It is known to all that back then there are people that worship (non)living things such as the sun/moon or a dead notable person. It is also known that most if not all, of those things/person never even claimed to be the God, however, their followers do.
Did Jesus every say explicitly that he is God? I do not accept statements that are not explicit because
- It's of the words of the writer or other people.
or
- It can be interpreted in a different way.
Unlike explicit statements, it can't interpreted in a different way and it doesn't require you to know the context and stuff.