For centuries, Christian doctrine has emphasized the divinity of Jesus Christ. The belief that Jesus was not merely a man but the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, is a cornerstone of Christian faith. But what if this belief wasn’t as clear-cut for early Christians as we have been led to believe? Did the earliest followers of Jesus actually view Him as divine, or was this understanding something that developed over time?
This question isn’t just a theological debate—it’s an investigation into the very roots of Christian faith. And when we look at the evidence from a secular standpoint, free from centuries of theological development, the answer may surprise you. The earliest Christian texts, upon closer examination, don’t offer the definitive support we expect for the divinity of Jesus.
The Earliest Christian Texts: What Do They Really Say?
Let’s start by looking at the very earliest writings that give us insight into the beliefs of the first Christians. These include the Pauline Epistles, which are some of the oldest Christian texts, written within just a few decades of Jesus’ death. It is often assumed that Paul’s letters confirm the belief in the divinity of Jesus, but upon closer scrutiny, they don’t provide a clear-cut answer. Here’s why.
The Pauline Epistles: A Subtle Christology
Paul’s letters are foundational for understanding early Christian theology. However, despite their profound influence, Paul never explicitly states that Jesus was divine in the way later Christian doctrine would define it. In letters like Romans and 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) and the Son of God, but the emphasis is on Jesus as a human being who was exalted by God, rather than inherently divine.
In Philippians 2:6-11, a passage sometimes cited to support the divinity of Jesus, Paul speaks of Jesus “existing in the form of God” but choosing to humble Himself by becoming human. This is often interpreted as a reference to Jesus’ divinity. However, the passage is more about Jesus’ humility and self-sacrifice than a theological statement about His pre-existent divine nature.
Moreover, the 1 Corinthians 15 resurrection narrative emphasizes Jesus’ role as the resurrected man who was the first-fruits of the dead, not as the divine being resurrected. The focus here is on Jesus’ role in salvation history and His divine role in God’s plan, not His inherent divinity.
The Gospel of Mark: The “Secret Messiah”
The Gospel of Mark, which is often considered the earliest of the four canonical gospels, offers another perspective. Jesus in Mark’s gospel is portrayed as a powerful teacher and healer, but His divinity is not overtly declared. Instead, Mark’s portrayal emphasizes the “Messianic secret”—a theme where Jesus repeatedly tries to conceal His true identity.
In Mark 8:27-30, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” and Peter responds, “You are the Christ.” But this is immediately followed by a stern command from Jesus not to tell anyone. This suggests that Jesus’ identity as the Messiah was not a publicly declared fact, let alone His divinity.
It’s not until the very end of Mark’s gospel, with the centurion’s exclamation at the crucifixion, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39), that we find any public recognition of Jesus’ divine sonship. However, this statement is made by a Roman soldier—a Gentile outsider—after Jesus’ death, not by a disciple or any other follower who would have had a deeper understanding of Jesus’ nature.
The Gospel of John: A Later Development
When we reach the Gospel of John, written several decades after the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the portrayal of Jesus shifts significantly. John’s gospel presents a much more explicit view of Jesus as divine, opening with the famous prologue, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). This is a stark contrast to the earlier gospels, where such claims are notably absent.
However, this elevated Christology in John is generally regarded as a later theological development, reflecting the growing understanding of Jesus as divine within the early Christian community. This development may have been influenced by the need to combat emerging heresies and establish a unified Christian identity. The divinity of Jesus in John’s gospel is also tied to the growing influence of Hellenistic thought, which increasingly permeated Christian theology as it spread beyond Jewish communities.
The Absence of Jesus’ Divinity in the Earliest Christian Writings
If we focus on the earliest Christian writings, we find a distinct absence of clear evidence supporting the divinity of Jesus. Scholars of early Christianity often highlight the Farrer Hypothesis and Marcionite Canon as critical pieces of evidence showing how the idea of Jesus’ divinity evolved over time. Marcion, a 2nd-century Christian theologian, rejected the Old Testament and created his own canon, which included an edited version of the Gospel of Luke and some of Paul’s letters. His canon reflects a Christology that is far from fully divine—Jesus is presented more as a revealer of truth than as an incarnate God.
Moreover, the Farrer Hypothesis, which suggests that the Gospel of Luke was written using Mark’s gospel (and possibly Matthew), shows that early Christian writers were more concerned with narrating the story of Jesus’ life and teachings than with explicitly defining His nature as divine. It wasn’t until later debates—particularly in the 4th and 5th centuries, during the Nicene Creed and Chalcedon Council—that the Christian church formalized the doctrine of Jesus’ full divinity.
No Clear Evidence for Jesus’ Divinity in Early Christian Texts
While later Christian writings, such as the Gospel of John, strongly emphasize the divinity of Jesus, the earliest texts don’t offer clear evidence that the first Christians believed Jesus was inherently divine. Instead, these writings focus on His role as the Messiah and His exalted status following His resurrection. The doctrine of Jesus’ divinity appears to be a later development, evolving over several decades as the early Christian community grappled with its identity and the nature of the man they had followed.
This raises an important question: How did such a belief in Jesus’ divinity come to dominate Christian thought, and what does this evolution tell us about the development of Christian theology? The answer is complex, but the absence of unequivocal evidence for Jesus’ divinity in the earliest texts invites us to reconsider the origins of one of Christianity’s central tenets.
Sources:
- The Pauline Epistles, Various Scholars
- The Gospel of Mark, The New Oxford Annotated Bible
- The Gospel of John, The New Oxford Annotated Bible
- Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings (6th Edition). Oxford University Press, 2016.
- MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. Viking, 2011.
- Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. Random House, 1979.