Do you realize Jesus claimed to be God?
Look at the evidence. You’ll be amazed.
I would think you would want to verify the claims of a man claiming to be God, right? I did. To me the claim is indisputable. God walked the earth – as Jesus.
To see the truth to His claim, it would be very important to know what Jesus taught, right?
We see the truth of Jesus’ claim in the context of His culture of that day, we see it in the Judaic religion itself, we see it through what Jesus taught and through what He Himself did in His lifetime here on earth.
“Where did Jesus claim to be God?
Jesus made this claim a number of times,
and it was very clear to those He was talking to.
Jesus didn’t utter the three words, I am God.
But He said it very explicitly in the context of His religion and culture.
You can see it in the reaction of His enemies.”
–Melinda Penner
Jesus acted – rather than just saying something. He showed us He was God. He did not just “say” it, He “did” it. Claims are hollow if not backed-up by proofs. We must look at what He did.
To show us that He was God, Jesus acted. These are His verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
1. “You have [in fact] said it.” Previous to going before the high priest, Jesus’ enemies tried to kill Him because of His claim to be God. People worshiped Him as God various times. So it is natural that the high priest asked, “tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus simply replied back that yes you have said the truth, and then added, “…in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This was His claim to be God. He said He Himself would be seated on the Throne with Father God. (See more about God as a Trinity – a triune God, as published in the article: What God has going on with us here on this planet, which includes my amplified version of John 1:1-5.)
The angry reaction of the high priest and the guards shows us that they totally understood His claim. He was claiming to be God. That really messed with their thinking. Does it mess with yours?
Matthew 26:63-68
And the high priest said to Him, “I call on You to swear a binding oath by the living God, that you tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have [in fact] said it; but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes [in mock horror] and exclaimed, “He has blasphemed [by making Himself God’s equal]! What further need have we of witnesses or evidence? See, you have now heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?” They answered, “ He deserves to be put to death.”
67 Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some slapped Him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, You Christ (Messiah, Anointed); who was it that struck You?”
This was His claim to be God.
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
2. Jesus forgave sins. In the case of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-12 (also in Luke 5:20) — Jesus forgives his sins. But the forgiving of sins is something only God can do. We read this in Isaiah 43:25:
“I, only I,
am He
who wipes out your transgressions
for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.”
This was His claim to be God.
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
3. Jesus received worship (“proskuneo“) in Matthew 14:33 and 28:9. The disciples of Jesus refused to receive worship, but Jesus allowed it, received it. This was His claim to be God.
Satan tempted Jesus to worship him, but Jesus refused. Read Matthew 4:9, where Satan tempts Jesus:
“And he said to Him, ‘All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.'”
Jesus said to him,
“Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'”
It is only proper to worship God the Father. Only God. Jesus received worship, thus claiming to be God.
There are two types of meaning for the word translated as worship, “proskuneo“. One means worship, reserved for God alone. The other meaning is respect. In a study of the issue, Greg Koukl says
there is a type of proskuneo that is worship reserved to God alone, and there is a type of proskuneo that can be done with men–a bowing down, a courtesy, a sign of deference and respect, a tipping-the-hat, so to speak. In other words, sometimes it’s okay and sometimes it isn’t.
Greg Koukl continues,
The first fact is this: Jesus said to proskuneo no one but the Father. This is in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, parallel accounts of Jesus’ temptation in which Satan asks Jesus to bow down. The word used is proskuneo. We also see the angel in Revelation 19:10 and 22:9 saying, “proskuneo no one but the Father.”
Second point, there are 22 references citing the Father receiving proskuneo.
Third point, we also see that Jesus received proskuneo (14 references).
Fourth point, 14 additional references indicate improper proskuneo of the devil, demons, idols or the beast of Revelation. In other words, people worshipping the devil, demons, idols, falling down before them — that was not right and it was clear from the context that it wasn’t right. And there are three other cases where men or angels are proskuneoed, worshipped. Cornelius fell down in Acts 10:25 and the Apostle John–surprisingly the beloved apostle himself–fell down before the angel of Revelation in 19:10, 22:8 and he was corrected for doing this.
The fifth fact is that we also see men receiving proskuneo…. One time the action was forced by God (Rev 3:9). The only other time was in Matthew’s Gospel (8:26), “The slave therefore falling down, prostrated himself [proskuneo] before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.'” This was the story Jesus told of the man who owed much and then was forgiven that debt after being threatened with being hauled off and thrown into the debtors’ prison.
This was His claim to be God.
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
4. The seven “I am…” statements.
See: Jesus declares He is God in 7 “I am” Statements
This was His claim to be God.
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
5. Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus of Nazareth, the man born of a virgin, was gynetically of the jewish line of David, as the Messiah was to be. Both parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, were gynetically of the Messiah’s line. He said the Old Testament is full of references “concerning himself”. He was thus claiming to be the Messiah:
“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Did not Christ have to suffer these things
and then enter his glory?
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
[Jesus] explained to them
what was said in all the [Old Testament] Scriptures
concerning himself” – Luke 24:25-27
This was His claim to be God.
Jesus’ verifiable claims to actually be God in the flesh:
6. Jesus fulfilled over 360 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Jesus was not just a New Testament wonder. He was predicted all throughout the books of the Old Testament. Prophecies of the Old Testament promised the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was who they wrote of. FOR MORE, read:
Top 40 Most Helpful Messianic Prophecies – Jews for Jesus; Curated by Rich Robinson, Senior Researcher
“After Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified, some of his followers were crushed. They had hoped that he would be the Messiah who would destroy the tyranny of Rome and restore the kingdom of Israel. But their idea of the Messiah was not God’s idea. Yeshua died, but he also rose from the dead…”
55 Old Testament Prophecies about Jesus | Jesus Film Project
“Peter Stoner, Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena College, was passionate about biblical prophecies. With 600 students from the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Stoner looked at eight specific prophecies about Jesus. They came up with extremely conservative probabilities for each one being fulfilled, and then considered the likelihood of Jesus fulfilling all eight of those prophecies. The conclusion to his research was staggering. The prospect that anyone would satisfy those eight prophecies was just 1 in 1017…”
The Promise of the Messiah – Decision Magazine; ;
Jesus in the Old Testament – Gordon Conwell; August 9, 2011;
: “It is only right that we should find that Jesus was both actually present in the Old Testament and accurately predicted, and that he would come first as our Savior, and then in a later second coming, would appear as the King supreme over all the earth. Such an unusual state of affairs is possible because he was, he is and he is the One to come. But sad to say, all too many miss both his real presence in the Old Testament narrative and the numerous predictions of both his first and second advents/comings.”
Old Testament Prophecies About The Birth of Jesus – ccbcfamily.org
“The Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament, introduces the concept of a messiah, an anointed one of God who will come to usher in an era where all people of earth will live together harmoniously and righteously. The Jews believe that this idea is implied in the story of Creation. According to Rabbinical thinking, God wanted us to live with Him in a paradise, so He created the Garden of Eden. Human sin required us to be expelled; yet, when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, God did not destroy Eden. Rather, He maintained it and is awaiting a time when we will be worthy of returning.”
In Jesus’ time, the Bible, “these Scriptures”, as He called them, were the 39 books of the Old Testament (the Tanak). And He said to the Jewish religious leaders:
39-40 “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly
because you think you’ll find eternal life there.
But you miss the forest for the trees.
These Scriptures are all about me!
And here I am,
standing right before you,
and you aren’t willing
to receive from me the life you say you want.
– John 5:39-40 The Message (MSG)
This was His claim to be God.
I’d say “That’s a wrap, folks. We can go home now” …and accept Jesus as your Savior. He really is the real Messiah. Believe it.
FOR MORE:
Trace your God back to the origins of your faith
Jesus Himself declared He is God
Jesus – More Than A Mere Man …commentary on John 8 and Jesus’ claims to be God
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