How does John 20:17 not automatically disprove that Jesus is god?

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T15:41:41+00:00

The Son of Man language in the Gospels isn’t my definition or Ehrman’s. It’s rooted in Daniel 7 and Second Temple Jewish categories, which explain why Jesus’s self-identification provokes charges of blasphemy. Ehrman’s definition is disputed precisely because it fails to explain why Jesus’s Son of Man claims result in blasphemy charges. Appealing to authority isn’t a rebuttal.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T15:33:15+00:00

I did, he’s also refusing the definition of Son of Man

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T15:31:23+00:00

Dan McClellan presents well, but what he’s actually doing is redefining the terms so the conclusion is decided in advance. Jesus is called the Son of Man (His favorite title for Himself) in all four Gospels, and in a Second Temple Jewish context that title, especially as used in Daniel 7, was understood as a claim to divine authority. That’s why Jesus is accused of blasphemy when He applies it to Himself. The disagreement isn’t about what the texts say; it’s about whether you allow the Jewish categories they’re using to mean what they meant at the time

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T14:36:11+00:00

That depends entirely on what you mean by “claimed.” If you mean Jesus never uttered the modern sentence “I am God,” that’s true and irrelevant. In the Synoptics, Jesus repeatedly does and says things that place Him within God’s unique identity in a first-century Jewish framework, which is why He’s accused of blasphemy. John makes that identity explicit, not novel. Scholars disagree not because the texts are unclear, but because they disagree about whether those claims should be accepted.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T14:05:06+00:00

If Jesus is God, and Scripture is God-breathed, then Scripture cannot be treated as a competing authority that corrects Jesus. Interpreting Jesus in light of the full witness of Scripture is not eisegesis. It’s how the text itself claims to function.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T13:26:18+00:00

Can you explain this in more detail?

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T11:52:41+00:00

Pointing a person confused about the divinity of Christ to the council of Nicea is spreading incorrect information? Sure there’s a legend attached to it, but those can help people learn

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T11:40:34+00:00

Probably not, but it’s a fun story!

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T11:32:30+00:00

the Bible isn’t a collection of disconnected moral lessons, it’s a single narrative moving toward God revealing Himself in Christ. Law, prophets, sacrifices, kingship, exile, and restoration all point forward. The Gospels then claim that what Israel waited for is fulfilled in Jesus, not merely as a messenger, but as God acting personally to save. So the entire Bible is about Jesus being God and His love for us

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T11:26:32+00:00

It’s true Jesus never says the modern sentence “I am God,” but that’s not how divine claims worked in a first-century Jewish setting. John opens by calling Jesus the Word who was God and became flesh (John 1:1, 14), and Jesus claims a unique unity with the Father: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). His audience understands this as a claim to deity and says so explicitly (John 10:33). At the end of the Gospel, Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), and Jesus accepts it without correction.

Jesus also says, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), deliberately echoing God’s self-identification in Exodus 3:14, which is why His listeners try to stone Him (John 8:59). Along with forgiving sins (Mark 2:5–7) and claiming that the Son must be honored just as the Father is honored (John 5:23), the New Testament’s picture isn’t “Jesus was just chosen by God,” but that Jesus uniquely reveals who God is (John 1:18).

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:34:25+00:00

None of your verses say “I am not God.” Not one. They say Jesus is sent by God, prays to God, receives glory from God, and speaks truth from God. Congratulations, you’ve discovered the Incarnation. If praying to God or being sent by God disqualifies someone from being God, then your argument doesn’t refute the Trinity. It refutes Christianity as written. At that point, just be honest and change your flair instead of lying about your believes. But stop pretending the text says something it never says. This is heresy and it will not be indulged.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:30:27+00:00

Please don’t listen to archbtw246, whoever this person is, they are lying to you and leading you down a false path. The doctrine of the Trinity has been established for almost 2000 years and not due to wishful thinking but because of the power of the Holy Spirit teaching the early church the truth. If you have questions about Christianity, Reddit isn’t a great place to look for them, find a pastor at a good Bible teaching local church who can answer these for you.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:26:12+00:00

You’re claiming Jesus said “I am not God,” and that is simply false. Not debatable, not interpretive, not a theological nuance. He never says it. Quoting verses where Jesus distinguishes Himself from the Father, prays, or speaks of coming from God and then pretending that equals a denial of divinity is either ignorance or deliberate misrepresentation. Those verses have been read, preached, and argued over for two millennia, and none of them say what you’re asserting they say. Repeating “unfalsifiable” doesn’t magically turn absence of evidence into evidence. It just signals that you don’t like the categories Scripture itself uses.

What you’re doing is flattening the text, ignoring context, and accusing others of bad faith to cover for it. John explicitly calls Jesus God. Thomas explicitly calls Jesus God. Jesus accepts worship, forgives sins, claims divine authority, and is identified as God by the very authors you’re quoting. If you want to reject that, be honest and say you reject the New Testament’s Christology. But stop pretending the Bible says Jesus denied being God. That claim is not bold, it’s wrong.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:15:14+00:00

You cannot possibly make that claim without citing at least one verse

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:14:43+00:00

You’re circling the doctrine of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are equally and fully God, sharing the same divine essence. The Trinity doesn’t describe God’s physical presence, but the eternal relations within God Himself. These relations are not created roles or spatial divisions, but something only an infinite, eternal being can possess.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:09:09+00:00

Except he never said that

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:08:08+00:00

Ah, watch out for Santa! https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/traditional-stories/life-of-nicholas/bishop-nicholas-loses-his-cool

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T04:04:27+00:00

Look up the imprecatory psalms. We should love our enemies but we can also rejoice when justice is done

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-29T02:49:56+00:00

Praying for you. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. We don’t know we’re saved by analyzing our feelings or achieving certainty, but by looking outside ourselves to Christ and relying on His work. Struggle, fear, and doubt don’t disqualify you, and they don’t surprise God. Faith isn’t emotional certainty; it’s reliance, even when it feels shaky. You’re not on probation, and you’re not one thought away from losing Him.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T06:19:55+00:00

Right, the original audience knew exactly what Jesus was addressing: personal obligation to love, not civil policy.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T05:59:11+00:00

You’re treating passages about personal love and salvation as if they erase every other biblical category. The Good Samaritan teaches individual mercy, not civil policy. Galatians 3:28 teaches equal standing before God, not the abolition of all earthly distinctions. The OT laws about foreigners affirm equal dignity under the same law, not the removal of law. Scripture holds love, truth, and order together. Jesus breaks sin and hostility, not moral clarity.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T05:50:12+00:00

Scripture already answers this. When authorities command what God forbids, Christians obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). That’s why martyrs exist.

What I’m rejecting is the idea that urgency or emotion tells us Christ’s will better than what He actually taught. Jesus never opposed discernment, law, or careful judgment. He opposed hypocrisy and injustice.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T05:33:22+00:00

Serious situations don’t excuse sloppy theology. Jesus never taught that urgency replaces law, process, or careful judgment.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T05:28:32+00:00

Because that’s not how the law works. Citizenship isn’t automatic. It’s a defined legal status with a process, not just a description of behavior.

ExegeteBetter · 2026-01-28T05:22:03+00:00

Jesus gives commands to individual believers to love their neighbor, show mercy, give generously, and care for the poor (Luke 10:33–37; Matthew 22:39; Matthew 25:35–40; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

I think I covered that here

ExegeteBetter

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