Be it a Mormon, a Jehovah Witness, a Muslim or more, the question of Christ’s deity is central. If Jesus is not God, then there is no payment for our sins and the wrath of God remains on us. But if Jesus is God taking on human flesh, there is great hope. Not because of what we do, but rather because of what God has done for us.
But the question remains. Where does Jesus say he is God?
We can’t go around proclaiming that Jesus says whatever words that we make up today. No historical document on earth can twist that into reality until we invent time travel. But we can look at how things were said in the time. And in the first century, Jesus made it clear who he was.
1) Jesus proclaimed His Deity. So much so that they tried to kill him because “he claimed to be God“ (John 10:27-33)
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
2) Jesus called himself, the “I AM” (John 8:54-59)
Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
This is a reference to the Old Testament where the name of God is “I Am”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14).
The Jews knew exactly what he was saying and that’s why they tried to kill him.
3) Jesus says he shared the Father’s glory before the foundation of the world
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5)
“…you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24)
4) Jesus is the giver of eternal life (John 17:2)
“For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him” (John 17:2)
5) Jesus forgives sin which only God can do
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-11).
So here are 5 examples of where Jesus proclaims his deity. There are actually more from Jesus himself as well as countless ones by others. Read the New Testament for yourself and see.