7.9 What evidence points to his divine nature?

In the previous chapter, we examined the evidence in favor of the human nature of Jesus: he learns, prays, grows tired, experiences hunger, thirst, emotion, temptation, and suffering. His words highlight his dependence on the Father, from whom he receives his teaching, and his constant willingness to submit to God. The disciples themselves presented him as the servant and messenger of God.

This leaves a difficult question: are there really solid biblical indications in favor of his divine nature? Is he truly more than a man?
Honestly, it took me years to gather the elements presented below. It is a subject that has deeply challenged me, one on which I often changed my mind, sometimes quite radically.

In this chapter, I will present in a structured way the passages and clues that struck me over time, and that gradually helped me discern what seemed most plausible.

Miracles attributed to God acting through Jesus #

One of the first indications of Jesus’ divine nature, often mentioned by many people, is the fact that he performed miracles:

Matthew 8:1–3: “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came up and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Matthew 9:27–30: “As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ (…) Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”

However, in my view, these accounts do not in themselves constitute direct proof of his divine nature.

Take, for example, the raising of Lazarus:

John 11:21–27: “Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’
She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”

John 11:39–44: “Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”

What is striking here is that Jesus does not ask the Father to raise Lazarus: he thanks God for already having heard him. This means that the miracle is understood as an act of God, carried out through Jesus. In other words, Jesus acts in perfect communion with and dependence on his Father, and the public prayer emphasizes that it is God who manifests his glory through him.

This point is confirmed by other biblical passages that insist that Jesus’ miracles were performed with God’s help:

Acts 2:22: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”

Acts 10:38: “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

John 14:10: “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

Thus, the Gospels and Acts present an interesting tension:

• on the one hand, Jesus acts with unique authority, presenting himself as “the resurrection and the life”;
• on the other hand, his miracles are explicitly connected to God’s action, emphasizing that it is God who works through him.

Jesus forgives sins #

In first-century Judaism, the forgiveness of sins was considered an exclusive prerogative of God. Temple sacrifices, purification rites, and the ministry of the priests were only means established by God, but the final act of forgiveness came from Him alone. That is why, when Jesus says to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5), the scribes immediately react: “He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).

For his contemporaries, no man could speak such words without usurping divine authority. In that context, claiming the power to forgive sins meant placing oneself in the position of God himself. For a devout Jew, it would have been unthinkable to hear such a statement without seeing in it either blasphemy or an implicit claim to divinity.

Jesus accepts worship #

In the Old Testament, worship is reserved exclusively for God:

Exodus 20:3–5: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image… You shall not bow down to them or serve them.”

Even angels and prophets, when someone attempts to worship them, categorically refuse. In Revelation 19:10, John recounts that after hearing the announcement of the marriage supper of the Lamb, he falls at the angel’s feet to worship him. But the angel firmly refuses. This shows that even angels reject worship, which belongs to God alone.

“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!’”

Yet Jesus, on several occasions, receives worship from his disciples and does not refuse it:

Matthew 14:33: “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

Matthew 28:17–18: “And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’”

John 20:28–29: “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

In this last passage especially, Jesus does not correct Thomas. On the contrary, he encourages belief.

That is significant: a devout Jewish teacher would never have accepted a form of honor reserved for God, unless he believed himself worthy of it. The fact that Jesus accepts worship, unlike all the other servants of God in the Bible, is therefore a strong indication of his divine nature.

The resurrection as indirect evidence of Jesus’ divinity #

Another element often cited to “prove” Jesus’ divine nature is the fact that he rose from the dead. But in my view, this is not a direct proof of his divine nature either.
Indeed, Acts 2:22–24 clearly states that it is God who raised him:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know;
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

This shows that Jesus did not simply come back to life by his own power. The resurrection must be understood as an act of the Father toward the Son.

However, it does serve as indirect evidence of his divine nature. By raising him, God fully vindicates Jesus and his message. And that message included extremely bold claims (as seen above; see also the table below): identifying himself with the “I am,” declaring himself one with the Father, claiming authority to forgive sins, and receiving worship from his disciples. If Jesus had lied, exaggerated, or blasphemed, God would not have authenticated his teaching with such a unique sign.

The apostle Paul sums this up by saying that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power… by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). The resurrection is therefore not just one more miracle: it is the divine confirmation that Jesus truly is what he claimed to be.

Other biblical indications in favor of Jesus’ divinity #

Besides miracles, the forgiveness of sins, the worship he receives, and the resurrection, other biblical passages also point toward Jesus’ divine status. Taken together, these verses form an additional body of evidence in favor of his divinity.

C. S. Lewis’s trilemma #

In Mere Christianity¹, C. S. Lewis presents the radical alternative created by Jesus’ claims:

According to Lewis, there are therefore three possible options:

1. A lunatic: Jesus believed he was God without actually being so → a delusion comparable to mental illness.
2. A liar: Jesus knew he was not God, but deliberately deceived his disciples → he would be a religious impostor.
3. The Lord: Jesus was telling the truth → he truly is what he claimed to be, the incarnate Son of God.

Was Jesus insane or a liar?

This question was also examined by investigative journalist Lee Strobel in The Case for Christ². To test the hypothesis of Jesus as either “mad or deceptive,” Strobel interviewed Dr. Gary R. Collins, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology.

• Dr. Collins states that there is nothing in the Gospels that corresponds to the characteristic symptoms of people suffering from delusions of grandeur or severe psychological disorder.
• On the contrary, Jesus appears coherent, lucid, balanced, and his teaching reflects deep moral and spiritual wisdom.
• As for the hypothesis of deceit, Strobel’s book reminds us that Jesus endured humiliation, suffering, and death without ever retracting his claims—which is hard to reconcile with the idea of a religious fraud.

👉 Thus, neither the explanation of lunatic nor that of liar holds up under scrutiny. That leaves the third option: Jesus truly is the Lord.

Conclusion #

Taken in isolation, the miracles could be interpreted as signs worked by God through a prophet. But the fact that Jesus forgives sins, accepts worship, and that God authenticated his message through the resurrection goes far beyond the role of a mere messenger. These elements converge to show that Jesus is not simply a man chosen by God, but that he participates in the divine sphere itself.

The other New Testament passages strengthen this picture: Jesus claims the identity of the “I am,” presents himself as preexistent and Lord of the Sabbath, declares that he is in the Father, and claims universal authority. Taken together, these indications—confirmed by the resurrection—form a strong testimony in favor of Jesus’ divine nature.

C. S. Lewis summarized this dilemma by saying that, in the face of such claims, only three options are possible: Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or truly the Lord. And as Lee Strobel argued in The Case for Christ, psychological analysis makes it highly unlikely that he was insane, while his willing acceptance of suffering and death makes it equally implausible that he was a liar. That leaves the third option: Jesus truly is who he claimed to be—the incarnate Son of God.

What does it mean to say that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God? How can he possess both a human and a divine nature? That is what we will explore in the next chapter.

Further reading: #