Jesus’ Confession of His Divinity and His Acceptance of Worship: A Theological and Scholarly Analysis

 Jesus’ Confession of His Divinity and His Acceptance of Worship: A Theological and Scholarly Analysis

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute

Throughout the Gospel narrative, one truth stands undeniably clear: Jesus Christ never denied His divinity, nor did He ever forbid the worship that was rightly offered to Him. On the contrary, Jesus both confessed His divine identity and accepted worship as an attribute consistent with His eternal nature as God the Son.

1. Jesus’ Divine Confession Before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:63–65)

In Matthew 26, Jesus stood before the high priest Caiaphas, accused of blasphemy. The high priest demanded under oath:

“Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (Matthew 26:63)

Jesus’ response was both profound and revelatory:

“You have said so. But I say to you: From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64)

This declaration is not a denial but a divine affirmation. Jesus invoked the imagery of Daniel 7:13–14, where “One like the Son of Man” comes on the clouds of heaven and is given everlasting dominion, glory, and worship. The reaction of the Sanhedrin confirms their understanding: the high priest tore his robes, declaring, “He has spoken blasphemy!” (Matthew 26:65). In Jewish context, blasphemy was not merely claiming to be a prophet or messiah—it was claiming divine status. Jesus’ words therefore constituted a confession that He is indeed God in the flesh.

2. Jesus Never Denied His Deity

Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus say, “I am not God,” nor does He ever discourage anyone from worshipping Him. In fact, those who approached Him in worship were consistently affirmed rather than rebuked:

• The Magi bowed and worshipped Him as an infant (Matthew 2:11).

• The leper worshipped Him saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2), and Jesus did not reject his worship.

• The disciples worshipped Him after He calmed the storm, confessing, “Truly, you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).

• The blind man healed in John 9 worshipped Jesus, and Jesus accepted it (John 9:38).

• Thomas, upon seeing the risen Christ, exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), to which Jesus responded, “You have believed because you have seen me” (John 20:29), affirming Thomas’s declaration, not rejecting it.

In contrast, when worship was wrongly directed toward created beings, the response was immediate rejection. Peter refused worship (Acts 10:25–26), and angels forbade it (Revelation 19:10). Yet Jesus never once forbade or corrected those who worshipped Him—because worship belonged rightly to Him.

3. The Theological Implications of His Confession

Theologically, the confession in Matthew 26 reveals Jesus’ conscious identity as Yahweh incarnate. By declaring that He would sit at the right hand of Power (a Jewish circumlocution for God), Jesus equated Himself with the divine authority of the Father. He did not claim to be a god among many, but the divine Son who shares in the essence and authority of God Himself.

Jesus’ consistent self-revelation—through titles such as “I Am” (John 8:58), “The Light of the World” (John 8:12), “The Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25), and “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6)—confirms that His mission was not to point to another deity, but to reveal Himself as the visible manifestation of the invisible God (John 14:9; Colossians 1:15).

4. Conclusion

Therefore, Jesus’ silence in denying His divinity is not mere omission—it is a deliberate theological assertion. His acceptance of worship, His divine titles, and His self-identification with the Father all testify that He is truly God. The accusation of blasphemy in Matthew 26 proves that even His enemies understood His claim clearly.

In sum, Jesus never said, “I am not God,” nor did He say, “Do not worship Me.” Rather, He openly confessed His divine nature, accepted worship as His right, and demonstrated through His life, death, and resurrection that He is indeed Emmanuel—God with us.

References

• The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV)

• Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah. Doubleday, 1993.

• Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Eerdmans, 2003.

• Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity. Eerdmans, 2008.

• Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Fortress Press, 1996.

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute