Did Jesus claim to be God?
It is sometimes asserted that Jesus never claimed to be God because he never plainly said, "I am God." However, he did allude to it on several occasions:
Jesus claimed to be Lord and had authority over the Sabbath:
Matt 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus was recognized as God by the demons:
Mar 1:24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus forgave sins, something only God can do:
Luk 5:20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
Luk 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus claimed that He and God were one in the same:
John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.”
Jesus was worshiped by His disciples and others, something only reserved for God:
John 9:38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
Jesus claimed to be the "I AM":
Mark 14:61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
Mark 14:62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?
When Moses asked God at the burning bush what His name was, God said, "I AM WHO I AM," and for Moses to tell Israel that "I AM has sent me to you." (Exo 3:12-13). The high priest understood exactly what Jesus was alluding to, that He was God, which is why the high priest tore his clothes. Claiming to be God was considered blasphemous and would have warranted death.
Jesus had often been accused on not speaking plainly, as in John 10:24: Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”. So, why didn't He plainly say that He was God? Simply because it wasn't His time yet:
John 7:6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
John 7:8 “You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.”
John 2:4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
If Jesus had said it plainly, it would have gotten him killed before His appointed time. God had already preordained the exact day when Jesus would die, and Jesus was keeping to that schedule.
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