How to Easily Win 50 Dollars

The Christ Pantocrator of the Deesis mosaic (13th-century) in Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey)
The Christ Pantocrator of the Deesis mosaic (13th-century) in Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey) (photo: Screenshot)

There are few more tiresome and enervating conversations than those initiated by the unapologetically unknowing who insist Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior of Mankind, the Way, Truth and Light, never admitted to being God in the Bible. Instead, they insist Christ's Disciples "fabricated" His Divinity. Despite proof to the contrary, they've not only convinced themselves they're right but that they also have the unalienable "right-to-be-right" and that any "impudent backtalk" from Christians must be the result of our evil irrationalism.

Unaccustomed as I am to public gambling, I'm quick to offer a wager because the prideful and their money are easily separated. If, as they insist, no references to Christ claiming His divinity can be found in the Bible, surely they'll have no problem with betting a buck for each and every Biblical passage that proves them wrong.

Inevitably, the unbeliever's jaw will fall open as they struggle to catch their breath, offering a prayer to the God in Whom they don't believe to extricate themselves from the imbroglio of their own making.

In actuality, there are at least fifty passages in which Christ specifically admits to His divinity including:

 

Mt 7:21-22

Not everyone who calls Me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what My Father in Heaven wants them to do. When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord! In Your name we spoke God's message, by Your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!'

Mt 12:7-8

 

 

The scripture says, 'It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.' If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty; for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Mt 18:20

For where two or three come together in My name, I am there with them. (*Jesus is claiming both omniscience and omnipresence here. Only God can do that.)

Mk 9:39

"Do not try to stop him," Jesus told them, "because no one who performs a miracle in My name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about Me. (*Miracles can only result in calling on God's Name. Thus, Jesus admits His divinity.)

Mk 16:17

Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in My name; they will speak in strange tongues; (*Demons are driven from demoniacs by Jesus' Name, that is, in God's Name.)

Mk 14:61-64

But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned Him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?" "I am," answered Jesus, "and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!" The High Priest tore his robes and said, "We don't need any more witnesses! You heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?" They all voted against Him: He was guilty and should be put to death. (*In this passage, Jesus admits to His divinity. If not, why did the High Priest become angry and accuse Him of blasphemy? See also Mt 26:64; Lk 22:70.)

Mk 14:61-62

But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned Him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?" "I am," answered Jesus, "and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!"

Lk 9:48

Whoever welcomes this child in My name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, also welcomes the One who sent Me. (*Thus, Jesus equates Himself with God. See also Mk 9:37)

Lk 6:46

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and yet don't do what I tell you?

Lk 8:38-39

But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Go back home and tell what God has done for you." The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.

Lk 10:16

Jesus said to His disciples, "Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One Who sent Me." The seventy-two men came back in great joy. "Lord," they said, "even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in Your name!" Jesus answered them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven.

Lk 17:17-18

Jesus spoke up, "There were ten who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" (*Jesus was clearly speaking about Himself.)

Jn 5:17-18

Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work." This saying made the Jewish authorities all the more determined to kill Him; not only had He broken the Sabbath law, but He had said that God was His own Father and in this way had made himself equal with God.

Jn 5:21-22

 

 

Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those He wants to. Nor does the Father Himself judge anyone. He has given His Son the full right to judge.

Jn 5:22-23

Nor does the Father Himself judge anyone. He has given His Son the full right to judge, so that all will honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him.

Jn 6:38

Because I have come down from Heaven to do not My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me.

Jn 8:12

 

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. "I am the Light of the World," He said. "Whoever follows Me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness." (*This is very grand language for someone who isn't admitting His divinity. Only God is the Light of the World.)

Jn 8:23

Jesus answered, "You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world.

Jn 8:19

"You know neither Me nor My Father," Jesus answered. "If you knew Me, you would know my Father also."

Jn 8:23

Jesus answered, "You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world.

Jn 8:24

That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that 'I Am Who I Am'." (*A reference to Exodus 3:14 in which God identifies Himself as "I Am Who Am.")

Jn 8:28

So he said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I Am Who I Am'; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say.

Jn 13:19

I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that 'I Am Who I Am.'

Jn 8:58

"I am telling you the truth," Jesus replied. "Before Abraham was born, 'I Am.'"

Jn 10:30-33

"The Father and I are one." Then the people again picked up stones to throw at him. Jesus said to them, "I have done many good deeds in your presence which the Father gave me to do; for which one of these do you want to stone me?" They answered, "We do not want to stone you because of any good deeds, but because of your blasphemy! You are only a man, but You are trying to make yourself God!"

Jn 10:36

 

As for Me, the Father chose Me and sent Me into the world. How, then, can you say that I blaspheme because I said that I am the Son of God?

Jn 10:38

"But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, you should at least believe My deeds, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in Me and that I am in the Father."

Jn 12:45

Whoever sees Me sees also Him Who sent Me.

Jn 13:13-14

"You call Me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet.

Jn 14:6

Jesus answered him, "I Am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by Me.

Jn 14:7

Now that you have known Me," He said to them, "you will know My Father also, and from now on you do know Him and you have seen Him."

Jn 14:9-11

Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to His disciples, "do not come from Me. The Father, Who remains in Me, does His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. If not, believe because of the things I do.

Jn 14:13

And I will do whatever you ask for in My name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son.

Jn 14:14

Ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.

Jn 14:26-27

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you. "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

Jn 15:16

You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name.

Jn 15:26

"The Helper will come—the Spirit, Who reveals the truth about God and Who comes from the Father. I will send Him to you from the Father, and He will speak about Me.

Jn 16:15

All that My Father has is Mine; that is why I said that the Spirit will take what I give Him and tell it to you. (*Jesus is claiming equality with the Father in this verse.)

Jn 16:17-18

Some of His disciples asked among themselves, "What does this mean? He tells us that in a little while we will not see Him, and then a little while later we will see Him; and He also says, 'It is because I am going to the Father.' What does this 'a little while' mean? We don't know what He is talking about!"

Jn 16:23

When that day comes, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you the truth: the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.

Jn 16:24

Until now you have not asked for anything in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.

Jn 16:27

For the Father Himself loves you. He loves you because you love Me and have believed that I came from God.

Jn 16:28

I did come from the Father, and I came into the world; and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

Jn 17:5

Father! Give Me glory in Your presence now, the same glory I had with You before the world was made.

Jn 17:11

"And now I am coming to You; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of Your name, the name You gave me, so that they may be one just as You and I are one."

Jn 17:22

"I gave them the same glory you gave Me, so that they may be one, just as You and I are one:"

Jn 17:24

"Father! You have given them to Me, and I want them to be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, the glory You gave Me; for You loved Me before the world was made.

Rev 1:8

"I Am the first and the last," says the Lord God Almighty, Who is, Who was, and Who is to come."

Rev 1:17

When I saw Him, I fell down at His feet like a dead man. He placed His right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last.

Rev 22:13

I Am the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (*Reference to Isaiah 44:6 in which God admits His divine nature.)

 

But even if we ignore all of the above passages in which Christ specifically admits to being God, Jesus behaves as if He were divine when He heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and raises the dead. He didn't need to point out the obvious.

Finally, it should be kept in mind that the only reason the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees crucified Jesus was because He claimed to be God. The fact that He was crucified proves He made such a claim, often and easily. Non-believers can make their own decisions to not believe Christ's claims but it's silly and wrong to insist that Jesus never made them in the first place.