever see heaven. 

    The fact that there are things said of Christ that can only be said of man, and also things said of Him that can only be said of God, proves Him to be both God and man. He is verily God and verily man. He said of Himself, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), and He prayed the Father to glorify Him with the glory He had with Him before the world was (See John 17:5). He could not have said this if His existence had begun with His incarnation. How beautifully is this summarized by John when he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The apostle Paul says that "without controversy" this is a great mystery (I Tim. 3:16), but to deny the truth of it would be to deny the Scriptures.