Question: "Is Jesus God? Did Jesus ever claim to be God?"
Answer: The Bible never records Jesus saying the precise words, “I am God.” That does not mean, however, that He did not proclaim that He is God. Take for example Jesus’ words in
John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” We need only to look at the Jews’ reaction to His statement to know He was claiming to be God. They tried to stone Him for this very reason: “You, a mere man, claim to be God” (
John 10:33). The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was claiming—deity. When Jesus declared, “I and the Father are one,” He was saying that He and the Father are of one nature and essence.
John 8:58 is another example. Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth … before Abraham was born, I am!” Jews who heard this statement responded by taking up stones to kill Him for blasphemy, as the Mosaic Law commanded (
Leviticus 24:16).
John reiterates the concept of Jesus’ deity: “The Word [Jesus] was God” and “the Word became flesh” (
John 1:1,
14). These verses clearly indicate that Jesus is God in the flesh.
Acts 20:28 tells us, “Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” Who bought the church with His own blood? Jesus Christ. And this same verse declares that God purchased His church with His own blood. Therefore, Jesus is God!
Thomas the disciple declared concerning Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (
John 20:28). Jesus does not correct him.
Titus 2:13 encourages us to wait for the coming of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (see also
2 Peter 1:1). In
Hebrews 1:8, the Father declares of Jesus, “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.’” The Father refers to Jesus as “O God,” indicating that Jesus is indeed God.
In Revelation, an angel instructed the apostle John to only worship God (
Revelation 19:10). Several times in Scripture Jesus receives worship (
Matthew 2:11;
14:33;
28:9,
17;
Luke 24:52;
John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshiping Him. If Jesus were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him, just as the angel in Revelation did. There are many other passages of Scripture that argue for Jesus’ deity.
The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that, if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world (
1 John 2:2). A created being, which Jesus would be if He were not God, could not pay the infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty. Only God could take on the sins of the world (
2 Corinthians 5:21), die, and be resurrected, proving His victory over sin and death.
Shava,
What you have done is what many do, you have taken several Scriptures that seem to say something you want them to. The only trouble is; you have not written down in your post, the many Scriptures that prove, that Jesus is not God the Father.
The only way you can come to a true understanding of the Scriptures is to gather ALL the Scriptures about a subject, then use the power of reason to determine the truth.
The term; Scripture explains Scripture is true. Notice what Joseph said at Genesis 40:8. Another interesting term; Intertextuality, is also truth, all Scripture is related to all other Scripture.
If you want the whole truth, you must consider all scripture that pertains to the subject, otherwise you are only getting a part of truth. The Bible never contradicts itself!!
Now, anyone who understands the Bible knows that Jesus is a god. This is stated clearly at Isaiah 9:6, where Jesus is called a Mighty god. Here the Hebrew word El Gabbohr, but not El Shaddai, which is The Almighty God, whose name is Jehovah, Exodus 3:14,15, 6:2,3. Most Bibles have changed the words Jehovah, or GOD, or LORD all letters Capital, from YHWH, Jehovah. If you have a good concordance, you will find that the name for the Almighty God was in the Original Autographs over thousands of times. These four letters YHWH called The Tetragrammaton, are most often, in English written as Jehovah.
Let's start withe one particular Scripture tat you used, John 10:30, which says I and the Father are one. Matthew 19:5,6 says that a married couple would become one, just as Adam and Eve would become one.
Consider John 17:11, which Jesus said his followers would become one, just as Jesus and God were one. Consider also John 17:20-23. As can easily be seen when Jesus was talking about one, he meant one in purpose.
Very interesting is a motto on many of our American coins and paper money; E Pluribus unum, which means; Out of many one. Does that mean that all people who come to the United States actually become ONE, or does it mean that they should all work together in the same purpose???
At John 10:30 which you used, which says I and the Father are one. If you read the whole subject spoken about in John you will see that the Jews claimed that Jesus made himself a God, but Jesus stated that he had said that he was the son of God, John 10:30-36.
Let's read a few more Scriptures that must be taken into consideration, because Jesus said theses things, John 14:28, Jesus said; the Father is greater than I am. John 17:3-5, where Jesus is praying to his Father in heaven, saying that He is the only true God, who sent Jesus to earth.
Read John 20:17, where Jesus says that the Father is his Father and his God, just as he is our Father and God.
Consider Revelation 3:12, where Jesus says that God is his God four times in one Scripture.
If Jesus were the same person as God, why ones he not know all that God knows?? Matthew 24:36, or why some things Jesus has no authority over, Matthew 20:23.
Three times while Jesus was on earth, God in Heaven spoke to Jesus. Was this deception, which the Bible tells us God hates, or from Jesus, which the Bible says no deception was found in his mouth, 1Peter 2:21,22, Psalms 5:6, Matthew 3:16,17, Mark 9:7, John 12:28.
Jesus asked his disciples who the people were saying that he was. Peter said that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God. Then Jesus said to Peter, blessed you are Peter because flesh and blood did not reveal that to Peter but Jesus Father in heaven did, Matthew 16:13-17.
There are many other Scriptures that show that Jesus was both the son of Man and the son of God, John 5:17-30.