Did Jesus claim to be God? Did he think he was divine? Or, was this an invention of the church that occurred later as the believers sought to increase the influence of Christianity?*
Many point to Jesus’ I am statements as a claim to divinity. In fact, a claim to be God. Are they right? Yes!
Why it matters
The answers matter for Christians. Because from the very beginning Christians have worshipped Jesus as God, as found in Pliny’s letter to Trajan. If Jesus isn’t divine then the faith and trust of Christians in Jesus is misplaced & catastrophic.
The issue is also significant for our society. Tom Holland, the historian, not the actor, has argued that Christianity has been the most dominate cultural form to shape the Western world. He argues the West thinks inescapably with a Christian framework even though we are post Christian.
This springs from Christianity seeing itself as a universal belief system - global, multi ethnic and multinational for Jesus is Lord of all. (see here for a review of Tom Holland’s book). This Christian claim of Jesus’ universal Lordship is underwritten by the claim that Jesus is fully God, the rightful ruler of all that exists.
So, does Jesus claim to be God? Looking at the I am statements
In an earlier blog post, I looked at Jesus’ identification with the very acts, words and plans of God. But I deliberately breezed over the I am statements made by Jesus in John’s Gospel.
The reason the I am statements matter is that many people have rightly noticed that Jesus claims to be co-equal with God. He seems to be saying. I am God.
That might not seem obvious at first glance. But the reason is in the Old Testament it is Yahweh, the Lord alone who says repeatedly, ‘I am’. And these I am statements are said when Yahweh is saying the idols of the nations are nothing and are the creation of humanity! So then, Jesus’ seven I am statements in John’s Gospel which match the seven in Isaiah have stunning implications.
Now, some discount John’s gospel because it was written later. However, John’s gospel is written so close to the events that there was no time for a myth to develop about Jesus and nor was there time to invent a divine theology. For Jesus’ disciples to have invented a divine theology when they were monotheistic Jews is incredibly unlikely. Possible. But unlikely. Furthermore, John’s Gospel puts itself forward as an eye witness account. It is not a later writer reflecting on a developed theology but what someone saw and heard. (See John 1:14).
As above, Jesus’ I am statements are a claim to be God. But to feel the fully weight we need to realise John’s Gospel is like one of those fantastic new HBO tv series where Season 1 & 2 & 3 are so deeply integrated that to start in Season 2 is confusing and even unenjoyable.
To understand Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel we have to look at the Old Testament - Season 1. Then we’ll get to Season 2.
Season 1: Old Testament I am he statements
The first statement to consider comes at a significant point, the close of the first five books of the Old Testament. Here God asserts that he alone is God. And the assertion that he is God is because in his hands (metaphorical hands) are life and death. He is the one who gives life and he has the right to take it away.
"'See now that I, even I am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (ESV Deuteronomy 32:39)
This means by definition all living beings are answerable to God and dependent on God. That is a universal claim over life.
Before going further a touch of background will help. The I am he statement is a concise form of the name of God himself. In Exodus chapter 3 God reveals his personal name to Moses - Yahweh. This name means ‘I am who I am’ or ‘I will be who I will be.’ So who is this Yahweh? The one who gives life to all and to whom all belong.
We’ll now turn to the book of Isaiah. Written in the 8th Century BC (1) the I am he statements come from God at a significant time in the history of Israel - the ancient Jews. For the nation of Israel has been divided and is being conquered. Much of the nation will go into exile Babylon. And from there God will outrageously rescue his people.
It is an outrageous claim, for if one nation conquered another it meant, by definition that their gods were stronger than the conquered nations god or gods. But Yahweh says he’ll rescue his people and not only that, but he asserts his universal power over the whole world. He is not just the God of Israel. He is the God of the whole earth, for he is the Creator.
Let’s look at a couple of these. The first comes after God has promised to use a conquering king to rescue his people from Babylon and bring them back to their land.
Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD (Yahweh), the first, and with the last; I am he. (Isaiah 41:4)
Who saves the nation of Israel? Yahweh! The great I am or I am he.
Here’s one more with the claim there is only one true Lord and ruler of all.
"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. (ESV Isaiah 43:10)
Or, this one which shows the Lord’s universal claim
“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. (Isaiah 48:12-13)
In total there are seven I am he statements and two emphatic I am he statements. (See the complete list at the bottom). The emphatic statements focus on Yahweh as Saviour.
"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (ESV Isaiah 43:25)
"I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass (ESV Isaiah 51:12)
Not only does Yahweh, assert his power and his rule; he asserts his love for his people. Yahweh will raise up a king, make himself known and rescue his people. And, remove his people’s sin. He will save them.
Now, let’s look at Season 2 in the story of God’s revelation.
In John’s gospel, Jesus says about himself, I am or I am he. This is a direct translation of the the greek - egw eimi. Egw eimi or I am is often hidden in our English translations. The translators want to smooth things out to make them more easily read and understood but sometimes this hides important aspects of what is written. Below I've used the ESV because it shows the I am statements more consistently.
Here they are: John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5,6,8). And there are nine in total, matching the Old Testament I am statements.
Let’s look at two:
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins." (ESV John 8:24)
So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. (ESV John 8:28)
The implications of just these two are stunning. In the first, unless the Jews accept that Jesus is indeed Yahweh, included in the divine identity, then they cannot be saved from their sins. And in the second, it the cross event - that is when Jesus is lifted up on the cross - that people will know that Jesus is Yahweh and acts with Yahweh, the Father’s, authority.
Now we’ll consider one more:
So the Jews said to him (Jesus), "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." (ESV John 8:57-58)
The ancient Jews responded to this by picking up stones to kill Jesus. This was the fitting punishment for someone who commits blaspheme. There is no doubt they heard Jesus call himself God - equal with Yahweh - in his claim to preexist Abraham.
Did Jesus claim to be God? Yes. Absolutely. With the nine I am statements in John’s Gospel we can see a very deliberate link between Jesus’ view of himself and Yahweh in the Old Testament. In short, Jesus is God.
Seeing this and other deep connections is what led the disciples of Jesus who were monothesitic Jews to worship Jesus. They recognised that Jesus Christ was claiming to be fully God and part of the divine identity. It was passages like these that led to the doctrine of the Trinity - One God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
What we’ve seen in the I am statements follows from the opening claims in John’s Gospel - that Jesus was the Word, with God in the beginning and indeed he was God. Thus, Jesus coming was God the Father making himself known.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1:18)
Jesus is God, God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He is God who took on flesh to rescue us from the evil that dwells within us and rules us.
Season 3 - the book of Revelation
We could finish there but let’s look at one more thing from the apostle John. He wrote the book of Revelation when he was in exile on the island of Patmos. Through the book of Revelation it is clear that Jesus has the authority and rule of God himself (compare who is seated on the throne in chapters 4 and 5) but for now let’s look at how he bookends Revelation. He makes astounding statements about Jesus Christ. And these remember these are written by a Jew steeped in monotheism.
God says
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” (Revelation 1:8)
Christ says,
I am the first (Alpha) and the last (Omega)” (Revelation 1:17)
God says,
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 21:6)
Christ says,
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13)
Jesus Christ’s identity is equated with the Lord God.
These statements in Revelation are based on the words of the Lord God in Isaiah. And notice the explicit denial of any other God.
I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)
I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. (Isaiah 48:12)
John, the friend of Jesus, understood Christ as part of the divine identity - that is God, the Son, Lord of all.
In conclusion, it is this understanding of Jesus - that he claimed to be fully God and that he was God, Lord of all creation, that fuelled the mission of the apostles and the church. They understood that Jesus was the rightful Lord of all people everywhere. So, all people everywhere needed to hear the Gospel and come to him.
For a lot more depth on the ideas explored here read God Crucified, Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament by Richard Baukham.
*For simplicity sake I’ve listed the I am statements in the Old Testament and then in John’s Gospel:
7 ‘I am he’ statements 2 two emphatic statements.
Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 41:4, 43:10, 43,13; 46:4; 48:12; 52:6 and the two emphatic statements Isaiah 43:25; 52:12)
These correspond with the 7 statements in John’s Gospel with 2 emphatic statements
John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5,6,8). The last verse has the emphatic statements.
(1) The dating of the second part of Isaiah is contested with many scholars say it is much later than the 8th C BC.
Edited - November, 2021