We can confidently say no in answering this question.  In our discussion of whether or not Jesus is the source of creation we noted that within the book of Hebrews the author took a number of Old Testament passages and applied them to Jesus.  These passages were originally applied to numerous individuals, including Solomon and Isaiah.  In examining these it is abundantly clear that the intent was never to equate these individuals with the Messiah.

A prime example of this is found in Matthew 21:16.  In context we find that children were giving praise to Jesus.  The chief priest and the scribes ask Jesus if he should not rebuke them for their praise of him, and Jesus then quotes Psalm 8:2: “Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings You have perfected praise?’” 

Looking to the original context of Psalm 8:2 we find that the person being spoken of was God.  Consider the full passage within its original context. 

Psalm 8:1 O Jehovah, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth; You have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, You have ordained strength, because of the ones distressing You, to cause the enemy and the avenger to cease. 

Clearly Jehovah, the Almighty, is the one referenced in the original passage.  Jesus takes the “you” that was applied to Jehovah and applies it to himself.  If any passage were to equate him with God Almighty this would be it.  Nevertheless, in context, the passage does no such thing. 

If we read all of Psalm 8 we come across verse 5, which also has Messianic fulfillment.  In this text we read: “You made him a little lower than the gods.”  The “you” in the context remains Jehovah while the “him” is shown by the author of Hebrews to be the Messiah.  This text is quoted in Hebrews 2 and applied Messianically, with God being the one to make him lower than the gods, the angels.   

While Jesus took the text of Psalm 8:2 and applied it to himself, he was not the “you” in the original context.  Jesus could not be both the “you” and the “him” within the single sentence found within verse 5.  Jesus was quoting a passage that was originally applied to God and applying it to himself.  He was doing this not because he was God, but because the language that was applied to God was also applicable to him in the way that he was using it. 

This point is well highlighted by Albert Barnes: “It is not affirmed, however, in either place, that it had an original reference to the times of the Messiah, or that it was meant, as used by the psalmist, to denote that children would be employed in the praise of God. The language sufficiently expressed the idea which the Saviour meant to convey; and the principle or great truth involved in the psalm was applicable to the use which he made of it.”[1] 

We have discussed but one example directly.  This point can be applied in a fairly consistent manner throughout the New Testament.  When passages are taken from their original context in reference to God and applied to Jesus, they do not equate the two any more than when passages are taken from a context of others and applied in a similar way.   

When considering other examples context or the specific use of the quote will often make it clear that application of the text to the Messiah does not mean to equate him with the original applicant.  When it comes to text originally applied to God, a careful examination of the texts use will often reveal how this is the case.  In certain quoted texts we will find that “Lord” will be used contextually in such a way that it can only be taken as a title though used for the divine name in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Or it may be that the text, when applied to the Messiah, will have a key grammatical modification that significantly changes the meaning so as to make it applicable to the him.

A future article will discuss several texts that are display these characteristics in detail.