There is a lot of debate about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The easiest conclusion to draw is that Jesus was one of the great spiritual leaders and teachers in world history.

The problem with this conclusion is that it is correct.

And because it is correct, it can deceive people into thinking that it is a sufficient description of Jesus.

Indeed Jesus was a great teacher.

He could hold the attention of a massive crowd, even when they were hungry.

He could spar with the leading intellectuals of his time, and he never lost a debate.

Jesus taught such marvelous lessons as: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”...

…and “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”...

…and so on.

He was a great teacher.

Jesus was also a great spiritual leader.

For instance, Jesus frequently associated with and uplifted those who were marginalized, such as tax collectors, women, Samaritans, and sinners. 

He also displayed a willingness to break social and religious taboos - a mark of his revolutionary approach to spirituality and humanity.

So yeah, great teacher, great spiritual leader. No argument there.

But the problems begin when Christians start claiming that Jesus is God.

By the way, notice the change from past tense to present tense!

We went from “Jesus was a great teacher…” to “Jesus is God”.

If Jesus is God, we no longer need to use the past tense when talking about who he is. 

If Jesus is God, then who he was is the same as who he is, and who he is is the same as who he will always be.

John 8

Jesus, in John 8, was doing what Jesus does. He was boldly debating his divine nature with the leading spiritual authorities of his day.

Let’s quickly review, blow by blow, John chapter 8.

Jesus shows up at the temple early in the morning. The Pharisees present him with a slam dunk case of a guilty woman, caught in the act of adultery.

Rather than condemn her, Jesus invites everyone else to condemn her provided they themselves are without sin. 

Brilliant move.

Then Jesus claims to be the “light of the world.” This bold claim was challenged by the Pharisees who requested a secondary witness to verify that Jesus was speaking truth.

Needless to say, no such witness could be found. So the conflict began to heat up.

Then Jesus claimed to be the “Son of Man” and the Son of God, the “Father”.

Maybe that sounds like a contradiction to modern ears, but to a first century Jew, familiar with the Hebrew scriptures, Jesus was escalating his claim.

Everyone who knew Psalm 2 knew that the Messiah - God in human flesh - would be God’s own Son.

Yes, the Pharisees and scribes knew Psalm 2. They also knew 2 Samuel, Hosea, Proverbs, Daniel, and Isaiah, all of which bolster the claim that God’s Son would be the Savior of the world.

The “Son of Man” language also comes from the Hebrew scriptures.

Most notably, Daniel 7 unmistakably links this phrase to God the Messiah. Then there are the passages from Isaiah, the Psalms, and Ezekiel.

Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he referred to himself in those terms.

It didn’t go over well with the Pharisees. They were comfortable with the idea of someone like Jesus being a great teacher and even a spiritual leader. But God?

As if that wasn’t enough, Jesus then claimed the authority to “set them free” from sin.

I think you can see where this is going!

The Pharisees had had enough. They couldn’t begin to wrap their heads around Jesus’ claims being true, so the only other option was that Jesus was crazy.

And in the first century, “crazy” meant “possessed by a demon”.

So they accused Jesus of exactly that.

Jesus replied by claiming to hold the power over life and death.

Since these Pharisees were taught to respect the Hebrew scriptures, they immediately responded by pointing out that Abraham and the prophets had all died.

So if Jesus was claiming to have authority over death, that would make him out to be far greater than any prophet… greater even than Abraham himself.

And that’s when Jesus drops the ultimate truth bomb: “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Again, pay attention to the verb tenses.

Indeed Abraham was. He lived and died.

And certainly there were others who had come “before Abraham”. But they too are dead.

Jesus, who is standing right there in front of them, obviously alive, had just told them that he has been alive since before Abraham was even born.

So they killed him. (Protip: he came back to life.)

I AM

Jesus was unmistakably claiming divinity throughout the entire episode of chapter 8, but the denouement was calling himself “I am”.

It was a bit of a double entendre, really.

Yes, Jesus meant that Jesus had always been alive. Before Abraham was, Jesus “was”. He certainly meant that.

But instead of saying, “before Abraham was, I was”, he used an expression about himself that every literate Jew knew could only belong to God.

Jesus said, “I am”.

Those two little words have been ringing in the ears of God’s people ever since God revealed them to Moses out of a burning bush.

That happened way back in Exodus 3, and we could talk for hours about what God meant by it.

But it only takes a few seconds to realize that “I am”, in addition to being deep in meaning, is also God’s personal name.

And now Jesus claimed it.

This wasn’t the first time Jesus claimed divinity, it wouldn’t be the last, and his resurrection proved his point.

Jesus boldly claims that he is God.

What are you going to do about that?

Will you believe him?

Because Jesus regards himself as God Almighty (in human form), it cannot be enough to merely believe that he was a great teacher and spiritual leader.

In fact, if you do not believe that he is God, then you have no business believing him to be a great teacher.

Great teachers do not teach falsehood.

And if you do not believe that he is God, then you have no business believing him to be a great spiritual leader.

Great spiritual leaders do not lead people into falsehood.

Jesus had nothing to do with falsehood. He is a great teacher, a great spiritual leader, and most of all…

Jesus is God.

John 8 is only one of many places where Jesus makes this claim. I hope you will believe him.

Do you know someone who is challenged by the thought of Jesus as God in human flesh? Share this article with them, then invite them to respond.

Let’s get this conversation started!

Closing Prayer

O God, open my eyes. Open my heart. Open my ears to hear and believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, is indeed worthy of worship and praise. Help me to believe in Jesus as God. Amen.