The uniqueness of Jesus Christ is that He is God incarnate. It is nearly incomprehensible that God, who loves us so much that He chose to step off His throne, would take off His glory and clothe Himself in human flesh and live among us. He did not choose to be born in a sterile hospital or in a warm palace, but in a filthy stable. He did not choose a king and queen to be His parents, but instead, chose Joseph, a poor carpenter, and Mary, his wife. God, the King of Kings, chose to humble Himself by entering our world as a low class citizen. The first chapter in the Book of John beautifully describes Jesus’ deity. Jesus is who He said He is or Christianity has been a sham for nearly 2000 years.

John, an eyewitness, does not hesitate to Call Jesus "God" (John 1:1,14; 1 John 5:20). John opens his book by describing that Jesus was present when creation began. John starts the book with identical words that begin Genesis, "In the beginning…." John declared Jesus was God who created the world in the beginning. Jesus did not come into being at His birth as a human being but always existed because He is eternal.

John 1:14 states, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." God, who is invisible, chose to become human and live with mankind. Another name given to Jesus is Immanuel, which means "God with us," (Matt. 1:23). Jesus was the visible God who demonstrated His love for us and showed us how to live our lives according to scripture. For the first time humans could actually touch God, talk to God face to face, and listen to His voice. The untouchable felt His touch, the unlovable felt His love, the sick were made well, the intellectuals were dumbfounded, and the prideful were humbled.

Jesus literally walked and breathed scripture. His life displayed scripture and His words were scripture. People were amazed when Jesus spoke because He spoke with authority and had the power to forgive sins. He never changed His mind, guessed, rephrased His words, contradicted Himself, withdrew what He said, modified or used words that indicated uncertainty. His teaching was completely different from other teachers in those days as well as all the prophets. Any prophet or teacher always used the words "thus says the Lord" to precede what will be spoken or written are from God. Jesus, however, did not say, "Thus says the Lord," but used the words, "I tell you the truth," (John 1:51) to speak with authority. It was those words that indicated He is God and what He said is from the Father.

Jesus' greatest pronouncement of divinity is found in John 8:58, "’I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’" The religious leaders in those days recognized the "I am" as a reference to the holy name of God given to Moses (Exodus 3:14). Jesus made Himself equal with God. This declaration alone made the Jews angry enough to stone Him but He slipped away. The punishment for blasphemy was death by stoning, but Jesus was not guilty of blasphemy and was able to slip away because no one could take His life without Him giving it up freely.

Jesus made other declarations of His equality with God. He announced His deity by saying that anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father (John 14:8-9). He and the Father are one (John 10:25-39). If we know Jesus we know the Father (John 8:19). If we honor Jesus we also honor the Father (John 5:23). In simple terms Jesus is saying how we treat Him is how we treat God the Father. Jesus is the visible God; the incarnation of God.

Jesus demonstrated his equality with God by receiving worship. Jesus received worship and blessed the worshipper. He did not rebuke anyone who worshipped Him (John 9:35-39). Angels did not receive worship from man. They rebuked and told the worshipper to worship God because angels are fellow servants (Revelation 22:8-9). Other men did not accept worship because they recognize that they are only men themselves and unworthy of worship (Acts 10:25-26). Jesus accepted worship because He was God in the flesh and worthy of worship.

Jesus' indirect claims to the deity were His ability to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins against Him and man cannot accept forgiveness for God. Jesus’ act of forgiveness declares His deity as God and authority to forgive sins as seen in Mark 2:1-12.

1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins …." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Jesus asked an unanswerable question, "Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your amt and walk’?" It required divine power to do both which Jesus proved before their eyes. In verses 6-8 Jesus also reveals his deity by addressing what the teachers were thinking. Only God knows man’s secrets and will judge them (Romans 2:16).

Jesus has made indirect and direct claims to His deity. But the greatest evidence to His deity is seen through His death and resurrection. Beginning in chapter 18 of the book of John we begin to see that Jesus was not an ordinary man. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, led some soldiers and some officials from the chief priest and Pharisees to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. Jesus approaches them and asked them, "Who is it you want?"

They replied, "Jesus of Nazareth."

In verse 5 Jesus answers, "I am He." When they heard Him they drew back and fell to the ground. Jesus once again used the holy name of God (Exodus 3:14) to identify Himself. The authority in His voice and declaration overwhelmed them and they fell to the ground. A day will come "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). This is a picture of what is to come.

The soldiers and religious officials led Jesus to the high priest who questioned Him and sent Him to the political court where Pilate questioned Him as well. Finding no basis for execution, Pilate, being pressured by the crowd, sentenced Jesus to a crucifixion. Jesus was a sinless and an innocent man and yet He was condemned to die what was then considered to be the most humiliating form of death.

If Jesus is God, then why did He allow this to happen? In Matthew 26:53 Jesus states, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" Twelve legions would be about 72,000 angels at Jesus’ disposal. Why didn’t Jesus request deliverance? Jesus gives the reason in the following verse, "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matt. 26:54). Jesus loved His Father and was obedient to the very end. He knew the Father's will is for Him to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin for all mankind. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus’ love kept Him on the cross. Jesus was not thinking of Himself but of us. He knew His death would restore mankind's relationship with God the Father. His blood was required for the forgiveness of sin because in Heb. 9:22 says, "…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

The story does not end there. Jesus was laid in a tomb but three days later He rose from the dead! Only God has authority over death. Once again, Jesus proved His deity by rising from the dead, which gives us hope that we will also be resurrected and death will not have permanent domain over us. Jesus’ resurrection is the key foundational event to the Christian faith. His resurrection signifies that He is a living Christ and He accomplished what He promised (Matt. 16:21). It is proof that Jesus was not a false prophet, a false teacher, a lunatic, or an imposter. One sure way to squelch the Christian movement is to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Men have been trying to disprove the resurrection for nearly 1,970 years without success because the evidence they need does not exist; His body. After Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to His disciples and to more than 500 believers at the same time (1 Cor. 15:5-6). All but one of Jesus’ disciples, John the Revelator, sacrificed their lives spreading the Christian faith. They would not have went to their graves defending a lie. Human beings are fickle. Humans will not die for what is known to be a lie. But the disciples gave their lives because they were eyewitnesses to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them for forty days (Acts 1:3).

Anyone who truthfully studies the life of Christ understands that Jesus' teachings and actions are inseparable to who He is. There is no other historical figure that affected history as much as Jesus Christ. We even base our dates according to his birth. Who else in history has made such an impact? What sets Jesus’ claim to be God from other men in history who made and still make the claim to be God? Let me ask this question: "Whose grave is empty?" Jesus Christ is the only one who conquered death by raising himself from the dead. Only the God of all things, things in heaven and on earth, has that kind of power over death. Jesus claimed to be God and He proved it by the miracles He performed and by rising from the dead, in which no one in history has achieved.