Did Jesus Really Say He Was God? — Reading Club

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Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

Dr. Mikel Del Rosario

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

Making Sense of His Historical Claims

by Dr. Mikel Del Rosario · Foreword by Darrell L. Bock · IVP Academic, 2025

🔖Created and distributed by permission of InterVarsity Press. This study follows Dr. Del Rosario’s book chapter by chapter; the summaries and questions are written in our own words, and nothing on this page reproduces the book’s prose. This study is our own work. Its publication by permission does not imply that IVP or Dr. Del Rosario endorse other Apologia Daily content. See the book at IVP →

13 sessionsIntro + 12 chapters

Four partsMark 2 & Mark 14

Read + discussOptional extras

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Can we show — by the standards of professional historians — that it’s very probable the historical Jesus claimed divine authority? Dr. Mikel Del Rosario builds the case through two parallel “blasphemy accusation” scenes: the paralytic Jesus forgives in Mark 2 (authority to forgive sins), and the Jewish examination in Mark 14 (authority to judge). Each scene runs the same three beats — the core scene, the blasphemy charge, the divine claim. This club walks the book chapter by chapter, then hands you the tools to defend it.

Start with the first session ↓

How the club works

Read Dr. Del Rosario's book chapter by chapter, with discussion questions for each — that's the whole club, and the book is all you need. Then, if you want to go further, each session links a few optional Apologia Daily resources to practise defending the case (Asked & Answered, the Debate Arena, a game). They're clearly marked as ours, and entirely skippable.

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

Dr. Del Rosario

Read along · Start here

Get the book

This club follows Did Jesus Really Say He Was God? by Dr. Mikel Del Rosario, chapter by chapter. Grab your copy, then work each chapter through here. Also available direct from InterVarsity Press.

📖 Get the book →

Sessions & Discussion

Finish the study · Mastery check

Can you make the whole case?

One capstone for the whole book — eight prompts that walk through the entire case, in two modes. Flashcards: read a prompt, answer it in your head (or out loud to the group), then tap to reveal a model answer drawn from Dr. Del Rosario’s argument. Self-rate quiz: take the same eight prompts one at a time, rate how well you answered each, and get an honest score at the end. If you can walk through all eight, you can make the case.

01 · The method

Why build the case from Mark, not John?

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John’s explicit “I am” sayings are exactly what skeptics dismiss as late. Mark is the earliest Gospel — the one even critical scholars grant has the least embellishment. If Jesus claims divine authority even there, the “only in John” objection collapses. It meets the skeptic on their own ground.

02 · The angle

Why focus on Jesus’ enemies, not his followers?

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The book’s distinctive move: how did Jesus’ Jewish adversaries hear his claims? Their blasphemy charges are historical evidence that his words and deeds were taken as claims to divine authority — not merely what his followers later came to believe.

03 · Scene 1 · Mark 2

What did Jesus claim, and why was it blasphemy?

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Healing the paralytic, he first says “your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2:5). The scribes react: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mk 2:7). He claimed authority on earth to forgive sins — a divine prerogative — then backed the invisible claim with the visible healing (Mk 2:10).

04 · Scene 2 · Mark 14

What did Jesus claim, and why was it blasphemy?

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Asked if he is the Christ, he answers by fusing Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 — the Son of Man seated at God’s right hand, coming on the clouds (Mk 14:62). He claimed authority in heaven to judge — again a prerogative reserved to God. The high priest tears his robes and calls it blasphemy.

05 · The objections

What are the strongest objections — and the answers?

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Hägerland: Jesus never said Mk 2:10 (added later). Casey (and Ehrman): claiming to be Messiah or citing the Son of Man wasn’t blasphemy. Kirk: Jesus is an “idealized human,” not divine. Del Rosario answers each — the authenticity holds; and claiming to share God’s throne and judge is far more than mere messiahship — and more than Kirk’s “idealized human” category can carry.

06 · The verdict

How does the book reach its conclusion?

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It gathers ten well-evidenced data points from the two scenes, then weighs two explanations — human vs divine authority — against five criteria (plausibility, scope, power, less ad hoc, illumination). The divine-authority reading passes all five and best explains the data.

07 · The calibration

Why “very probable,” not “proof” — and why no need for “I am God”?

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History deals in probabilities, not proofs — the honest verdict is “very probable,” the best explanation of the evidence. And the slogan “I am God” isn’t required: claiming to forgive sins on earth and judge from heaven — prerogatives reserved to God — is itself the claim.

08 · The takeaway

The 60-second version for a skeptic?

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Even in Mark, the earliest Gospel, Jesus does two things only God could rightly do — forgive sins and claim to judge the world from God’s throne — and his own enemies recognized both as claiming what belongs to God alone. By ordinary historical standards, the best explanation is that Jesus claimed divine authority. That — not a slogan — is how, the book argues, Jesus said he was God.

Every answer is a paraphrase of Dr. Del Rosario’s argument, in our own words — nothing reproduces the book’s prose, and this capstone is optional. Switch between flashcards and the self-rated quiz above.