The questions we must first ask in relation to our question:
If Jesus never overtly said “I am God”, how can Christians believe He is?
What Scripture implies that Jesus is God?
If Jesus was not God, why would His disciples die proclaiming He was?
One of, if not the most common, objections from Muslims regarding the Christian faith is that of Jesus’ divinity. Although John’s Gospel states that Jesus is in fact God, alongside numerous other writings, Jesus himself never states, "I am God."
This is enough evidence for most to conclude that the Christian faith has been corrupted, yet a closer inspection of what Jesus says reveals undeniable implications that He is God.
Perhaps the clearest sign of this is in John 8:58–59, where John recounts Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees, who were experts in Jewish traditions and Old Testament teachings. In the interaction, Jesus states:
Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am
The Pharisees, versed in scripture, understood that Jesus was directly referencing the name God uses for Himself when answering Moses in Exodus 3:14. Because Jesus had equated himself to God, the Pharisees attempted to stone Him to death as a result of the blasphemy accusations.
Several other instances support the notion that Jesus compared Himself to God, with Jesus:
claiming that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father
forgiving sins
not rebuking His disciples when they call Him "My Lord and My God"
Accepting the disciples' worship, which would be considered blasphemy if He were not God
Conclusion
Throughout His ministry, Jesus acts and speaks in a way that the Jews understood to be blasphemous, equating Himself to God multiple times. The disciples not only called Jesus "God" without being rebuked, but they went on to profess that He was throughout their writings. Scripture, tradition, and legend also corroborate that all but one of Jesus’ disciples were murdered for their faith. These deaths are said to have included being crucified upside down, beheaded, and flayed alive. It therefore must be asked: if Jesus really was not God, why would the disciples be willing to be subjected to immense torture to defend a lie they would have made up? It is clear for us to conclude that Jesus Christ is God.