Did Jesus Claim To Be GOD?

---

If you would rather read this message, the words are provided below:

---

Our understanding of who Jesus was/is must correspond to Jesus’ own self-understanding. It is first necessary to know if Jesus ever claimed to be GOD. So, did Jesus ever claim to be GOD? Yes. Consider all that follows.

In Exodus 3:14, GOD revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM.” The name, Yahweh (YHWH), refers only to the one true GOD. Exodus 20:5 tells us that no other person or thing was to be worshipped or served. In Isaiah 44:6, it is written, “I am the first and I am the last; there is no God but Me.” The great “I AM” can be seen in Isaiah 41:4; 43:10-11,13; 46:9; 48:12; 52:6; and even Jeremiah 29:23.

This Gospel of John especially makes it clear who Jesus was and still is: Jesus is the great “I AM” (John 4:26; 6:20,35; 8:12,16,19,23-24,28,58; 10:7,9,11,14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1,5) and “I AM” is GOD (Exodus 3:14); therefore, Jesus is GOD and GOD reveals Himself in Jesus (John 1:14; 8:19; 10:30; 14:7-11).

“I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.”
(Isaiah 42:8)

“Again the high priest questioned Him, ‘Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus, ‘and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ”
(Mark 14:61-62)

“Jesus said to them, ‘I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.’ ”
(John 8:58)

“The Father and I are one.”
(John 10:30)

“The Father is in Me and I in the Father.”
(John 10:38)

“Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed.”
(John 17:5)

Jesus said, “I am the First and the Last.”
(Revelation 1:17)

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.”
(Psalm 23:1)

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.”
(John 10:11)

“For there I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations.”
(Joel 3:12)

Jesus claimed to be the Judge of all people.
(Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:24-30)

Yahweh is the ‘Bridegroom.’
(Isaiah 62:5; the entire book of Hosea, but specifically Hosea 2:16)

Jesus is the ‘Bridegroom.’
(Matthew 9:15; 25:1; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29; Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 19:7; 21:2,9; 22:17)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
(Psalm 27:1)

“Then Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’ ”
(John 8:12)

Yahweh is the giver or life
(Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6)
Yahweh is the only Judge
(Deuteronomy 32:35; Joel 3:12).

Jesus raises the dead and is Judge
(John 5:21-30).

No one should worship anyone other than GOD
(Exodus 20:1-4); Deuteronomy 5:6-9).

Jesus accepted worship
(Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 16:17; 20:20; 28:17; Mark 5:6; John 20:28-29).

Jesus even forgave sins
(Mark 2: 5-12).

“If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?”
(John 3:12) -MSG

H.A.N.D.S.

Jesus gets GOD’s Honors
Jesus has GOD’s Attributes
Jesus has GOD’s Names
Jesus does GOD’s Deeds
Jesus sits in GOD’s Seat

Honors: Jesus expected people to honor Him as they did the Father (John 5:23); He accepted worship from His disciples (Matthew 14:33; 28:17); He encouraged them to have faith in Him as they did in GOD (John 14:1); He invited them to pray to Him (John 14:14).

Attributes: Jesus claimed to be just like GOD the Father — so much so that if you saw Jesus you had seen the Father (John 14:7-11); Jesus revealed Himself to be omnipresent when He asserted that He would be present with His disciples wherever they gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20); Jesus even said that He had existed before creation (John 17:5).

Names: Jesus was equal with the Father (Matthew 11:27; John 5:17-18); Jesus’ “I am” statements echoed the way GOD identified Himself in the Old Testament (compare Isaiah 43:10 with John 8:24,28,58); Jesus’ title for Himself, “the Son of Man,” refers to prophetic visions of a divine yet human figure (Ezekiel 1:26-28; Daniel 7:13-14); Jesus accepted Thomas and did not rebuke him when he called Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

Deeds: Jesus did many deeds and claimed to have done many deeds that only GOD could do. He calmed a raging storm with a mere word, walked on water, and fed thousands of people with one boy’s lunch (Matthew 8:23-27; 14:13-33); Jesus claimed the right to forgive people of all their sins (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12); Jesus said that He would raise the dead (John 5:28-29; 11:25-26) and be the final Judge of all humanity (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:22-23).

Seat: Jesus claimed that He would sit on the seat of GOD’s own throne, the place from which GOD rules over His entire creation (Matthew 25:31; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43). And that is exactly what Jesus will do there: He will rule over absolutely everything in creation (Matthew 11:25-27; 28:18; Luke 10:21-22).

Summary:

The religious people who rejected Jesus understood that He claimed to be equal to GOD (Mark 2:7; John 5:17-18; 10:27-33) and that is exactly why they desired to kill Him. Jesus most certainly did claim to be GOD, but is there good reason to believe His claim? Absolutely. Yes. To support His claim to deity, Jesus showed supernatural power and authority that are unique in human history. The fulfilled prophecies, historical records, the virgin birth, and sinless life are all in favor of the deity of Christ. His disciples had lived and worked with Him for three years in close proximity, yet their opinions of Him were not diminished. Beyond the moral aspects of His life, the miraculous nature of His ministry is a divine confirmation. Jesus performed an unprecedented display of miracles (Matthew 11:4-5). This special outpouring of miracles was a special sign that the Messiah had come (Isaiah 35:5-6). And of course, let’s not forget the resurrection. Nothing like the resurrection of Christ is claimed by any other religion, and no other miracle has as much historical confirmation.

Jesus thought it was fundamentally important what others believed about Him. It was not a subject that allowed for neutrality or a less-than-honest appraisal of the evidence. I believe C. S. Lewis captured this truth best in his book, Mere Christianity. After surveying some of the evidence regarding Jesus’ identity, Lewis wrote:

“I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Some people believe Jesus is GOD because they believe the Bible is the inspired Word of GOD, which teaches that Jesus is GOD. I, too, believe the Bible is the wholly inspired Word of GOD; however, I do not think one needs to hold that belief in order to conclude that Jesus is GOD. If the New Testament books are historically accurate and reliable — so reliable, in fact, that Jesus cannot be dismissed as a mere legend; if the gospel accounts preserve an accurate record of the things He did, the places He visited, and the words He spoke; if Jesus made firms claims to be GOD, then every person must answer the question, “Is His Jesus’ claim to deity true or false?” This question deserves serious consideration because the answer will determine our identity and purpose. 

There are only two alternatives with four options to which we can respond. The two alternatives to Jesus’ claim to be GOD is that either His claim was true or false. If false, He either knew His claims were false or He did not know His claims were false. If He knew His claims were false, then he made a deliberate misrepresentation, He was a liar, hypocrite, demonic, and a fool who died for being a lying fool. If He did not know His claims were false, He was sincerely deluded and a lunatic. However, if His claims are true, Jesus is GOD and we can either accept it or reject it.

Was Jesus A Liar?

Homicide detectives often list three types of motives that lie at the heart of any misbehavior: (1) financial greed, (2) sexual or relational desire, and (3) pursuit of power. Examine the evidence:

Financial Greed:  Jesus is never described as a man who possessed financial wealth. He taught His disciples to give their possessions to the needy and not to store up treasure in this life, but to store up spiritual treasure in the life to come (Luke 12:32-34). He also told the rich young ruler the same (Matthew 19:21). Jesus gained nothing financially from His preaching, teaching, or healing ministry. 

Sexual / Relational Desire:  No evidence suggests that Jesus was motivated by lust or relationships. Many women followed Jesus (Luke 8:2-3). By all accounts, however, He showed them the highest respect, even in ways that were countercultural at that time (John 4:1-45; Luke 8:42-48). 

Pursuit of Power:  It is utterly unreasonable to asset that Jesus lied about His identity to gain power. Rather than gaining power for Himself, He modeled serving others (John 13:1-16; 15:13) and giving without expectation of return, even to the wicked and ungrateful (Luke 6:35-36); and He taught His disciples to do the same. In a dispute over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus taught His disciples that the greatest is the one who serves (Luke 22:24-27). Moreover, Jesus relinquished His power (Matthew 26:52-53) and emptied Himself, willingly sacrificing Himself to save everyone (Philippians 2:5-8). 

Was Jesus A Lunatic?

Jesus has in abundance qualities that liars and lunatics most conspicuously lack: His practical wisdom and ability to read human hearts and minds; His deep love and compassion; His calm and collected manner; His ability to astonish, His unpredictability, and His creativity. No lunatic could have been the Source of such perceptive, innovative, and effective psychological insight.

Is Jesus Lord?

If Jesus is neither a liar nor a lunatic, He must be Lord! Even His disciples believed Him to be so (Matthew 16:16; Mark 1:1; John 11:27; 20:28; Hebrews 1:3)!

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus warned His disciples [and us] that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For those who do not do the will of the Father, Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Jesus exposed the people who sounded religious yet had no personal relationship with Him. On “Judgment Day” only our relationship with Christ — our acceptance of Him as Savior and our obedience to His Word — will matter. In John 8:19, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

Do you only know of Jesus or do you truly know Him? Would you acknowledge Him before all people? Remember what is written:

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 10:32-33) -ESV

“[Jesus said to His disciples], ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And 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.’ ”
(Matthew 16:15-17)

But… Son of GOD?

Those who don’t believe Jesus is GOD typically point to the phrase, “Son of God” and determine that Jesus was literally the son of GOD. But Scripture does not teach this. GOD came into this world via the miraculous virgin birth. Jesus is GOD made manifest into human form (John 1:1, 14). Jesus existed before the world (John 8:58), is the Word that spoke everything into existence, and the Word became flesh. Judas was described as being the “son of destruction (John 17:12). But this does not mean that a being named “Destruction” had a son named Judas. Both Son of Man and Son of God were titles. And this is why we simply cannot take the Bible literally at all times and must use logic to reason and the Holy Spirit for revelation. 

Conclusion:

GOD’s Word provides the logical conclusion that Jesus is GOD based on Jesus getting GOD’s honors, possessing GOD’s attributes, possessing GOD’s names, doing GOD’s deeds, and sitting in GOD’s seat. A mere mortal man does not exist before creation, forgive sins, resurrect from life from the dead, and judge the entire world. Jesus is GOD.

But how can the Son also be the Father? How can the Son and the Father both be GOD? This can only be explained by expounding upon who GOD is as the Trinity. 

[ Next investigation: Explanation of the Trinity ]