What is Jesus’ most significant claim to be God?
What is Jesus’ most significant claim to be God?
The most significant evidence of Jesus claiming Divinity is provided in the Gospel of Mark.
Towards the end of the gospel in chapter 14, we find Jesus standing on trial before His crucifixion, where He answered the High Priests question, “who are you?”
Mark 14:61-62 (NIV)
61. But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. 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.”
For those of us in the 21st century, these statements by Jesus might make us scratch our heads in confusion, but the high priests very well understood His message.
In these verses, Jesus refers to Himself as the God revealed in the Old Testament, specifically Daniel Chapter 7, where the prophet Daniel sees the Ancient of Days being worshiped by angels.
Daniel 7:13-14 (NIV)
13. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.
14. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
A few pointers to note here:
- The Bible makes references to the one who comes with the clouds of Heaven as the God Yahweh.
- He looked like the Son of Man / having human form.
- This Son of Man also approached the Ancient of Days, who is God Himself.
- This person was given all Glory, Authority, and Sovereign power (the same glory due to God).
- Every nation and language will worship this person.
When Jesus uses the phrase ‘Son of Man,’ He is confirming that He is the same man identified in Daniel Chapter 7.
Some people confuse the phrase ‘Son of Man’ by saying it is only the human title of Jesus, whereas ‘Son of God’ is His divine title. However, this is quite the opposite. Many ‘Sons of God’ were mentioned in the Bible, such as Adam and Moses, but there was only one divine Son of Man referenced in the Old Testament, and Jesus claimed to be that one.
This is also evidenced by the high priests’ reaction, who were eager to stone Him for this statement because they knew He was claiming divinity.
Lastly, no other prophets had ever made claims to sit at the right hand of God, which meant to rule the universe with God having the same level of authority.
In the Old Testament, Moses stood with God, Enoch stood with God, and Adam walked with God, but no one is ever depicted to be sitting with God.
Jesus claimed to be God and is right now seated at the Father’s right hand with sovereign power, glory, and authority.
This God now invites you and me for an opportunity to be seated at His table. All he asks is for us to believe and put our trust in Him.
THE SON OF MAN WILL BE GIVEN ALL GLORY, AUTHORITY, AND SOVEREIGN POWER
Daniel 7:14 (NIV)
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