Seeing the Light: 5. "Did Jesus ever say He was God?"

Seeing the Light: 5. "Did Jesus ever say He was God?"

- Yes, and Jesus below a brief list of verses across the Gospels and Revelation where these instances are shown. Jesus claims that He is God many, many times in the New Testament. Jesus mainly connects what He says with the Old Testament to demonstrate to the Jews that they would know exactly what Jesus was saying. All verses are in KJV unless otherwise specified. Note: all of these are amazing... my personal favorites are last!

Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV), "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
- In these verses, Jesus is directing his followers to Hosea 8:1-2, "Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee."

Matthew 9:2-6 (KJV), "And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house."
- Jesus here forgives a man of his sins, something only God can do... and additionally heals the man of his infirmity, as God does shown in Psalm 103:1-3, "Bless the LORD, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;"

Matthew 18:20 (KJV), "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
- Jesus here is saying that He has the ability to be multiple places at once... something only God can do. Jeremiah 23:23-24, "Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD."

Matthew 21:15-16 (KJV), "And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"
- Jesus claims to be God here by quoting Psalm 8:1-2, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

Matthew 24:35 (KJV), "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
- Jesus is saying that His words are eternal, another attribute of God's words as shown in Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

Mark 12:35-37 (KJV), "And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly."
- Jesus is quoting Psalm 110, demonstrating that He is to sit at the right hand of the Father on His throne (see also Revelation 1:18, 4:10, 5:12-14)

Mark 14:62 (KJV), "But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
- Jesus is stating that He is the Son of Man, the divine being in Daniel 7:13-14, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Also, Psalm 104:1-3, "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty: Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: Who maketh the clouds his chariot: Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:" Jesus is clearly stating to be the LORD who comes on the clouds of heaven.

Luke 10:17-20 (KJV), "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."
- Jesus here says that He saw Satan fall like lightening, something clearly only God could have observed (Isaiah 14:12, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!") and additionally, Jesus gives the disciples power against the demonic... again, something only God can do (Matthew 28:18, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." so the Father gives to the Son for the Son to distribute).

Luke 17:13-19 (KJV), "and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
- Jesus healed the group, to which He then tells the man who came back to Him, "Your faith has made you whole", for Jesus to say such a thing would indicate that Jesus not only can see people's faith which means He can see people's hearts (Jeremiah 17:10, Revelation 2:23), He can also heal people based on their faith.

John 4:9-14 (KJV), "Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

- Jesus is telling the woman that He is the source of Living Water! Jeremiah 17:13, "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters." See also Isaiah 12, "And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

John 5:21 (KJV), "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."
- Jesus raised the dead, and here Jesus is claiming just as the Father has the ability to give life, so does the Son. 1 Samuel 2:6, "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up."

John 8:56-59 (KJV), "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."
- Here, Jesus is stating that He interacted with Abraham. Since no one has see God the Father except the Son (John 1:18, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."), this means that it was Jesus who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 17 and 18. Additionally, Jesus identifies with Himself as the name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

John 14:7-11 (KJV), "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
- Jesus is saying that if they saw Him, they saw the Father. Colossians 2:9 says, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." and Hebrews 1:3 says, "who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" Jesus istelling the disciples if they saw Him, they have seen the Father, which is also why Jesus' God is the Father, but God the Father addresses Jesus as God in Psalm 45:6-7, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness:Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

For the remainder of the post, I will format Revelation differently to demonstrate that if it was not shown enough, Jesus clearly claimed to be God. I will show a verse, and below it will be the Old Testament corresponding verse.

#1. Revelation 1:8, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

Genesis 17:1, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."

#2. Revelation 1:11, "saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."

Isaiah 44:6, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."


#3. Revelation 1:17-18, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 4:8-11 and 5:12-14 show worship to the one who lives forever and ever on his throne.)

Isaiah 41:4, "Who hath wrought and done it , calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD , the first, and with the last; I am he.


#4. Revelation 2:23, "And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."

Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."


#5. Revelation 22:12, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

Isaiah 40:10, "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand , and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

#6. Revelation 22:13, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

Isaiah 41:4, "Who hath wrought and done it , calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD , the first, and with the last; I am he.