Jesus is God | humbleunderstanding

Christians who believe Jesus is God make the false claim that Jesus received worship. They try to prove their claim by citing the following verses.

Matthew 14:33, in which we read the disciples worshipped Jesus after he calmed a storm.

Matthew 8:2, in which we read a leper worshipped Jesus asking to be cured.
John 9, verse 38, in which we read a blind man worshipped Jesus before he was healed.

Matthew 28, verse 17, in which we read the disciples worshipped Jesus after his resurrection.

And a few other verses such as Matthew 15, verse 25; Matthew 20, verse 20; Matthew 9, verse 18; and Mark 5, verse 6.

In a nutshell, the Christian argument is that since Jesus received worship, and that since only God is to be worshipped, it would thus follows that Jesus was, in fact, divine — or God Himself.

The reality is that their claims are based on a grave misunderstanding of the word “worship” used in English translations of the verses cited earlier.
We need to first remember that the gospel accounts were originally written in Greek. The Greek word for “worship” used in the verses we cited is PROSKUNEO. It is word number 4352 in the Strong’s lexicon. The word PROSKUNEO has multiple meanings.

Source: https://biblehub.com/greek/4352.htm

Thus, we see that depending on the context, it can mean worship dedicated to God. OR it can also mean homage or honor that can be shown to humans.
The acts of so called worship, that the new testament says Jesus received, was not the kind of worship that is reserved for God alone. Rather it was a form of homage and honor that can be shown to humans. Jesus, as a prophet, only received homage from his followers and those who sought his help.

Now, how can we be sure that Jesus never received Godly worship?
Simple. We know for a fact that Jesus taught people to worship the Father alone. The proof of this is in the Lords prayer that Jesus himself taught. It was the only prayer ever Jesus taught. And it is addressed to the Father alone. It begins with “Our Father in heaven”. There is no mention of the “son” or Jesus. If Jesus was God the Lord’s prayer would have also been addressed to “the son”, or Jesus. But this is not the case.

We also see in Matthew 6:6, Matthew 4:10 and John 4:23 and many other verses that Jesus taught that all worship and prayer has to be addressed to God alone.

Jesus could not have said only God is to be “worshiped” (PROSKUNEO ) and at the same time, accepted Godly worship from his fellow men. So it can be safely inferred verses where Jesus received so called “worship” simply refers to an act of homage or honor.

Christians might deny all this evidence and insist that Jesus accepted worship simply because their english Bibles say so. But to them, we ask: what about other people in the Bible who also received worship?

For example, we read in the King James Version translation of Revelation 3:9 that the followers of Jesus receive worship from the synagogue of satan. The verse reads as follows:

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (Revelations 3:9)

Note that the same Greek word for worship, PROSKUNEO, is also used in this verse. So if the word “worship” in verses pertaining to Jesus somehow proves Jesus received Godly worship, then does it also mean these people are being made objects of Godly worship? Obviously not! Conveniently, when it comes to this verse, Christians know that it’s not talking about Godly worship but an act of submission or reverence to humans.

Note, that the word “worship” is not used in many later English translations. Rather, it says “bowed down to” or something on those lines. Look here: https://biblehub.com/revelation/3-9.htm

Even in the Old Testament we see an example of a human receiving “worship”. In Daniel 2, verse 46, we see that king Nebuchadnezzar prostrates before Daniel and worships him!

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel(Daniel 2:46)

Once again, later English translations of this passage do not use the word “worship”. Look here: https://biblehub.com/daniel/2-46.htm

The original word in Hebrew is “segid”, and like its Greek equivalent PROSKUNEO, can also mean an act of homage directed to humans. (Look here: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5457.htm) It goes without saying that that Nebuchadnezzar was not worshiping Daniel the way God is to worshiped, but was simply showing him reverence and honor.

The same applies to Jesus. He was not being worshipped as God, but was only being shown reverence and honor — by the disciples, the leper and the blind man. It would be a grave error to assume Jesus was worshipped as God on earth.

Jesus taught his followers to worship God alone. So it logically follows that he could not have accepted Godly worship from his fellow men. So verses where Jesus received “worship”, or PROSKUNEO, simply refers to an act of homage or honor.

“Worship” in its truest, highest sense is reserved only for God. This is something that Jesus himself taught. And Christians who worship Jesus are in grave error.

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