Lesson 3 - The Claims of Jesus Christ
Lesson Overview
Lesson 2 examined the authority of Jesus Christ — what He does. Lesson 3 turns to the claims of Jesus Christ — what He says about Himself. Pastor Josh notes that Jesus is not merely a man born who claimed to be God; He is God who became man. That distinction is the key to everything that follows.
The lesson moves through four movements. First, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus presses His disciples on the question that His earthly ministry kept provoking: “whom say ye that I am?” Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” — and Jesus does not correct him; He blesses him. The title “Son of Man,” anchored in Daniel 7:13-14, is no humble denial of deity — it is a claim to receive an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days.
Second, in John 5, the Sabbath controversy explodes precisely because the Jews understood His claim. They sought to kill Him because He “said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Third, the lesson walks through the “I AM” sayings spread across John’s Gospel — John 6:62, John 8:23-24, John 16:28, John 17:5, and the staggering moment in John 18:6 when the soldiers come to arrest Him, He says “I am he,” and they go backward and fall to the ground. Mark 14:61-62 closes the sequence: standing before the high priest, He confirms under oath that He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed.
Fourth, the lesson lands where every honest reader must land. The claims of Jesus — “I and my Father are one,” “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father,” “before Abraham was, I am” — are exclusive, authoritative, and total. Either He is a self-deceived egomaniac, or He is God. The lesson refuses to permit any third option, and calls the student to trust Christ as Saviour today.
Lesson Outline
I. The Question at Caesarea Philippi — “Whom say ye that I am?”
Matthew 16:13-20 — Jesus puts the question directly to His disciples.
The world’s speculation: John the Baptist, Elijah (Malachi 4:5), Jeremiah, or in league with Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24).
Peter’s confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus does not correct Peter; He pronounces him blessed and builds the church on that confession.
II. The Son of Man — A Title of Deity, Not Humility
Daniel 7:13-14 — One like the Son of Man comes to the Ancient of Days and receives an everlasting dominion.
When Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, He is claiming the kingdom and the authority of Daniel 7.
“The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” — His kingdom is unstoppable.
III. Equal with the Father — John 5:17-18
Jesus heals on the Sabbath and says, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
The Jews sought to kill Him because He was “making himself equal with God.”
Their understanding of His claim was correct — and matches Philippians 2:6.
IV. The “I AM” and Pre-Existence Claims
John 6:62 — “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?”
John 8:23-24 — “Ye are from beneath; I am from above… if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
John 16:28 — “I came forth from the Father… I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
John 17:5 — “the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
John 18:4-6 — At His arrest He says “I am he” and the soldiers go backward and fall to the ground.
Mark 14:61-62 — Before the high priest: “I am: and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power.”
V. Absolute Equality with the Father
John 10:30 — “I and my Father are one.”
John 12:45 — “He that seeth me seeth him that sent me.”
John 14:9-10 — “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
The seven “I am” predicates of John’s Gospel restated: bread, light, door, shepherd, resurrection, way, vine.
VI. The Inescapable Conclusion
Such bold, exclusive, authoritative claims reveal one of two things: an egomaniac, or the truth of who Jesus is.
There is no third option. Trust Christ as your only and all-sufficient Saviour today.
Key Scriptures
Matthew 16:13-17
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Daniel 7:13-14
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
John 5:17-18
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Philippians 2:6
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
John 6:62
What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
John 8:23-24
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
John 16:28
I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
John 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 18:4-6
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
Mark 14:61-62
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.
John 10:30
I and my Father are one.
John 12:45
And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
John 14:9-10
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.
Memory Verse
I and my Father are one.
— John 10:30
Written Summary
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus pressed His disciples with the question that His entire earthly ministry kept provoking: “Whom say ye that I am?” The world had its theories — John the Baptist risen, Elijah returned per Malachi 4:5, Jeremiah back from the dead, or worse, an agent of Beelzebub. Peter, speaking for the twelve, gave the right answer: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus did not rebuke him. He blessed him, and declared that on the confession of His own divine identity He would build His church, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
The title Jesus most often used of Himself — Son of Man — was no humble denial of deity. Pastor Josh takes us to Daniel 7:13-14, where one like the Son of Man comes with the clouds of heaven, approaches the Ancient of Days, and receives an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away. Every time Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, He was reaching back into Daniel’s vision and claiming the kingdom and the throne it described.
In John 5, the Sabbath controversy makes the claim explicit. Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and answers His critics, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” The Jews understood Him perfectly. They sought to kill Him not for a healing they considered unlawful, but because He was “making himself equal with God.” Their reading of His words was correct, and Paul confirms it in Philippians 2:6 — Christ “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
Then come the great “I AM” claims. In John 6:62, He speaks of ascending “where he was before.” In John 8:23-24, He warns, “if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” In John 16:28, He came forth from the Father and goes back to the Father. In John 17:5, He prays to be glorified with the glory He had with the Father “before the world was.” In John 18, when the soldiers come to arrest Him in Gethsemane and He says, “I am he,” the entire arresting party goes backward and falls to the ground. And in Mark 14:61-62, before the high priest, He testifies under oath: “I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power.” That confession is exactly what gets Him condemned to die.
Beyond these, Jesus claimed absolute and total equality with the Father. “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). “He that seeth me seeth him that sent me” (John 12:45). “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). The seven “I am” predicates of John’s Gospel — bread, light, door, shepherd, resurrection, way, vine — are not the language of a humble teacher. They are the speech of God in the flesh.
Pastor Josh closes the lesson where every honest reader of the Gospels must close: such bold, exclusive, authoritative claims permit only two conclusions. Either Jesus is a self-deceived egomaniac whose words can be safely ignored — or He is who He says He is, the Son of God, equal with the Father, the great I AM. There is no middle ground, no third option, no comfortable place where He can be a “good teacher” but not God. The call of this lesson is unmistakable: trust Christ as your only and all-sufficient Saviour today.
Study Questions
For reflection and personal application. Good for individuals, couples, and small groups.
When Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?”, He was not asking for their opinion — He was forcing a confession. If He were standing before you today and asked the same question, what would your honest answer be, and how does the rest of your life either confirm or contradict it?
Pastor Josh shows that “Son of Man” is not a humble title but a claim drawn from Daniel 7:13-14. How does that change the way you read the Gospels — particularly the moments where Jesus uses the title most often?
In John 5:18, the Jews understood Jesus’s claim better than many modern readers do — they tried to kill Him because He was “making himself equal with God.” Why is it impossible to keep Jesus as a “good teacher” while refusing His claim to deity?
Read John 18:4-6 slowly. When Jesus says “I am he,” the soldiers fall backward to the ground. What does that single moment tell you about the power present in Christ even as He willingly walked toward the cross?
In Mark 14:61-62, Jesus is asked under oath if He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. He says, “I am.” That confession is what condemns Him to die. Why is it significant that the cross was secured not by mistaken identity, but by His own truthful testimony?
Pastor Josh repeats throughout the lesson that there are only two possible conclusions: egomaniac or God. Why does this hard either/or matter so much, and where do you see modern attempts to invent a comfortable third option?
Of the seven “I am” predicates of John’s Gospel — bread, light, door, shepherd, resurrection, way, vine — which one most powerfully shapes the way you walk with Christ this week, and why?
Review Questions
Question 1: At Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13-17), what was Peter’s confession of who Jesus is?
A. A great prophet, on par with Elijah and Jeremiah.
B. The Christ, the Son of the living God.
C. A wise teacher sent from God to renew Israel.
D. The Messiah, but not divine in nature.
Question 2: In John 5:18, why did the Jews seek even more earnestly to kill Jesus?
A. Because He claimed to be a prophet greater than Moses.
B. Because He healed too many people on the same day.
C. Because He was making Himself equal with God.
D. Because He criticized the temple authorities publicly.
Question 3: When Jesus said “I am he” to the soldiers in John 18:6, what happened?
A. The soldiers immediately bound Him and took Him away.
B. They went backward and fell to the ground.
C. A great earthquake shook the garden.
D. They asked Him to identify Himself a second time.
Answer Key
B — The Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter’s confession identifies Jesus not merely as a prophet or teacher but as the promised Messiah and the divine Son — and Jesus blessed him for the answer rather than correcting it.
C — He was making Himself equal with God. The Jews understood His claim in John 5:17 perfectly; calling God His own Father in that way was a direct claim to deity, which they considered blasphemy worthy of death.
B — They went backward and fell to the ground. In John 18:6 the divine name “I AM” carried such inherent power that even at His arrest, the soldiers were physically driven back — a glimpse of the deity He willingly veiled to walk to the cross.
Going Deeper
— Daniel 7:9-14 — Read the entire vision, not just the verses Pastor Josh quoted. The Ancient of Days takes His seat, books are opened, and the Son of Man receives the kingdom. Every Gospel use of “Son of Man” reaches back to this scene.
— John 8:48-59 — The fullest “I AM” confrontation in the Gospels. It begins with the Jews accusing Jesus of being a Samaritan with a devil and ends with “Before Abraham was, I am” — and they take up stones. Read it alongside Exodus 3:14.
— Hebrews 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-20 — Two apostolic summaries of the same claim Jesus made about Himself. The Son is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,” and “by him all things consist.” The apostolic witness fully agrees with the Lord’s own testimony.
Coming Up Next
Lesson 4 — If Jesus is who He claims to be, how did people actually respond when they encountered Him? We will turn from the claims of Christ to the confrontations of Christ — the individuals and crowds who met Him face to face, what they said about Him, and what their responses teach us about our own.
