One of the most fundamental truths of Christianity is that Jesus is God. Yet many deny this truth, claiming Jesus never referred to Himself as divine or that His disciples didn’t see Him that way until centuries later. They argue that the idea of Jesus’ deity grew over time, as legends often do. But the historical evidence tells a different story. The earliest disciples of Jesus believed in His deity, and their writings affirm it. While Paul speaks of Jesus as God in his letters, so does the author of the first Gospel written. Many think of John when discussing the Gospels that highlight Jesus’ divinity, but Mark’s Gospel, written just 30 to 40 years after Jesus’ death, is full of evidence that early Christians viewed Jesus as God.
In this post, we will take a trip through the Gospel of Mark and pause chapter by chapter as we take note of the things Mark says that show us powerful evidence that Christians viewed Jesus as God. If this early writing paints a clear picture of Jesus as God, then it demonstrates the legend of Jesus didn’t grow over time, but eyewitnesses and contemporaries of His death and resurrection lived their lives with the belief that their Master and King was God. This should give us great confidence as we, too, put our faith in the deity of Jesus.
In Chapter 1, we read about John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. From the beginning, Mark tells us the early disciples believed the Father spoke from Heaven, acknowledging Jesus as His Son.
“And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:10-11 ESV).
In chapter 2, Mark shows us Jesus can do something only God can do: forgive sins.
“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7 ESV).
Later in chapter 2, Jesus gives His disciples authority to pick grain in the fields to eat on the Sabbath. When confronted by the Pharisees for violating the Sabbath, Jesus says He is Lord of the Sabbath, asserting authority over a sacred institution established by God.
“And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28 ESV).
In chapter 3, Jesus once again shows His authority over the Sabbath by healing the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath against the objections of the Pharisees.
“And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” (Mark 3:4-5 ESV).
Later in the chapter, Mark tells us about Jesus casting out demons from men. The demons, who terrorized people, were themselves terrified of Jesus. Why? Because they knew who Jesus was and proclaimed His true identity.
“And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” (Mark 3:11 ESV).
In chapter 4, Mark tells us about Jesus calming the storm on the sea. With the rebuke of His voice, the winds died down and the sea grew calm. What was the reaction of His disciples who witnessed this?
“And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41 ESV).
What is more amazing is that Mark points back to Psalm 107 to link Jesus’ identity as God:
“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” (Psalm 107:28-29 ESV).
The word LORD in verse 28 is the personal name of God, Yahweh. Mark links Jesus with the name of Yahweh of the Old Testament.
In chapter 5, we again seeing the demons attesting to Jesus’ true identity as the Son of the Most High God:
“And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” (Mark 5:7 ESV).
In Chapter 6, Mark again shows us Jesus’ power over nature. This time, we see Him walking on water toward the boat His disciples were in.
“And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,
for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,” (Mark 6:48-51 ESV).
In chapter 7, Mark tells us that Jesus had the authority over the Jewish leaders to set them straight in their error.
“And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ’This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8 ESV).
And Mark ends the chapter by showing Jesus had the power to heal the deaf and the mute.
“And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.
And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:33-35 ESV).
This harkens back to when Yahweh spoke to Moses from the burning bush,
“Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11 ESV).
Mark shows us the Creator who made even the mute and the deaf can heal them just as easily and shows us that Jesus has power over His creation.
In chapter 8, Mark picks up the pace as he demonstrates Jesus is God. First, He asks the disciples who they think He is and Peter steps up to make the most famous confession of all time.
“And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29 ESV).
Then, Mark quickly tells us Jesus knows the future about how He will die, and more importantly, that He will demonstrate His power over death by rising from the dead after three days:
“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31 ESV).
And finally, Mark ends chapter 8 by telling us Jesus claimed to be the one who will come to judge all men in the presence of the Father, showing it is Him who will come in glory with the holy angels.
“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 ESV).
Through the first eight chapters, Mark repeatedly shows that Jesus is God. These accounts, written just decades after Jesus’ life, confirm that early Christians worshipped Him as divine, even at great personal cost. This was no late-developing legend but the conviction of eyewitnesses. Next week, we’ll continue exploring Mark’s Gospel, where the evidence of Jesus’ deity becomes even more striking. Be encouraged! The One we follow is truly God—Yahweh come to earth to redeem His creation. Let this truth deepen your faith and strengthen your confidence in Him.
I am in the book of Numbers in my daily Bible reading. When I read about the ten spies going into the land and bringing back a bad report, I read it with caution.
Immediately, we often think, “If that was me, I would have certainly stood with Joshua and Caleb to give a good report.”
But would I? I would like to think so, but there is a great pull when the majority is saying one thing. How many times do we feel the comfort of standing with the majority?
When Joshua and Caleb took their stand with Moses and with God, the majority decided to topple Moses’s leadership and appoint someone else to lead them back to Egypt. They also decided to stone Joshua and Caleb for their insistence on trusting God.
Would I stand with the minority? It’s a question we need to think about because sooner or later we will look into the camp of the enemy, and we will see giants. We will be tempted to size up the evil in our culture and ask ourselves, “Can we enter the battle behind the banner of King Jesus or has the enemy grown too strong for us to make a difference?”
Standing with the minority on paper is a romantic notion. But when we are faced with it in real life, it’s a lonely thing to do. We become the object of scorn. We will be gaslit and forced to question the reality we see with our eyes of faith.
The majority who stand without God will accuse us and make us their enemy. They will desperately want us to take our stand with them because when we stand with the minority and with God, it forces them to face their own evil.
When they appoint a new leader and take up stones against us, will we still have the courage of Joshua and Caleb? Will we be secure in the strength of God when everyone else turns on us and accuses us of all kinds of evil?
In the end, God will lead those who stand with Him into the land of rest while those who stand against Him die in the wilderness. My prayer is that we all find the strength of Joshua and Caleb as we stand with the minority to put our trust in the Almighty God.
I am in the book of Numbers in my daily Bible reading. In Numbers, we find the fascinating but tragic story of Balaam. Called by Balak to curse Israel, Balaam knew he could only speak the words God gave him. Yet, despite faithfully delivering God’s blessings over Israel, Balaam ultimately revealed the duplicity of his heart. Desiring either the riches Balak promised or perhaps seeking favor with his own people, Balaam devised a way to circumvent God’s will. His counsel to Balak—to use idolatry and immorality to ensnare Israel—led to devastating consequences for God’s people and secured Balaam’s legacy of evil (Revelation 2:14).
Balaam’s story is a sobering reminder of the danger of divided loyalty. As servants of God, we may know His will and even outwardly obey it, yet our hearts can still betray us if we allow sinful desires to linger. Balaam’s downfall came not from his inability to act but from his willingness to twist obedience into a means of achieving his own ends.
Let us take heed. Faithfulness to God requires not only our actions, but also the surrender of our hearts. When we are tempted to manipulate God’s word or His intent to satisfy our desires, we must remember that such compromises lead only to ruin. Instead, may we leave a legacy of good by seeking to align our will with His, trusting that His way is always best.
The Black Hole is an amazing creation of God. It’s so powerful, not even light can escape its pull.
If a Black Hole is this terrifyingly powerful, imagine how powerful its Creator must be.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1 ESV).
I am in the book of Numbers in my daily Bible reading. In this book, we read the details of all the offerings and sacrifices. Today, I am reading about the daily offerings and sacrifices.
We often focus on the sacrifice nature of the Old Law and how God is communicating the blood offering for sacrifices, foreshadowing the ultimate blood offering of God Himself as He shed His blood on the cross for our sins.
While this is true, and the book of Hebrews is devoted to this part of the nature of sacrifices, I think we may easily miss the nature of the daily offerings of grain and drink that also were part of the Law. What do we suppose God wants us to learn from these offerings?
Under the New Covenant, God’s desire for our offerings hasn’t disappeared—it’s transformed. Instead of animal sacrifices, grain, or drink offerings, God now calls us to bring something far more personal: ourselves. Paul captures it beautifully in Romans 12:1, urging us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This means that every moment of our lives—how we think, act, and speak—becomes an offering of worship. But it doesn’t stop there. God also delights in the fruit of our lips, the praise and thanksgiving that flow from hearts overflowing with gratitude (Hebrews 13:15). When we do good, share what we have, and care for others, those acts are sacrifices pleasing to Him (Hebrews 13:16). Even our trust, our willingness to step out in faith, is an offering, much like the Philippians’ sacrificial gifts that Paul described as “a fragrant aroma” to God (Philippians 4:18).
And then there’s obedience—a sometimes overlooked but deeply cherished offering. As Samuel once told Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). When we listen to God and walk in His ways, we give Him something that no ritual could ever replace. Similarly, a broken and contrite heart—a humble spirit that acknowledges its dependence on Him—moves God in ways that burnt offerings never could (Psalm 51:17). Our worship, too, must come from a place of spirit and truth, an authenticity that the Father seeks in His children (John 4:23-24). And let’s not forget the Gospel itself: when we share the good news of Jesus with others, it’s as if the fragrance of Christ spreads far and wide, glorifying Him (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).
Even the prayers of God’s people—those heartfelt cries and whispered intercessions—are described in Revelation as incense before His throne. Every prayer offered in faith becomes a pleasing aroma to the King. And when we use our time, talents, and resources to serve others as faithful stewards, we join in the joyful work of advancing His kingdom (1 Peter 4:10). In every way, God calls us to bring spiritual offerings: lives lived in worship, hearts surrendered in love, and hands extended in service. These are the sacrifices that please Him, not because of what they are, but because of what they say about the One we love most.
In tomorrow’s Tuesdays With Tony post, we will finish up our look at how Mark shows that Jesus is deity in every chapter of His Gospel. When we get to chapter 14, we will harken back to Daniel 7 when He tells the High Priest who He is.
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV).
Before I was about to crawl into bed tonight, it dawned on me that Daniel saw the vision of me and you. We are part of the “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.”
As I am about to go to God in prayer, the Ancient of Days has seated His Son at His right hand on a throne.
As we will see tomorrow morning, Mark ends His Gospel showing Jesus fulfilling Daniel’s vision:
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19 ESV).