The Argument:
Polemicists against Christianity often argue that Jesus cannot be the Messiah, or God, because he did not outrightly say so. They argue that for this claim to be true, and for His claim of being the Messiah God to be taken seriously, Jesus had to have made an unequivocal statement saying “I am God, worship me”. This blog post will delve into this argument, and explore the reasons why Christians believe that Jesus made this statement crystal clear.
Something to think about:
My first question to highlight why this argument doesn’t hold weight is by asking, “What would be your response if you saw a man in your local area preaching and claiming to be God? Would you worship him if he asked you to? Would you believe him and swear allegiance to him if he kept making this statement? Would you turn from the god you worship and follow this man?” I am sure that most people would say “no”. Why is that? Most people would immediately categorise this person as mentally ill, and requiring sectioning and treatment, as such claims would be absurd. Similarly, if the said person came and claimed they were the Messiah, would you believe them? What would make their statement valid? And at which point would you believe that they were God or the Messiah?
Recently, on my psychiatry placement, I was exposed to a few patients with mental health conditions. The two conditions that intrigued me the most were schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Some of these individuals who had been diagnosed with these conditions, wholly believed and claimed they were God, God-incarnate or the Messiah. And it really made me think… If these polemicists want an unequivocal statement of Jesus saying I am God, worship me, how come none of these individuals I had seen on placement, were taken seriously, regarded and worshipped as God, but instead admitted into hospitals for their mental health. If a statement from the individual is required as the criteria to make them God, how come it does not apply to these very people? What exactly then, is the criteria which is required to make this statement valid?
If Jesus had in fact come along and said “I am God, worship me”, would all the Jews have suddenly bowed down and worshipped Him? Would that have made His ministry somehow more valid? Or would the outcome still have been the same? Would there then have been a new argument created against his divinity? Because from my experience, and the truth of society, I think regardless of what Jesus said or did, his divinity would still have been questioned. And in light of how the Jews responded to Jesus, with His somewhat cryptic statements that pointed toward his divine nature, His ministry would not have even lasted three days, let alone three years.
What does the bible say?
The lack of a statement does not make a statement any less true or any less valid. If I choose not to mention that I enjoy eating pizza, yet I eat pizza, would that imply that I don't like pizza, just because I did not make a clear statement? The argument that Jesus is not God because he didn’t make an unequivocal statement that he is, is absurd. This is especially because he made many statements that point toward the fact he was God, and He was recorded to do many things that only God has the ability to do. On top of that, even his own disciples travelled to the end of the earth, willing to die and died, just because they claimed that he was the Messiah God.
In John 10:30, Jesus makes a grand statement. He says “I and the Father are one” and in John 14:9 “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”. Let’s stop and think about what this means? Jesus was claiming to be one with God the Father. He was literally saying that he and the Father are one and the same. If anyone in this time and age tries to make an excuse for what Jesus said and tries saying he meant something else, let’s see how the Jews in his vicinity reacted. The bible records “Once again the people picked up stones to kill him” and they proceeded in saying “We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, mere man, claim to be God”. So they literally tried to STONE him and accused him of blasphemy. Now, why else would they want to do that, if he hadn’t himself claimed that he was God? The Jews understood exactly what he was trying to say. And Jesus did not try to correct this ‘supposed’ misunderstanding. To claim to be one with God, was a huge blasphemous statement and was deemed worthy of death in the eyes of the Jews.
Another statement by Jesus regarding his deity is found in John 8:56-58. Jesus begins by saying “Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad”. The people were shocked at this statement and wondered how he could claim to have seen Abraham when he was not even 50 years old. Jesus then answered in vs 58 “I, tell you the truth before Abraham was even born, I AM”. Again, how did the Jews react? They picked up stones to throw at him. What was the significance of His statement? Why did it warrant stones being picked up to be thrown at him? Jesus not only said he pre-existed before Abraham and therefore made him eternal, He also said the only words uttered by YAHWEH God. “I AM” are the very words God had introduced himself as before Moses at mount Sinai. This name means he is both present, past and future. By using the past tense “Before Abraham was even born” and then switching to the present tense “I am”, he was claiming that he was God, as only God could make such a statement, and in doing this, he was drawing the attention to the Old Testament statement made only by God.
Many more passages point toward Jesus being God and were reacted with the Jews either threatening to kill him or commenting on how such actions were only reserved for God. This included forgiving sins (Luke 5:20-21), accepting worship (Matthew 14:33) and even his disciple Thomas calling Jesus “My Lord and my God” outrightly (John 20.28). Jesus proved countless times to the Jews at that time that he was God. In fact, his crime and the reason for his crucifixion, was because he had countlessly equated himself to God (John 19:7).
Why didn't Jesus go around saying “I am God/Messiah”?
The Jews were willing to kill Jesus, someone who had not done anything substantial except make comments regarding who He was, in the place of someone who had already been imprisoned for an insurrection and murder (Luke 23:25). Jesus didn’t even say the words “I am God, worship me” yet he was still sentenced for the same crime (Luke 22:70). So, if this is the case, what would have been the outcome if Jesus had indeed said “I am God, worship him”? He would have been killed before his time, and before he could even finish his ministry.
Jesus’s disciples quite literally travelled the ends of the world proclaiming that Jesus, someone who had lived with them, breathed the same air as them, ate with them and spent his majority of time with them, was God. Now understand this, they were willing to die for this claim. They literally put their lives on the line and even experienced death proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ. 10 out of the 12 disciples died as martyrs (died because of their faith). John died of old age but was exiled for preaching the good news and Judas had died before by suicide due to his overwhelming guilt. Even if Jesus had not said he was God, outrightly, his disciples who had lived with him, definitely knew he was.
John proclaims that Jesus was God (The Word was God, and he identified the word to be Jesus) (John 1:1-3), Peter declares that Jesus Christ is his God and Saviour (2 Peter 1:1) and Thomas in shock exclaims “My Lord and My God” when he sees the resurrected Jesus (John 20:28). These were Jesus’ right-hand men and witnessed all he did and said, and these men believed he was God, and even in the face of these statements, Jesus did not correct them.
Jesus came to earth to live and die as a man, not God. As Philippians 2:6-8 highlights, he deliberately gave up and set aside his divine privileges to take up the position of a "humble slave". There is humility in his actions. He did not come to earth to parade that He was God, he came to show us how to live life and died for all mankind to rid the bondage that sin had on us. Proclaiming he was God, would have removed the focus on what was important. Regardless of whether Jesus proclaimed he was God, and he was accepted or denied for this statement, the outcome would have led to him not dying at the appropriate time. If all the Jews believed him, they would not have handed him over to be crucified and therefore the prophecies would not have been fulfilled, and if He had said He was God and they did not believe him, he would have been killed immediately for blasphemy.
In conclusion, Jesus did not have to make the outright statement that Jesus was God because, through both his actions, presence and statements he had made, he had declared himself to be God, to the point he was handed over by the Jews and crucified by the Romans.
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