When I was 14 years old, I had a very interesting religion teacher who was quite smart and charismatic. One day out of the blue he said, “Jesus never claimed to be God.” This really took me aback, as I knew what he was saying was clearly untrue, but I wasn’t sure how to refute it. I felt weak, scared, and powerless. I was almost on the brink of tears, as this was not the first time this teacher had made provocative statements like this. I stayed silent, knowing I was ill-equipped to give a reasonable response.

Accusations like this are more common than you think. It’s easy to feel intimidated and burdened to give an answer. It can be extremely overwhelming and you may feel very alone.

If that’s how you feel right now, know that God is not disappointed or upset with you. He is right there with you and gives you situations like these so you can learn more and lean on Him when you’re unsure.

There are answers to many objections to Christianity. “Jesus never claimed to be God” is one of them. One of the reasons why people make this kind of claim is because they find Jesus’ metaphors and parables hard to understand. It’s completely reasonable as most of them are based on things we are not as familiar with, such as farming, agriculture, and ancient Jewish culture.

If you study the Scriptures in its proper context, understand Jesus’ audience and dig into the meaning behind the metaphors and parables Jesus used, it’s very clear that He claimed to be God. Here are some things you can mention when people say “Jesus never claimed to be God.”

Jesus Addresses Himself as “I AM” (Yahweh)

In a heated debate with a group of Jews, scribes, and Pharisees on the Mount of Olives (John 8), Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you before Abraham was born, I am” (v. 58 NASB).

The first time I read this, I didn’t understand what it meant and why it was so significant. I later learned that “I am” is a claim to be Yahweh, the most significant name for God in the Old Testament. It has two meanings, namely:

1. The active, self-existent One (who has no past or future and is thus eternal) and
2. Israel’s Redeemer.

When Jesus said “I am”, He was claiming to be that self-existent One in John 8, and also in Mark 14:61-64. Such a claim was considered blasphemy and worthy of death. This explains why the scribes and Pharisees picked up stones to throw at Jesus (John 8:59) and Caiaphas, the high priest, tore his clothes and condemned Jesus to death (Mark 14:63-64).

Jesus Claims Equality with God

The scribes and Pharisees reacted in a very similar way when Jesus claimed to have the same authority as God and was able to do the same kinds of works as Him. At first, I thought these claims were a bit vague and difficult to understand, but after a while it made sense.

Here are a few of them:

• The Father and I are One (John 10:30-33; 14:8-11)
• God is working and I Myself am working (John 5:17)
• Whatever the Father does, the Son does in like manner (John 5:19)
• The Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life (John 5:21)
• God has given the Son authority to execute judgement because He is the Son of Man (John 5:22, 27; Matthew 25:31-46)
• God has given the Son all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18-20)
• Both God and the Son forgive sins (Luke 7:48)
• All will honor the Son even as they honor the Father (John 5:22)
• I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)

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Jesus Uses 3 Parables to Affirm His Deity

In the life and ministry of Jesus, He told parables (stories or illustrations) to teach His audience important principles and information. As I already mentioned, Jesus’ audience was very familiar with agriculture and thus used this in His parables. Three of them illustrate His deity.  

In the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7), Jesus implies that He is doing what God does. He is a shepherd who goes and finds what is lost, brings them home, and celebrates their return. In the Old Testament, God is referred to as a shepherd and does the same thing as Jesus describes (Psalm 23:1-2; Psalm 80:1; Ezekiel 34:11-16). A similar implication can be found in the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10).

Similarly, the implication of the famous parable, the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), is that Jesus is a forgiving father who welcomes home repentant sinners. God is also a forgiving father who removes our transgressions (sins) when we come to Him with a repentant heart (Psalm 103:8-13).

In like manner, in the parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-2; Luke 20:9-19), Jesus embodies the owner of the vineyard and says what He will do with the wicked vine growers. Jesus equates Himself with God because in the Old Testament God owns a vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7), and says what He will do with Israel.

Jesus Accepts Worship

On a number of occasions, people from different circumstances and backgrounds bowed down and worshipped Jesus. For example:

• A man with leprosy bowed before Jesus and said “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus responds by saying “I am willing; be cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2-3 NASB).
• A synagogue official bowed before Jesus and asked Him to bring his daughter back to life. Jesus follows the man and fulfills his request. (Matthew 9:18-26).
• After Jesus and Peter walk on water, Jesus calms the storm and gets into the boat. The other disciples worship Jesus and say, “You are certainly God’s Son!” (Matthew 14:33).
• A Canaanite woman bowed and called out to Jesus to heal her daughter that was demon possessed. (Matthew 15:21-28).
• A demon possessed man from a small village called Gerasene ran up to Jesus and bowed to Him. The demons within Him acknowledged Jesus’ deity calling Him “Son of the Most High God” (Mark 5:1-15).

He did not rebuke any of them for this and even commended those who acknowledged His deity. In Matthew 16:15-17, Jesus asks the disciples who they thought He was. Simon (Peter) answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and Jesus credits him for this. Similarly, when Thomas recognizes the full deity of Jesus, he calls Him “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

While this only scratches the surface, I think you can start to see that Jesus was very vocal about His deity and the people who came to Him and were around Him could see that He was God.

Before you begin to respond to people who say that Jesus never claimed to be God, a good question to ask is, “If Jesus didn’t claim to be God, then why was He killed?” They may have an answer or they may not. See what they say and go from there.

Depending on your relationship with that person, you may have to find out more of what they believe before you ask them that question. You can begin by asking, “What do you mean by that?” and then “How did you come to that conclusion?” You may not even begin to answer their objections until the next conversation and that’s okay.

Was this helpful? Let me know in the comments! 😊

Jesus is not only the Son of God, but He is God Himself.

Having all power in His hands, He laid down His life for people

who deserved God’s justice, not His mercy.

Monica Johnson