In our daily meditations on "Who is Jesus?" we have looked into some of Jesus' indirect claims to divinity. Now, we will focus on Christ’s clear assertions of being God. For example, there was a second occasion when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, with Thomas present and ultimately convinced:
From Doubt to Worship: Thomas Confesses "My Lord and My God"
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:26-29).
Jesus didn’t tell them, “Hey, hang on a second; you’ve gone a bit too far there." Instead, He softly corrected them for missing the obvious, saying, "Stop doubting and believe" (v. 27). On another occasion, after Christ's arrest and His presence before the high priest and elders, He clearly stated His identity:
The "I Am" Assertion: Jesus Before the High Priest
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64“You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death (Mark 14:61-64).
You might have overlooked this detail. When Jesus used the phrase “I Am” in verse 62 above, it reflects the Greek form of the Hebrew name God used for Himself: “And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). If you had only one opportunity to guide people to a Scripture passage that clearly shows Jesus claiming to be God, it should be John’s Gospel.
"I and the Father Are One": The Ultimate Claim to Divinity
30I and the Father are one.” 31Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:30-33).
Liar, Lunatic, or Lord? The C.S. Lewis Trilemma
Claims such as "I and the Father are one" require verification because people can make various assertions. Just because someone claims to be important does not make the claim valid. Some mentally unstable individuals are known to be deluded, believing they are Napoleon, the Pope, or the Antichrist. So, how can we assess people's claims? Jesus asserted that He is the unique Son of God and God in human form. There are three logical options: If His claims were false, either He knew they were false, making Him an impostor and an evil deceiver—this is the first scenario. Alternatively, He might have been unaware, which would imply He was deluded or even mad—second scenario. The third possibility is that His claims were true.
The writer C.S. Lewis put it like this:
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse…but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.[1]
“Stop Doubting and Believe” (John 20:27): Like Thomas, we often struggle with "seeing is believing." Take a moment today to identify one area of your life where you are anxious or doubting. Explicitly surrender that worry to Jesus, acknowledging Him as your "Lord and God." Keith Thomas
Continue Your Journey…
If you found this meditation meaningful, there is much more to explore about the life of Jesus in the series, I Am New To This. Here’s the link to the study: Who Is Jesus?
YouTube video lessons available at: https://www.youtube.com/@keiththomas7/videos
[1] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, First Published by Geoffrey Bles, 1952.