It was a startling transformation: Jewish fishermen who’d spent three years following this itinerant carpenter from Nazareth now begin to bow down before him. What’s more, they even call Him “Lord” and “God.” These men, raised from birth to recite the Shema—”Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one”—are now directing prayers, worship, and divine honour to this rabbi.

To any God-fearing Jew, this would seem a serious betrayal of their ancestral faith. The dramatic transformation raises serious questions: When did this transformation happen? Did the earliest disciples actually worship Jesus as God? Or was divine status tagged on to Him by theologians much later? The stakes couldn’t be higher…

 

EVIDENCE FOR EARLY WORSHIP

The New Testament provides compelling evidence that worship of Jesus began immediately after the resurrection, and among His closest followers.

Post-Resurrection Accounts

• Thomas’ confession in John 20:28 represents the clearest example of direct worship. When confronted with the risen Christ, Thomas declares “My Lord and my God,” using the Greek word theos (God) as a direct address to Jesus. This wasn’t mere surprise or an oath—it was deliberate recognition of Jesus’ divine identity.
• Matthew’s Gospel records that when the women encountered the risen Jesus, “they took hold of his feet and worshiped him” (28:9), and later the eleven disciples “worshiped him” on the mountain (28:17). The Greek word proskyneo indicates the kind of reverence reserved for deity.
• Luke concludes his Gospel noting that after Jesus’ ascension, the disciples “worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (24:52). This worship wasn’t hesitant or uncertain—it was joyful recognition of who Jesus truly was.

Early Christian Liturgy

• The Philippians 2:5-11 hymn, which predates Paul’s letter, declares “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” and “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Scholars recognise this as an early Christian hymn that places Jesus at the centre of universal worship—a position reserved for God alone in Jewish thought.
• Paul’s use of “Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22)—an Aramaic phrase meaning “Our Lord, come!”—reveals that Palestinian Christians were praying directly to Jesus. Since this was their native language, it demonstrates the practice originated among the earliest Jewish disciples, not later Gentile converts.
• Stephen’s prayer to Jesus in Acts 7:59-60 mirrors prayers typically directed to God. As he faced death, Stephen called upon Jesus to receive his spirit and forgive his persecutors—functions and prayers reserved for deity.

Christological Titles and Divine Functions

• The title “Lord” (Kyrios) applied to Jesus echoes Old Testament passages about YHWH. When Paul quotes Joel 2:32, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” and applies it to Jesus (Romans 10:13), he’s placing Jesus within the divine identity itself.
• Jesus receives divine prerogatives throughout the New Testament: forgiving sins (Mark 2:5-7), serving as final judge (Acts 10:42), and being credited with creation (Colossians 1:16). These functions belong to God alone in Jewish theology.
• Early worship formulae demonstrate Jesus’ divine status. Baptism performed “in the name of Jesus” (Acts 2:38) and prayers offered “through Jesus Christ our Lord” show that Jesus functioned as more than an intermediary—He was the proper object of religious devotion.

 

WHY SOME SCHOLARS ANSWER “NO”

Despite this evidence, some prominent scholars argue early disciples didn’t worship Jesus as divine, viewing this as a later development influenced by Greek philosophy.

James Dunn’s Core Arguments

• Dunn proposes an evolutionary development thesis, suggesting that high Christology developed gradually through Hellenistic influence rather than emerging immediately. He argues Paul was the primary innovator who transformed a functional understanding of Jesus into ontological divinity.

• He distinguishes between functional and ontological Christology, claiming early Christians focused on what Jesus did rather than who He was in His essential nature. According to this view, worship language described Jesus’ role, not His divine identity.

• Dunn emphasises strict Jewish monotheism would have prevented Jesus’ disciples from worshiping Him as God. He suggests genuine worship of Jesus would have constituted abandoning monotheism entirely.

Supporting Voices

Bart Ehrman argues for Jesus’ gradual “evolution” from human teacher to divine figure, claiming that each New Testament author represents a higher stage of Christological development. Maurice Casey similarly contends Jewish disciples wouldn’t have violated monotheism by worshiping Jesus.

 

WHY THE REFORMED RESPONSE MAKES BETTER SENSE

Reformed scholars like Richard Bauckham and Larry Hurtado have provided compelling responses that better account for the biblical evidence while maintaining historical and theological rigour.

Richard Bauckham’s Contributions

• Bauckham’s concept of “divine identity rather than divine nature” revolutionises the discussion. He demonstrates that early Christians didn’t abandon Jewish monotheism but rather included Jesus within the unique divine identity. Instead of worshiping two gods, they recognized that the one God existed as Father and Son.
• His insight about worship as an identity marker proves crucial. In Jewish thought, worship distinguished the one true God from all creation. By including Jesus in worship practices, early Christians weren’t expanding the number of gods—they were recognising Jesus shared in God’s unique identity.
• Bauckham’s careful analysis of early sources demonstrates that high Christology appears in the earliest Christian materials, not as a later development. The evidence points toward immediate recognition of Jesus’ divine status rather than gradual evolution.

Supporting Voices

Larry Hurtado’s systematic analysis of devotional practices reveals veneration of Jesus immediately followed the resurrection. His demonstration of Palestinian origins for high Christology undermines theories about later Hellenistic influence. The evidence shows divine Christology originated among Jewish Christians in Palestine, not among Gentile converts influenced by Greek philosophy. Hurtado’s approach focuses on actual worship practices rather than theological speculation, and provides a more empirically grounded methodology for understanding early Christian devotion.

 

CONCLUSION: THE CASE FOR EARLY DIVINE WORSHIP

The convergence of biblical, historical, and theological evidence points decisively toward early Christian worship of Jesus as God. The speed, consistency, and Jewish context of this development argues against gradual evolution theories. Instead, the evidence suggests Jesus’ resurrection convinced His disciples He shared in God’s unique identity. The recognition found immediate expression in worship, prayer, and devotion.

This validates orthodox Christology’s historical foundations and demonstrates remarkable continuity between apostolic faith and later creeds. Most importantly, it confirms Jesus’ implicit claims to divinity were recognised and embraced by those who knew Him best. The early disciples didn’t gradually transform their human teacher into a divine Saviour—they worshiped the One who had always been both.

 

DID EARLY CHRISTIANS WORSHIP JESUS? RELATED FAQs

What about the Gospel of Mark—doesn’t it present a “lower” view of Jesus? While Mark emphasises Jesus’ humanity, it also contains clear divine indicators that early readers would have recognised. Mark opens by calling Jesus “the Son of God” (1:1) and records Jesus forgiving sins—something only God can do (2:5-7). NT Wright argues Mark’s “messianic secret” actually heightens the divine revelation rather than diminishing it.

• Did Jewish Christians face persecution for worshiping Jesus as God? Yes, and this actually strengthens the case for early worship. Simon Gathercole notes the speed with which Christians faced synagogue expulsion (John 9:22, 16:2) suggests they were immediately practicing devotions that Jewish authorities considered blasphemous. They wouldn’t have risked persecution for what was mere theological speculation.
• What about the “angel Christology” theory—could Jesus have been worshiped as a high angel? Charles Gieschen and others have shown that while some texts use angelic language for Jesus, the pattern of worship clearly distinguishes Him from created beings. Hebrews 1:6 specifically commands angels to worship Christ, and Revelation 22:8-9 sharply contrasts angel (who refuses worship) from Jesus (who accepts it).
• How early is “early”—are we talking about the first decade after Jesus’ death? Martin Hengel famously argued more Christological development occurred in the first 20 years than in the next 700. The Aramaic prayers like “Maranatha” and pre-Pauline hymns in Philippians 2 suggest divine worship practices within the first 5-10 years after the crucifixion.

What about other religious movements—didn’t they deify their founders too? This comparison fails on multiple levels, as Darrell Bock demonstrates. Jewish monotheism was far stricter than pagan polytheism, making deification much more significant. Additionally, most “deified” figures were honoured long after death by later followers, not by immediate disciples who’d known them personally.

 

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