Did Jesus claim to be God?

Muslims believe that Jesus ﷺ (peace be upon him) was one of the slaves of Allah, and one of His noble Messengers. Allah sent Jesus to the Children of Israel to call them to believe in Allah alone and worship Him alone.

Allah supported Jesus ﷺ (peace be upon him) with miracles that proved he was speaking the truth; Jesus was born to the Virgin Maryam (Mary) with no father. He permitted to the Jews some of the things that had been forbidden to them, he did not die and his enemies the Jews did not kill him, rather Allah saved him from them and raised him up to heaven alive. Jesus told his followers of the coming of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him). Jesus will come back down at the end of time. He will disavow himself on the Day of Resurrection of the claims that he was a God.

On the Day of Resurrection, Jesus will stand before the Lord of the Worlds, Who will ask him before the witnesses what he said to the Children of Israel, as Allah says:

And ˹on Judgment Day˺ Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you ever ask the people to worship you and your mother as gods besides Allah?” He will answer, “Glory be to You! How could I ever say what I had no right to say? If I had said such a thing, you would have certainly known it. You know what is ˹hidden˺ within me, but I do not know what is within You. Indeed, You ˹alone˺ are the Knower of all unseen. I never told them anything except what You ordered me to say: “Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord!” And I was witness over them as long as I remained among them. But when You took me, You were the Witness over them—and You are a Witness over all things. If You punish them, they belong to You after all. But if You forgive them, You are surely the Almighty, All-Wise.”

Quran - 5:116-118

(interpretation of the meaning)

An honest examination shows that Jesus ﷺ (peace be upon him) never explicitly and unequivocally said he was God. It was the authors of the New Testament, none of whom met Jesus, that claimed he was God and propagated this. There is no evidence that the actual apostles of Jesus claimed this, or that they authored the Bible. Rather, Jesus is shown to be constantly worshiping, and calling others to worship, God alone.

The claim that Jesus ﷺ (peace be upon him) is God cannot be ascribed to Jesus, if it so starkly contradicts the First Commandment not to take any gods besides God, nor to make an idol of anything in heaven and earth. Also, it’s logically absurd for God to become His creation.

Thus, only Islam’s claim is plausible, and consistent with early revelation: Jesus ﷺ (peace be upon him) was a prophet, not God.

Source: seekersguidance.org · islamqa.info · islamweb.net · islamqa.info