Does Jesus ever directly and explicitly claim to be the Messiah (the Christ) in public, before his trial with the Sanhedrin?

Question

At Jesus' trial, He clearly affirms that He is the Christ, the Son of God. Mark 14:61-62 says

"Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus[.]"

In Matthew and Luke, his affirmation is obscured by a Rabbinic expression which means 'I am' - "You say that I am" - but Mark conveys it clearly to an audience not familiar with that sort of expression.

After this, the court concludes Jesus has committed blasphemy.

"63 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “Why do we need any more witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death."

Similarly, there are at least a couple instances where Jesus affirms, directly and explicitly, his identity as the Messiah (the Christ) before the trial privately.

John 4:25-26 is one, where He clearly says "I am he".

"25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”"

Matthew 16:16-17 is another, where his answer cleary affirms St. Peter's revelation of his identity as "the Christ, the Son of the living God".

"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven."

Yet, John 8 is a running verbal battle between Jesus and hostile elements within the crowd, where twice they ask him who He is. At John 8:25, in response to him saying "I am (he)", they ask and at John 8:53, culminating with the famous "Before Abraham, I am (he?)" response. It might be that the hostile crowd understands this as a claim to be the Christ, and that is why they pick up stones, but whatever the reason, it is not an explicit and direct claim to be the Christ. (Indeed, many Trinitarians believe Jesus is claiming to be Yahweh here, not the Christ!)

So, does Jesus ever directly and explicitly claim to be the Messiah (the Christ) in public, before his trial before the Sanhedrin (where He is then immediately condemned to death for blasphemy)?

Answer 1

If you mean by directly stating the words, "I am the Messiah" or for that matter, "I am God" the answer would be no.

The Jews convicted Jesus of breaking the law against blasphemy by claiming to be the "Messiah, the Son of God". He was indeed convicted of that crime but He was innocent for the simple, self-evident fact that he really WAS "the Messiah, the Son of God" which the Jews understood in their own idiom to be a claim of deity.

Even Pilate said explicitly that he found no guilt in Jesus (including the guilt of treason). Jesus was not convicted of ANYTHING under Roman law.

Moreover, the Jews were NOT forbidden from executing someone under their own law. They were forbidden from doing so without Roman permission, which Pilate explicitly granted.

The Jews rightly convicted Jesus of blasphemy, NOT because he blasphemed, but because they did not believe he is who he said he was. The fact is that the Jews held a variety of views on the nature of the Messiah, especially back then. (Those views have homogenized significantly in the centuries the rise of Christianity).

The high priest Caiaphas set the trap. He asked if Jesus was "The Messiah, the Son of (God)" thus asking if Jesus was the ONE person who was BOTH the Messiah and the Son of God, committing him to the view of a divine Messiah. This is what Jesus himself finally answered to.

Among those that believed the Messiah was to be a divine figure any claim to be the Messiah would have been a claim to deity - that would have been a given. BUT, among those who did not believe the Messiah was a divine figure - such a conjunction would be necessary in order for the court to secure a conviction - which was their objective from the beginning of the trial.

The Jews already had it in for Jesus. But they could not just kill him because they felt like it. They had to have a trial and it had to prove that Jesus committed a crime worthy of death.

The question Caiaphas ask from Matthew 26:63, "And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."

In other words, Caiasphas accused Jesus (via his question) of claiming to be ONE person, ONE thing: The Christ, The Son of God. That is ONE entity with two titles. Both titles are used of Christ throughout the New Testament.

It is from THIS confession that the court convicted Jesus of blasphemy. One cannot be convicted of claiming to be merely a human Messiah. One can only blaspheme God by claiming to be God or equal with God by means of such a confession. The Jews LATER make it explicitly clear that this is exactly what Jesus did (John 19:7).

Also at Matthew 26:64 Jesus answers the question when Jesus says, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see The Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Verse 65, "Then the high priest tore his robes, saying He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;"

In conclusion, Jesus was indeed convicted of the crime of blasphemy but He was innocent for the simple, self-evident fact He really was the Messiah, the Son of God and they did not believe Him, just as many do not believe Jesus today. (John 20:30-31).

Answer 2

John gives us Jesus answer to that question:

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. (John 10 ESV)

The people: If you are the Christ, tell us plainly...
Jesus: I told you and you do not believe

When did Jesus tell them plainly He was the Christ? The most explicit would be to be the Good Shepherd, which fulfills the future foreseen by Ezekiel:

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. (Ezekiel 34:23)

“My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. (Ezekiel 37:24)

Answer 3

I'll offer a more nuanced response in an effort to supplement the two thoughtful answers already provided.

Let us consider the question 3 different ways:

1. Did Jesus ever directly and explicitly claim to be the Messiah in public, before his trial with the Sanhedrin?

We don't know. Every word spoken by Jesus in the Gospels can be read aloud in under an hour. In a ministry of ~3.5 years he would have said many things...most of which are not recorded in the New Testament.

If we are comfortable with the belief that the statements in the Gospels, though not exhaustive, are representative of Jesus' key teachings in mortality, we may well conclude that He made no statements more direct than what the Gospels record. This, however, would be an inference, not something directly demonstrated by the text.

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2. Is there record in the Gospels of Jesus directly and explicitly claiming to be the Messiah in public, before his trial with the Sanhedrin?

As discussed by Mr. Bond & Dottard, if we're looking for a public declaration "I am the Messiah", no such statement will be found.

However, it is evident from Caiaphas' question that it was publicly known that Jesus was being referred to as the Messiah. Although we do not have record of Jesus making this statement publicly, apparently others were doing so. Clear examples are found in John 4:

The woman at the well:

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? (John 4:29)

A larger subset of the local Samaritan population:

Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:42)

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3. Did Jesus ever identify Himself as the Messiah in public, before his trial with the Sanhedrin?

Yes.

This is recorded in Luke chapter 4, when Jesus preached in His hometown of Nazareth. Although at no point in Luke's record does Jesus say "I am the Messiah", to those familiar with contemporary Jewish Messianic beliefs, His meaning was clear:

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:16-21).

Jesus has quoted from Isaiah 61, which the Jews understood to be a Messianic passage; this is what prompted the murderous rage in Nazareth and the attempt to kill Jesus recorded in Luke 4:29.

As noted in Meyer's NT Commentary:

this was a very characteristic Messianic passage, describing by very definite marks the Messiah’s person and work

Jesus claimed that He was the fulfilment of Isaiah's Messianic prophecy.

Answer 4

I like Mr. Bond's answer. This answer is not to detract from that one but to add weight to it.

Here is my list of the times that Jesus came closest to explicitly claiming to be either Messiah, The Son of God, and the "I Am" of the OT (see LXX Deut 32:39, Isa 41:4, 43:10, 13, 25, 45:19, 46:4, 48:12, 51:12, 52:6).

1. Woman at the well

John 4:25, 26 - The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Jesus answered, “The one speaking to you, I Am.”

This "I Am" declaration serves a dual function:

• to positively identify Himself as Messiah
• to affirm that Jesus is the "I Am" of the OT (see above OT references).

2. John 5 - Healing at the Pool of Bethesda

The healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda followed by an extended discussion between the Jews and Jesus in John 5 is a special event where Jesus makes repeated claims about His divinity and equality with the Father; thus, it deserves special attention.

[Jesus performed seven miracles on the Sabbath: Mark 1:21-28, 29-31, 3:1-6, John 9:1-16, Luke 13:10-17, 14:1-6, John 5:1-18. In several of these, Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath and had to defend His actions. The differences in His defense are significant. In Mark 3:1-6, John 9:1-16, Luke 13:10-17, Jesus defends His actions on the Sabbath by essentially claiming He was doing good, etc.]

However, in John 5:1-18, Jesus heals the man at Bethesda on Sabbath. In this case, Jesus made no attempt to defend Himself by claiming that He was doing good etc. Rather He claimed that this was part of His regular job of working continuously just as the Father does (compare Col 1:17) and thus was not guilty of Sabbath breaking.

This is significant; Jesus’ defense in John 5 was essentially His divinity as He states several times in the subsequent discussion in John 5 – see below. Thus, Jesus' defense is unique here - He claims equality with the Father and the need to uphold the universe (Col 1:17), and thus, was not guilty of breaking the Sabbath.

The great problem that the Jews had in John 5, against which Jesus defends Himself, appears to have at least two facets:

• God (as they understood Him) is Almighty, Grand, Majestic and distant (despite the above). It was precisely this idea that the Gospel of John was written to dispel because in its opening prologue, we read: (John 1:18) - No one has ever seen God, but the one and only God, the One being in the bosom of the Father, has made Him known. Compare v1 where the Word is God.
• Jesus calls God the Father, "my Father" (V17), ie, His personal Father making Jesus equal with God. [I pause to note, and am supersized to observe that the Jews did not object to this on the basis of strict monotheism!! See appendix below.] This was acknowledged and unchallenged.

Jesus then goes on to say specifically in what aspects He was equal with the Father:

• V17 - Both the Father and Jesus must “work” continuously
• V17, 18 - Jesus claims the Father as his own personal Father
• V19 - The Father and Jesus work together in complete unity (not unison)
• V21, 26 - The Father and Jesus both have life in Themselves and can raise people from the dead at will
• V22 - The Father has committed all judgement to the Son
• V23 - All must honor the Son as they honor the Father
• V24, 25 - Jesus' “word” is the key to eternal life

Jesus then summons legal evidence that His testimony about Himself (as outline above) is valid under Jewish law because:

• V31-38 - He has a second, very weighty, witness in His Father.
• V39, 40 - Jesus claims to be the fulfillment of the Scriptures as Messiah
• V41-47 - Jesus comes in the Name of the Father and they do not believe Jesus; this, despite the fact that they believe people who come in their own name.

3. John 8, Multiple Claims

John 8 is also significant because there are multiple claims made by Jesus:

• V12 - "I am the Light of the world" (Compare John 1:9, 9:5) - a direct allusion to Ps 27:1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation", and, Micah 7:8 "the LORD will be my light."
• V23, 24 - Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
• V28 - So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.
• V58, 59 - “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. ...

4. John 10:30, 31, 33

I and the Father are one.” At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him. ... “We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”

5. Peter's Confession

• Matt 16:16, 17 - Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven."

Note the dual title of (1) Christ/Messiah, and, (2) The Son of God

6. Trial before the Sanhedrin

• Mark 14:61-64 - Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

Note that in this instance, Jesus effectively claims several things, namely:

• That He was the Christ/Messiah
• The Son of God
• The "I Am"
• The Son of Man

Note that claiming to be a human messiah was nothing new. However, explicitly claiming to be both human (the Son of Man) and divine (the Son of God) and Messiah all at once, was (to them) quote blasphemous; but only if it was not true!

7. Arrest in the Garden

John 18 records the arrest of Jesus in the Garden and the exchange between Him and the mob:

4 Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”

5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

Jesus said, “I am.”

And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them. 6 When Jesus said, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 So He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

8 “I told you that I am.” Jesus replied.

In this instance, the "I Am" of Jesus clearly serves a dual function:

• to positively identify Himself as the Jesus of Nazareth whom they are seeking to arrest
• to affirm that Jesus is the "I Am" of the OT, as confirmed by the fact that this declaration of His divinity made the arresting mob fall backwards.

8. Thomas' Confession

• John 20:28 - Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God.’ [literally, The Lord of me and the God (ho theos) of me]. Jesus them commended Thomas for finally arriving at this conclusion (contrast Acts 10:25, 26, Rev 19:10, 22:8, 9)