If believing that Jesus is God is that important, why doesn't Jesus say it more often?

jesus never claimed to be god and neither did his disciples believe he was god. on the contrary, they believed he was the messiah the son of the god of their fathers.This was clearly illustrated in acts 5:30 where peter says that the god of their fathers, (ie the beign who spoke to abraham,isaac,jacob and moses through angels) raised jesus from the dead. This clearly shows that they knew that jesus was not the god of their fathers and that it was the god of their fathers who raised and glorified his servant jesus.

In my view Jesus was highly literate in Tanakh, (he quotes at least four prophets and the psalms), and convinced that he was the Messiah. But, he preached, as did John, that God's Kingdom was 'at hand', and believed that when it arrived his status would be revealed unambiguously to all. So there was no point in trying to convince audiences from the literary evidence that he was Messiah. They may never even have heard of the notion, or read any of the prophets. His job was to get on and lead them to think and live as intending members of the kingdom. There is a parallel in the life of Albert Schweitzer. He went to Africa as a qualified doctor. But he didn't convince the Natives that he was a doctor by showing them his certificates. He healed lethal diseases, as did Jesus. Once he had healed a couple of cases of sleeping sickness people came from everywhere.

Ego is a terrible thing and I am afraid that many who feel their beliefs are being offended will feel the need to defend them. Having stated that, Jesus didn't go around saying: "hey everyone, you must believe the bible is God's word" to be saved. Actually the bible we have wasn't created until many years after Jesus left the earth and the things written in it are not important to one's salvation.

Jesus stated: Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

So having stated the above, it is Jesus' teachings that teach us to walk in the light, not by mental acceptance of certain intellectual dogmas, but rather by how we live and thus Jesus stated, before the words written above, the following:

Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

Don't overlook that word "abide" as it is the whole point behind Jesus' speech here. It is how you live that matters.

I will suggest that what you mentally believe is totally irrelevant, it is how you live that matters.

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works (Miracles)? Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Love your enemies is a nice philosophy, but if you are not committed to doing it: how are you a disciple (one disciplined in the teachings) of Christ? How are you a sheep if you don't follow the Sheppard?

Avoid intellectual dogmas and follow the practices of Christ.

A persons actions show you what they truly believe. God will judge all mankind according to his works and if men claim to believe in God and live like the devil they are deceived: if they think they will be okay on judgment day. But if one doesn't believe in God and turns his way to live like Jesus, in the practice of his teachings, they will be forgiven by God for their past transgressions.

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Eze 18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Eze 18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Eze 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Eze 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? Eze 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Eze 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Eze 18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Eze 18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

You may think I didn't answer you question, but I did. Believing in Jesus as God, or whatever, is totally irrelevant: it is how you live that matters.

If Jesus had merely claimed to be God and done nothing else, people would protest His claim by asserting that He never did anything to prove His Deity.

What Jesus chose to do was to prove His Deity by what He did and said, and the result is that many people protest because He didn't specifically claim to be God often enough or clearly enough for them.

In reality, we really do not know how often Jesus claimed to be God, nor in how many ways. The gospel accounts do not record every word that Jesus ever spoke. Rather, the gospel writers chose to record certain things that were pertinent to the audience they targeted. So, perhaps Jesus claimed to be God very clearly and very often, but that just wasn't recorded in the gospel accounts. Again, we don't have an audio recording of everything Jesus ever said.

However, Jesus did certainly did demonstrate very clearly that He most certainly claimed to be the eternal Son of God.

He forgave sins, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, walked on water, fed 5,000, raised the dead, demonstrated omniscience... the list goes on.

The gospel writers record that Peter was convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, and Jesus does not correct His conclusion. On the contrary, Jesus affirms it:

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:16-17 ESV

The disciples were convinced that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. In fact, John's whole point in writing his gospel was to convince others to believe that very thing. The approach he chose to use in order to convince people was to show what Jesus did and let the strength of that evidence convince the reader. In any court of law, a mere claim of something must be backed up by hard evidence. A person's claim of innocence is irrelevant if all the evidence leads to the contrary. Jesus' claim to Deity is attested to by a preponderance of evidence. In fact, even if Jesus never took the stand an made the claim to His Deity, He could still be found "guilty as charged" based on the abundant evidence.