Is Jesus God? Part 5: What about Jesus worship?

The first instance of Jesus worship is in Matthew 2:2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’”

This was said by the Magi in their pursuit of finding Jesus, king of the Jews. This is the first of many instances in the New Testament of apparent Jesus worship (see also Matthew 2:8, 11, John 9, Matthew 14:26-33, Matthew 28:9, 17, Luke 24:52, John 9:38, Revelation 5). If Jesus isn’t God, why is he worshiped in the gospels and in Revelation 5, as only God is worthy of worship?

Any reader of the New Testament will read about “Jesus worship”. The three kings “worship” Jesus in Matthew 2, the disciples “worship” Jesus in several instances, and a blind man in John 9 “worships” Jesus. Revelation details exalting Jesus in Revelation 5. So, if Jesus is worshiped in many instances in Scripture, does that make him God? Only God can and should be worshiped – right? I initially concluded that Jesus must be God because he is clearly worshiped in the Bible and only God should be worshipped. The rest of my questions, I thought, did not matter so much because if Jesus is worshipped he must be God, end of discussion. The book “Did the First Christians Worship Jesus? The New Testament Evidence” by James D.G. Dunn, posts from the Biblical Unitarian blog, and posts from the One God Worship blog, changed my mind. I no longer think the exaltation of Jesus in Scripture proves Jesus is God. 

 What does worship mean? The words for “worship” in the Bible have a broader definition than we do today. Christians agree only God should be worshiped. But the words in the Bible for worship in Hebrew and Greek are sometime used in reference to people being “worshiped”, not only God. So, context is vital for Bible readers to understand if the author is intending to communicate that God-worship, not just people “worship”, is being described. In our context, given the connotations of the word “worship”, words like “glorified”, “exalted” or “praised” in reference to Jesus “worship” are more helpful, as glorification, exaltation, and praise are not understood by Christians to exclusively be for God. Translators did not have to translate the Greek words for Jesus “exaltation” as “worship”, and that translation is misleading.

According to the ‘Complete Word Study Dictionary’, worship, or “proskuneo” in Greek means: "to worship, do obeisance, show respect, fall or prostrate before. Literally, to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in a token of respect or homage…to do reverence or homage to someone, usually by prostrating oneself before him." Under this definition, this form of worship, “proskuneo”, is not reserved only for God (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021). Notably, only God can be worshiped or revered as God, but men can be “worshiped”, or, given great respect, using this Greek word. For example, in Matthew 18:26, a servant “falls on his knees” before his lord. The word “proskuneo” is used, so this could be translated “worship”. In Revelation 3:9, Jesus says that he will make non-Christians “bow down before your feet”.  The word “proskuneo” is used, so this could be translated “worship” (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021). Given the bias of translators, in these two instances, “fall down/bow down” is the common English translation, while whenever “proskuneo” is used in relation to Jesus, the word “worship” is used. If “proskuneo” used in reference to Jesus automatically means he is God, the lord in Matthew 18:26 and Christians would also be God, which is of course false. Therefore, “proskuneo” worship towards Jesus does not mean he is God or that he is being worshipped as God (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021).

Further, the word “proskynein” in the Greek, which is sometimes translated as “worship” in the New Testament, corresponds to the Hebrew word “shachah”. This type of “worship” in the Old Testament also refers to exalting men who are clearly not God. “Shachah” is used in reference to Jacob prostrating himself before his brother Esau (Gen. 33:3) and Joseph’s brothers prostrating themselves before Joseph (Gen. 42:6, 43:28), etc. (Dunn, 2010). This type of “worship” is not reserved for God alone even though English translations of the Bible make it appear so.

In the story of Jesus healing the blind man in John 9, the healed man “worships” Jesus. But was Jesus worshiped as God or exalted as a man? In John 9, the Pharisees clearly understood Jesus to be a man. So did the blind man. He called him a prophet, and he explained how Jesus was able to heal him because of his relationship WITH God, not because he WAS God. He says in John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” He did not think Jesus was God; he considered him a worshiper of God who did God’s will. He “worshiped” him as the Son of God and paid homage to Christ (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021). The word for worship in this chapter is also “proskuneo”, which again was used in a parable in Luke 18 to honor a master and in Revelation 3:9 to honor Christians (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021). The context of John 9, Luke 18’s usage of “proskuneo”, and Revelation 3:9’s usage of “proskuneo” all show that this does not mean Jesus is being worshiped as God. Again, the blind man used it but also called him a “worshiper of God” in the same breath.

In John 4, Jesus discusses worship with the woman at the well. In this exchange, Jesus never tells the woman to worship him as God. The woman at the well was a monotheistic Samaritan who believed God to be worshiped. In their conversation, Jesus specified who was to be worshiped in John 4:23-24. He said that true worshipers will worship the Father, God. He does not mention himself except to say in verse 22 “we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews”, noting that he is also, with the Jews and as a Jew, a worshiper of God. He says the Father is seeking worshipers. Additionally, he identifies himself to her as the Christ. When the woman tells her town about Jesus, they all understand him as the Christ, not God, and not one to be worshiped as God. If Jesus is God, why did he not include himself in his teaching to the woman about worship of God, who he explicitly says is Spirit (so not man), and instead tell her that he himself is a worshiper of God? God was not shy about detailing exactly how and who the Jews in the Old Testament should worship.

In Matthew 14:26-33, the disciples “worship Jesus” (the Greek word is “proskynesan”, which as stated earlier is used referring to honoring Christians in Revelation and a lord in a parable in Matthew 18). They clearly say that Jesus is the Son of God: their reason for worshiping (“proskynesan”) him. They did not worship him for being God. They worshiped – honored – him for being God’s Son (“Worship of Jesus”, 2021). And certainly, just as a father is in a sense “praised” if his son is praised, in the same way, when we praise Jesus that praise is ultimately going back to his Father, God, who is the ultimate source of everything Jesus did (Hebrews 2:11).

Another word for worship used in the New Testament is “latreuein” which means “to serve”. The word is used in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8 when Jesus is tempted, and it is translated as worship in some English translations. This word is only used when talking about worshiping God; it is never used in relation to Jesus or another individual. Another word is “sebein”, which means worship. This is also only used in reference to God. It is used in Acts 19:27 about some Gentiles who worshiped God. Dunn notes in his book “Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?” that “The language of worship is used almost exclusively for God, though occasionally for Jesus. But a more common usage is the giving of thanks to God for what Christ has done or through Christ or in the name of Christ” (Dunn, 2010). The worship language used for Jesus, notably, does not mean he is God.

Dunn continues: “Worship as such a term is rarely used in reference to Christ. It appears most clearly in the wonder of realization that God had raised Jesus from the dead, and in some of the worship offered to the Lamb in Revelation. Cultic worship or service (latreuein, latreia) as such is never offered to Christ, and other worship terms are used only in relation to God. In the case of the most common words for praise and thanksgiving (eucharistein), they are never offered to Christ” (Dunn, 2010). These statements are startling in a world where Jesus is worshiped as much or more, in some churches, than God [the Father] by Christians. 

In terms of prayer, early Christians certainly called on Jesus, but the vast majority of prayers in the Bible are exclusively offered to God: Jesus, after all, taught his disciples to pray to the Father, not to him. The hymns of the early Church are primarily offered to God through Christ. Of course, Christ is often the subject of the hymns offered, but the hymns in the Bible, such as Phil. 2:6-11 and Col.:15-20, are praising God for Christ, and they are to God. Of course, what God had accomplished through Christ was the subject of earliest Christian worship and is still the subject of worship today (Dunn, 2010).

Christ is obviously sung to in Revelation 5:9-10, 12. Both God and the Lamb are praised together in Revelation 5:13. But other people in the Bible are praised for their relationship with God and what they have done for him. Other people are exalted. Even Jesus said concerning John the Baptist, his cousin, that there was none born of a woman greater than him (Matthew 11:11). 

Revelation 5 declares that Jesus is worthy (verse 9), and to him belong praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever (verse 13). But if Revelation 4 is also taken into account with Revelation 5, there are some differences in how Jesus is praised and how God is. In Revelation 4, God is worshiped before the Lamb is mentioned, called “holy holy holy” (a possible reference to Isaiah 6 that uses the same words), directly saying God is “the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” In verse 11 God is called “our Lord and God” who “[receives] glory and honor and power” because “he created all things, and by [his] will they were created and have their being”. 

In contrast, Jesus is called worthy not because he is God. He is called worthy because he was slain and with his blood purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Jesus made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God – and these Christians will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10). Jesus and God are called worthy for different reasons. The emphasis is Jesus’ work on the cross causing him to be praised. Further, the hymn to Jesus clearly distinguishes Jesus from God. The Lamb purchased a people for God. How does this verse make sense if he is God? Verse 13 says, “To him [God] who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” – God sits on the throne. The word “and” is used here – God and Jesus seem to be distinct. Jesus is decidedly worthy of praise, honor, and glory, but is he God? 

Revelation 5:14 reads as if the elders are falling down to worship Jesus in the same way as God. A closer look at the Greek finds something different, as the last part of verse 14 is taken out in some translations. The Greek reads, “…and worshiped Him who lives for the ages of the ages.” This verse parallels Revelation 4:10, which is decidedly talking about God, not Jesus, as the Lamb is not mentioned till chapter 5. Revelation 4:10 says, “…they will worship the One living to the ages of the ages, and they will cast the crowns of them before the throne….” So, Jesus is worthy of honor and praise for who he is and what he has done, but is he worshiped as God in these chapters? Perhaps these chapters are a fitting example of Jesus’ prayer to God in John 17:1, when Jesus prays in amazing humility, “Father… glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”  Jesus is glorified in Revelation 5. What is the reaction of the elders? To glorify God, the one who lives for the ages of the ages. Another translation of “the one who lives for the ages of the ages” is Him who lives forever and ever. If Jesus isn’t God, only God [the Father – and the Holy Spirit] is eternal, not any human, so could this worship at the end of Revelation 5 be directed at the end towards God, not the Lamb? Could 1 Timothy 1:17 confirm this, stating, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen”? Man is not immortal. Jesus died, just as all humans do, and he certainly was not invisible, as 1 Timothy 1:17 describes God to be. “Only God” in 1 Timothy 1:17 repeats Jesus’ affirmation in John 17:3 that his Father is the only God. If Jesus is not God, God is the only eternal being, and Revelation 4 and 5 could be read as the elders giving praise and honor to both Jesus and God for different reasons, and ending with ultimate praise going back to the only eternal being, God, in Revelation 5:14.

 Would Jesus agree with the type of Jesus worship happening in some churches today? Jesus was a monotheist and believed in the Shema, that the “Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Jesus calls God his God and worships Him. Jesus should receive honor and glory alongside God, but perhaps as an expression of the ultimate honor and glory due only to God (Phil. 2:11), as he embodies divine agency. Jesus was the human face of God – but so are all Christians, or that is the end goal (Romans 8:29). 

 Finally, Christians themselves will obtain the “glory of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14), and when Christ returns Christians will receive “praise, glory, and honor” (1 Peter 1:7). Christians will be like Christ (1 John 3:2). Scripture does not point to Christ being exalted as God. Rather, Scripture points to him being the first exalted son of God, the firstborn among many brothers and sisters that will also be glorified with him (Romans 8:30).

Therefore, “worship” of Jesus, if read in context, does not show that Jesus is God. Jesus is God’s Son, and he is exalted: as Lord, similar to the human lord in the parable Mark 18:26. Jesus was made Lord by God and was not always Lord (Acts 2:36).  He is also exalted as Son of God, similar to the Christians, sons or daughters of God, in Revelation 3:9. In context, Jesus is “worshiped” in these passages and yet Jesus himself is a worshiper of God. He prays to God, worships God, depends on God, and is a servant of God. These details cannot be ignored in trying to understand the gospel writers’ intent in writing about Jesus being “worshiped”. God does not have a God. The entire Old Testament testifies to that. Nowhere is God said to be 3. He says he is 1, and there is no other God besides him. In context, Jesus is not worshiped as God in the New Testament. The word translation of “worship” is misleading in this modern day understanding of “worship”. Jesus is exalted and praised as Lord and Son of God. The readers at the time would not take that as he is God, and the gospel writers did not intend them to.