KenTheExegete

The most common objection Muslims and many others who reject the deity of Christ will bring up against the Christian doctrine is “Jesus never claimed to be God in Bible.” Of course all true believers in Christ disagree with this claim because of what the totality of Scripture teaches. 

Let’s take a look at some of the popular “go to” verses that prove Jesus claimed to be God in our modern English Bible, and then see what it says in the Aramaic Bible translated in plain English, which is the primary language that our Lord Jesus spoke when he was on earth. 

JESUS WALKING ON WATER 

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27 (LSB) 

“It is I” in Greek is egō eimi which literally translates to “I am” 

https://biblehub.com/greek/1510.htm

Now look at the English translation of this verse from the Aramaic Bible:

“But Yeshua immediately spoke with them and he said, “Take heart; I AM THE LIVING GOD. Do not be afraid.” 

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/matthew/14.htm

Pretty cool right?! But don’t pass out from shock just yet, because there’s more!

The same is in Mark’s gospel account and John’s: 

for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Mark 6:50 (ESV)

For they all saw him and they were afraid and immediately he spoke with them     and he said to them, “Take heart, I AM THE LIVING GOD; do not be afraid.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/mark/6.htm

But he said to them, “It is I (egō eimi). Don’t be afraid.” John 6:20 (CSB) 

But Yeshua said to them, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, do not be afraid.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/john/6.htm

Notice how Jesus’ words in the Greek are synonymous in Matthew, Mark, and John’ gospel:

Matthew 14:27    Tharseite egō eimi mē phobeisthe

Mark 6:50              Tharseite egō eimi mē phobeisthe

John 6:20                                   egō eimi mē phobeisthe

The only difference in John is the imperative verb Tharseite “Take courage” is not used. Bedsides this, all three gospel writers record Jesus’ word in harmony with each other when he approaches his disciples when they see him walking on water. 

JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us. ”Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He (egō eimi).” John 4:25-26 (LSB)

The woman said to him, “I know that The Messiah is coming, and when he comes, he will teach us all things. “Yeshua said to her, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, I who am speaking with you.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/john/4.htm

JESUS “THE BREAD OF LIFE”

30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God  is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.  John 6:30-35 (LSB)

Now look at what verse thirty-five in the Aramaic Bible in English:

Yeshua said to them, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Bread of Life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever trusts in me shall never thirst.” v. 35 (Aramaic Bible in English)

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:47-51 (LSB) 

47 “Timeless truth I speak to you: ‘Whoever trusts in me has eternal life.’” 48“I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Bread of Life.” 49 “Your forefathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died.” 50″This is The Bread that came down from Heaven, that a man may eat of it and he shall not die.” 51″I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Living Bread, who have come down from Heaven, and if a man will eat of this bread, he will live for eternity, and the bread that I shall give is my body that I give for the sake of the life of the world.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/john/8.htm

Jesus affirms his divine pre-human existence by contrasting himself as the true living bread from Heaven with the manna which the Yahweh rained down upon the Israelites during the Exodus:

Watch this connection!

4 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My law. 5 Now it will be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that Yahweh has brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of Yahweh, for He hears your grumblings against Yahweh; and what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “This will happen when Yahweh gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; for Yahweh hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against Yahweh.” Exodus 16:4-8 (LSB)

Watch how the Jews react when Jesus claimed to be the “living bread” that came down from heaven:

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. John 6:41-43 (LSB)

WOW! Jesus just claimed to the “THE LIVING GOD” the eternal bread that came down from heaven, just like how the Israelites where grumbling about the bread  that Yahweh gave them through Moses, the Jew were grumbling about Jesus claiming to be the “living bread” that came down from Heaven, and promises eternal, immortal life to everyone who eats that bread and believes in him. 

Benjamin L. Gladd summarizes this thought best when he says:

“The crowds appeal to a combination of Exodus 16:4 and Psalm 78:24 when they said “Our father ate the manna in the wilderness” (v.31). However, the crowd, in their use of “our ancestors,” identify themselves with the first generation of Israelites, with the conception of Caleb and Joshua, never set foot in the in the land of Cannan precisely because they grumbled and failed to trust in Yahweh. Yahweh is the ultimate source of nourishment for the Israelites, not Moses. Taken together, the crowd gathered in the synagogue is ironically repeating the sins of their ancestors in the wilderness- ignoring the true life-giving presence of God in their midst.”¹

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD 

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12 (LSB)

And Yeshua spoke again with them and he said: “I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Light of the world. Whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall find* the light of life.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

https://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/john/8.htm

Now notice what David says about Yahweh:

Yahweh is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strong defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread? Psalm 27:1 (LSB)

WOW! Jesus is the “LIVING GOD”, the Light of the world, who is Yahweh in the flesh who promises that whoever follows him will never be overshadowed by darkness be he is Yahweh, the LIVING GOD our light.

I can show many more examples of this, but for the sake of space in this article I will continue this in a part two… 

1. Benjamin L. Gladd, Handbook on the Gospels :(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2021), 341. ↩︎