Did Jesus Claim to Be God?

Yes, Jesus claimed to be God in various ways, most clearly when he proclaimed to the Pharisees and other Jewish people gathered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). They responded by picking up stones to kill him because they inferred his words as blasphemy, but he escaped.

In proclaiming himself “I am,” Jesus indeed takes to himself the name God the Father used in revealing himself to Moses (Exod. 3:14). In other words, in saying “I am,” Jesus proclaims that his essence is existence—i.e., that it’s of his divine nature to necessarily exist or be, for God is the uncaused cause.

For more on this subject, see our tract, as well as this article from our online magazine.