This is a response that I gave to an email in regards to the position of Jesus in John 14:28.
Thanks for your question. I was going to answer you personally on this point until I found an article(s) which covers the same basis I would of used.
www.gotquestions.org/Father-greater-I.html
carm.org/john-1428-father-greater-i
Just prior to this, in verses 9-11, Jesus said in reference to His unity with the Father, ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’. This is something that a God fearing person would never say about himself in comparison to the Almighty; not even a prophet or an angelic being would talk this way. Only God the Son could honestly use such verbiage.
Also if you read the book of Hebrews, especially the first 3 Chapters, you’ll see such language as the angels offering worship to Jesus as being much higher and superior to them in His divine nature and even the Father speaks of Jesus as God and Lord in Hebrews 1:8-10, and likewise, in Hebrews 1:3 it says that Jesus is an exact representation of the Father’s being.
Anyway if you’re interested I’ve written other articles about this subject on my blog site as listed below
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2014/06/10/the-divinity-of-jesus-and-islam/
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2009/10/16/the-divinity-of-jesus/
Lastly, some will Cherry Pick the Bible in taking selective verses out of context, as with John 14:28, yet it’s best to consider the whole of scripture when making a case for, or in denying, the deity of Christ. Also a person should regard the entire counsel of God in realizing that all truth is God’s truth no matter the source; which could even include extra-biblical materials such as philosophy and the sciences.
Moreover, the Bible at certain points is difficult to understand and easy to distort, 2 Peter 3:16, and so it’s becomes an opportunity for cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and religions such as Islam to capitalize on these supposed discrepancies in gaining followers for themselves by using these isolated scriptural references as an opportunity to refute Orthodox Christianity. The likes of whose biblical confession is believing that the Godhead is composed of three divine persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are conjoined together in perfect unity as One God. This simplified definition does not give a comprehensive view to the nature of God and at best is only a snippet of the triunity and oneness of God in three persons.
Finally, another challenging matter to understand, is the incarnation of Christ; which depicts Jesus as having two natures as both divine and human. It’s not an either/or equation but rather the answer is both/and. Mysterious yes, a contradiction no. It’s a marvel that is difficult to wrap your mind around as a unique and unrepeatable one of a kind event, but one of necessity, in light of redemption, as something that only God Himself, in the flesh, could do on our behalf as a perfect representative as a faithful High Priest before God the Father in making atonement for our sins and in providing intercession, Hebrews 2:14-18, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 7:24-26.
My friend I hope you don’t see this one scripture as a “Smoking Gun” to weaken my faith or to bolster your unbelief. If you’re really open and sincere to accepting the biblical Christ I would be more than happy to address your concerns, doubts, and questions. My aspiration is that you will find this response compelling enough to at least reconsider your position towards the prospect of receiving Jesus Christ as both Lord and Saviour, Amen