Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58
It is popular with many people to try to make Jesus what they want Him to be. Many people over the years have claimed that He never claimed to be God. Many would like you to believe that He was just a good man and a wise teacher. I just recently read a social media post where the claim was made that Jesus never commanded anyone to follow Him.
Many people want Jesus to be gentle, kind, loving, wise, and forgiving, but they don’t want Him to be God. If they do accept Him as God, they do not want Him to be sovereign. They would like Him to be a nice guy who only wants to get along. They want Him to be someone who only makes suggestions, but never commands anyone to do anything. But that is not who Jesus is.
Jesus can not be just a wise man and a good teacher, because He claimed to be God.
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
Jesus cannot just be a good man and wise teacher after making these claims of deity. He either is God, a lunatic, or a charlatan.
Jesus was not subtle. He directly commanded people to follow Him many times. He was not shy about it. Some people chose not to follow Him, like the rich young ruler, but Jesus was not afraid to tell someone to follow Him.
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Jesus did not hide His deity. He made bold promises. Many who knew Him gave their lives after His resurrection as martyrs. He performed miracles, and fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.
You can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, or not. But you cannot claim that he was only a good man and wise teacher. He cannot be those things only. The evidence is clear.