DID JESUS CLAIM TO BE GOD?

 

We never find a verse in the Bible where Jesus says the exact words, “I am God.” But does that mean He never claimed to be God? Of course not! Jesus is God—not because the early believers “made” Him divine, but because He Himself made His identity unmistakably clear.

Anyone who says that Jesus never claimed to be God is either unfamiliar with the Bible’s content or deliberately ignoring it. People who reject His divinity often admit that Jesus called Himself the “Messiah/ Christ,” the “Son of Man,” the “Son of God,” and even the “I Am,” without realizing that by using these titles He was directly declaring His deity. These were not casual labels; they were staggering statements of divine authority.

The early Christians—and even the unbelieving Jews of His day—understood exactly what Jesus meant when He used these names. His claims were so shocking that they became the very reason He was condemned to death. Today, let’s look closely at these four major ways Jesus identified Himself as God.

MESSIAH/ CHRIST

The most basic meaning of Messiah is “anointed.” It carries the same meaning as Christ, which comes from the Greek word Christos. In ancient Israel, when a person or object was chosen and dedicated to the Lord, it was consecrated through anointing—olive oil was poured or applied as a sign of being set apart. That same picture applies to the Messiah, or Christ, the “Chosen One” whom ancient Israel awaited as their promised Savior. Jesus Himself claimed to be this Messiah (Matt. 16:20; Luke 4:18–21; John 4:25–26).

Many Old Testament passages are regarded by the Jewish people as messianic prophecies—foretelling the coming of the Messiah. One well-known example is Isaiah 9:6, where the Messiah is called “Mighty God.” Another is Malachi 3:1, where the Lord declares, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.” This prophecy was fulfilled when John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord (Matt. 3:3; John 1:23). Yet the deeper truth is striking: God Himself says, “prepare the way before me,” and “the Lord you are seeking will come.” The Messiah who was to come is none other than the Lord Himself. When Jesus openly identified Himself as the Christ, He was declaring that every passage about the Messiah ultimately points to Him.

SON OF MAN

Jesus most often referred to Himself as the Son of Man (see Matt. 8:20; 11:19; Mark 10:45; Luke 5:24, and many others). Some people think this was simply a humble way of highlighting His humanity, but that’s not how Jesus used the title—and that’s not how His Jewish listeners understood it.

The phrase comes from Daniel 7:13–14, where the prophet sees “one like a son of man” who is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” By calling Himself the Son of Man, Jesus was effectively saying, “I’m the one Daniel saw in that vision.”

Jesus used this title to highlight His role as the Messiah (Matt. 17:12; Mark 10:45; Luke 9:22; 19:10) and, even more strikingly, to assert His divine authority. For example, when challenged about the Sabbath, He declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). The Jews knew that only God has authority over the Sabbath (Gen. 2:3; Exod. 20:8–11), so they understood exactly what He was claiming.

When Jesus healed a paralyzed man, religious leaders accused Him of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins (Matt. 9:3; Mark 2:6; cf. Isa. 43:25). Yet Jesus said, “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10)—a direct claim to divine prerogative.

He also used this title when speaking of His future glory (Matt. 19:28; 24:30; 26:64; Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 22:69) and His authority to judge (Matt. 13:41; Luke 21:36; John 5:27). These are uniquely divine roles. As philosopher William Lane Craig aptly observes, “The claim to be the Son of Man is, in effect, a claim to divinity.”

SON OF GOD

Jesus also identified Himself as the Son of God, a theme especially emphasized in the Gospel of John. He spoke of Himself as the “begotten” Son (John 3:16)—a Greek term meaning “one and only” or “unique.” He claimed intimate knowledge of the Father (Matt. 11:27; John 10:15; 12:50) and said He possessed the Father’s own authority (John 5:22, 25–26; 14:10).

His most astonishing statements include, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and “the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (v. 38). He even declared that He shared the Father’s glory before the world existed (John 17:5). Yet God says in Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11 that He will not share His glory with anyone—so for Jesus to claim this is to claim full deity.

The Jewish leaders understood the implication. John 5:18 records, “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” Later, after Jesus said He and the Father are one, they responded, “We are not stoning you for any good work but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). Anyone who insists that Jesus never claimed to be God simply overlooks these unmistakable declarations.

I AM

God revealed His divine name to Moses as “I Am Who I Am”—or simply “I Am”—in Exodus 3:14 (Hebrew: YHWH; Greek: ego eimi). The Jews regarded this Name as so sacred that they avoided pronouncing it. Whenever it appeared in Scripture, they would substitute it with Adonai (“Lord”), just so they would not utter it aloud. Yet Jesus boldly used the phrase “I Am” throughout His ministry (John 6:35; 8:12; 11:25, etc.).

Because the Jews deeply revered the “I Am”, their reaction was extreme whenever Jesus used it of Himself—they knew exactly what He meant. In one encounter, Jesus declared, “Before Abraham was born, I Am!” (John 8:58). The Jews understood this as a direct claim to deity, so they immediately tried to kill Him: “So they picked up stones to throw at him…” (v. 59). Later, when He said He was the Son of God, their response was the same (John 10:33–36). On the night of His arrest, Jesus again identified Himself as the “I Am”—and those who came to seize Him were so shaken that they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:6). From beginning to end, Jesus consistently identified Himself as the “I Am.” By doing so, He was unmistakably declaring, “I am God.”

Even from Jesus’ own statements about Himself, we can be certain that He is God. And this is before we even consider His miracles, the fulfillment of prophecies, the testimony of the New Testament writers, and much more. The identity of Jesus is something we cannot afford to be wrong about, because our entire faith and salvation rest on who He truly is. Jesus Himself warned, “That is why I told you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” (John 8:24). Stay Curious.