By Sam Shamoun
People keep saying, especially in Nigeria, that “Jesus never claimed to be God.” It’s almost become a cultural argument. You hear it on campuses, in mosques, in debates at beer parlors, even from Christians who only go to church because their parents forced them.
But it’s interesting that the same people who claim Jesus never said He was God also never explain why His enemies accused Him of blasphemy and tried to stone Him. If He never claimed divinity, why did they understand His words differently?
In John 10:30, Jesus said “I and the Father are One.” The Jews immediately picked up stones—not because He said He was a prophet, but because He made Himself equal with God. Their response wasn’t confusion; it was outrage. They explicitly told Him, “You, being a man, make Yourself God.” They understood the claim clearly, even if modern people choose to ignore it.
Look at Thomas after the resurrection. He didn’t say “My prophet and my teacher.” He said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Jesus did not correct him, He didn’t reject worship, He accepted it. That alone should disturb anyone who insists Jesus was just a messenger. In scripture, every angel and prophet rejects worship immediately—yet Jesus received it.
The same Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Not “I existed”—but “I AM.” The same covenant name God used in Exodus 3:14: “I AM THAT I AM.” That was not a metaphor. It was a claim to eternal self-existence. Again, they tried to stone Him. If people in Nigeria today think that verse is “not literal,” explain why the Jews who spoke His language, lived in his culture, heard Him clearly, reacted as if He committed blasphemy.
People want a Jesus they can admire, quote, use for motivational captions, and use as a symbol of peace. But they don’t want the Jesus who claims divine authority. They want a safe Jesus. A moral teacher Jesus. A prophet Jesus. A “nice guy” Jesus.
But once you declare Jesus is God in the flesh, the conversations change instantly, especially in a religiously divided country like Nigeria. Suddenly people want you to “calm down,” “respect other religions,” or “interpret it differently.” Why? Because accepting Jesus’ divinity forces a decision—either worship Him or reject Him outright. There is no middle ground.
If Jesus was just a prophet, why did His earliest followers pray in His name? Why did they baptize in His authority? Why did they worship Him? Why did they die refusing to deny His divine identity? Prophets point to God; Jesus pointed to Himself. Prophets say “follow God”; Jesus said “follow Me.” Prophets say “God has sent me”; Jesus said “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”
Nigeria is full of people who respect Jesus culturally but deny Him spiritually. They want to honor Him the way people honor historical figures—like Mandela or Gandhi—without surrendering to Him as God. But you cannot accept His teachings and deny His identity. His identity is the foundation of His message.
So the real question is not “Did Jesus claim to be God?” The real question is: Why do people fight so hard to deny it? Because if He is God, then His words are not advice—they are commands. His death is not symbolic—it is substitution. His resurrection is not a myth—it is authority. And you cannot call Him a prophet and reject His boldest claim.
The conversation must be honest: Was Jesus God in the flesh, or just a messenger? Not based on emotions, tradition, or religious bias—but based on scripture and historical reality. The answer to that question determines everything.
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