Did Jesus Claim He Was God? Does The Bible Claim Jesus Is Yahweh?

Sometimes I get the question, where does the Bible claim that Jesus is God? Or “Does Jesus ever claimed that He’s God?”

I thought I’d tackle this by drawing attention to the name of God commonly used in the Old Testament, (and by the Jesus in the Bible,) even until today: Yahweh.

Have you ever wondered if there was any significance to the name YHWH? (Pronounced as “Yahweh.”) 

And why did the Romans. On nailing Jesus to the cross decide to put the words “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”—the acronym to which is YHWH?

^{Matthew 27: 36} Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. ³⁷ And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Or in Hebrew: Yeshua HaNazararei VMalech HaYehudim

Look at the reaction of the Jewish leaders to this:

^{Matthew 19: 21} Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

What difference did it make if the sign read: ‘He said, “I am…”’ or if it were “This is Jesus the King of the Jews?”

If you looked at ancient paintings that translated this to Latin you’d see: INRI

But in Hebrew the acronym was written above Jesus’s head was: YHWH.

Yahweh!

The sign post above Jesus said “Yahweh”, since the Jews tended to place significance on the beginning letters of each words. Which was why the chief priests were so upset. It was just as Jesus said:

^{John 4:10} Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

So who was it that asked the woman—Give me a drink?

Jesus. He was the speaker, and he was the “I Am,” as in this passage in John 8.

Hint—look at the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders in this conversation they had with Jesus:

^{John8: 56} Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple,^[b] going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

And when Jesus was crucified they placed the sign post “YHWH” above his crucified head, further affirming what Jesus claimed of himself. Is it any wonder that the religious leaders reacted so vehemently and wanted the sign changed?

 And what does YHWH mean anyway? Also known as the Tetragrammaton, the Ancient Hebrew is written as in the image below.

Its literal meaning is: Exists and Exists He. This ties in with “I Am That I Am” generally shortened to “I AM”.

You probably already know that each alphabet in Hebrew has a meaning with a corresponding picture linked to it. The equivalent of the letter “A” for instance, which is “Ox”, “Strength” or “Leader”.

So if you string the alphabets YHWH together what picture do you get?

Y is “Yod”

H is “Hey”

W is “Vav”

H is “Hey”.

What sort of picture was God trying to paint using these alphabets—if you, like I do, believe that each letter and jot or tittle is crucial to understanding the Word of God, that is.

This is the full picture:

(Yod) Arm or Hand, (Hey) Lo! Behold or Look!  (Vav) Nail or Peg, (Hey) Look!

It sure seems like God wanted the Jews (and us) to draw attention to, and behold, the hand and the nail. Of whom?

This ties in to the doubting Thomas story:

^{John 20:25}  The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he (Thomas) said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas,^[a] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

So, today, if you have not beheld what Jesus did, did not beheld HIS nail pierced hands/arms and what He did on the cross, would you not consider it for once? Ask Jesus to come into your life and see HIS goodness all the days of your life.