Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?: Making Sense of His Historical Claims

How to Make Sense of Jesus’ Divine Claims

Do you ever wonder if Jesus really claimed to be God? Maybe you’ve heard people say, ＂Jesus never said he was God,＂ or you’ve been asked, ＂Why believe Jesus is divine if he never claimed it?＂ These challenges aren’t just from non-Christians-they show up in church, too. Even if you’re not coming from a place of skepticism, you might still question how well church teachings about Jesus match up with what he actually said. So, did the historical Jesus really claim to be divine?

This book is here to give you confidence in the historicity of Jesus’ claim to divinity. It’s designed to help you explain your faith in a world that increasingly doubts the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus. Instead of focusing on what Jesus’ followers believed, this book takes a different approach-it looks at what Jesus’ enemies thought. How did they interpret his words and actions? Their perspective can help you understand the historical validity of Jesus’ divine claim.

In this book, biblical scholar Mikel Del Rosario

• uses historiography to examine claims about Jesus’ divinity,
• analyzes ancient Greco-Roman, Jewish, and biblical sources to understand how Jesus’ words and actions were interpreted by his adversaries and followers, and
• argues that Jesus claimed divine authority, a claim supported by strong historical evidence.

If you’re a Christian, this book will equip you to defend your faith against theories that suggest Jesus only claimed human authority, not divine. If you’re someone who sees Christianity differently, this book offers a serious investigation into the claims of the historical Jesus, providing evidence that any theory of his identity must address. Whether you’re searching for answers to your own questions or trying to share about Jesus with others, this book will help you communicate Jesus’ divine claim with clarity and confidence.

Mikel Del Rosario (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is professor of Bible and theology at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He has coauthored thirty-one journal articles on apologetics and cultural engagement in Bibliotheca Sacra with his mentor, Darrell L. Bock, including ＂The Table Briefing: Did the Historical Jesus Claim to Be Divine?＂ A member of the Evangelical Theological Society, Del Rosario is host of The Apologetics Guy Show, a podcast on the Christianity Today Network. He previously hosted Dallas Theological Seminary’s cultural engagement podcast, The Table. He enjoys living with his wife in Chicago.