1. Referring to Himself in Matthew 12:6, Jesus says, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." How can anyone be Lord of the Sabbath except God who instituted it? This is a direct claim to deity.
2. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus speaks as though He has personally observed the whole history of Jerusalem: “0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”
3. In Mark 2:1-2, Jesus tells a paralyzed man, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Some scribes sitting there caught the obvious intent of Jesus' words and reasoned: “Why does this man speak in this way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus challenged them, Which is easier to say to someone who is parlayed, "Your sins are forgiven or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your pallet and walk? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ...’?”
No one forgives sin but God. Jesus was clearly claiming deity for Himself.
4. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus speaks of Himself as the ultimate judge who will have authority to deny entrance into the kingdom of Heaven.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’.”
5. Matthew 14: 33 and John 9:38 say that often Jesus received worship and did nothing to discourage it. Worship is for God. Jesus is part of the Godhead (the Trinity.)
6. In John 8:58, Jesus proclaimed to a Jewish crowd, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am."
7. In all, Jesus uses the term "I am" more than 19 times in reference to Himself in the Gospel according to John. Often it is used to make claims about Himself that normally would be thought appropriate only for God.
“I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst,” (John 6:35)
“I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
“Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
“I am the good shepherd (John 10:11-14)
“I am the resurrection, and the life; He who believes in Me shall live even if he dies (John 11:25).”
In John 14:6, Jesus did not just claim to be teaching mankind the truth; He claimed that He was the truth. In John 14:9, Jesus admonished Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."
In Isaiah 42:8, God said, "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another."
In John 17:5, Jesus prayed, "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was."
C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, puts all these claims in the right perspective when he reminds his readers that Jesus was a Jew among Jews:
"Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time.
The question is, can we accept as true what Jesus (God the Son), claimed?
The most conclusive evidence establishing the deity of Christ is the historically verifiable resurrection. The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus "was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead." (Romans 1:4)
The primary reason that Jesus is the only way to God is that He forgives sin and offers eternal life, (John 10:28) something that the founder of no other major religion has claimed to do. Think about that!
Every person is separated from a perfect, holy God by sin. According to God’s requirement, either the individual must pay the penalty for sin – death – or he must find someone who is willing and able – who has no sin – to pay the penalty for him. (Hebrews 9:14, 22)
Jesus Christ was both able and willing to do this, as demonstrated by His death on the cross. That is why Jesus is the only way to God.
