What Jesus actually claimed about his identity.
DID JESUS CLAIM to be God? If you're a Bible-believing Christian, you probably take this truth for granted. I know I do. But while listening to a heady podcast recently, a New Testament scholar and C.S. Lewis expert argued otherwise.
Such a claim did nothing to shake my faith, but as an armchair apologist I always want to be firm that what I believe is true, rooted in Scripture, and corresponding to reality. As Peter wrote, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet. 3:15, NIV).
If a well-educated Christian scholar is arguing Jesus didn't claim to be God, then other people, no doubt, are making the same case. And you, dear reader, will likely encounter the argument at some point. So let's take a closer look: did Jesus claim to be God?
Discrediting the Trilemma
The scholar in question attempted to discredit C. S. Lewis's Liar, Lunatic, Lord argument, often referred to as The Trilemma, by undermining one of the argument's key assumptions–that Jesus claimed to be divine.
Lewis popularized The Trilemma which asserts that Jesus cannot be a good moral teacher and nothing more because anyone who claims to be God is insane, lying, or is actually God. To quote Lewis directly:
I am trying here 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.
The power of this argument lies in the fact that it forces people to make a decision about Jesus; they can't write him off as just another "good" teacher in the vein of Gandhi or Socrates. And, of course, Jesus forced the issue himself, stating, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Jesus made an exclusive truth claim, compelling those who encounter him to decide in their hearts if what he said is true.
The genius of Lewis is that he has a knack for simplifying the complex, rendering dense theological concepts into digestible and quotable nuggets. But is he here, as at least one scholar has leveled, misinterpreting Jesus? Did Jesus think of himself as divine, and did he explicitly state it?
Let's look at what the Scriptures have to say.
Before Abraham Was, I Am
In my opinion, Jesus's clearest self-declaration of divinity is in John 8. After a lengthy discourse and debate with Pharisees and some other Jews, Jesus described Abraham's anticipation and joy regarding the day of the Messiah. The debaters pushed back, asking him how he could possibly have seen Abraham the patriarch, long since dead. Jesus responded, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
To the uniformed Gentile reader, such a statement probably sounds confusing or nonsensical, but it clearly struck a nerve with the Pharisees. In response, they picked up rocks intending to stone him. By using the phrase "I am" Jesus was invoking Exodus 3 in which God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and bring his people out of the land. Moses then asked the bush whom he should tell the Israelites had sent him. God said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you” (Exo. 3:14). God referred to himself as I AM–the eternally existing one, also known as Yahweh.
Why would a few words from Jesus incite such murderous rage from the Pharisees? Because they understood his words to be a claim of divine status. Jesus was intimately familiar with the Scriptures, so such a statement could not be an accident. He knew exactly what he was saying and to whom. The Pharisees also studied the Law and the Prophets, so they understood the implications of Jesus's "I am" statement in John 8.
Discrediting John
In my mind, the example above is a clear example of Jesus claiming divinity.
And yet, the scholar I listened to discounted the gospel of John. I'm not even going to address this argument, because I think it is meritless. I believe all Scripture is God-breathed.
Nevertheless, for argument's sake let's exclude the book of John and look at synoptic passages. Outside of John, did Jesus claim to be God?
I'll give three examples from the books of Mark and Matthew.
1. Authority to Forgive Sins, Mark 2
While preaching in Capernaum, men lowered a paralytic through the roof of a crowded house to present him to Jesus for healing. At his faith, Jesus declared the man's sins forgiven. The scribes considered this blasphemy, (rightly) knowing that only God can forgive sins. In response Jesus said, "'that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'—he said to the paralytic—'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home'” (Mark 2:10-11). This example is not a direct equivocation of divinity, but Jesus claimed authority that only God has, and then proved it by performing a supernatural act.
2. Lord of the Sabbath, Matthew 12
The Pharisees challenged Jesus's disciples when they picked grain on the Sabbath. In response Jesus cited David who, in his need, ate the bread of the Presence, a consecrated bread ordinarily reserved for priests. Then Jesus said, "I tell you that One greater than the temple is here" (Matt. 12:6, BSB).
This statement is significant because the temple was the intersection of heaven and earth in which God's very presence dwelled. So by elevating himself above the temple, Jesus essentially said he was the embodiment of God's presence on earth.
Furthermore, two verses later, Jesus said, "the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath" (Matt 12:8). Here Jesus asserted his authority over a God-ordained institution, claiming superiority over the law of the Sabbath. Even Moses could not claim as much.
3. Mark 14:62
Standing trial before the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas, the high priest asked Jesus:
"'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven'” (Mark 14:61-62).
There is that phrase again, "I am." Jesus answered plainly in the affirmative that he is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed (notice the capitalization in the English Standard Version, and just about every other English translation as well).
In his response to the high priest, Jesus invoked Psalm 110 and Daniel 7, two passages closely associated with divine authority. In the Psalm, God [the LORD] grants the Messiah [my Lord] a seat at his right hand:
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” (110:1).
And Jesus referenced the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7, saying he would be "coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62).
By quoting these passages Jesus claimed divine authority, a special exalted position at the right hand of God and to be one given "everlasting dominion" and glory and kingship over the entire earth (Dan. 7:14).
Now, this isn't the same as Jesus explicitly calling himself the LORD [Yahweh], but he was claiming divine authority and eternal power. Retroactively, Christians understand this special relationship as part of the Holy Trinity: Jesus as the Son.
Nevertheless, the reaction of Caiaphas indicates he understood Jesus's claim to divinity. Jesus didn't simply say, "I am the Messiah." He took it a step further by calling himself the Son of Man from Daniel 7. In response, Caiaphas tore his clothing and called Jesus's testimony blasphemous.
Still Not Convinced?
Maybe you're still not convinced. Jesus never flat out said, "I am God" or "I am divine."
Perhaps there is a good reason why.
In my guide to the parables of Jesus (which you can get for free below), I wrote about four reasons why I believe Jesus taught in parables. Reason number two is that plain teaching (as opposed to parables) would have given his enemies more ammo to use against him:
Using parables, Jesus was able to deliver his message so that only those who wanted to believe—those who were receptive to the kingdom message—would hear what he was saying. Teaching in code, so to speak, probably also allowed Jesus to prolong his ministry until he had accomplished everything he intended to accomplish. Had he continued to teach without parables, the religious leaders may have arrested him sooner.
Numerous times in the gospel of John, Jesus said "my time has not yet come" referring to his crucifixion and resurrection. Had Jesus plainly said, "I am God" he would have been stoned to death. But Jesus had more work to do before his time had come. Therefore those who were receptive to Jesus understood the statements described above as references to his divinity.
And if I may take it a step further, I believe the same thing still applies today. Did Jesus explicitly claim to be divine? I'll let you judge for yourself based on the evidence. But the more important question: based on what Jesus said, can we reasonably infer that he believed himself to be God incarnate? Yes, without question. And therein lies the difference. Those who know Jesus or who have softened their hearts–those who have ears to hear–read statements like "before Abraham was I am" or "one greater than the temple is here" and recognize Jesus's claim to divinity. But those who are closed off, with hardened hearts will not understand what Jesus was trying to say.
This is actually by design. Jesus said, "If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority" (John 7:17). Those who approach Jesus with the right intentions, a genuine quest for truth, will receive what they seek.
And if you enjoyed this article, you might also like my guide to the parables of Jesus called The 39 Parables of Christ, Explained. This free PDF contains a brief summary and explanation of every parable plus a cross-reference table to look up their location and overlap in the gospels.
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