Did Jesus Claim He Was God?

In an interview with former atheist and now agnostic Alex O’Connor, critical New Testament scholar and self-proclaimed “agnostic atheist”1 Bart Ehrman argued that in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (synoptic Gospels), Jesus never claimed to be God.2 Ehrman does acknowledge that Jesus claims to be God in the Gospel of John (he believes John’s Gospel was written 65–70 years after Jesus’ death).3 How can Ehrman say that Jesus never claimed to be God if he acknowledges that Jesus claims to be God in the Gospel of John?

It is important to understand that Ehrman has a developmental model in understanding the identity of Jesus, where Jesus goes from being a mere man to being considered God.4 Ehrman believes the development of Jesus’ identity is chronological, beginning with the Gospel of Mark presenting a very low Christology to finally the Gospel of John presenting a very high Christology.5 In the interview with O’Connor, Ehrman argued that since Jesus’ famous “I am” (egō eimi ) saying (John 8:58) in the Gospel of John can’t be corroborated in the synoptic Gospels, Jesus must not have said it. Ehrman believes Jesus’ claim to be God in the Gospel of John is not historical but is probably the author’s theological interpretation.

Not only does Ehrman place an extreme discontinuity between the synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John, but he assumes that in the synoptic Gospels Jesus does not talk about himself as God.

Jesus’ claims to be God are his attributing to himself words, actions, names, and functions from the Hebrew scriptures that would be blasphemous if he were not truly God.

This article will give just two examples in the Gospel of Mark, which according to Ehrman has a low Christology, where Jesus clearly claimed to be God. It is important to point out that when we say Jesus claimed to be God, we are not saying that Jesus went around Israel saying, “Hi, I am Jesus, and I am God.” Jesus’ claims to be God are his attributing to himself words, actions, names, and functions from the Hebrew scriptures that would be blasphemous if he were not truly God.6

Gospel of Mark7

If the other Gospels were written down by eyewitnesses of Jesus, is the Gospel of Mark less reliable because Mark wasn’t an eyewitness? No. There is good literary and historical evidence that the Gospel of Mark came from the preaching and teaching of the Apostle Peter (see Acts 12:12–17; 1 Peter 5:13).8 Interestingly, Simon Peter is the first- and last-mentioned disciple in the Gospel (Mark 1:16, 16:7), which is a literary (inclusio) way of suggesting that he is the witness to the events recorded in the Gospel.9 The Gospel of Mark (c. AD 60s) is based upon a reliable historical witness.

Importantly, in the introduction to his Gospel, Mark presents Jesus as the Lord (Yahweh) for whom the way is prepared (Mark 1:3; cf. Isaiah 40:3) and the one who will baptize his people in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8; cf. Isaiah 44:3).10 Mark sees Jesus as the divine Son of God who did not come from the world but came into the world (Mark 1:1, 11; 9:7, 14:61, 15:39).11

Jesus Forgives Sins (Mark 2)

In Mark 2:1–12, Jesus is speaking at a home in Capernaum when a paralytic man is lowered through the roof by his four friends so that Jesus can heal him. Rather than immediately healing the man, Jesus, seeing “their faith,” instead forgives his sins (Mark 2:5). This causes the scribes to question in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7; cf. 14:64 ). The scribes assume that Jesus has presumptuously forgiven the man’s sins, and therefore he is guilty of blasphemy for usurping God’s authority (Leviticus 24:15–16). If, as the scribes recognize, only God can forgive sins and Jesus forgives the man’s sins, then what is Jesus saying of himself? Nevertheless, Jesus knew what the scribes were thinking in their hearts, which is something only God can do (1 Chronicles 28:9), so he provided evidence that the man’s sins had been forgiven by healing him (Mark 2:11–12; cf. Psalm 103:3).

Jesus’ command to the man to get up and walk shows his authority on earth as the Son of Man, an exalted figure who has divine characteristics (Mark 2:10–11; cf. 14:62; Daniel 7:13–14). After the man picks up his bed and walks away, the crowd glorified God, as they had never seen anything like this (Mark 2:12). As the Son of Man, Jesus not only shows his authority to forgive sins, but he shows that he is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), and who is Lord of the Sabbath except the one who instituted it: God himself (Exodus 16:23–29)?

Both O’Connor and Ehrman object to Jesus forgiving sins as a claim to deity. Ehrman argues that when Jewish priests performed sacrifices in the temple, they would then pronounce that sins are forgiven. Ehrman believes Mark 2 is an anti-priest polemic, just as a priest can forgive sins so can Jesus. The problem with this objection is that Jesus was not a temple priest, he had offered no sacrifice, nor had the scribes heard a basis for the declaration of forgiveness or any suggestion of repentance. Furthermore, temple priests were primarily from the tribe of Levi, specifically the descendants of Aaron (Exodus 40; Luke 1:5). Jesus was from the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5).

O’Connor’s objection is that after Jesus’ resurrection, he gave his disciples authority to forgive sins (John 20:23), and if the authority to forgive sins means you are God, then this would make the disciples “God,” which they are obviously not. However, in John 20:23, Jesus is not giving the disciples the authority to forgive the sins of individuals. The context is about the mission of Jesus’ disciples (John 20:21; cf. 15:27), and it is through their proclamation of the gospel that people can know their sins can be forgiven by God.

Jesus Proclaims His Name (Mark 6)

In Mark 4, Jesus is in a boat with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee when he shows his authority over creation by stilling a storm. This leads the disciples to ask the question, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41).

Mark 6 contains another account of Jesus getting into a boat on the Sea of Galilee (c. 13 miles long and 8 miles wide) with his disciples and showing his authority over creation (Mark 6:45–52). Immediately, after feeding the five thousand (Mark 6:34–44), Jesus sends his disciples off into a boat to Bethsaida, dismisses the crowd, and then goes up on the mountain to pray. In the evening, Jesus sees the disciples are “making headway painfully, for the wind was against them” (Mark 6:48). Jesus’ omniscience is clear in the text as he can see beyond what can be seen by others. It was after evening, and the wind was against the disciples, who were all the way out in the middle of the sea (c. about 3 miles from shore, John 6:19). Yet despite these things, Jesus can see the disciples struggling. Jesus comes to disciples “about the fourth watch of the night” (between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.), walking on the sea, something God alone can do (cf. Job 9:8). Jesus not only walks on water, but he manages to catch up with the disciples—the obstacle of the wind for the disciples was not an obstacle for Jesus.

Jesus’ omniscience is clear in the text as he can see beyond what can be seen by others.

When Jesus comes to his disciples, we are told that “he meant to pass by them” (Mark 6:48), which is language in the Hebrew Scriptures connected to a theophany (cf. 1 Kings 19:11–12). For example, in Exodus 33–34, Moses asks God to show him his glory, but God responds by passing before him and proclaiming his identity (see Exodus 33:19–23, 34:5–6). New Testament theologian David Garland notes, “This biblical background suggests that Mark portrays Jesus wanting to pass by his disciples to reveal his transcendent, divine majesty to them.”12 This interpretation is further supported by Jesus’ response to the terrified disciples who think they have seen a ghost: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Mark 6:50). The reassurance “Take heart. . . . Do not be afraid” is language of a divine being (see Genesis 15:1; Joshua 8:1). Jesus also greets the disciples with the use of the divine formula, “It is I” (egō eimi, cf. John 8:58). The use of the divine name is further supported by the backdrop to this passage:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. . . . For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1–3)

In the same context, God goes on to refer to himself as “I am” (egō eimi, LXX).

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. (Isaiah 43:10–11)

The disciples who have been chosen by Jesus pass through the waters with him, and he is the one who only needs to say, “I am.” This time, Jesus does not even need to rebuke the wind for the sea to be calm (Mark 4:39), but he simply gets into the boat, and the wind ceases (Mark 6:51). Jesus’ walking on the water is the perfect time for him to reveal himself to the disciples as it answers their previous question from the last time they were in a boat with him: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). But after Jesus got into the boat, the disciples “were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51–52). Just as the disciples had failed to see Jesus’ divine power in feeding the 5,000 (cf. Mark 8:17–21), so they did not see the theophany of Jesus (cf. Job 9:11) and instead were afraid of a ghost (Mark 6:49–50).

Conclusion

According to Ehrman, the Gospel of Mark has a very low Christology, but nothing could be further from the truth (cf. Mark 4:35–41, 14:61–64). The only way to overlook the divine claims of Jesus in the Gospels is by having a methodology that dismisses any statement of Jesus that sounds like a claim to be God. In his Gospel, Mark presents Jesus as the transcendent Lord of creation who came to save sinners by giving his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), which he achieved through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead (Mark 8:31).