We can forgive those who sin against us, but not someone whose sin was not against us. But God can and Jesus did, thus proving Him to be God. Even the way He spoke and taught showed Him to be something otherworldly rather than just a human being. He taught with authority. He never added any afterthoughts or revisions. He never retracted or changed. He never said, “I suppose” or “I guess.” Never any uncertainty. This is so different from earthly teachers.

But perhaps the greatest claim Jesus made to deity was at His kangaroo court before the Sanhedrin.

3. Jesus’ trial

As you read the gospel narratives about that fateful night when Jesus was arrested and brought before the legal and religious body, the Sanhedrin, it was clear that Christ made sure that He would be condemned to die for only one thing—His claim to deity. He remained deafeningly silent on all charges except the one that He professed to be the Son of God.

In Matthew 26:59-60 the mock court tried to nail Jesus, literally to a cross, by the use of false testimony, “Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.” Finally they got two witnesses to corroborate their stories in the last half of verse 60: “But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, ‘This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’’”