Christ’s Deity
Jesus never said the exact words, "I am God," and yet he was clearly conscious of his deity and deliberately made that awareness known to others. He identified himself so closely with the Father as to imply that He is God (which the Jews at that time would have understood as Yahweh). He made this association in many ways, including these:
To know Jesus is to know Yahweh: “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 14:7).
To see Jesus is to see Yahweh: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
To encounter Jesus is to encounter Yahweh: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:11).
To trust in Jesus is to trust in Yahweh: “Trust in God, trust also in me” (John 14:1).
To love Jesus is to love Yahweh; “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)
To welcome Jesus is to welcome Yahweh; “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." (Mark 9:37)
To honor Jesus is to honor Yahweh: "[T]hat all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.“ (John 5:23)
To hate Jesus is to hate Yahweh: “Whoever hates me hates my Father also." (John 15:23)
To come to Jesus is to come to Yahweh: “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
To obey Jesus is to obey Yahweh: “Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)
As strict monotheists, many Jewish contemporaries of Jesus were outraged at his claims to divine authority. Their extreme reaction (Luke 4:29; John 8:59) demonstrates that they understood Jesus to be claiming deity for himself.
~ Kenneth Samples
