Did Jesus Actually Say "I AM GOD"?

Transcript imported from the captions supplied for this teaching.

Kind: captions
Language: en
I've heard people say that Yeshua never
claimed to be God, but that is
absolutely false. Not only did he say
things that were claims to deity, but
his actions and miracles also pointed to
his deity. Not only that, but the
apostles also claimed that Yeshua is
God. So, I want to begin this
conversation by looking at some of the
specific times Yeshua claimed to be God.
Yeshua made numerous claims to his
deity, both directly and indirectly
through his words, actions, and the way
he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.
The first thing I want to point out is
that Yeshua used the divine name I am.
The name that Yahweh told Moses in
Exodus 3:14. And God said to Moses, "I
am who I am." And he said, "Thus you
shall say to the children of Israel, I
am has sent me to you." Yeshua used this
specific name twice. And the result was
very interesting both times. The first
time Yeshua is explaining that he is
greater than Abraham and that he existed
before Abraham. John 8:58-59 says,
"Jesus said to them, most assurely I say
to you, before Abraham was, I am." Then
they took up stones to throw at him, but
Jesus hid himself and went out of the
temple, going through the midst of them,
and so passed by. The grammar of this
sentence doesn't make sense. He should
have said, "Before Abraham was, I was."
But that's not what he said. He
specifically chose the phrase I am. Even
though it was not correct grammar, he
chose this phrase because he was giving
us his identity as the great I am who
spoke to Moses. Notice that they
immediately picked up stones to stone
him for blasphemy. They understood that
by saying before Abraham was I am, he
was using a very specific phrase
referring to himself as the great I am.
They understood that Yeshua was making a
claim to be God. And they saw it as
blasphemy, which is why they picked up
stones to throw at him. The same thing
happened again in John 10 when Yeshua
said that he is one with the father.
John 10:30 and33 says,"I and my father
are one." Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them,
"Many good works have I shown you from
my father? For which of these works do
you stone me?" The Jews answered him,
saying, "For a good work we do not stone
you, but for blasphemy, and because you,
being a man, make yourself God."
Blasphemy was a serious accusation. And
we see here that they understood that he
was claiming to make himself equal with
God. If Yeshua wasn't God, then they
were right in saying that he was
blaspheming. And if he was a blasphemer,
then he isn't the Messiah. However, if
we believe he is the Messiah, then we
must understand that he could not be
blaspheming. Therefore, he must be
speaking the truth. He is the great I
am. He did exist before Abraham and he
is equal with the father. We see his
second use of this divine name in John
18:5-6.
They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth."
Jesus said to them, "I am." And Judas
who betrayed him also stood with them.
Now when he said to them, "I am," they
drew back and fell to the ground. Some
translations say, "I am he." But the
word he is not present in this text. It
was added by translators to try to make
the sentence make sense. However, the
exact Greek phrase used here is ego,
which means I am. The word I go is the
first person pronoun I. And the word ami
means to be or to exist. He's saying I
am or I exist. Also notice that when he
said I am, the soldiers fell backwards
to the ground. He identified himself as
I am and they fell to the ground. This
shows us the authority he had to use
that name. Again, this is the same name
God spoke to Moses at the burning bush
in Exodus 3:14. And God said to Moses,
"I am who I am." Yeshua claimed to be I
am who existed before Abraham and they
tried to stone him for it and later when
they came to arrest him in the garden he
claimed to be I am and the soldiers fell
to the ground. Yeshua also used the
phrase I am in connection with other
claims of deity for example in John 14:6
Yeshua claims to be the exclusive path
to the father Jesus said to him I am the
way the truth and the life no one comes
to the father except through me. When
Yeshua walked on water, he was telling
us who he is. He is the one who makes a
path on the water. Isaiah 43:15-16 says,
"I am the Lord, your holy one, the
creator of Israel, your king." Thus says
the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and
a path through the mighty waters. When
we read in the Gospels where Yeshua
walked on the water, look at what he
says after he walked on the water.
Matthew 14:27 says, "But immediately
Jesus spoke to them, saying, be of good
cheer. I am do not be afraid." Most
translations say, "It is I. Do not be
afraid." But the Greek phrase used here
is again ego. This means while Yeshua
was walking on water, he said, "I am."
This was done to show the disciples that
Yeshua is the great I am who makes a
path in the sea. We see similar
statements in Job and the Psalms as well
about God walking on water. When Yeshua
walked on the water, he was telling us
by demonstration of his power that he is
God, the God who makes a path in the
mighty water and treads on the waves of
the sea. Now listen to what his
disciples said in response. Matthew
14:32 and 33. And when they got in the
boat, the wind ceased. Then those who
were in the boat came and worshiped him,
saying, "Truly, you are the son of God."
The disciples worshiped Yeshua and had
no doubts that he truly is the son of
God. This is huge. They worshiped
Yeshua. The Bible tells us not to
worship any other gods and not to
worship anyone or anything but God
alone. If Yeshua was not God, then
worshiping him would be an act of
idolatry. In fact, the angels were
commanded to worship Yeshua when God
sent him into the world. Hebrews 1:6
says, "But when he again brings the
firstborn into the world," he says, "let
all the angels of God worship him." And
Hebrews 18 explains that Yeshua is God,
and his power and reign is eternal.
Hebrews 1:8 says, "But to the Son," he
says, "Your throne, oh God, is forever
and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of your kingdom." There's
also a really interesting verse in
Philippians 2:9-11. says, "Therefore,
God also has highly exalted him and
given him the name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow of those in heaven and
of those on earth, and of those under
the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
glory of God the Father." This is a
quote from Isaiah 45:21-23,
which says, "And there is no other God
besides me, a just God and Savior. There
is none besides me. Look to me and be
saved all you ends of the earth for I am
God and there is no other. I have sworn
by myself the word has gone out of my
mouth in righteousness and shall not
return. That to me every knee shall bow
and every tongue shall take an oath.
Here we see that Yahweh is saying he is
the only God and the only savior and to
him Yahweh every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess. And Paul is quoting
this verse in reference to Yeshua. Both
Peter and Paul refer to Yeshua as God
and Savior. And Thomas calls Yeshua my
Lord and my God. Second Peter 1:1, Peter
says, "By the righteousness of our God
and Savior, Jesus Christ." Right here,
Yeshua is called both God and Savior.
Likewise, Paul calls Yeshua our great
God and Savior. In Titus 2:13,
looking for the blessed hope and
glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ. He's referring to
the return of Jesus as the glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior.
Yeshua is our great God and Savior.
Similarly, when doubting Thomas touched
the risen Savior, he proclaimed in faith
that Yeshua is both Lord and God. John
20:28 says, "And Thomas answered and
said to him, my Lord and my God."
Likewise, when we have faith, we
understand and proclaim that Yeshua is
my Lord and my God. We could go on and
on for hours talking about everything
Yeshua said and did that point to his
deity. He healed the blind. He healed
lepers and he raised the dead. These are
all things that point to his deity. He
fed thousands with just a few loaves of
fish. And he cursed the fig tree and it
died. And he cleansed the temple. These
things also point to his deity. He spoke
to a storm and it stopped. He walked on
water and he rose from the dead. These
things point to his deity. He claimed to
be the living bread from heaven. He
claimed to share glory with the father.
He claimed that to see him is to see the
father. He claimed that he came from
heaven. And he claimed that he is the
fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
All these claims are claims to deity. He
prophesied that Judas would betray him.
He prophesied the destruction of the
temple. He prophesied his own death and
resurrection. And he prophesied that he
would return. All of these things point
to his deity as well. He was worshiped
by both humans and angels which
indicates his deity. He claimed to be
God's son which is a claim to deity. And
the Bible says he is the creator in John
1, Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 which is a
claim to deity. He is called the son of
God and he was born of a virgin which we
discussed last week which points to his
deity as well. He came down from heaven
and he ascended back to heaven which is
also a sign of deity. He is both son of
God and son of man. Meaning he is fully
God and fully man. He is God incarnate.
This is why the apostle Paul has so much
to say about the deity of Yeshua. He
explained that Yeshua was in the form of
God and equal with God, but he humbled
himself and became a man to die for our
sins. Philippians 2:5-7 says, "Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who being in the form of God, did
not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bond servant, and
coming in the likeness of men." The
Bible also tells us that the fullness of
God dwelt in the body of Yeshua.
Colossians 2:9 says, "For in him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."
This means the fullness of God was
dwelling in a human body. He wasn't half
God and half man. He was fully God
because the fullness of God dwelt in him
and yet he was also fully human. This is
described as a great mystery that God
was manifested in the flesh. 1 Timothy
3:16 says, "And without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness." God
was manifested in the flesh. God was
manifested in the flesh as Yeshua, the
son of God. John 1:1 says, "In the
beginning was the word, and the word was
with God, and the word was God." And
John 1:14 says, "And the word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." Yeshua is God incarnate. He
is the fullness of God in bodily form.
He shares glory and honor with the
Father, and he's worshiped with the
Father. Yeshua created all things, which
makes him God. I know I rushed through a
lot of these things and I could have
probably spent an hour on each point and
there even more details that I didn't
even get to mention here today, but I
wanted to give you a broad overview of
many of the things the Bible says about
the deed of Yeshua so you would have a
good foundation on this topic. The deed
of Yeshua isn't based on one or two
verses. This doctrine is pervasive
throughout the entire Bible.