God
… and he began to teach them.
Summary: The weird truth about Jesus is that he also happens to be God.
There are a lot of “teachers” out there, but not all teachings are true. So who is Jesus and why should we listen to his teachings?
As it turns out, the answer to this simple-sounding question is not so simple. Jesus is, if you are willing to accept it, God himself (John 10:30). “Wait a minute!” might be a reasonable response. “How can a man be God?”
This was the question that made it so difficult for the Pharisees to accept Jesus as the Messiah (John 6: 42). And this brings us to the question, “Who gets to define God?” Who determines what God will look like, how he will sound, or what he will say? Who decides if God is a “he,” a “she,” or an “it?” Who determines what God can or cannot do?
I was talking with a friend the other day and they raised the old conundrum, “How could a loving God… [do this or that]?” In his case, he had lost his mother when he was a young child and his question was heartfelt. How could a loving God leave him and his two young brothers without a mother?
But what if we flip the question around? What if we state the proposition this way:
“A loving God would never [by our definition] leave a young child without a mother. In fact, a loving God would never allow suffering of any kind.”
That is different, isn’t it?
I just lost a mother who was ninety-two years old. Is that any easier than losing a mother who is twenty-seven? Maybe, but it still hurts. It still causes suffering.
If we were God, and we were determined that as a loving God, we would never allow suffering, then nobody would ever get sick or die. That would make sure everyone was happy, right?
Well, no. It turns out that it doesn’t work that way, either. We can cause each other suffering by being alive even more effectively than if we are taken away in death. People hurt each other all the time, even when they don’t mean to.
God understands this, and he knows we don’t understand it. Why is this so?
The answer seems to be one of perspective. God’s perspective is different from ours. He sees us as both physical and spiritual beings. We look for God in the physical realm, but we can only “see” him spiritually. Since we are sight-impaired spiritually (1 Corinthians 13:12), God became a man so that we can really see who he is.
Does this help? Only if we are willing to believe. As Jesus explains to Nicodemus:
“I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” (John 3: 12-13)
Jesus knows what he is talking about. He actually came from this place called “heaven.” Not only has he seen the Father (John 6: 46), he is himself God (John 1:18).
Weird, I know. Yet, somehow, true.
Application: If you have been waiting to hear from God, reading or listening to the words of Jesus is a great place to start.
Food for Thought: How does knowing that Jesus is God impact the way we understand what he says?
It means that we can absolutely trust the source and that everything He says is accurate and beneficial. In Matthew 4: 4, Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy and reminds us that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. In other words, what Jesus tells us is literally food for the soul.
Rich,
Amen to that!! Even so, I have a hard time thinking of Jesus’ words as “different.” My mind sees them as words among words, but the truth is that they are THE WORD. 🙂
In John 10: 30 Jesus said ”The Father and I are one.”
In Revelations 22:13 God says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
The perspective of God and Jesus are eternal and infinite. Way beyond what I could even begin to understand. When Jesus speaks, as He is God incarnate, His understanding is all-encompassing, knowing what has happened and what will happen.
My toddler asks me for a donut. To him it is a simple request. I say no, because my understanding of his needs and his wants, both now and in the future (dinnertime lol). He may think “how can my loving father deny me, how can he cause me this hurt (longing)?”
Jesus being God speaks Truth from that eternal perspective. He knows that our time on Earth in our present form and mind is just temporary.
Jesus said in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Jesus wasn’t speaking of a reservation at a restaurant, or a church building. He was speaking of eternity. He is preparing us for eternity. His words take on a deeper meaning.
Thanks, Chris!
I like the donut example! 🙂
10-05-2022, Matthew 5: 2 — Who is Jesus? Part I,
How does knowing that Jesus is God impact the way we understand what he says?
Hebrews 6:18, it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
1 Samuel 15:29, Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
We can and must trust all His words as being eternally true, and will grow in faith as we apply these truths to our lives.
Ron,
Absolutely!! It is interesting that you point out the relationship between growing in faith and our ability to apply God’s truth in our lives. So true!