This is the most important question for the Christian faith. Jesus undoubtedly was a great teacher and a great example, but if that was all He was, He can’t do much for us, since we find ourselves again and again unable to live by His teachings and follow His example. The best He can do for us then is make us feel guilty. the Bible leaves no doubt that He claimed to be the Son of God and that others knew that He was the Son of God. is called the Son of God in all four Gospels:

• Matthew 3:17 ; 4:3 , 6 ; 8:29 ; 14:33 ; 16:16 ; 17:5 ; 26:63 ; 27:54

• Mark 1:1 , 11 ; 3:11 ; 5:7 ; 9:7 ; 14:61–62

• Luke 1:32 , 35 ; 3:22 ; 4:41 ; 9:35 ; 22:70

• John 1:34 , 49 ; 3:16 , 18 ; 5:25 ; 9:35 ; 10:36 ; 19:7 ; 20:31

called Himself the Son of God ( John 5:25 ), thus making Himself equal with God ( John 5:18 ). Three times Jesus categorically said that He was the Son of God ( Mark 14:61–62 ; John 9:35–37 ; 10:36 ). repeatedly used expressions about Himself that can be true only of God:

• "I am … the truth" ( John 14:6 ).

• "I am the way [to God]" ( John 14:6 ).

• "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" ( John 10:9 kjv ).

• "No one comes to the Father except through me" ( John 14:6 ).

• "I am the bread of life" ( John 6:35 ).

• "I am … the life" ( John 11:25 ; 14:6 ).

• "I am the resurrection" ( John 11:25 ).

• "Whoever lives and believes in me will never die" ( John 11:26 ).

• I am the Messiah ( John 4:25–26 ).

• "Before Abraham was born, I am!" ( John 8:58 ). This is an amazing statement, beyond the reach of finite conception, eliminating the passage of time, and resolving the past and future into one Eternal Now.

• "Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" ( John 17:5 ). A clear recollection of Jesus’ pre-incarnation existence.

• "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" ( John 14:9 ).

• "I and the Father are one" ( John 10:30 ).

• "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" ( Matthew 28:18 ).

• "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" ( Matthew 28:20 ).

• Who else could have said such things about himself? Of whom else could we say them?

• Mark called Jesus "the Son of God" ( Mark 1:1 ).

• John called Jesus "the Son of God" ( John 3:16 , 18 ; 20:31 ).

• John the Baptist called Jesus "the Son of God" ( John 1:34 ).

• Nathanael called Jesus "the Son of God" ( John 1:49 ).

• Peter called Jesus "the Son of God" ( Matthew 16:16 ).

• Martha called Jesus "the Son of God" ( John 11:27 ).

• The disciples called Jesus "the Son of God" ( Matthew 14:33 ).

• The angel Gabriel called Jesus "the Son of God" ( Luke 1:32 , 35 ).

• God Himself called Jesus His own "beloved Son" ( Matthew 3:17 kjv ; 17:5 ; Mark 1:11 ; 9:7 ; Luke 3:22 ; 9:35 ).

• Evil spirits called Jesus "the Son of God" ( Matthew 8:29 ; Mark 3:11 ; 5:7 ; Luke 4:41 ).

• It was commonly recognized that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God:

• "If you are the Son of God …" ( Matthew 4:3 , 6 ).

• "Truly you are the Son of God" ( Matthew 14:33 ).

• "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross" ( Matthew 27:40 kjv ).

• "He said, ‘I am the Son of God’" ( Matthew 27:43 ).

• "Surely he was the Son of God!" ( Matthew 27:54 ).

• "He claimed to be the Son of God" ( John 19:7 ).

• The Rock on which Jesus said He would build His church ( Matthew 16:18 ) was the truth that He is the Son of God.

• Jesus is Himself called God ( John 1:1 ; 10:33 ; 20:28 ; Romans 9:5 ; Colossians 1:16 ; 2:9 ; 1 Timothy 1:17 ; Hebrews 1:8 ; 1 John 5:20 ; Jude 1:25 ).

• The Old Testament prophets foretold Jesus’ deity:

• "He will be called … Mighty God, Everlasting Father" ( Isaiah 9:6 ).

• "This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness" ( Jeremiah 23:6 ; 33:16 ).

• "On that day … the house of David will be like God" ( Zechariah 12:8 ). , neither Jesus Himself, nor the Scriptures, leave any possible doubt as to the nature of Jesus’ Person. Why not accept the record just as it is? If He was only a good man, He can do nothing for us except set us an example. If He was really God, He can be to us a Savior as well as an example.

things Jesus said make sense if He is the Son of God—but if He is not, they strike us as the ravings of someone with delusions of grandeur.

• "I am the light of the world" ( John 8:12 ).

• "I am the good shepherd" ( John 10:11 ).

• "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world" ( John 8:23 ).

• "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" ( John 8:56 ).

• "Moses … wrote about me" ( John 5:46 ).

• "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me" ( John 5:39 ).

• "The Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me" ( John 5:37 ).

• "The very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me" ( John 5:36 ).

• "If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin" ( John 15:24 ).

• "If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins" ( John 8:24 ).

• "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it" ( Luke10:23–24 ).

• "The Queen of the South … came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here, … The men of Nineveh … repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here" ( Matthew 12:42 , 41 ).