Apologetics

Did Jesus Equate Himself with God? Of Course He did

by Frederick Blue 
05/07/16
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Did Jesus Equate Himself with God? Of Course He did!

By Frederick Blue

I’m always astounded when I hear opponents to Christianity claim that Jesus never said that He was God.  Well, have I’ve got news for them! When you read and research scripture and the circumstances and outcomes that are referenced in the Gospels, you understand that Jesus equated Himself with God both explicitly and implicitly.  First off, in the Gospel of John, the Apostle states in verse 1 of Chapter 1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  Who is the Word? Jesus was the living Word (logos) who came in the flesh to redeem creation and whose esurrection assures us of an eternal hope in which the full manifestation of our salvation will be revealed! John goes on to state in verses 2 and 3 respectively; “He was with God from the beginning (eternal) and “Through Him, all things were made (creation); without Him, nothing was made that has been made.  

Throughout His 3 ½ year ministry, Jesus stated with authority in an explicit and implicit manner that He was God, equal with the Father.  In John 14:6, Jesus says; “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”  What is Jesus saying here?  Since only God has the authority to save, Jesus is stated rather emphatically that He has this authority.   When challenged by the religious leaders in John, Chapter 8, Jesus stated in the 56^th verse of the chapter; “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” In verse 57, there (religious leaders) response was as follows: “You are not yet fifty years old, they said to him and you have seen Abraham!” Jesus responded (verse 58), “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!” In verse 59, the leaders were incensed and John states “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself (Godly power!!), slipping away from the temple grounds.  What is the significance of those two words “I am?”  Let’s cross-reference the book of Exodus, Chapter 3, in verses 13 and 14, Moses ask God during his burning bush encounter; “ Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me, What is his name?  Then what shall I tell them?”  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” “This is what you are to say to the Israelites; I AM has sent me to you.”

The Israelites would indeed recognize and know the significance of that name and so would the religious leaders who meticulously studied the Hebrew Scriptures (with passion and precision) knew exactly what Jesus was claiming! Otherwise, why would they have responded with the desire to kill Him? Why would they continue to plot and scheme with the intent of eradicating this Jesus?  And ultimately, what was the charge they against Jesus by the Jewish leaders?  It was blasphemy, in which He claimed to be equal with God.  Now if the Jewish leaders (knowing the holy Word of God) felt that Jesus claimed to be God, what makes one who opposes Christianity and for the most part, do not take time to research or study Scripture come up with a contrasting view?  It’s because they are not willing to accept it as the central truth to all of creation’s spiritual destiny.  They deny or suppress this truth, because they have no desire or interest to have a relationship with an almighty God.  Jesus was God, and came in the flesh to show us the way to live, to accept Him as the source of our salvation and to be adopted into God’s family, with the reward of an eternal inheritance.  This is the most important decision that a person will ever make in their life, to accept or reject Jesus Christ!  I implore each one who reads this article to accept the historical, circumstantial and archaeological evidence for Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and realize the He is indeed, the way, the truth and the life, Amen.