Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 4

Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  The third way is that Jesus Claimed to Be Messiah-God.  Again, I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series.

There are indications in the Old Testament that the prophesied Messiah would be divine.  When Jesus, therefore, confirmed that he was the Messiah, he was also equating himself to God.

Even the Qur’an recognizes that Jesus was the Messiah (Sura 5:17, 75). The Old Testament teaches that the coming Messiah would be God Himself, so when Jesus claimed to be that Messiah, He was also claiming to be God. For example, the prophet Isaiah (in 9:6) calls the Messiah “Mighty God.” The psalmist wrote of the Messiah, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever” (Ps. 45:6; cf. Heb. 1:8). Psalm 110:1 records a conversation between the Father and the Son: “The Lord says to my Lord [adonai]: ‘Sit at my right hand.’ ” Jesus applied this passage to Himself in Matthew 22:43–44.

But there is even further evidence of the connection between Jesus, Messiah, and God.

In the great messianic prophecy of Daniel 7, the Son of Man is called the “Ancient of Days” (7:22), a term used twice in the same passage of God the Father (Dan 7:9, Dan 13). Jesus also said He was the Messiah at His trial before the high priest. When asked, “ ‘Are you the Christ [christos, Greek for “Messiah”], the Son of the Blessed One?’ ” Jesus said, “ ‘I am … And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses? … You have heard the blasphemy’ ” (Mark 14:61–64). There was no doubt that in claiming to be Messiah (see also Luke 24:27; Matt. 26:56), Jesus also claimed to be God.

There are three more ways that Jesus claimed to God:

  1. Jesus Claimed to Be God by Accepting Worship.
  2. Jesus Claimed to Have Equal Authority with God.
  3. Jesus Claimed to Be God by Requesting Prayer in His Name.

We will cover these in the next few posts.