Did Jesus actually think he was God? (Level 3 discussion) - Part 1: The self-references of Jesus

Before reading below, I recommend you read my post - What Is The Faith Pyramid?

Did Jesus think himself to be God? Or another way: What was Jesus' divine self-understanding? What would he think of millions of people worshiping him as the God in flesh? A fairly popular misconception among skeptics, as well as those genuinely seeking to understand the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, is that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Clearly, he viewed himself as a rabbi, and perhaps even a prophet, but God in the flesh is something his followers projected on to him years after his death, so these skeptics claim.

[NOTE: I have this as a Level 3 discussion ("My faith in Christ"), because I don't think you should have this discussion until a "belief in God" is established (Level 1), nor can you have this discussion until a "trust in the Bible" has been affirmed (Level 2). The main reason you need Level 2 is due to the dependency on the four gospels to answer this question.]

Before I get specific, let me state flatly that there is extensive evidence that Jesus believed himself to be God. I am dividing the evidence into three posts: 1) The self-references of Jesus; 2) The teaching and behavior of Jesus; and 3) Jesus' personal understanding of his bodily resurrection.

Let me begin by helping us gain a proper perspective. Jesus of Nazareth did not introduce himself by saying, "Hey, I'm God. Thanks for inviting me to your wedding." Such a statement would have been viewed as absolutely blasphemous, since the Jews of that day didn't have a concept of the Trinity and would not have easily understood that God could be a man. Nevertheless, Jesus' divine self-understanding is clear...

The main self-references of Jesus (or another way - How did Jesus refer to himself):

1. Christ (or Messiah) - The title of Christ/Messiah is an important self-reference for Jesus of Nazareth. The so-called Peter’s confession incident is recorded in all of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), in which Peter states, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus’ response was not to correct a misunderstanding of Peter. In fact, his response is rather revealing: “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). Jesus accepted the title of Christ, as well as Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth also refers to himself as Christ in a discussion concerning an outside exorcist. Jesus tells his disciples, “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward” (Mark 9:41). In John’s gospel, Jesus converses with a Samaritan woman who mentions the coming Messiah. Jesus responds to her, “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:26). In his trial before the high priest, Caiaphas demands to know if he is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus accepts both titles by responding, “You have said it yourself” (Matthew 26:64), “I am” (Mark 14:62), “Yes, I am” (Luke 22:70). The reason the Messiah/Christ self-reference implies divinity is due to the fact that the coming Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament is taught to be pre-existent (Micah 5:2), to be eternal (Isaiah 9:6), and he is called "Lord" (Psalm 110:1; Jeremiah 23:6).

2. Son of God - Jesus of Nazareth also claims to be the Son of God, as recorded and already mentioned in Peter’s confession and in his trial before Caiaphas. He also implicitly claims to be God’s Son in his parable of the vine-growers. In this story, a man (who is clearly God) plants a vineyard and places it in the care of vine-growers. At harvest time, he sends a slave (or prophet) who is beaten by the vine-growers and sent away with nothing. This happens a few times until the man finally decides to send his son, thinking they will respect him. “But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard” (Mark 12:7-8). This parable clearly tells us that Jesus thought of himself as God's only Son and the final messenger of God. Jesus’ Son of God self-concept is even stated more explicitly in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." There are numerous other examples, especially recorded in the gospel of John, in which Jesus claims to be the one and only Son of God. Finally, it should be noted how this self-reference was interpreted in Jesus' day. John records in his gospel: "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God" (5:18, italics mine). Therefore, the Son of God self-reference implied divinity.

3. Son of Man - Without question, the most often used self-reference for Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of Man. In fact, this title is found over 80 times in the Gospels. When James and John ask for preferential treatment in God’s Kingdom, Jesus ends his response, “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). This is one of numerous examples in which Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Without question, this title is an allusion to a vision of the prophet Daniel:

“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

In this passage, the Son of Man approaches God Himself in His throne room and is given an eternal Kingdom and authority over all people. The Son of Man is thus a claim to divinity. Perhaps one of Jesus’ strongest allusions to this vision of Daniel 7 is during his trial with Caiaphas. After affirming that he is, in fact, the Christ and the Son of God, Jesus goes on to say, “…nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed!’ ” (Matt. 26:64-65). The high priest’s reaction is very revealing, in that, Caiaphas clearly believed that Jesus was making a strong claim of divinity. In fact, these words would be the basis for Jesus’ condemnation by the Sanhedrin. This claim, in conjunction with the Roman condemnation, would lead to his execution on the cross.

4. "I Am" statements - Jesus states "I am" nearly two dozen times and joins it with a metaphor in at least seven instances: I Am the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51); I Am the Light of the world (John 8:12); I Am the Door of the sheep (John 10:7, 9); I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14); I Am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6); I Am the true Vine (John 15:1, 5).

This "I Am" statement is an allusion to God's personal Name as He reveals it to Moses in Exodus 3:14. It's the name "Yahweh," (or the latinized "Jehovah"). In this passage, God says to Moses, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I Am' (Yahweh) has sent me to you."

In a very telling and dramatic moment toward the end of Jesus' ministry on earth, soldiers and officials of the chief priests come to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus asks them, "Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. Your Bible probably then states Jesus' response as "I am he." If you're lucky, it might state it as "I am he" (note the italics). The reason "he" is italicized (in most translations) is because it doesn't actually belong in your Bible. Here's how it really goes down:

Jesus asks them..."Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am" Jesus said. When Jesus said, "I am," they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:4-5).

A powerful enough name to knock you off your feet.

It is clear who Jesus thought He was. Check out Part 2: The teaching and behavior of Jesus.