According to the Scriptures, in particular John’s Gospel, the Jewish leadership wanted Pilate to kill Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God:

“Then they led Jesus from the house of Ca′iaphas to the praetorium. It was early. They themselves did not enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’ They answered him, ‘If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’ The Jews said to him, ‘It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.’ This was to fulfil the word which Jesus had spoken to show by what death he was to die.” John 18:28-32  

“The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.’” John 19:7

Note that n the above passage John shows the reason why the Jews viewed Christ’s statements as making him worthy of death.

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus claims to be the Son of God in such a way that makes him equal to the Father in divinity:   

“The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working still, and I am working.’ This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:15-18

As God’s unique Son, Jesus believed that he possessed the same divine authority to work on the Sabbath that the Father possesses, thereby making him exempt from all Sabbath restrictions. The Jews correctly understood that, since God alone is exempt from Sabbath keeping seeing that he must still be actively working to sustain creation on that day and every other day, Jesus was therefore making himself equal with God.

This wasn’t the only time that the disbelieving Jews sought to kill Christ:

“They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did… Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, ‘If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.” John 8:39-40, 50-59

Astonishingly, Jesus appeals to the example of Abraham of not wanting to kill him as the unbelieving Jews tried to do as evidence that they were not behaving like him, and therefore were not truly his descendants!

This assumes that Jesus and Abraham personally saw each other, which is precisely what Christ goes on to say when stating that the patriarch rejoiced at seeing Jesus and the Day when the Son would come to save God’s people. The Jews’ response shows that they understood the implication of Jesus’ statements, namely, that a Man who wasn’t yet fifty years old actually saw their ancestor who had been dead for nearly two thousand years.

Christ then corrects their mistaken understanding that he wasn’t fifty, by affirming that he did indeed see Abraham since he has been existing from even before the patriarch had come into being.

In other words, Jesus was showing them that he is much older than fifty years old, since he is more than a Man. Jesus is the divine preexistent Son of God who has been there from before the creation of the world, where he and the Father dwelt in the same glory and whom the Father has been loving from that time onwards:

“and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made… Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:5, 24   

Here’s the final example where the unbelievers sought to again stone Jesus for uttering what they perceived to be blasphemy:

“‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ The Jews took up stones AGAIN to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.” John 10:27-39

These Jews correctly noted that Jesus is a Man, who is not the Father, but nonetheless made himself out to be God.

The reason they were correct in assuming Christ had just claimed to be God, even though they were wrong for thinking he had blasphemed for doing so, is because Jesus as the Son attributed to himself the exact same functions and abilities which the Hebrew Bible ascribes to YHWH alone.

For instance, believers are identified as the sheep in YHWH’S hand/care whose voice they must obey:

“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice!” Psalm 95:6-7

The OT further affirms that YHWH is the only God who makes alive and whose hand (i.e., power) no one can ever deliver from:

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” Deuteronomy 32:39

“Hannah also prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides thee; there is no rock like our God… The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.’” 1 Samuel 2:1-2, 6

“I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?” Isaiah 43:13

What makes the 1 Samuel citation so relevant is that Jesus even stated that he would be that very One who would personally resurrect the dead from their graves and raise up believers to immortality on the last day!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live… Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:25, 28-29

“‘All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day… he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’” John 6:37-44, 54

Christ further claims to be THE Resurrection and the Life, titles and characteristics that belong to the true God alone!

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.’… Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Laz′arus, come out.’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” John 11:23-27, 39-44

In light of the aforementioned OT passages, it is explicitly clear that Jesus was in fact making himself out to be the God-Man, while also carefully distinguishing himself from God the Father.

This explains why John concludes his inspired writing by defining Jesus’ Sonship in relation to his true and essential Deity:

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho Kyrios mou kai ho Theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:21-31

Once again, Jesus does what YHWH alone is depicted as doing, namely breathing out the Holy Spirit upon individuals:

“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:4-7

“The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4

And Jesus accepts Thomas’ confession of being his very Lord and God, which echoes the Psalmist’s praise of YHWH:

“Bestir thyself, and awake for my right, for my cause, my God and my Lord (Gr. ho Theos mou kai ho Kyrios mou)!” Psalm 35:23

Since YHWH alone sends forth the Holy Spirit, and since he is the only God and Lord that a believer can ever confess and trust in, this again reinforces the fact that the risen Jesus is being described as YHWH God Incarnate.

This helps us understand why the Jews condemned Christ to death for saying he is God’s Son. According to Jesus’ own statements and the Gospel itself, Jesus is God’s Son in the sense of his being personally distinct from and essentially coequal with the Father. Since the Jewish rulers didn’t want to believe this, it therefore comes as no surprise that they erroneously thought that Jesus was blaspheming.    

Biblical references taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV).

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