|
You Have Questions. The Bible Has Answers. |
|
||
When did Jesus know he was God (Son of God)? Did Jesus ever doubt his own identity? |
Q. Did Jesus know, without a doubt, he was the son of God? Was there a time when Jesus doubted his identity? When did Jesus find out he was God in the flesh?
(Submitted by: Shelli) A.
Jesus Himself had supreme faith, so we shouldn't think He had any doubts about His own identity. Notice Peter's confidence in identifying who Jesus was in Matthew 16:13-17:
"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?' So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.' " So various people in the world had various ideas about who Jesus was, but He knew what His own identity was, and confirmed what Peter so directly said to Him about it.
One never sees any self-doubt about Jesus concerning His own identity. His hesitation in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37-39), which concerned His temptation to want the "cup" (of awful pain) of His crucifixion to pass by, wasn't about His identity or a kind of self-doubt. Since Jesus was also a prophet, He had direct knowledge of God that most humans never have had. Therefore, given that knowledge, He didn't need faith to know about God the way we do, since we never had a direct vision of God as He did before the incarnation. (That is, before being put into the Virgin Mary's womb). There's no sign of doubt that He knew that He was the Messiah when testifying before the Sanhedrin, such as in Mark's retelling. The high priest asked, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus responded: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." (See Daniel 7:13 for the Old Testament text Jesus was alluding to). For making this statement, the Sanhedrin found an excuse for condemning Him to death. It's problematic to think Jesus would be uncertain about this when it cost Him His life, by confessing His identity as the Messiah in this situation.
|
| One interesting speculation, although it can't be proven, concerns when Jesus was first self-enlightened to know He was God and the Son of God. After all, as He grew up, it doesn't seem plausible He always knew that He was God, such as when He was three years old (cf. Luke 2:52). It could be when He was twelve years old and got "overlooked" when His family left Jerusalem after the Passover Feast that He became self-aware of His Deity (cf. John 1:1, 14). They found Him answering questions in the temple and aweing the teachers there about how learned He was at such a young age. He commented to His (human) parents, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). He may have for the first time felt a mission from God at that point had been revealed to Him. It may well have been from that point on He knew that He would eventually be crucified, which is a most gruesome thought indeed. So I don't think Jesus had any doubt He was God's Son, that His faith was immediately confirmed by His being a prophet receiving direct revelation from God, unlike us today. We also shouldn't see faith and knowledge as opposed to each other. Rather, faith which has a foundation is a source of knowledge like reason and sense experience both are. It just isn't a straightforward a source, and seems to involve more "risk" than it really does.
Other Recommended Bible Study Resources: Answer Given By: Eric Snow |
|
|||
THE Bible Study Web Site at BibleStudy.org |
|||