What are the best arguments for the divinity of Jesus Christ?

from the old testament

• Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies: The fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies in the life of Jesus provides further evidence of His divine nature. Jesus was born of a virgin (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14).
• Jesus was descended from Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12).
• Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2).
• Jesus was rejected by His own people and crucified (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22). Additionally, scholars have detailed more than three hundred prophecies of the Jewish Messiah fulfilled in Jesus and only in Jesus.

from the new testament

• Acceptance of Worship: Though the Old Testament commanded not to worship anyone but God alone, Jesus accepted worship, such as from the blind man (John 9:38) and His disciples (Matthew 14:33).
• Sinlessness: That Jesus lived without sin provides strong evidence of His divine nature. He claimed to be without sin (John 8:46), while His followers who lived with Him for three years called Him unblemished and spotless (1 Peter 1:19). In contrast, all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
• Divine Authority: Jesus performed many miracles as evidence of His supernatural powers. The Jewish teacher Nicodemus declared, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him" (John 3:2). The New Testament records at least thirty-five of Jesus’ miracles . According to John's Gospel, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25).
• Death and Resurrection: The death and resurrection of Jesus stand as the ultimate miracle to prove His divine nature. He predicted His resurrection (John 2:19-21), His death was confirmed (John 19:33), Roman soldiers guarded His tomb (Matthew 27:62-66), yet the tomb was empty on the third day, and no claim was made that His body was ever found. Many eyewitnesses claimed to see Him alive (1 Corinthians 15) for forty days. No other adequate alternative explanation has been proposed to explain the evidence.

implications for today

Many strong arguments provide evidence that Jesus is divine. One of the foremost is that Jesus and His early followers frequently referred to Him as a divine being. This included the titles of Jesus as Christ, Lord, and Messiah, among others. Jesus accepted these titles, as well as the worship from His followers. However, He also proved His divinity. He fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, demonstrated authority over nature, demons, and physical ailments, and was utterly sinless. Lastly, His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven evidenced His identity as the Son of God and Son of Man.

We may encounter those who say that Jesus was just a wise teacher or a good man but not God. But such statements don’t honor Jesus’ own words about Himself. He claimed to be God (John 8:58, 10:30) and accepted worship. As C.S. Lewis reflected in Mere Christianity, those who don’t accept Jesus’ own self-identification must conclude that he was lying or a lunatic—in which case He would be neither a wise teacher nor a good man. People must accept Jesus as who He claimed to be or the “Jesus” they admire is not the real Jesus.

Biblical evidence and logic (like Lewis’) help us defend the truth, as the apostle Peter exhorted believers to: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16).