While there is no denying that the Gospels do not feature Jesus saying the exact words, “I am the Son of God,” there are plenty of other examples in Scripture where Jesus does not make a direct statement about himself, yet most Christian denominations believe in the associated teaching. For instance, Jesus never says, “Hey everyone, I am in a Trinity” — yet Scripture contains passages (Matt. 28:19; John 15:26) that infer Jesus’ role as ‘Son’ in the triune God relationship: Father / Son / Holy Spirit.
Therefore, a more productive approach is to look at the various ways Scripture points to, or more directly establishes, Jesus as the Son of God. First, although divinely appointed sonship has a range of elevated meanings in the Old Testament, the New Testament writers view these meanings as allegories to Christ. One example is Jesus fulfilling Hosea 11:1: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son (O’Collins 122, 123). In addition, as the Davidic king in the OT is divinely appointed, including being called ‘God’s son’ when coronated, (Ps. 2:7, 89:26-27; O’Collins 123), so too does Jesus have an elevated status as David’s royal descendant (Luke 1:32).
Yet how do we distinguish between the Davidic kingship’s royal status as ‘God’s son’ and Jesus’ kingship as meaning he is the consubstantial Son of God? One way involves how Jesus refers to God while preaching or praying: Throughout the Gospels, Jesus often refers to God as ‘Father’ (e.g., Matt 11:27; Mark 13:32; Luke 11:13); and his usage is markedly distinct from how ‘father’ is used in the Old Testament: In Jesus’ case, he gives the impression he has a direct, familial relationship with God, even referring to God as ‘Abba” while praying in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). This is the equivalent of a modern-day child saying “Dad” to a biological father. Yet Jesus takes it a step further and distinguishes his use of ‘Abba’ with how he referred to his disciples’ relationship with God. In short, and as O’Collins points out, Jesus encourages his disciples to use ‘Abba’ in prayers as a way of forming and edifying a spiritually familial relationship with God, through Jesus Christ as Savior (O’Collins 129).
Along with Jesus’ words indicating he is God’s son, the term ‘Son of God’ is used in several different circumstances: Jesus’ disciples refer to him as such (Matt 14:33; 16:15), Jewish leaders and enemies mock him as the ‘Son of God’ (Mark 14; Matt. 27:40), and a voice from heaven calls Jesus ‘my beloved Son’ during his baptism (Mark 1:11) — just to name a few examples. Additionally, Jesus’ actions and preaching projected him as not simply a human making divine claims. He authoritatively corrects Jewish law, he forgives sins, he performs miracles, he reveals God’s message and will, and he presents himself as the gatekeeper to God’s kingdom (O’Collins 131, 132). Furthermore, Jesus is worshipped on many occasions (Matt 2:2, 14:33, 28:9) — meaning that his relationship to God indicates being ontological; he is what the name ‘Emmanual’ means: “God is with us” (Matt 1:23; O’Collins 132, 151).
Which also means that Jesus is the eternally begotten of the Father; he pre-exists creation and was sent down by the Father to fulfill God’s glory and humankind’s redemption (John 3:17, 5:24). He is conscious of this relationship with the Father (John 8:23), and his preexistence is instrumental in creation and becoming the ‘word made flesh’ (John 17:5, 1:14). Lastly, as he succinctly yet powerfully states in John 8:58: “Before Abraham came to be, I AM.” And as ‘I AM’ is also ‘Yahweh’, Thomas rightfully calls Jesus “my lord and my God” in John 20:28 (O’Collins 145).
Works Cited
O’Collins, Gerald. Christology: A Biblical, Historical and Systematic Study of Jesus. 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.