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John's Gospel teaches clearly that Jesus is divine.


The Jesus depicted by that Gospel appears to believe this.


Are there any places at all in the other three Gospels where Jesus claims divine status in this unambiguous fashion?

marked as duplicate by curiousdannii, Jayarathina Madharasan, bruised reed, DJClayworth, Flimzy Feb 22 '15 at 6:34


  • 2
    I'm not sure you know what the word "unambiguous" means. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" is drenched in ambiguity, and obviously the ambiguity is deliberate. If you are looking for a place where Jesus claims divinity unambiguously the answer is simple: Jesus never says anything unambiguously regarding anything ever. Ambiguity is his entire shtick. – Marcel Besixdouze Feb 21 '15 at 8:05

In the Synoptics, Jesus showed his divinity by his words and actions.

Jesus equating himself with God:

Luke 8:39 (NASB)


Mark 5:19 (NASB)


Jesus spoke of his divine name and spoke of himself as the divine Son of Man in Daniel 7:

Mark 14:62 (NIV)


Matthew 26:64 (NIV)


Jesus equating himself with the other two persons in the Trinity:

Matthew 28:19 ( NIV)


Luke equated Jesus ( the Sunrise from on high) with the God of Israel:

Luke 1:78 (NASB)


Luke 1:68 (NASB)


Luke 7:16 (NASB)


Mark equates Christ with Yahweh in terms of ability:

Mark 4:41 (NASB)


Psalm 107:29 (NASB)



The first gospel to be written was Mark, which takes a cautious approach more applicable to an earlier period in Christianity. Jesus never refers to himself as the Son of God. Instead, he uses terms such as "Son of man." Even the disciples never call Jesus the Son of God. However, outsiders such as demons, the high priest and the centurion do make this claim. On two occasions, God himself announces that Jesus is his beloved son, in whom he is well pleased. In Mark 10:18, Jesus clarifies his lack or divine status, saying (KJV): "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." In this gospel (Mark 8:29-30), Peter only says that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus warns the disciples to say nothing of even this.

Matthew's Gospel was written somewhat later than Mark and (Matthew 16:16-17) Peter can say that Jesus is the Messiah, son of the living God, to which Jesus responds with "...my Father which is in heaven." Here we are getting closer to a direct claim to divinity.

The fourth gospel clearly teaches that Jesus is divine. John 18:5-6 has Jesus state 'I am", and they fell back. Greek readers understood "I am" as a synonym for God (Some English Bibles translate this as "I am he," but the word 'he' is not in the original Greek), which scholars say is why they fell back when Jesus said this.

  • Even though what you say is true, here on this site, personal exegeses are not allowed: as I have often been reminded; and any assertions such as your final statement, must be backed up by some Scripture or some other form of proof such as the Catechisms and etc. You are obviously a well learned Biblical enthusiast, but this is not a Christian site, but a site to answer questions concerning Christianity, and any statement made must indicate the basis on which the statement is made. that is why I have given a down vote to your answer. – BYE Feb 21 '15 at 14:06
  • @Bye I did not realise that exegesis is not allowed. In fact, I notice there is a tag for exegesis (although this Q is not so tagged). I will therefore remove this answer if it is outside guidelines. But: is it just "your final statement" that is in error, or the whole answer? In prev paras, I did back up Mark, Matthew statements from scripture; would those paras be fine if I added more links to scripture? As I can't clearly see in help center the reasons this is not allowed, I want to know if it remediable, bedfore I remove it. Pls advise. – Dick Harfield Feb 21 '15 at 20:37
  • Exegeses is most surely allowed in an answer especially when tagged. what is frowned on is personal exegeses. The site tries very hard to keep personal opinions out. I may be the worst in the world about giving my understanding of Scripture, but here it not desirable. Statements such as the one I cited are expected to be backed up. Your answer is very salvageable, but the statement as has been said is insufficient unless you indicate who said it. that was the first thought I had in reading your answer. if it was said by a Sunday school kid that is not sufficient. Check other's answers. – BYE Feb 21 '15 at 22:44
  • @Bye I have tried to remove anything that might appear to be personal exegeses, and have added more links to the relevant verses. You had mentioned my last para, which is presumably because of 'I am', so I added an explanation and link. Do you feel I have done enough to 'salvage' my answer? – Dick Harfield Feb 22 '15 at 1:07
  • That's much better, however; I personally would remove the "As has been said, and just leave it unless you indicate that that statement was made by Pope Francis or some well known Biblical authority. The reasoning you added should allow it to stand as your opinion. Some opinion is necessary in some cases such as where you have used Historical facts in justification as you now have. – BYE Feb 22 '15 at 13:42
