The Divinity of Christ as Presented in the Synoptic Gospels

Written for Christ and His Church with Dr. John C. Froula, January 30, 2020

The divinity of Christ is illumined throughout the New Testament. It is presented specifically in all of the Gospels, approached from one perspective in the synoptics, from another in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John opens with Christ’s divinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”[1] We are speaking not of a prophet, but of God himself. Conversely, the synoptic Gospels start with Christ, the human, and build to the fullness of his divinity and his role in salvation history. The synoptic Gospels ground us in Christ’s humanity, while showing the evidence of his divinity.  In contemplating the divinity of Jesus on the synoptic Gospels, we may begin with the Joyful and Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

The Joyful Mysteries are derived from in the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. Both give us the birth of a baby, but show this is not an ordinary birth. In Matthew, we learn this birth fulfills prophecies of the Messiah. Luke’s infancy narrative, with angels bearing messages, shows God at work. Jesus is born of a woman, born by the power of the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of the prophecies. We may not yet see his divinity, but we know he is extraordinary.

After the infancy narratives, Matthew and Luke both jump to the preaching of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus, which is where the Gospel of Mark begins. Two of the five Luminous Mysteries which were named by John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae shine particular shine light on the divinity of Christ: his Baptism and his Transfiguration.

In Mark, upon being baptized, Jesus “came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”[2] This quote is repeated in Luke 3:22, and is slightly different in Matthew, ‘This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased.’”[3] God the Father claims the Son as his own, not just one of the many baptized by John, but his Son, who pleases him. As Casey points out, particularly in Mark and Luke, the words spoken by the Father are loving words from a father to a son.[4] We see the divinity of Christ, for as the Son of God, Jesus shares in that divinity.

The synoptic Gospels all describe the Transfiguration, with few variations. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a mountain. “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shown like the sun, and his garments became white as light.”[5] “And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.”[6] “And a cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”[7] In Mark 9:7, “An almost identical expression occurs [as in the Baptism of Jesus]…but it is couched in the third person. This is a message not for Jesus, but for the disciples, with the added rider, ‘Listen to him.’”[8]

The Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of the divinity of Christ. He is not simply as a human man, but is truly divine. We cannot comprehend how he looked at his Transfiguration; we can only wonder that it happened. Casey writes of the Transfiguration “in the seclusion of the place and the security of the company, Jesus is able to be more fully himself.”[9]  Casey specifically shows that this alludes to the divinity of Christ: “Jesus belongs to the spiritual world, the sphere of God.”[10]

We also see the divinity of Christ in the way he spoke about the Father. He lived in a time and culture when the name of God was not to be uttered. He spoke of the Father with familiarity; he referred to him as Father. Imagine the radicalness of that! More radically, he taught his followers: “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”[11] As O’Collins points out, here, and in other places in the synoptic gospels, “Jesus came across as expressing a unique filial consciousness and as laying claim to a unique filial relationship with the God whom he addresses as ‘Abba’.”[12]

Throughout the synoptic Gospels, Jesus drives out demons; he performs miracles; he raises the dead. We see him teach with authority. Ratzinger, discussing the Sermon on the Mount, states “Jesus sits on the cathedra of Moses” not as one taught and trained for that job, but “as the greater Moses, who broadens the Covenant to include all nations.”[13]

The ascending Christology of the synoptic Gospels, as opposed to the descending Christology of John, may seem more accessible and easier to understand. However, ultimately, we must approach the divinity of Christ from both views. Ocáriz tells us current theological preference is that “Christology must be both ascending and descending.”[14] To exclusively consider ascending Christology may limit our understanding of the Incarnation, in not recognizing “the divinity indissolubly united to his humanity.”[15] 

With Peter, we can say “You are the Christ.”[16]Fully human and fully divine – we may not be able to reach full understanding of this, but we have faith.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Casey, Michael. Fully Human, Fully Divine: an Interactive Christology. Liguori, Mo: Liguori/Triumph, 2004.

John Paul II. Jesus, Son, and Savior: a Catechesis on the Creed. Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1996.

Ocáriz, Fernando Brańa, Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco, and José Antonio Riestra. The Mystery of Jesus Christ: a Christology and Soteriology Textbook. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2011.

O'Collins, Gerald. Christology: a Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013

Ratzinger, Joseph, Pope Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011.

[1]      John 1:1 (Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition)

[2]     Mark 1:10

[3]     Matthew 3:17

[4]    Michael Casey, Fully Human, Fully Divine: an Interactive Christology. Liguori, Mo: Liguori/Triumph, 2004: 8

[5]     Matthew 17:2

[6]     Luke 9:30-31

[7]     Mark 9:7

[8]     Casey 193

[9]     Casey 194

[10]     Casey 194

[11]     Matthew 6:9

[12]     Gerald O'Collins. Christology: a Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013:131

[13]     Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph, Pope Benedict XVI. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011: 66

[14]     Fernando Brańa Ocáriz, Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco, and José Antonio Riestra. The Mystery of Jesus Christ: a Christology and Soteriology Textbook. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2011: 12

[15]     Ocáriz 12

[16]     Mark 8:29