Short answer
Not once. We counted every verse of the four Gospels: in 95, Jesus puts God (﷾) above himself, and in none does he say he is God. He never tells anyone to worship him either. We used the King James Version of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and counted only Jesus' own words. He says God (﷾) sent him 40 times. He calls God his God, or the one God (﷾) to worship, 14 times. He says his words, his will and his power come from God (﷾) 36 times. He calls himself a man or a prophet 5 times. Christians cite about 30 other verses. In none of them does he say he is God either. Twelve of them are in John, the last Gospel to be written. Several answer themselves: "All power is given unto me". So the count is 95 verses that set God (﷾) above Jesus. Not one has him say he is God.
Full explanation
How we counted
We read every verse of the four Gospels in the King James Version. We counted only verses in which Jesus himself speaks. Each verse counts once. When two Gospels tell the same saying, each Gospel's verse counts. We did not count the parables, or what others say about him. The result is 95 verses that set God (﷾) above Jesus, and none in which he says he is God. Every verse is listed further down this page, so anyone can check them.
“But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
- 95Verses in which Jesus puts God (﷾) above himself
- 0Verses in which Jesus says "I am God"
- 0Verses in which Jesus says "worship me" about himself
"He that sent me": 40 times
In 40 verses Jesus says that God (﷾) sent him. He says it in all four Gospels. "He that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." The one who sends is not the one who is sent. Jesus states the rule himself: "neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him".
“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.”
“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”
"My God, and your God": 14 times
In 14 verses Jesus names God as his God, or as the one God (﷾) to worship. He tells Satan: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Asked for the first commandment, he says: "The Lord our God is one Lord". He refuses even to be called good: "there is none good but one, that is, God." On the cross he cries: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" After rising, he says: "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
"I can of mine own self do nothing": 36 times
In 36 verses Jesus says that what he has comes from God (﷾). His teaching: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." His words: "I have not spoken of myself". His power: "I can of mine own self do nothing". His will: "not as I will, but as thou wilt." His knowledge: of the last day no one knows, "neither the Son, but the Father." And he says plainly: "my Father is greater than I."
“Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”
“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”
"A man", "a prophet": 5 times
In 5 verses Jesus calls himself a man or a prophet. He calls himself "a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God". When his home town rejected him, he said: "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country". In Luke he says: "it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem."
“But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”
“And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”
“Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.”
"I am God" and "worship me": 0 times
In no Gospel does Jesus say that he is God. The words "worship me" appear four times. Twice Satan says them, asking Jesus to worship him. Twice Jesus quotes God's (﷾) words in Isaiah, about people who honour God (﷾) with their lips only. Jesus never says "worship me" about himself.
“And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
The 30 verses Christians cite
Christians point to verses that, they say, show he is God without saying it. "Before Abraham was, I am." "I and my Father are one." "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father". "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." He forgives sins, and calls himself "Lord also of the sabbath". We gathered the 30 verses they cite most. In not one of them does Jesus say that he is God. Each is answered below, often by the same verse or the next one.
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
“I and my Father are one.”
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
“Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
The verses answer themselves
The same Gospel answers each one. "I am" is what the man born blind says too: "I am he". "One" is what Jesus prays his followers will be: "that they may be one, even as we are one". "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" is soon followed by "The Son can do nothing of himself". "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" is followed by "I speak not of myself". He forgives sins as one given the power: the crowd "glorified God, which had given such power unto men." "There am I in the midst of them" has a verse before it. It says: "it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven". His greatest claim of power says where it came from: "All power is given unto me". At his trial his "I am" answered whether he was the Christ, the Messiah, not whether he was God.
“Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.”
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”
“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”
“But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.”
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
“But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
“And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
| Saying | What the Gospel itself says |
|---|---|
| "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) | The man born blind says the same words: "I am he" (John 9:9). |
| "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) | He prays that his followers "may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:22). |
| "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9) | Next verse: "I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works". |
| "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17) | Two verses on: "The Son can do nothing of himself" (John 5:19). |
| He forgives sins (Mark 2:5-10) | The crowd "glorified God, which had given such power unto men" (Matthew 9:8). |
| "All power is given unto me" (Matthew 28:18) | Given: the power comes from someone else. |
| "There am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20) | The verse before: "it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven". |
| "I am" at his trial (Mark 14:62) | The question was: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (Mark 14:61). |
Where the verses are
Most scholars take Mark to be the earliest Gospel. In Mark, 9 verses set God (﷾) above Jesus, and 4 are cited for his being God. None of those 4 is "Before Abraham was, I am", "I and my Father are one" or "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father". Those sayings are only in John. Most scholars date John last, to around 90 to 95. Bart Ehrman is a historian of the early church. He points out that Jesus never calls himself God in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Yet even John has 64 verses that set God (﷾) above him.
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
“I and my Father are one.”
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
Argues that in Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus never calls himself God, and that the sayings Christians read as claims to be God appear only in John, the last of the four Gospels to be written.
A standard textbook. It dates Paul's earliest letters to around 50 CE, Mark to about 65-70, Matthew and Luke to about 80-85, and John to about 90-95, and notes that Jesus spoke Aramaic while the Gospels were written in Greek by authors who do not name themselves. It also says Paul did not know Jesus during Jesus' lifetime and came to faith only after the crucifixion.
Mark is dated to about 65 to 70, Matthew and Luke to about 80 to 85, John to about 90 to 95.
| What Jesus says | Verses |
|---|---|
| God (﷾) sent me: 40 | Matthew 10:40, 15:24; Mark 9:37; Luke 4:18, 4:43, 9:48, 10:16; John 4:34, 5:24, 5:36, 5:37, 5:38, 6:29, 6:39, 6:40, 6:44, 6:57, 7:18, 7:28, 7:29, 7:33, 8:16, 8:18, 8:26, 8:29, 8:42, 9:4, 10:36, 11:42, 12:44, 12:45, 13:20, 15:21, 16:5, 17:8, 17:18, 17:21, 17:23, 17:25, 20:21 |
| The Father is "my God", the one to worship: 14 | Matthew 4:10, 19:17, 22:37, 27:46; Mark 10:18, 12:29, 12:30, 15:34; Luke 4:8, 18:19; John 4:22, 8:54, 17:3, 20:17 |
| My teaching, will and power come from God (﷾): 36 | Matthew 12:28, 20:23, 24:36, 26:39, 26:42; Mark 10:40, 13:32, 14:36; Luke 11:20, 22:42; John 5:19, 5:22, 5:26, 5:27, 5:30, 6:38, 7:16, 7:17, 8:28, 8:50, 10:25, 10:29, 10:32, 12:49, 14:10, 14:24, 14:28, 14:31, 15:10, 15:15, 17:2, 17:4, 17:7, 17:22, 17:24, 18:11 |
| I am a man, a prophet: 5 | Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24, 13:33; John 8:40 |
| Verses Christians cite: 30 | Matthew 9:2, 9:6, 11:27, 12:8, 18:20, 26:64, 28:18, 28:19, 28:20; Mark 2:5, 2:10, 2:28, 14:62; Luke 5:20, 5:24, 6:5, 7:48, 22:70; John 5:17, 5:23, 8:24, 8:58, 10:30, 10:38, 11:25, 13:19, 14:6, 14:9, 17:5, 18:5 |
What Jesus says in the Qur'an
The Qur'an gives the same answer as the count. It tells of Jesus being asked if he told people to worship him and his mother as gods. He answers: "never could I say what I had no right (to say)." He says he told them only to "worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord". In the cradle his first words were: "I am indeed a servant of Allah". Islam asks Christians to take Jesus at his word, as the Gospels and the Qur'an both record it.
“And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah'?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden.”
“"Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.”
“He said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;”
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Jesus did not need to say "I am God" in those words. Christians say his sayings and his acts show it, and that the verses which set God above him speak of his human nature.
In John 8:58 Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I am", taking God's name from Exodus 3:14.
Rebuttal
The man born blind uses the same words of himself: "I am he". In the same chapter Jesus adds: "I do nothing of myself". One who does nothing of himself is not God.
Jesus forgives sins, which only God can do.
Rebuttal
Jesus says the Son of man has "power on earth to forgive sins". Matthew says the crowd "glorified God, which had given such power unto men." A power that is given is not the power of God (﷾) Himself.
The verses that set God above Jesus speak of his human nature only.
Rebuttal
Jesus never says he has two natures. He speaks as one person, and that person calls the Father "my God" even after rising from the dead. In 95 verses he puts God (﷾) above himself, and in none does he say he is God.
The Islamic perspective
Jesus was a messenger sent by God (﷾). In his own words in the Gospels he puts God (﷾) above himself again and again, and he never says he is God. The Qur'an records the same.
Jesus says God (﷾) sent him in 40 verses.
Jesus calls the Father "my God", and "the only true God".
Jesus says he can do nothing of himself, and that the Father is greater than he is.
Jesus never says "I am God" or "worship me" about himself in any Gospel.
In the Qur'an Jesus says he told people only to worship Allah (﷾), his Lord and theirs.