Did Jesus Claim to Be God?
Did Jesus claim to be God? (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
On many occasions, Jesus made claims with unprecedented authority. Although God communicated his message through many prophets in the Old Testament, they all knew that their teachings were not their own; they were merely messengers (see Isaiah 44:24–26; Haggai 1:13). Jesus, however, knew he was more than God’s messenger. Ten times in Matthew, Jesus corrected misunderstandings of the law or overruled Jewish custom by his own authority, saying, “But I tell you” (see, for example, Matthew 5:22,28,32). As seen in Matthew 10:40, Jesus equated himself with God. He also knew that the Father had given him authority, and he claimed that authority (see John 5:25–27; 10:17–18; 17:2).