PROOF THAT JESUS CLAIMED DIVINITY

1. The Great I Am
Many people try to say that Jesus was never anything more than a wise teacher and never claimed to be anything more than that. But that is not true. In Matthew 14:27, when Jesus is walking on the water, He says "Fear not; it is I." However, when we take it back to the literal Greek translation, it is read: "Fear not. I Am." I Am is the name that God told Moses the Hebrews would recognize Him by when God spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3:14). Jesus also used this title in John 8:58, Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I Am!"

2. Sins are Forgiven
If Jesus did not claim to be God, how could He forgive sins (Mt. 9:2)? Forgiving sins is something that only God is able to do (Micah 7:18). If Jesus did not truly proclaim Himself to be one with the Father, He would not have claimed the ability to forgive sins.

3. Why Did He Die?
The entire reason why Jesus was crucified was because He did claim He was God. Had He not made such a claim, He would not have been accused of blasphemy. This is backed up even further by John 10:33, when the Pharisees are considering stoning Jesus, "'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.'"

4. Son of Man
Some people, when faced with the dilemma of why--if Jesus never claimed divinity--He called Himself the "Son of Man", will reason that He actually called Himself a mere mortal by saying He was the "Son of Man". An interesting play on words, but if we take this phrase back to Daniel 7:13-14, we will see where it came from: "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. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men 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." The Son of Man is not a name for a mere mortal, but a name for a glorious being that comes from Heaven, who is in the presence of the Heavenly Father, and who will be worshipped by all people and be given universal authority for all eternity. Very divine.

5. Who is He?
In Luke 9:20 Jesus asks: "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" with which Peter answered, "The Christ of God." And Jesus affirmed it and warned them not to tell anyone yet. Now if Jesus was not truly the Christ of God, He would have denied it and rebuked Peter. But that is not what happened.