Did Jesus Say He Was God?

Scripture: II Corinthians 13:1....By the words of two or more witnesses
shall all things be established.

John 8: 58...Very truly, I tell you...before Abraham was 'I Am'.
It is true that Jesus never said the exact words, 'I Am God'. He did,
however, make the claim to be God in many different ways. And, those
who heard Him knew exactly what He was saying.

For example in John l0:30, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one.'
The Jews who heard Him make that statement knew full well that He
was claiming to be God, as witnessed by their reaction. His Jewish
opponents picked up stones to stone Him...(See John 10:3l. When He
asked them why they were attempting to stone Him, they said, 'For
blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God...(James l0:33).
Stoning was a penalty for blasphemy...Leviticus 24: 16, and the Jews
plainly accused Jesus of claiming to be God.

Jesus made another statement claiming to be God when He said,
"Very truly, I tell you...before Abraham was born...I AM"...John 8:58. The
Jews upon hearing Him, clearly understood that He was claiming
preexistance, and, more than that, to be YAHWEH, JEHOVAH...The
Great I AM of Exodus 3:l4. On this account, too, they tried to stone Him
for blasphemy.

The Gospel of John begins with a statement of Jesus' deity..."In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God"...John l:l. In verse l4, John identifies the Word, "The Word
became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His
glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth. John is affirming that the Word, (Jesus), is God, and
He left heaven to come to earth in the form of a man to live with men
and display the glory of God the Father.

The disciples of Jesus distinctly heard Him declare His diety. After
Jesus' resurrection, Thomas, the doubting disciple, 'finally' understood
Jesus' deity, declaring Him to be, 'My Lord and My God!'...(John 20:28).
If Jesus were not Lord and God, He would have corrected Thomas, but
He did not! Thomas spoke the truth. After seeing Jesus walking on the
water, His disciples worshipped Him...Matt. l4:33. When He appeared
to them after the resurrection, they fell at His feet and worshipped Him...
(Matt 28:9).

The disciples were well aware of the Mosiac law's penalty for
blasphemy and yet they worshipped Him as God, and Jesus accepted

their worship. Jesus never rebuked people for worshipping Him and
accepting their worship as good and proper.

Jesus diety is recognized throughout the New Testament. Paul
eagerly awaited the appearing of the glory of our great God & Savior,
Jesus Christ'....(Titus 2:l3) and encouraged us to do the same. Both
Paul and John declared that Jesus created the universe...John 1:3,
Colossians l: l6-17, yet Genesis l:l clearly says God created the
heavens and the earth. This can only mean that Jesus is God. Even
God the Father referred to Jesus as God, 'About the Son, He
says...'Your throne, O'God will last forever and ever! *Hebrews l8 -
Quoting Psalm 45:6.

Did Jesus say He was God? Yes, in many ways, including applying
the names and attributes of God to Himself, He made it clear that He
was (God incarnate) proving it by His Words, by the Miracles, and finally
by His Resurrection from the dead.

Although they doubted at first, those who were finally convinced of His
deity understood why He had to die on the cross.
If He were a 'mere man', His death would have been only sufficient to
pay His own sins. But, because He was God in the flesh, His sacrifice
was infinite and holy and able to pay for all the 'sins of the world'.
Amen.