Is Jesus God, or was he a man just like the rest of us whose fans elevated him to that status posthumously? C.S. Lewis, the great British philosopher who became a Christian later in life, wrote in his classic book, Mere Christianity:

Jesus [. . .] told people that their sins were forgiven. [. . .] This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. [. . .] I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.”

That is the one thing we must not say. 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 can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus’ enemies knew that he claimed to be God. Let me give you two examples. The first is an encounter he had with his opposition, the Jewish religious leaders. They are the first to speak in the following passage.

"Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" 54  Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; 55  and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56  "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57  So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58  Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." 59  Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. John 8:53-59 (NASB) 

The name of God revealed to Moses was “I am who I am,” which is translated Yahweh in many Bibles. When Jesus declared to his enemies that he is the “I am,” he knew what he was doing, and so did they. He claimed to be Yahweh in the flesh. That is why they immediately picked up stones to kill him.

Another example is when our Lord stood before his accusers during his nighttime mock trial before his crucifixion. The Sanhedrin’s false witnesses did not give them what they needed to condemn Jesus to death; so, as a last resort, they asked Jesus directly if he were indeed the Messiah. He did not simply affirm what they asked: he went much, much further, giving them grounds for declaring him a blasphemer. Here are our Lord’s words.

But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64  Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65  Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66  What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Matthew 26:63-66 (ESV) 

Now to those who do not know the Old Testament scriptures, this may not seem like much. But for those Jewish leaders, who did know the scriptures, what Jesus said was a claim to be God. The reference is to the writings of the prophet Daniel.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV) 

Even though many think that Jesus’ self-identification as the “son of man” was a reference to his humanity, I believe first and foremost it is a reference to this passage in Daniel. This son of man is a heavenly being who has been given everlasting dominion and will judge all peoples. This fits perfectly with the Christian position that Jesus is the God-man who died as the Lamb of God for our sins and rose again as the Lord of Lords, who now sits at his Father’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be completely subjugated, at which time he will return as the divine Son of Man to judge the living and the dead and rule over God’s kingdom forever.

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his apostles. Everyone was there except Thomas, who resolutely said he would not believe without physical proof. Later Jesus appeared to his followers again, when Thomas was also present. Here is the account.

Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:27–29 (NASB95)

Now if Jesus were not God, he would never have allowed Thomas’ assertion to go unchallenged. It would have been completely improper to ascribe divinity to a mere man, but Jesus is God, which Thomas immediately recognized.

If we try to logically prove Jesus’ divinity, we will never get there. Knowing who Jesus is required divine help. The Holy Spirit must reveal this to us, or we will never ever see it.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:15–17 (NASB95) 

How about you? Have you had your eyes opened to Jesus’ true identity or do you still think you can figure things out for yourself? Isn’t it about time for you to ask for divine assistance?

Prayer

Jesus, I recognize that if you truly rose from the dead, you must be the Lord of lords to whom I owe complete allegiance. Holy Spirit, I ask you to reveal Jesus’ divinity to me so that I can believe with all my heart. Remove the spiritual blindness from my heart. Amen.

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NASB95)