It’s become trendy in recent years—especially in skeptical circles and progressive theology—to suggest that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. You’ll hear it slipped into podcasts, TikTok theology, or late-night documentaries as if it were common knowledge: “Jesus never said He was God.” It sounds bold. Subversive. Enlightened.
It’s also deeply misleading.
The idea that Jesus didn’t claim divinity is a modern projection—something imposed on the text from a distant, skeptical posture. It ignores the context, flattens the meaning of ancient language, and worst of all, disregards what the people who were actually there clearly understood. Because whether you liked Jesus or hated Him, no one in the first century was confused about the kind of claim He was making.
His Followers Worshiped Him—and He Accepted It
In Jewish monotheism, worship isn’t handed out like flattery. It belongs to God alone. Yet Jesus’ disciples worshiped Him repeatedly—and not once does He refuse it.
- After the resurrection, Thomas falls at His feet and says: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
- A man Jesus healed says simply, “Lord, I believe,” and worships Him (John 9:38).
- When Jesus calms the storm, His disciples worship and say, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).
Worship like that would be blasphemy if Jesus weren’t divine—and yet He receives it. No correction. No protest. No hint that they’ve misunderstood. That’s not silence—it’s affirmation.
His Enemies Knew Exactly What He Was Claiming
If Jesus were just a misunderstood teacher, the charges against Him wouldn’t make sense. But again and again, the religious leaders respond to His words with outrage—and not over social or political teachings, but theological ones.
- “For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because... he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)
- “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.” (John 10:33)
Let that sink in: they wanted to kill Him not because they misunderstood Him—but because they understood Him perfectly. Jesus didn’t just imply equality with God. He claimed it.
He Spoke With Divine Authority
Jesus didn’t teach like the prophets. He didn’t say, “Thus says the Lord.” He said, “But I say to you…” as if He were the source of the law.
He forgave sins—not as a prophet announcing God’s forgiveness, but as the one granting it directly (Mark 2:5–10). The religious leaders immediately recognized the problem: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They weren’t wrong.
And then there’s John 8:58. Jesus doesn’t just speak of Abraham—He says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” That’s not bad grammar. That’s Exodus 3:14. That’s YHWH’s personal name. And the crowd understood it clearly—they picked up stones to kill Him.
The Early Church Didn’t Invent His Divinity. They Declared It.
The modern myth is that the divinity of Jesus was some later theological development, cooked up by church councils centuries after the fact. But the earliest Christian writings say otherwise.
- Philippians 2:6–11: a hymn that calls Jesus one who was “in very nature God,” who humbled Himself and is now exalted above every name.
- Hebrews 1: says the Son is “the exact imprint” of God’s nature and is worshiped by angels.
- Colossians 2:9: “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
These aren’t subtle suggestions. They are confessions of a risen Christ whom the Church had already come to know as Lord.
The Real Confusion Is Ours
There was no confusion then. Not from the worshipers. Not from the skeptics. Not from the leaders who sought His death. They knew what He was claiming.
The confusion now comes from those who don’t want Jesus to be who He said He was. It's more comfortable to reduce Him to a moral teacher, a misunderstood revolutionary, or a spiritual guru. But that’s not what He left us.
C.S. Lewis put it bluntly: a man who said the things Jesus said and wasn't God would not be a great teacher—he’d be a lunatic or a liar. But the evidence—historical, textual, and personal—says otherwise.
So let’s be clear:
Jesus didn’t whisper divinity. He declared it, and everyone knew. That’s why they bowed before Him—or picked up stones.
Very theological. I appreciate this exposition. God bless you sir
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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