<h2>The Ongoing Identity Theft of Jesus</h2>
The divinity of Jesus has been questioned for thousands of years.

It's not surprising that one of the first recorded instances of this divine doubt occurred before Jesus officially started his ministry and was fasting for 40 days. According to the gospel of Matthew, it was during that stretch, the devil approached Jesus in the desert and questioning the Lord's deistic attributes.
<h3>Appealing to Appetite</h3>
We read in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A3-4&amp;version=NKJV">Matthew 4:3-4</a> that the tempter questioned that if Jesus was indeed the Son of God, then Jesus would be able to turn nearby rock piles warmed by the sun into piles of warm bread. Jesus parried with the classic, "...man shall not live by bread alone..." block despite the gnawing hunger in his human belly. This exchange clearly shows that both individuals knew that Jesus was both God and man.
<h3>Appealing to Prophecy</h3>
Throughout this particular passage the devil quotes scripture to Jesus, as seen in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A5-7&amp;version=NIV">Matthew 4:5-7</a>, where the adversary asserts that Jesus could fling himself from the cliff and the "...angels would bear him up..." in a seeming appeal to prophecy written centuries before that the Messiah would have to die. Jesus didn't fall for it - figuratively nor literally. The scriptures state that Jesus was closely attuned to the will and timing of God, further solidifying his deity identity.
<h3>Appealing to Compassion</h3>
The chapter goes on to state in <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+4.8-11/">Matthew 4:8-11</a> that the devil changed tactics and tried to appeal to Christ's love of humanity by offering the world which had been subject to demonic control since The Fall in Eden in exchange for Jesus falling to his knees in worship of the first fallen angel.

Had Jesus agreed to this quick-fix alternative to salvation - and he could have - the earth might have been redeemed but not the way that God had wanted. Jesus knew that because of his celestial connection to the father.

One stern rebuke from Jesus and the devil left - while Jesus' divinity was challenged in was not diminished in any way.

However, had Jesus yielded to any of those temptation attempts it would have resulted in the most epic identity theft in the history of the universe because the devil would have ascended above the Most High.

Again Jesus' divine identity prevented that.

Other Divine Identity Theft Attempts

Throughout the remainder of Jesus' recorded life, the scriptures state that his heavenly sonship continued to be questioned. Perhaps most notable are several examples at the time of his crucifixion:

Roman guards beat and mocked Jesus demanding a display of his power - <a href="http://bible.cc/luke/22-64.htm">Luke 22:64</a> and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+23%3A36-38&amp;version=AMP">Luke 23:36-38</a>

The magistrate Herod demanded a sign or miracle - Luke 23: 8-11

&nbsp;