Jesus' Deity in the Gospel according to Mark

A common claim made by skeptics is that Mark was the first of the four Gospels to be written. The other longer Gospels that followed took what Mark wrote and added extra details, sometimes expanding on the legend. By the time John wrote his Gospel, Jesus had gone from a wise teacher as portrayed in Mark, to being God himself.

There are many problems with this theory. First that the church fathers are unanimous in saying that Matthew wrote first. Second that Mark has some details that the other Gospels don't have, so the idea that they just expanded on what he had said makes less sense if they were taking important things out too. Third that the length and content of the Gospels has more relation to who their intended audiences were than the order they were written in. And fourth, which is the point of this article, that there was no legendary embellishment of who Jesus is from Mark to the later authors.

So here we will go through Mark's Gospel and draw out how it tells us about Jesus' deity loud and clear. To me, Mark's Gospel seems the best place of the four to start, as it is the shortest, and the other Gospels do cover some of the same ground, so when I come to cover those books I can leave out the passages with events already looked over here. You may like to have a Bible handy while going through this for reference, though the most relevant details will be included. I have skipped some sections, so there's every likelihood I haven't noticed something that is a subtle clue to Jesus' deity, but there is more than enough here to cover it without doubt.

Mark 1.1-11 - John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The first few verses of Mark quotes two Old Testament prophecies. Verse 2 quotes 'Malachi 3.1' and verse 3 quotes 'Isaiah 40.3'. Both of those passages are about the coming Messiah, as it should be obvious in Mark's book. But if we look at 'Isaiah 40' and read down to verse 9, we see that this voice shouting in the wilderness goes on to say "Behold your God!" So to those Jews reading this for the first time in the first century, who knew the Old Testament scriptures well, to see these words applied to John the Baptist announcing the coming of Jesus, would be a very clear reference to the man in the wilderness announcing the coming of God himself.

John the Baptist himself is then quoted as he describes Jesus. He says that he is not worthy to untie his sandals, and that Jesus is mightier than him. This is not the kind of reverence preachers give to prophets. They may offer them respect, but they would see them as fellow servants, not someone they should scrape around on the floor for.
Finally he says that he baptises with water, while Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit. Surely only God would have the right to give his spirit to others.

Mark 1.9-11 - The Baptism of Jesus

Jesus is baptised by John in the Jordan just like many other faithful followers, showing his humility and how he has come to serve, not to strut about and command others like a tyrant dictator.

The Holy Spirit comes to him and the Father in heaven calls Jesus his Son. This is a simple point. If a human has a son, it is a human; if a cat has a son, it is a cat; so if God has a son, it must be God. The definition of God is that he is omnipotent, eternal, omnipresent, among other things. If his son was not all of those things too, he would not be God. But it doesn't make much sense for a being to have a child that is not the same kind of being as the parent. A human has a human son, but it makes a wooden puppet. A son is the same kind of being as the parent, a creation is a different kind. So when God calls Jesus his Son, he is telling us that they are the same kind of being, and that Jesus is not a creation. But there can only be one God - that is part of the definition of God. So if Jesus is the same kind of being, then the two,Father and Son must be the same in essence.

Over and over the Old Testament tells us that there is only one God, there are none like him, none beside him, no others worthy of being called a god. So if the Father is saying that Jesus is just like him, then they must be one being in essence together.

Mark 1.14-15 - Jesus Begins his Ministry

Jesus announces that 'the kingdom of God is at hand'. Who rules a kingdom? A king. Who will be the king of this kingdom? God. But wait. 'Micah 5.2' is a prophecy that a man of the tribe of Judah born in Bethlehem will become king of Israel. But not just a man, 'one... whose origin is from old, from ancient days'.
Now that phrase 'ancient days' sounds familiar doesn't it? In 'Daniel 7.13' we see the son of man and the Ancient of Days together. The Ancient of Days is obviously God. In verse 14 we again see that the son of man will be given the kingdom.

So we have God as king of the coming kingdom from Jesus' own mouth. We have Jesus as king of Israel from Micah. We also have Jesus compared to the ancient of days. Daniel tells us that the Ancient of Days is God, and shows the son of man (aka Jesus) next to each other, with the son of man inheriting an everlasting kingdom. This is the trinity in action once more - separate persons in one being.

Mark 1.21-28 - Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

In verse 22 Jesus is described as one who taught with authority, not like the scribes. The difference that is being pointed out here is that the scribes and other teachers would use their scriptures, and point to the text, and refer to it as the authority. Just like many preachers today will remind us that we as humans are fallible and capable of making mistakes in interpretation, we should double check what we are taught in case any errors might have slipped in. The Bible is the authority, we are just doing what we can to spread what it says.
But Jesus was not like that. He spoke with authority. He didn't need to point to Scripture to back up what he said. In school a science teacher might use a textbook to guide the class. It would be a different lesson if the person who wrote the textbook after personally creating the experiments in it came to speak.

During the lesson a man possessed by an unclean spirit approaches Jesus. The spirit speaks. He calls Jesus the 'Holy One of God' and asks if he has come to destroy him. Once again, the Old Testament clues us in on what the demon knew.

There is no one holy like the Lord ; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.- 1 Samuel 2.2

Only God is holy. No one can compare. The spirit also fears Jesus will destroy the likes of him. No man has the power to destroy a spirit creature. This tells us that Jesus is something more than a normal human being, which is emphasised when Jesus command the spirit to leave the man and it obeys. Again, a mere man would not have this kind of authority. If Jesus was just an angel, the spirit could have refused to listen, as they would be roughly equal. But if God commands it, there is no choice but to obey.

Mark 1.29-34 - Jesus Heals Many

Jesus goes on to get a reputation as a great healer. This in itself might not have been a sign of anything more than a prophet. Elijah and Elisha were known to have performed healings, so for some these miracles may have been a sign that Jesus was someone special, but not necessarily that he was God himself. Although the number of healings Jesus did in comparison to the Old Testament prophets does not compare. Jesus would perform several every day, while the healings by old prophets and leaders were very uncommon events.

In verse 34, Jesus once again commands demons and they obey. It says they 'knew him'. These spirit creatures would have had a greater awareness of who they were dealing with, and as mentioned before, they would probably not have been worried about a rival angel, but God himself was someone to fear.

Mark 1.40-45 - Jesus Cleanses a Leper

Although this passage once again contains a healing, and so doesn't necessarily point to God, it does contain a clue about Jesus' purpose.
After he heals the leaper, he tells him not to tell anyone what he did for him. This strikes many readers as very odd. Why wouldn't Jesus want someone going about singing his praises and spreading the word that a great healer was among them?

The reason was that healing sick people was not Jesus' mission. He had a more important role to fulfill. If people only came to know him as a miracle healer and exorcist, they would have missed the point. So he tried to play it down, even though he wanted to help as many as he could while he was able. Ultimately, he wanted his real mission to be the focus of his disciples, not the fact that he could do amazing things.

In verse 45, we see the direct result of the leper not doing what Jesus asked him. Crowds of people looking to be healed flocked to him, looking to be cured of whatever they had, but it was unlikely that many were there to hear what he had to say, and try to learn what he wanted to teach.

Mark 2.1-12 - Jesus Heals a Paralytic

This passage continues the theme introduced in the previous one. Jesus takes an opportunity to highlight his real mission.
While preaching in a house, some men brought a paralysed man to him, hoping that he would heal him. Instead, Jesus says to the paralytic "My son, your sins are forgiven".
Think of that. They bring an unwell man to Jesus and ask him to fix his legs, and he tells him his sins are forgiven. They were not expecting that.
This is Jesus putting his mission first. He did not come to fix every broken body in the world, he came to heal us all of our sins. Sin is the deeper problem, and that is his focus.
Then some of the scribes start talking amongst themselves. They accuse Jesus of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins.
They are of course correct. Only God can forgive sins, so if Jesus is God, he has every right to. If Jesus is not God, then he was blaspheming by doing it. In a book about how Jesus is someone we should see as a role model, we wouldn't expect to see him blaspheme. If Jesus ever did blaspheme, he wouldn't be the hero that the Gospels tell us he is.
Jesus proves himself once again. He asks "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven', pr to say 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?". Of course the first is easier to simply say. Anyone could say the words "Your sins are forgiven" and nobody watching would know if it worked or not, because there is no visual cue to show that it has happened. But if somebody said the second thing, and the man didn't then get up and walk away, they would be showing themselves to be an obvious fraud.
So in this passage we see Jesus do something that only God has the right or power to do, and then prove his power by doing something that makes it obvious to the crowd that he really does have the authority to do these things. 
Notice how Jesus does not pray as he heals either. He does not ask his Father to heal the man. He does not say "In the name of my Father, stand up and walk". He simply commands it based on his own authority.

Mark 2.18-22 - A Question about Fasting

In this passage Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom of his followers. This imagery appears quite a few times in the New Testament, symbolising the sacred union of Christ and his church.
A passage in Isaiah also uses the same imagery: 

You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you. -- Isaiah 62.3-5

In this Old Testament passage, as well as some others, we see that it is God who is the groom married to us. Jesus claims this title for himself, again as a not so subtle clue to those who know the Jewish Scriptures.

Mark 2.23-3.6 - Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

This title should be self explanatory. In verse 28, Jesus explains that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He explains that the Sabbath day was meant as a gift to man, not something that should get in the way of their doing good work. With authority he shows that the Sabbath is a good thing, but as soon as the laws surrounding it become a problem for the well-being of the people it is meant to serve, then the greater good outweighs it.

When Jesus performs a healing on a Sabbath day, the Pharisees are shocked that he would dare do such a thing. The Pharisees believed in keeping the letter of the law above everything else. Jesus' actions showed that there was a higher purpose behind the laws. If someone needed help, it didn't matter if it was the Sabbath. The Sabbath was created to help.

Mark 3.7-12 - A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

In this passage we see more examples of Jesus commanding unclean spirits, and them knowing that he is the Son of God.

Mark 3.13-21 - The Twelve Apostles

Jesus chooses his apostles, people who he will send out to preach his word, and will also have authority to cast out demons. We have already seen that only God has the authority to cast out demons, but here we see Jesus giving some of his followers that particular ability. Anyone less than God could not offer that power as a gift, or even be worthy of choosing people who should be given that gift.

Mark 3.22-30 - Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

This passage deals with an objection that may have come to mind when seeing how Jesus deals with demons and unclean spirits. They obey his commands. They fear him. Evil spirits would only obey an authority they respect. This leads some to believe that maybe Jesus' power came from Satan, the true commander of the demons. The demons obeyed Jesus because he represented Satan, and they did not want to displease their master.
Jesus explains that this is obviously nonsense. Why would he command demons to leave men alone if he was an ally of Satan? Why would he be undoing Satan's work and helping people find God?
He restates his mission to forgive sins and bring people back to God. This is the polar opposite of Satan's work to encourage sin and rebel against God. 
So if these demons would only obey Satan because he is their master, or obey God because they fear destruction, and it is obvious that Jesus is not working with Satan, then there is only one possible conclusion left about who Jesus must be.

Mark 4.35-41 - Jesus Calms a Storm

While on a fishing trip with his disciples, Jesus falls asleep in the boat. A storm brews, and becomes a terrifying whirlwind. Jesus sleeps soundly through it.
The frightened disciples wake him and seem angry that he's not worried about their predicament. Jesus casually tells the storm to "Be quiet" and it immediately dies down. As his followers note, "even wind and sea obey him".
This event reminds us of the creation story in Genesis. When God speaks, things happen. God speaks and things begin to exist. God speaks and creation obeys. It is exactly the same here when Jesus speaks and the storm does as it is told. Again, we note that Jesus did not pray to the Father to calm the storm. He spoke on his own authority, and the forces of nature responded as if they were alive and listening to instructions.
He asks his friends why they were afraid. They should have known nothing would happen to them while God was asleep in their boat.

Mark 5.1-20 - Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man

In this well known passage, Jesus removes a demon called Legion from a possessed man. The demon is called Legion because he was many. It seems to be a dark mirror of the Holy Trinity. This man had previously be driven wild and insane by the demons inside him. He seemed to have super human strength and people just wanted to tie him up and leave him far away.
Jesus however helped him. There seems to be a parallel here with the leper from '1.40-45' in that Jesus heals, but this time he tells the man to spread word of what happened. 
This reinforces the fact that Jesus had a mission. When he told the leper not to talk, he wanted to avoid crowds of people coming to heal their bodies. But now he tells the man he freed from possession to tell everyone. Healing spirits is why Jesus came, and he wants people to know.

Mark 5.21-43 - Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

Jesus' healings in this passage are quite different to the ones we have seen before. We usually get the impression that Jesus places his hand on the ill person and speaks as if performing a little magic spell. But here we see a woman simply touch his robe and be healed without him making any effort. He seems to only be aware that it happened after she is better. This shows without a doubt that Jesus does not pray to the Father or go through any ritual in order to perform his healings. They happen through his own power. It simply emanates from him.
While he talks to the woman, other people begin to panic about a girl who they believe is either dying or dead. Jesus tells them not to worry. He is going through the motions of actually going to see her, but it seems as though he had already done what he needed to do. When told that the girl was dead, he replied that she was only sleeping.
Once again, because the nature of the miracles were physical healings, he told the people involved not to tell anyone about them.

Mark 6.30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

One of Jesus' most famous miracles is perhaps one that most clearly shows who he is. He had a problem, there were over five thousand people crowding around him getting hungry after listening to him speak all day. The five thousand were just the men. So there would have also been women and perhaps children too, making the actual number much higher. But he and his disciples only had five loaves of bread and two fish to share between them. That would have barely been enough for the apostles.
So Jesus breaks the bread and divides the fish into portions to go around for everyone. Everyone is satisfied and filled with a good meal. Two fish divided into five thousand portions would hardly be enough to be a satisfying meal. Some might want to take the reading that somehow Jesus gave every person a small shaving and then magically made that shaving feel like a hearty meal, but that would contradict verse 43 which shows twelve baskets full of food even after everyone had been fed.
What had happened here was that Jesus had made something out of nothing. Just like in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing - creation ex nihilo - Jesus created more than enough food for thousands of people.

Mark 7

This chapter repeats some of the same themes that were introduced earlier. Jesus proves his authority against the Pharisees by explaining what the law means, rather than keeping to a precise traditional interpretation. He reinforces that it is the intent behind the law that matters, more than the letter of the law itself.
He continues to heal the faithful, while asking that they do not attract too much attention to what he has done for them. He continues to exorcise demons and even shows that he has come to serve Gentiles and not just the Jews.

Mark 8.1-10 - Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

This event is very similar to the previous feeding of the five thousand. 

Mark 8.27-30 - Peter Confesses Jesus As the Christ

Jesus speaking to his disciples ask who people think he is. At first they told him who other people thought he was, suggesting John the Baptist back from the dead, or the great prophet Elijah. When asked who they thought he was, Peter said 'the Christ'. Jesus' response was that they tell nobody.

Does that strike as strange? Jesus was the Christ. Peter was right to say so. So why was he forbidden from telling anyone? Again, Jesus wished to avoid spreading misunderstanding. It is true that he is Christ, but that's not all he is. 
For many Jews, the idea of the Christ, or the Messiah, was a new David. A warrior king who would make their nation strong and help them take over the world, defeating the Romans and anyone else who might stand against them. That's not who Jesus was. If people heard that Jesus was Christ, they might leap to the wrong conclusion and expect him to take up weapons and lead an army. They would be less likely to follow him if he did not meet their expectations. Or they might stay away from him for fear of the Romans and what they would do to a supposed warrior king and his followers.
Jesus wanted people to understand the real meaning of 'Christ' before it became known that he was it. They would have to hear his word, and learn who he really was, and understand the Scripture about him, and God, and the Christ. 

Mark 8.31-38 - Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

Jesus refers to himself as the 'Son of Man'. Previously we have seen that this title actually belongs to one of the persons of God through 'Daniel 7.13-14'. To further support that, in 'Daniel 7.27' we see the same kingdom that is given to the Son of Man being given to the 'Most High'. The 'Most High' could only possibly be God. There can be no one higher than the 'most high', and no one is higher than God.

At the end of his speech, Jesus says after his resurrection he will come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. -- Isaiah 42.8

In a passing comment Jesus makes a claim about who he is. He says he will come in his Father's glory, but the Old Testament makes it clear that God does not share glory.

Mark 9.2-13 - The Transfiguration

This is a truly out of this world experience witnessed by Peter, James, and John. Jesus form changed and he became like pure, intense light. Whether this is a sign that he is God may be up for debate, but it is certain that it proves he was something more than just a man.

Once again, Jesus commands his followers to not speak of this event until after the Resurrection. This, just like his other similar commands, highlights his real mission. The transfiguration was a special event to strengthen the faith of his chosen apostles. He did not want others to hear about it until the real mission had been completed. 
Jesus' resurrection would be a public miracle, his death and following appearances witnessed by many. It was not to be kept secret. There would be many people who could verify the story. 
The transfiguration was only seen by these three. For those who had no way to verify it without placing trust in Jesus' inner circle, it might actually be a barrier to faith rather than something helpful. Especially as the three disciples did not seem to really understand what they had seen anyway.

Mark 9.14-29 - Healing of a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

A boy who had suffered from demonic possession since a very young age was brought by his parents to Jesus' disciples. They asked for their help. 
The disciples were not able to remove the demon. When the boy was brought to Jesus, he commanded the demon to leave and never return. It obeyed.
The disciples asked Jesus why they could not get rid of the demon, and he replies that "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer".
The interesting thing to note, is that Jesus did not pray. He commanded the demon and it did as it was told. He tells his disciples that they need to pray, as in, they need to ask for God's help. Jesus did not do that. As God himself, he had no need of prayer.

Mark 10.17-31 - The Rich Young Man

A rich man approached Jesus and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life. The man called Jesus 'Good teacher' to which Jesus responds, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.". Jesus' reply here is an obvious wink to his identity. It is well known that only God is good. Jesus does not tell the man not to call him good, he just asks a question that highlights a connection that may not yet have been made.
The rich man then lists a number of commandments he has kept. The list are all from the famous Ten Commandments. Jesus points out that the man failed to keep the commandments about putting God first, and so was serving the false idols of wealth and money. He commands him to give up his false idol, and follow him, the true God.

Mark 11.27-33 - The Authority of Jesus Challenged

Elders of the synagogues asked Jesus "By what authority are you doing these things?".
Jesus response was in the form of a question: "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?"
This question put the elders in a difficult position. If they said 'from heaven', they would be admitting that Jesus, his ministry, and his claims were favoured by God. If they said 'from man', they risked alienating their own followers who respected John the Baptist as a true prophet.
Jesus refused to spell out an answer until they could come up with an honest answer to their question. He knew that they would have to say 'from heaven' if they were being truthful, but their own stubbornness was preventing them.

Mark 12.1-12 - The Parable of the Tenants

Jesus tells the story of a landowner who rented his vineyard to some tenants. Seeing as he owned the place, he had the right to help himself to some of the fruit there. But whenever he sent a servant to go and collect some, the tenants beat them up and sent them away. Eventually, the tenants got worse and began killing the servants that were sent.
With his servants all dead, the landowner sent his only son, his heir, to the vineyard. The tenants decided that if they killed the heir, they would inherit the land. So that is what they did. But of course, their plan didn't work. Killing the heir did not make the land theirs. It just meant that the landowner would give the land to someone else instead, and punish the murderers.

Obviously this is a metaphor for God giving the Earth to mankind, sending prophets, and finally sending Jesus, his son and heir.

We have seen already how Jesus being God's son logically makes him identical to God, but this concept of being the 'heir' also points to it to. Who else would possibly be worthy of inheriting God's kingdom? No one is good but God alone after all. As well as this, God is eternal, immortal, never-ending. He will not die, and so there is no need for an heir to take over when he no longer exists. God would not give his creation to a lesser being while he lives, and there will never be a time that he does not live.

Mark 12.28-34 - The Greatest Commandment

Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was. He replied with two: Love God, and love your neighbour.
But the way he phrased the first is important. He said "the Lord our God, the Lord is one". Then the man replied "God is one and there is no other but him" and Jesus praised his reply.
Jesus strongly affirms monotheism. There is only God, there is none like him, no one comes close. So this affirmation next to his other clues, hints, claims, and actions, can only fit together if Jesus himself is God. Otherwise we have a man who is something like God, but not God, but that contradicts the strict monotheism that Jesus clearly teaches.

Mark 12.35-40 - Whose Son is the Christ?

Jesus was asked how the Christ could be the son of David when in 'Psalm 110.1' David referred to the Christ as his Lord. Jesus responds by taking the opportunity to remind people that teachers of the law aren't always the best at understanding it. Many of them are in it to show off and gain status.
The quote from David's Psalm is very relevant to pointing to who Jesus is. It says 'The Lord said to my Lord'. Rightly, the people ae confused about how a descendant of King David could outrank him. Although Jesus was in the line of David through both Mary and Joseph, his true nature was as God's son - the Son who predated all humanity, who was with the Father for eternity past.
The Psalm uses the same word twice, the first 'Lord' referring to God the Father very clearly, and the second 'Lord' referring to the Messiah. But by using the same word for both is very telling. We know the recurring theme that no one is equal to the Father, and there are no other gods, and no other being comes close to his power or glory. But by using the same word 'Lord' for both God and Christ, it implies equality. It is not 'My King said to my Lord', or 'My Master said to my Supervisor' or anything that seems to indicate a hierarchy. It is explicitly stating equality between the two. So of course, David, who understood what he meant, would not use a word that put the Messiah on a level any lower than that of God, because he is God.

Mark 13.1-31 - Signs of the End of the Age

Jesus provides his disciples with a number of prophecies about the future. He tells them that in their lifetime the Temple of Jerusalem will be destroyed, and they will be persecuted. He gives some information on the end of the world as a whole but tells them that there will be no obvious signs signalling that event. All of these prophecies are incredible, particularly down to the details he gets right, but there is one line in this passage that is relevant to our topic.
Verse 31: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Jesus claims that his words are eternal. Even when all of creation is gone, his words will still ring true. Only one being in existence can make that claim and make it truthfully.

Mark 14.1-11 - Jesus Anointed at Bethany

This passage sparks a lot of confusion. In it, a woman anoints Jesus with a perfume that costs enough to pay a year's worth of wages. When the disciples cry out that she's wasting it and could use the money to feed the poor, Jesus actually praises her! He says, "The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me." Jesus then ensures that she should be remembered whenever the Gospel is preached. High praise indeed for ignoring the needy!

This seems incredibly out of place in a book about a man who cares for the poor and has provided for the needy throughout. What is going on?

Firstly, if any man said what Jesus said, it would seem incredibly arrogant. "Forget the poor, I'm the star of the show!" or "Listen guys, I'm going to die in a few days. I know there are sick and hungry people around, but what can you do about that? At least make my last hours feel good."
Neither reading makes Jesus sound great. But neither reading is what Jesus meant.

Jesus is pointing out a possible idol of his followers. Helping the poor is certainly noble and honourable, but if you focus on that and nothing else, it becomes the thing you worship. It will be all you think about, and worry about, and live for. You might forget God, or at least, not put him first in your priorities. Helping the poor should be a natural consequence of following God, not the idol that replaces him. If we serve God, then we will do these good things. "The poor you will always have with you" tells us that we can try and help, but we are never going to succeed without God helping us.
So by Jesus accepting the gift of the woman, and not telling her off, we get a picture of someone who has her priorities in the right place. Jesus had come to help the poor, and she did something good for him, because that was in her power, while in the grand scheme of things, she couldn't do a huge amount for world poverty.

This picture only makes sense if Jesus is God. If Jesus was a man, a teacher, a prophet, the gift would have been inappropriate. A prophet should not be our focus. Prophets point to God.

Another thing that is clever about what Jesus said, is that he quotes 'Deuteronomy 15.11'. The verse he quotes is from a passage that teaches that if people follow God's commands, the problem of poverty will be solved. So by no means is he saying "ignore the poor". He is highlighting the point that following God (or himself) is the solution to the problems of the world.

Mark 14.12-26 - The Lord's Supper

Jesus presents bread and wine as signs of his covenant with his followers. He refers to them as his body and blood, so it is unmistakable that the covenant intimately involves him. The food and drink is eaten, which symbolises him joining with them and becoming one.
This covenant is God's. God's plan is to bring people to him, save and redeem them. If Jesus is a separate being, this symbolism makes little sense. It just has men joining with another man. It would take some other step to bring men and Jesus to God.
But it is Jesus who saves and redeems. If Jesus is not God, then God had someone else do his work for him, which is clearly beneath the all powerful creator.

Mark 14.53-65 - Before the Sanhedrin

During Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin, he was asked "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" to which he replied "I am".
Jesus openly admits to being the Christ, and God's Son. We have already seen how being God's son makes him God. The "I am" however has significance too. "I am" is the name that God used for himself when he spoke to Moses from the burning bush. It means the self-existing one, referring to his being eternal, and immortal, and the one true God. Jesus uses this title for himself here.

Mark 15.1-15 - Jesus Before Pilate

In his trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus is asked another question: "Are you the king of the Jews?", to which Jesus replies in the affirmative.
'Isaiah 44.6' tells us that God is the king of Israel, and the passage continues with the common theme that no one is like God. Jesus was obviously not a king in any earthly way. He had no political power. His claim was always in reference to God's kingdom. Jesus never even hints that he is a servant to or somehow beneath the true king.

Mark 15.33-41 - The Death of Jesus

While on the cross, Jesus called out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", which to the untrained ear would sound as if Jesus felt abandoned by God. It might seem like he was never a true follower of God, and now this death was the proof.
But that was not what Jesus' was doing. If I were to say "Mama... just killed a man...", no doubt the lyrics to a particular song would start running through your mind. Jesus was doing the same thing. His quote was the first line of Psalm 22. So for the Jews who knew Scripture, they would know that Jesus was actually reminding his followers that God was their saviour, Jesus was the fulfillment of their prophecies, and his own work as saviour was complete.

Mark 16.1-8 - The Resurrection

Women come to Jesus' tomb on the third day to anoint his body, but they find the tomb empty. They are told that Jesus had risen and lived again.
After Jesus' claims to being God's son, the Christ, the Son of Man, the "I am", and everything else, it may have looked like God was punishing him for blasphemy when he died, just as the Sanhedrin had hoped. But God raised him from the dead. This proves that Jesus was a true follower of God, and that God approved of his message. A false prophet, or blasphemer would not have had their claims supported by God in this way.
But if God approved of Jesus, and his claims to be equal to God, that can only mean that Jesus really was equal to God. Seeing as God has no equal, that can only mean that Jesus is God himself.

Mark 16.9-20 - The Resurrection continued

Jesus returns to his followers and commands them to drive out demons, perform miracles, prophecy, heal, and baptise in his name. The crucial detail here is that he tells them to do it in his name. He does not tell them to do it in God's name. He claims it for himself. The spreading of the faith and the performance of amazing things is all done under Jesus' own authority. This would be impossible if he was not God.

Summary

A quick recap:

• John the Baptist announcing the arrival of Jesus fulfills the prophecy of a man in the wilderness announcing the arrival of God: Isaiah 40.3,9
• God calls Jesus his son. This tells us that they are the same kind of being. Yet God is unique, with no equal, so the trinity is the only way this makes sense. 
• God calling Jesus his son also establishes that God approves of Jesus, his message, and his claims. So whenever Jesus hints at being God, this is not seen as blasphemous by the Father who we know has no equal and does not share glory.
• Jesus claims to be king of Israel, and king of the everlasting kingdom. These are titles which only belong to God.
• Jesus has authority over demons. Only God or Satan could claim that authority.
• Jesus' mission is the forgiveness of sins, a task that only God can complete.
• We are to be united to Jesus in the way that the Old Testament describes being reunited with God.
• Jesus repeatedly proves his authority over the Law.
• Jesus commands nature.
• Jesus has power over death.
• Jesus can create things out of nothing.
• Jesus shared and will share his Father's glory.
• Jesus tells people to follow and obey him.
• Jesus presents himself as God's equal.
• Jesus becomes the saviour of mankind.
• God confirms everything Jesus taught by raising him from the dead.