If Jesus never called himself God, how did he become one? This is the issue that occupies Bart Ehrman in his book How Jesus became God. In it he claims that Jesus never called himself God. So how did he become one?
I haven’t read the book. Instead, I listened to an extended interview about his book. I’ve shared the interview link at the end.
This really matters to Ehrman because if the claim about Jesus’ divinity wasn’t made and accepted, the history of the whole world would be radically different. It was the biggest game changer.
Ehrman’s Claims
Here’s a couple of his claims from early on in the interview.
‘That Earliest Christians thought that Jesus taken up to heaven and made a divine being and that he was coming back.’ (2:43)
So far, so good. But,
‘During his lifetime Jesus himself didn't call himself God and didn't consider himself God and that none of his disciples had any inkling at all that he was God.’ (3:04 to 3:12)
Except in John’s Gospel, as Ehrman acknowledges. In John’s Gospel, there is a mountain of divine claims by Jesus. Such as the the ‘I am’ statements which parallel ‘I am’ statements of Yahweh in the Old Testament.(1) Or Jesus’ claim of perfect identification with God the Father, ‘If you’ve seen me – you’ve seen the Father (John 14v8, 5v16-18) (2) .’ Or, Jesus’ claim of divine authority and judgement (John 5v19-22)
The writer of John’s Gospel is so sure Jesus is God he starts with this big bang.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
John 1:1-3
A handful of sentences later, John tells us Jesus is the Word. (1:14)
But, according to Ehrman, John is later.
Whereas,
‘We have earlier gospels and we have the writings of Paul and in none of them is there any indication that Jesus said such things about him [self].
I think it is completely implausible that Matthew, Mark and Luke would not mention that Jesus called himself God if that's what he was declaring about himself. (3 minutes 40 seconds)’
(See this recent blog post exploring Jesus’ I am statements in John’s Gospel or at the end under related)
Is Bart Ehrman right? No
So is Bart Ehrman right? Did Jesus never claim to be God (except in John’s Gospel)? Was this supposed claim to be God something put on Jesus that he never claimed for himself? And, all for the aim of making the little sect grow?
The answer to all those is no. It is so clearly no that I don’t understand how Bart Ehrman comes to his conclusion that Jesus never claimed to be God. Let me share with you why I’m convinced. (Again, the interview with Ehrman is at the bottom so you can hear his argument in summary.)
Let’s look at three things:
Direct statements by Paul and Peter
Direct identification of Jesus with the actions or character of God
Jesus claims to be God in the Gospels
1 Direct Statements by Paul and Peter that Jesus was God
Now, you’re right. Statements by the apostle Paul and Peter are not the words of Jesus. But, in a surprising twist they are the earliest written records of views about Jesus. We’ll look at these to counter Ehrman’s idea that the claim that Jesus was God came later.
Let’s start with a direct quote from Paul writing to Titus
‘waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13)
And what about these?
Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God’
Philippians 2v5-6.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.
Colossians chapter 1:19-10 and 2:9.
Paul doubles down just in case the readers missed it the first time. This looks like four strikes against Ehrman. There is a similar statement by Peter who was one of the disciples.
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:1
Five strikes? It looks like it. But that is just the start.
2 Direct Identification of Jesus with THE actions or character of God
Somehow Bart Ehrman seems to miss the way the New Testament writers make their point. He seems to be only looking for statements such as ‘Jesus is God’ or ‘I am God’. But the writers are deeper than that. They make a direct identification between Jesus Christ and Yahweh (God’s personal name) of the Old Testament. This is a more profound connection than just assertions. Let’s see this move in the writings of Paul, which again come much earlier than John.
Consider Paul’s letter to the Colossians
The Son (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15-26
Jesus is the creator who made everything. And everything was made for him. This is pretty clear but becomes even clearer when you consider the first verse in the Bible:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Jesus created everything exclusively. God created everything. Seems pretty clear.
But let’s take another one. While in gaol Paul penned Philippians 2 and wrote this about Jesus – resurrected and ascended after his death.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Now, ponder this Old Testament passage written some 800 years earlier by Isaiah. It’s about Yahweh, almost always translated LORD (yep, in capitals).
“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
…
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
Isaiah 45:22-24
That’s big! There is only one God and no other. Explicitly disavowal of any other god. And yet Paul applies it to Jesus to the glory of the Father. In other words, Paul thought Jesus must have been God. Which is what he says just before this, as quoted above.
Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God
Philippians 2v5-6.
But Bart goes further as we noted above and asserts that Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t have any statements that Jesus was God or considered himself God. Jesus was only on about his messianic kingship.
3 Jesus claims to be God in the Gospels
There is no doubt that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. But what we’ll see is that this claim to be the Messiah correlated with Jesus identification as God the Son. Let’s quickly look at some parts of Mark, Luke and Matthew.
Mark’s Gospel
Here are Jesus words from the middle of Mark.
‘For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:38
At first, it doesn’t look like a claim to divinity. But when we look at the Old Testament we see more is going on. Below is from the book of Daniel, right in the middle
As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
Daniel 7:9
God, the Ancient of Days took his seat on one of the thrones! Thrones is plural. How come? A few sentences later in this vision.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14
This Son of Man is given the authority of God himself, ruling as God with the power of God forever. Hence it is right that he should be worshipped by all. If the authority issue doesn’t persuade you then claim that the Son of Man will be worshipped should. Every Jew knew that worship was reserved for God alone.
In short, the Son of Man has the divine authority of God. Again, in the pattern of identification, it is saying that the Son of Man is God. That’s why there is more than one throne.
Which is why at the end of Mark’s Gospel when Jesus is asked who are you, are you the Messiah? And Jesus says
“I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
The high priest responds ‘You have heard the blasphemy.’ (Mark 14:62-63). The high priest heard Jesus statement as a claim to be the Son of Man and therefore ruling as God!
And don’t miss the little ‘I am’. The ‘I am’ is the same statement that Ehrman acknowledges in John’s Gospel as a claim to be God.
For the sake of space, I’ve ignored events like Jesus calming the storm (but see the identification here), raising the dead, and forgiving sins, doing the things that only God can do. But check them out in Mark 2, 4 & 5. Or, Jesus claiming to be the bridegroom of Israel. In the Old Testament the bridegroom is always God. Check it out in Mark 2 and compare to Isaiah 54:5-7. In each of them there is a direct identification between the words or actions of Jesus and God himself, as revealed in the Old Testament.
Still not convinced? Let’s hit Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel.
Matthew’s Gospel
Let's look at Matthew’s gospel briefly. First, a claim about Jesus.
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:23
You are right. This is not a claim by Jesus. But is hard to square this claim about Jesus with Ehrman’s assertion that the disciples didn’t think Jesus was God given that Matthew is most likely one of Jesus’ disciples. None the less let’s see what Jesus says for himself.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’
Matthew 11:27-28
Working backwards through these statements. In the Old Testament God says, ‘I alone am Saviour and there is no other.’ But Jesus says ‘come to me and I will give you rest’. Now, either Jesus was making a bid for the place of God or he was claiming to be God, but either way, he certainly thought he was fulfilling what only God could do!
But it gets better. Jesus says that only he knows the Father. He is claiming to know the mind of God Again in the Old Testament, no one knows the thoughts of God but God.
And finally, Jesus says ‘all things’ have been handed over to him. When you read that with some lines from the book of Isaiah in mind it is hard not to see Jesus making a claim to be God. For instance, God says.
“I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
(Isaiah 42:8) 3
Or see Isaiah 41:4, 13 among others. Jesus says this praise and glory is now his for all things are handed over to him.
Jesus thought of himself as God - God the Son - the second person of the Trinity. This is the reason that Jesus accepted the worship of his disciples (Matthew 14v25-32).
And so, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says,
All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me.
(Matthew 28:18-20)
And he commands that his disciples teach in his name, the Father’s name and the Holy Spirit’s name. And it is to teach what he taught because of his authority.
That sounds like an implicit claim to be God, to have all authority in heaven and earth, don’t you agree?
As above, I’ve ignored the passages where Jesus seems to do the very acts of God such as feeding the 5000 in the wilderness, like God did, and then walking on water, like God’s parting of the Red sea. I’ve also ignored, for the sake of space, the parts where Jesus assumes the voice of God, and not just a prophet, when he says, ‘you’ve heard it said, but I say to you.’
Luke’s Gospel
In Luke’s gospel, the very same pattern is revealed. Let me share just one of many. Jesus is the Messiah come to save his people.’
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2v11).
Who is this Messiah? Isaiah chapter 9 reveals that the Messiah who sits on David’s throne will be called
‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6.
The Messiah is identified with God himself. That’s pretty clear and it has big implications. Jesus’ claim to be the Christ (Greek language) or the Messiah (Hebrew language) should be understood an implicit claim to divinity all through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Ehrman full acknowledges that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. So, on Ehrman’s own standing Jesus was indeed claiming to be God. Just not by saying, ‘I am God’.
Conclusion
Jesus takes the claim of God of the Old Testament upon himself. So, how does Bart Ehrman come to his conclusion? He claims to be able to distinguish within the writings of the New Testament, which were earlier and which were later. And which parts of which ones were earlier and which parts were later. And so, the parts that I’ve shown above that reflect the idea that Jesus was God (God the Son) are dismissed as later additions and not the original viewpoint.
But can you see how if you have the hypothesis Jesus never claimed to be God, and you think this idea came later, it would be easy to dismiss any passages that clearly show Jesus thought he was divine, or that the New Testament writers thought he was divine as later texts. But how does he really know they are later? Just becaue they represent Jesus as divine? You can see the problem.
Even on Ehrman’s thesis of earlier and later texts, wherein the earlier texts Jesus is just the Messiah and in the later ones he is also God, I think it falls apart. For it is widely held that Paul’s writings are our earliest sources. And yet, these indicate that Paul thought Jesus was God, God the Son. But, even if we concede that later writers, pretending to be Paul or modifying Paul, inserted this idea into the text his argument falls apart. For other writers to insert this means that the idea that Jesus was God was so clearly established in their minds - very early in the Christian thinking, in the first decades - that they could integrate this idea clearly and deeply. And this insertion happened through numerous writers and was accepted by the early church. In other words, even if we concede some of Ehrman’s thesis (which I don’t agree with) the New Testament shows that Jesus was clearly understood to be divine by the first believers.
So, how did this idea of Jesus divinity arise? I think it arose because the disciples saw Jesus do the things that only God could do, speak as God, and not just a prophet of God, and claim to show God perfectly. This understanding wasn’t formed out of nothing. It came from the deep and profound connection between Jesus and many, many Old Testament texts and ideas. They saw from these texts that Jesus was God, God the Son. And so they worshipped him.
In short, though Jesus doesn’t claim to be God in the way we might want, by stating ‘I am God’ (except in John’s Gospel where he says ‘I am’ a lot) Jesus identifies himself with the power, love, action, and plans of God in undeniable terms. This is why to glorify Jesus is to glorify the Father. Jesus is God, God the Son, who died for us and is worthy of our worship.
Listen to Bart Ehrman’s interview https://youtu.be/Yte-ad6Y31s
For a scholarly response to Bart Ehrman’s book.
For a thoughtful engagement with one of Bart Ehrman’s other books.
Related
The Problem of Bible Contradictions - A response to Bart Ehrman
Who is Jesus? Mark’s Gospel
Jesus' claim to be God - John’s Gospel and the I am statements
(1) Compare: John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5, & 6, 8 & Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:4; 48:12; 52:6, & Is 43:25; 51:12
(2) If you’re not familiar the with Bible referencing the first number is the chapter and the second number is the sentence or verse. So Mark 2:6 means chapter 2 and the 6th sentence.
(3) There is a long list of ‘I am the Lord’ statements in the Old Testament