What Scripture says
The Gospels record Jesus making claims that go beyond those of a prophet:
- “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58, ESV). His listeners picked up stones to throw at him, which shows they understood it as a claim to divinity, echoing God’s name, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).
- Forgiving sins: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5–7).
- The Son of Man on the clouds: asked at his trial if he is the Christ, Jesus says, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). The high priest tore his robes and called it blasphemy.
- “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
- Accepting worship: Thomas calls him “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), and Jesus doesn’t correct him.
What the evidence says
Scripture
Claims in the earliest Gospel
Some argue that Jesus only claims divinity in John, the latest Gospel. But Mark, usually considered the earliest, also contains strong claims:
- Jesus forgives sins (Mark 2:5–7).
- He calls himself “lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28), the day God instituted.
- He calms the sea (Mark 4:39–41), something the Old Testament attributes to God (Psalm 107:29).
- He walks on water and says, “Take heart; it is I [literally, ‘I am’]” (Mark 6:50), echoing how God “trampled the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8).
- At his trial, he applies Daniel 7:13–14, where “one like a son of man” comes “with the clouds of heaven” and receives everlasting dominion, to himself (Mark 14:62).
The Son of Man
“Son of Man” was Jesus’ favourite way of referring to himself. It can mean simply “a human being”. But in Daniel 7:13–14, the Son of Man comes on the clouds, is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom”, and is served by all peoples, a figure who shares God’s authority.
History
What the earliest Christians believed
Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham have shown that very early, within a few years of Jesus’ death, Jewish Christians worshipped Jesus alongside God, which was extraordinary for monotheistic Jews:
- Philippians 2:6–11 (c. AD 60, possibly quoting an earlier hymn) says Jesus was “in the form of God” and that every knee will bow to him. This applies to Jesus a passage where God says, “To me every knee shall bow” (Isaiah 45:23).
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 (c. AD 54) adapts the Shema, the central Jewish confession (“the Lord our God, the Lord is one”, Deuteronomy 6:4), to include Jesus: “one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ”.
- 1 Corinthians 16:22 preserves the Aramaic prayer Maranatha (“Our Lord, come!”), showing that early Aramaic-speaking Christians in Judea prayed to Jesus.
The critical view
Some critical scholars, such as Bart Ehrman, argue that:
- The historical Jesus saw himself as a prophet announcing God’s coming kingdom, perhaps as the coming Messiah.
- The strongest claims, especially in John, were developed by later Christians.
- The earliest Christians first saw Jesus as exalted to God’s side at his resurrection, and only later as pre-existent and divine.
Others reply that the early worship of Jesus is hard to explain unless Jesus said or did things that led his followers to see him this way, and that the claims in Mark already go beyond those of a prophet.
Not just a good teacher
C. S. Lewis famously argued in Mere Christianity that Jesus’ claims leave three options: he was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Critics add a fourth: legend, the claims were added later. That is why the question of whether the Gospels preserve what Jesus actually said matters (see 4.4 and 4.5).
Where they meet
The evidence that Jesus made claims beyond those of a prophet is strong, even in the earliest sources, and his first followers, devout Jews, worshipped him within a few years. Some critical scholars still argue these claims developed later.
What’s still open
- How Jesus understood his own identity during his lifetime.
- How quickly belief in his divinity developed.
Bottom line
Yes, by strong evidence: “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), forgiving sins (Mark 2:5–7), and the Son of Man on the clouds (Mark 14:62). Some critical scholars argue these claims developed later, so this is rated Debated.