One of the most frequently asked questions by those who question the divinity of Jesus Christ is, "Where did Jesus say, 'I am God'?" or "Where did Jesus call Himself Lord?" The Holy Scriptures make it abundantly clear that Jesus affirmed both His divinity and Lordship in various ways—through His words, His actions, and the testimony of those who witnessed His glory. He not only directly claimed divine titles, but His disciples, the apostles, and even His opponents recognized and acknowledged Him as God and Lord.
This essay explores the biblical
evidence of Jesus Christ's divinity and Lordship, highlighting His words,
actions, and the recognition of both His followers and opponents. It will
address common questions about His claims to be God and Lord, showing how the
Scriptures consistently affirm His divine identity.
1. Christ Explicitly
Declares His Divinity (አምላክነቱን)
Throughout His ministry, Jesus made statements that the
Jewish people clearly understood as claims to divinity.
In John 8:58, Jesus declared, "ኢየሱስም፦ እውነት እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ አብርሃም ሳይወለድ እኔ አለሁ አላቸው።" This statement echoes Exodus 3:14, where God
revealed His name to Moses as "እግዚአብሔርም ሙሴን፦ «ያለና የሚኖር» እኔ ነኝ አለው:: "
Recognizing this as a claim to divinity, the Jews immediately attempted to
stone Him (John 8:59).
In John 10:30, Jesus boldly stated, “እኔና አብ አንድ ነን።” The response was swift—once again, the Jews picked up stones, saying:
"ስለ መልካም ሥራ አንወግርህም፤ ስለ ስድብ፤ አንተም ሰው ስትሆን ራስህን አምላክ ስለ ማድረግህ ነው እንጂ ብለው መለሱለት።” In response, Jesus pointed them to their own Scriptures, which refer to
certain figures as "gods":
"እኔ፦ አማልክት ናችሁ አልሁ ተብሎ በሕጋችሁ የተጻፈ አይደለምን? መጽሐፉ ሊሻር አይቻልምና እነዚያን የእግዚአብሔር ቃል የመጣላቸውን አማልክት ካላቸው፥ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ ነኝ ስላልሁ እናንተ አብ የቀደሰውን ወደ ዓለምም የላከውን፦ ትሳደባለህ ትሉታላችሁን?" (John 10:33-36).
These passages make it clear that Jesus openly
identified Himself as divine, using language that left no doubt in the minds of
His audience.
Similarly, in John 14:9, Jesus reveals another
truth : “ኢየሱስም
አለው፦ አንተ ፊልጶስ፥ ይህን ያህል ዘመን ከእናንተ ጋር ስኖር አታውቀኝምን? እኔን ያየ አብን አይቶአል፤ እንዴትስ አንተ፦ አብን አሳየን ትላለህ? እኔ በአብ እንዳለሁ አብም በእኔ እንዳለ አታምንምን? እኔ የምነግራችሁን ቃል ከራሴ አልናገረውም፤ ነገር ግን በእኔ የሚኖረው አብ እርሱ ሥራውን ይሠራል። እኔ በአብ እንዳለሁ አብም በእኔ እንዳለ እመኑኝ፤ ባይሆንስ ስለ ራሱ ስለ ሥራው እመኑኝ።”
Here, Jesus reveals that seeing Him is the same as seeing the Father, affirming
that He is the perfect image and full revelation of God.
In Revelation 1:8 –
Jesus declares, "ያለውና
የነበረው የሚመጣውም ሁሉንም የሚገዛ ጌታ አምላክ፦ አልፋና ዖሜጋ እኔ ነኝ ይላል።" The
title "Alpha and Omega" signifies the eternal nature of God, the
beginning and the end. This is confirmed in Isaiah 44:6: "የእስራኤል ንጉሥ እግዚአብሔር፥ የሚቤዥም የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፦ እኔ ፊተኛ ነኝ እኔም ኋለኛ ነኝ፥ ከእኔ ሌላም አምላክ የለም።" By
applying this divine title to Himself, Jesus undeniably affirms His divinity as
the eternal God.
2. Christ Declares
Himself as Lord (ጌታ)
Jesus not only claims to be God but also takes the
exclusive title of "Lord," which in the Old Testament belongs to God
alone.
In John 13:13-14, Jesus affirms: “እናንተ መምህርና ጌታ ትሉኛላችሁ፤ እንዲሁ ነኝና መልካም ትላላችሁ። እንግዲህ እኔ ጌታና መምህር ስሆን እግራችሁን ካጠብሁ፥ እናንተ ደግሞ እርስ በርሳችሁ እግራችሁን ትተጣጠቡ ዘንድ ይገባችኋል።”
Here, Jesus affirms His authority as both "Lord" and
"Teacher," setting an example of humility and service.
In Matthew 12:2-8, it is written: “ፈሪሳውያንም አይተው፦ እነሆ፥ ደቀ መዛሙርትህ በሰንበት ማድረግ ያልተፈቀደውን ያደርጋሉ አሉት። እርሱ ግን እንዲህ አላቸው…. የሰው ልጅ የሰንበት ጌታ ነውና።” By declaring
Himself "Lord of the Sabbath," Jesus asserts divine authority over a
sacred institution established by God Himself.
John 20:26-28 states: “ከስምንት ቀን በኋላም ደቀ መዛሙርቱ ደግመው በውስጥ ነበሩ፥ ቶማስም ከእነርሱ ጋር ነበረ። ደጆች ተዘግተው ሳሉ ኢየሱስ መጣ፤ በመካከላቸውም ቆሞ፦ ሰላም ለእናንተ ይሁን አላቸው። ከዚያም በኋላ ቶማስን፦ ጣትህን ወደዚህ አምጣና እጆቼን እይ፤ እጅህንም አምጣና በጎኔ አግባው፤ ያመንህ እንጂ ያላመንህ አትሁን አለው። ቶማስም፦ ጌታዬ አምላኬም ብሎ መለሰለት። ኢየሱስም፦ ስለ አየኸኝ አምነሃል፤ ሳያዩ የሚያምኑ ብፁዓን ናቸው አለው።”
When Thomas calls Jesus "My Lord and my God!", Jesus does not rebuke
him but instead affirms his faith, confirming His divine lordship.
Luke 6:46 also declares “ስለ ምን፦ ጌታ ሆይ፥ ጌታ ሆይ፥ ትሉኛላችሁ፥ የምለውንም አታደርጉም?” Here, Jesus
emphasizes that acknowledging Him as Lord requires obedience, not just words.
3. Jesus Accepts
Prostration of Worship as God
In the Old Testament, worship is reserved for God
alone: “ከእኔ በቀር ሌሎች አማልክት አይሁኑልህ…” (Exodus 20:3-5). Angels and prophets reject
prostration of worship, as seen in Revelation 22:8-9 and Acts 10:25-26: “እርሱም፦ እንዳታደርገው ተጠንቀቅ፤ ... ለእግዚአብሔር ስገድ አለኝ።” However, Jesus not
only receives but affirms prostration of worship (የአምልኮ ስግደት).
In Matthew 28:9, 17, after
the resurrection, His disciples offered prostration of worship to Him. “በፍርሃትና በታላቅ ደስታም ፈጥነው ከመቃብር ሄዱ፥ ለደቀ መዛሙርቱም ሊያወሩ ሮጡ። እነሆም፥ ኢየሱስ አገኛቸውና፦ ደስ ይበላችሁ አላቸው። እነርሱም ቀርበው እግሩን ይዘው ሰገዱለት። በዚያን ጊዜ ኢየሱስ፦ አትፍሩ፤ ሄዳችሁ ወደ ገሊላ እንዲሄዱ ለወንድሞቼ ተናገሩ፥ በዚያም ያዩኛል አላቸው።”
In Matthew 14:31-33, after
Jesus walked on water, the disciples offered prostration of worship to Him. "
ወዲያውም ኢየሱስ እጁን ዘርግቶ ያዘውና፦ አንተ እምነት የጎደለህ፥ ስለምን ተጠራጠርህ? አለው። ወደ ታንኳይቱም በወጡ ጊዜ ነፋሱ ተወ። በታንኳይቱም የነበሩት፦ በእውነት የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ ነህ ብለው ሰገዱለት።"
Their act of prostration of worship acknowledges Jesus’ divine nature,
confirming that He is more than just a teacher or prophet but truly the Son of
God. This moment highlights the disciples' recognition of His supreme authority
and power over creation
Hebrews 1:6 also states the
Father commands all angels to offer prostration of worship to Christ: "ከመላእክት ይልቅ እጅግ የሚበልጥ ስምን በወረሰ መጠን እንዲሁ ከእነርሱ አብዝቶ ይበልጣል። ከመላእክትስ፦ አንተ ልጄ ነህ፥ እኔ ዛሬ ወልጄሃለሁ፥ ደግሞም፦ እኔ አባት እሆነዋለሁ እርሱም ልጅ ይሆነኛል ያለው ከቶ ለማን ነው? ደግሞም በኵርን ወደ ዓለም ሲያገባ፦ የእግዚአብሔር መላእክት ሁሉም ለእርሱ ይስገዱ ይላል።"
This verse emphasizes that the Father has given Christ the highest honor,
commanding even the angels to bow in worship to Him. The angels’ worship is a
recognition of Christ’s supreme status as the Son of God.
If Jesus were merely a
prophet, He would have rejected the prostration of worship offered to Him by
His disciples. However, He accepted it, thereby affirming His divine nature.
4. Jesus Has Divine Authority (መለኮታዊ ስልጣን)
Jesus displays authority that only God possesses:
In Mark 2:5-8, Jesus
forgives the sins of a paralyzed man: “ኢየሱስም እምነታቸውን አይቶ ሽባውን፦ አንተ ልጅ፥ ኃጢአትህ ተሰረየችልህ አለው። ከጻፎችም አንዳንዶቹ በዚህ ተቀምጠው ነበር በልባቸውም፦ ይህ ሰው ስለ ምን እንደዚህ ያለ ስድብ ይናገራል?
ከአንዱ ከእግዚአብሔር በቀር ኃጢአት ሊያስተሰርይ ማን ይችላል?
ብለው አሰቡ። ወዲያውም ኢየሱስ በልባቸው እንዲህ እንዳሰቡ በመንፈስ አውቆ እንዲህ አላቸው፦ በልባችሁ ይህን ስለ ምን ታስባላችሁ?”
In this passage, the scribes (ጸሐፍት)
immediately recognize that only God has the authority to forgive sins. By
forgiving the paralyzed man’s sins, Jesus asserts His divine authority and
demonstrates that He possesses the same power as God.
In John 5:22-23, Jesus
declares: "ሰዎች ሁሉ አብን እንደሚያከብሩት ወልድን ያከብሩት ዘንድ፥ ፍርድን ሁሉ ለወልድ ሰጠው እንጂ አብ በአንድ ሰው ስንኳ አይፈርድም። ወልድን የማያከብር የላከውን አብን አያከብርም።" In this statement, Jesus emphasizes that the
Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son. He asserts the inseparable
connection between Himself and the Father. To honor the Son is to honor the
Father, and vice versa. This underscores Jesus' divine authority and the unique
relationship He shares with the Father.
In Matthew 28:18 it is
written: “ኢየሱስም ቀረበና እንዲህ ብሎ ተናገራቸው፦ ሥልጣን ሁሉ በሰማይና በምድር ተሰጠኝ።” No mere prophet or created being can claim such
absolute authority.
Luke 7:46-49 states, Jesus
forgives a sinful woman, and the people ask, "Who is this who even
forgives sins?"…አንተ ራሴን ዘይት አልቀባኸኝም፤ እርስዋ ግን እግሬን ሽቱ ቀባች። ስለዚህ እልሃለሁ፥ እጅግ ወዳለችና ብዙ ያለው ኃጢአትዋ ተሰርዮላታል፤ ጥቂት ግን የሚሰረይለት ጥቂት ይወዳል። እርስዋንም፦ ኃጢአትሽ ተሰርዮልሻል አላት።ከእርሱም ጋር በማዕድ ተቀምጠው የነበሩት በልባቸው፦ ኃጢአትን እንኳ የሚያስተሰርይ ይህ ማን ነው?
ይሉ ጀመር።ሴቲቱንም፦ እምነትሽ አድኖሻል፤ በሰላም ሂጂ አላት።” (Luke 7:46-49). When those who were resting at the
table with Him began to question in their hearts, "Who is this who even
forgives sins?" He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go
in peace." (Luke 7:46-49)
5. Others Declare That Jesus Christ Is
God and Lord
The testimony of others, both in the Gospels and throughout the New Testament,
strongly affirms the divinity and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
A. The Apostles Declare Jesus Is God
John 1:1 reveals, “በመጀመሪያው
ቃል ነበረ፥ ቃልም በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ፥ ቃልም እግዚአብሔር ነበረ። ይህ በመጀመሪያው በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ነበረ። ሁሉ በእርሱ ሆነ፥ ከሆነውም አንዳች ስንኳ ያለ እርሱ አልሆነም።”
In this profound declaration, the Apostle John
emphasizes that Jesus (the Word) was with God from the beginning, and He is God
Himself. Everything exists through Him, and without Him, nothing would exist.
This powerful affirmation directly acknowledges Jesus' divine nature and
eternal presence with God.
Titus 2:13 proclaimed, “ይህም ጸጋ፥ ኃጢአተኝነትንና ዓለማዊን ምኞት ክደን፥ የተባረከውን ተስፋችንን እርሱም የታላቁን የአምላካችንንና የመድኃኒታችንን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን ክብር መገለጥ እየጠበቅን፥ ራሳችንን በመግዛትና በጽድቅ እግዚአብሔርንም በመምሰል በአሁኑ ዘመን እንድንኖር ያስተምረናል::”
This verse clearly reveals that Jesus Christ is both our Lord and Savior.
In Hebrews 1:8, the
Father says of the Son: “ስለ ልጁ ግን፦ አምላክ ሆይ፥ ዙፋንህ እስከ ዘላለም ድረስ ይኖራል፤ የመንግሥትህ በትር የቅንነት በትር ነው።”
This passage affirms the eternal nature of Jesus’ kingship, with God the Father
declaring His Son to be the eternal King, whose reign is marked by
righteousness. It is a powerful testimony to Jesus' divine authority.
2 Peter 1:1 records, “የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ባሪያና ሐዋርያ የሆነ ስምዖን ጴጥሮስ፥ በአምላካችንና በመድኃኒታችን በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ጽድቅ ካገኘነው ጋር የተካከለ የክብር እምነትን ላገኙ…”
This verse clearly declares Jesus Christ as both our Lord and Savior,
highlighting His divine nature and role in granting us righteousness through
faith.
B. The Apostles Declare Jesus Christ Is
Lord
The apostles boldly
declare the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
Acts 2:36 declares, “እንግዲህ ይህን እናንተ የሰቀላችሁትን ኢየሱስን እግዚአብሔር፣ ጌታም ክርስቶስም እንዳደረገው የእስራኤል ወገን ሁሉ በእርግጥ ይወቅ።” Peter's
declaration in Acts affirms that Jesus, whom they crucified, is both Lord and
Christ, and this truth should be known to all of Israel.
Philippians 2:11
also proclaims, “ይህም
በሰማይና በምድር ከምድርም በታች ያሉት ሁሉ በኢየሱስ ስም ይንበረከኩ ዘንድ፥ መላስም ሁሉ ለእግዚአብሔር አብ ክብር ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ጌታ እንደ ሆነ ይመሰክር ዘንድ ነው።”
Paul reminds us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, bringing glory to God the Father. These passages
powerfully affirm the apostles' testimony that Jesus is not only Savior but
also the sovereign Lord.
In Romans 10:9 -11 it is written:
“ኢየሱስ ጌታ እንደ ሆነ በአፍህ ብትመሰክር እግዚአብሔርም ከሙታን እንዳስነሣው በልብህ ብታምን ትድናለህና፤ ሰው በልቡ አምኖ ይጸድቃልና በአፉም መስክሮ ይድናልና። መጽሐፍ፦ በእርሱ የሚያምን ሁሉ አያፍርም ይላልና።”
Paul emphasizes the essential faith: confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in
His resurrection brings salvation. Those who believe in Him will never be put
to shame.
In Revelation 17:14,
Jesus is called “Lord of lords and King of kings.” “እነዚህ በጉን ይወጋሉ፤ በጉም የጌቶች ጌታና የነገሥታት ንጉሥ ስለ ሆነ እነርሱን ድል ይነሣል፥ ከእርሱም ጋር ያሉ የተጠሩና የተመረጡ የታመኑም ደግሞ ድል ይነሣሉ።”
In Revelation, Jesus is declared as the supreme authority— “Lord of lords and
King of kings”—and all those who are called, chosen, and faithful will share in
His victory. These verses emphasize that Jesus is not only the Savior but the
Sovereign King overall.
C. Even Christ’s Enemies
Recognized His Claims
John 5:17-21 records that the
Jews sought to kill Jesus "because He said that God was His Father, making
Himself equal with God.
"ኢየሱስ ግን፦ አባቴ እስከ ዛሬ ይሠራል እኔም ደግሞ እሠራለሁ ብሎ መለሰላቸው። እንግዲህ ሰንበትን ስለ ሻረ ብቻ አይደለም፥ ነገር ግን ደግሞ ራሱን ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር አስተካክሎ፦ እግዚአብሔር አባቴ ነው ስላለ፥ ስለዚህ አይሁድ ሊገድሉት አብዝተው ይፈልጉት ነበር።
ስለዚህ ኢየሱስ መለሰ እንዲህም አላቸው፦ እውነት እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ አብ ሲያደርግ ያየውን ነው እንጂ ወልድ ከራሱ ሊያደርግ ምንም አይችልም፤ ያ የሚያደርገውን ሁሉ ወልድ ደግሞ ይህን እንዲሁ ያደርጋልና።
አብ ወልድን ይወዳልና፥ የሚያደርገውንም ሁሉ ያሳየዋል፤ እናንተም ትደነቁ ዘንድ ከዚህ የሚበልጥ ሥራ ያሳየዋል። አብ ሙታንን እንደሚያነሣ ሕይወትም እንደሚሰጣቸው፥ እንዲሁ ወልድ ደግሞ ለሚወዳቸው ሕይወትን ይሰጣቸዋል።” Here, Jesus affirms His divine nature and the unique
power He shares with the Father—showing His enemies, as well as His followers,
that He is indeed Lord and Savior.
In John 19:7, the Jews
told Pilate, "He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of
God." “ጲላጦስም፦ እነሆ ሰውዬው አላቸው። የካህናት አለቆችና ሎሌዎች ባዩትም ጊዜ፦ ስቀለው ስቀለው እያሉ ጮኹ። ጲላጦስም፦ እኔስ አንዲት በደል ስንኳ አላገኘሁበትምና እናንተ ወስዳችሁ ስቀሉት አላቸው።”
Even as His enemies rejected Him, they could not deny the claim that Jesus had
made regarding His divine sonship, which was at the heart of their
condemnation.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ explicitly
declared His divinity through His words, His actions, and His divine authority.
He identified Himself as “I AM”, accepted worship of prostration, forgave sins,
ruled over the Sabbath, and exercised divine judgment. Moreover, He proclaimed
Himself as Lord, a title belonging to God alone. His disciples, the apostles,
and even His enemies recognized these claims. Thus, when someone asks,
"Where did Jesus say, 'I am God'?" or "Where did He call Himself
Lord?", the Bible offers abundant evidence. Jesus is, without question,
both God and Lord—eternally worshiped and glorified.
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