Probably one of the most common objections Christians get from non-believers goes something like this: “Show me where in the bible it says Jesus is God!” These bold statements can throw someone off easily, especially if they aren’t as well read or rehearsed with the word of God, so our goal today will be to take one of the gospels — the gospel of Matthew — and look at the overwhelming evidence of testimony that the bible presents on behalf of Jesus as God.
In total there are 27 claims I’ve outlined for you, which comes out to approximately one for every single chapter in the book of Matthew. That means that in almost every chapter you read of this gospel, you can expect for the bible — or Jesus Himself — to make a claim of deity. It’s pretty astounding actually, and I hope that today will empower you with the truth so that you can face challenges squarely and elegantly.
#1: Immanuel
In Matthew 1:22-23 the bible comments on Jesus’ miraculous birth as being a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. This prophecy is about a virgin giving birth to the Messiah, and the “name” of this Messiah would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” In biblical times the name of someone also meant their function or character or nature, so this prophecy is not saying that the boy’s name would be Immanuel — but rather that He would have a special quality, specifically that God is with us. This is a simple proof of the Christian teaching of the incarnation, that Jesus of Nazareth was God in the flesh, walking among His creation and being with them face to face in an intimate and real way.
#2: Baby Jesus Receives Worship
There are several instances of Jesus receiving worship in the gospels, and in Matthew’s account we see at the very beginning of Jesus’ life that this was the case. In Matthew 2:11 the three wise men who visit the newborn King pay their respects and worship Jesus. This is very significant, because the first commandment strictly prohibits worshipping anyone other than God. Mary and Joseph did not stop them, nor is there anything negative the bible has to say about this event. The only conclusion we can take is that Jesus is God because He received worship — and because this is revealed at the very beginning of His life, it means He was always God and not something that He grew into or acquired later in life.
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