Did Jesus Ever Say He was God?

Throughout history there have been many who denied the divinity of Jesus. They base this on the claim that Jesus never said that He was God. But the real issue is, “How did Jesus say He was God?” Although He may not have uttered the words, “I am God,” He declared His divinity boldly and in many ways.

Even some religions that call themselves Christian do not believe in the divinity of Christ. Saturday a well-dressed, polite trio of people rang my doorbell. They were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They handed me a printed invitation to one of their presentations for which I thanked them, and we went our separate ways. I already knew that they denied the divinity of Christ (they claim that He is Michael the Archangel) but decided to look into the whole issue of Jesus’ divinity a little more.

There are many ways to “say” something beyond mere words. Words are just one form of communication. Whenever there is some big political event someone invariably wants to analyze the “body language” of the participants. There is the old adage, “actions speak louder than words.” Besides body language there are things like cultural actions, sign language (vulgar and otherwise), and other signs by which people make a statement about some issue. For example, Brant Pitre writes, “Jesus did claim to be God—but in a very Jewish way.” (The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ) “God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons.” (Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ.)

A close look at the Bible, and the gospels especially, shows that Jesus demonstrated and spoke of His divinity in many ways, beginning with His fulfillment of so many of the prophesies from the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17). It helps to recognize that the Bible is not a collection of many individual books but a telling of a complete story. There is a tendency to extract particular phrases and excerpts, sometimes out of context, to try to make some point, or even ignore obvious comparisons and implied statements. However, when taken as a whole, we see everything is interconnected. As is often said, the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old.

God is cast as the shepherd of Israel in the Old Testament. Because the Jewish leaders had failed in their leadership, God, through the prophets, notes that He will shepherd His people. For example, in Ezekiel God admonishes and rebukes them for not being good shepherds. They were growing fat on what should have benefited all; not searching for and bringing back the strays, not tending the ill and injured, not strengthening them, “So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd ... but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep.” (Eze 34:8) In a foretelling of the Word Incarnate, “For thus says the Lord God; Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ... and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Eze 34:11-12)

In the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd in terms similar to those of Ezekiel’s prophesy. (John 10:1-18) Note, also, the hint at the Cross where the rescue comes on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

There is also Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus presents Himself to her, not only as the Messiah, but as the divine Messiah. He offers her “living water.” This connects Him to the Old Testament where Jeremiah identifies the Lord as “the fountain of living water” (Jer. 2:13, 17:13). Zechariah notes that the day of the Lord is coming and “on that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem ...”  (Zech. 14:8, RSV-CE). Also, from the new Testament, “On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’” (John 7:37-38)

In addition to the examples above, Jesus himself declared His divinity in many ways. Among others are His declaration that He had the power to forgive sins, as only God can forgive sins (Matthew 9:6, Mark 2:7-12, Luke 5:21-26); His repeated reference to His Father in Heaven (Matthew 11:27, Luke 10:22); and that Jesus repeatedly refers to God as his Father in a particular sense rather than a general one, thus declaring himself to be the Son of God and sharing His divinity.

Jesus also states clearly that his works (miracles) bear witness to his divinity (John 10:25, 38) followed closely by the statement, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). He reiterates this declaration of unity with the father to Philip in Chapter 14 of John’s gospel, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11). And finally, the many times Jesus uses the phrase “I Am” to identify or refer to himself clearly connects him to the God who sent Moses to free the Hebrews from Egypt (Exodus 3:15). The Jews seeking to arrest Jesus fell to the ground when Jesus spoke used the term “I am,” as they recognized it as a declaration of divinity (John 18:6).

The Jewish leaders certainly understood Jesus’ repeated claims to be God. The pharisees recognized this which is why they sought to kill him (Mark 11:18, Luke 19:47, John 5:18, 7:18-30). When He said after reading from the prophet Isaiah, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,” they knew what He was claiming and tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). In the gospel of Mark on “trial” before the Sanhedrin, Jesus uses the phrase “I am” at which point “the high priest tore his garments saying, “What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy.” (Mark 14:62) Thus the high priest clearly understood that Jesus was identifying Himself as God.

Besides His own testimony, Jesus is identified as God in several ways in the New Testament. There are numerous others who point to His divinity, beginning with the angel Gabriel (a spirit) at the Annunciation when he says to Mary, “the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, RSV-CE). Some may say that “Son of God” is not the same as God, but this is a core fact of Christianity and the Triune God. Throughout the bible the term Lord is synonymous with God. From His conception in His mother’s womb He was recognized as “Lord” (Luke 1:43) as well as throughout his ministry. God the Father identified Jesus as His Son at His baptism in the Jordan (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22) and again at the Transfiguration on the mountain (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7). Even the demons knew him to be divine, the Son of God (Matthew 8:29). There is also Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) as well as the centurion at the foot of the cross (Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39), and Thomas’s exclamation after the resurrection, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

The beautiful opening of John’s gospel clearly identifies Jesus as the Word (from the beginning): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

Clearly Jesus knew who He was and related it to all he spoke to many times and in many ways. The scribes and the pharisees recognized it as well and so should we. Those who approach the Scriptures with an open mind and a heart of faith can see this clearly.