Day 5
Scripture:
Scripture:
All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
(Luke 10:22)
Reflection:
Jesus consistently called God his “Father”. Naturally, that makes him “son”. Yes, Jesus is the “Son of God”, our good Christian theology tells us. But let’s put it aside once again for just a moment, and put ourselves in the shoes of those who encountered Jesus during his earthly lifetime, and came to wonder: who is this, who claims to be the “Son of God”? When Christians point out it’s significant that Jesus used this title, our Muslim friends are fond of responding that “God has sons by the tons”, in the Bible. And yes, in some sense, all believers are said to be children of God; Jesus told his disciples to pray “Our Father”, and multiple people and groups in the Bible are said to be “sons of God”. But Jesus claimed to be a whole lot more than just a son of God. He said he was God’s “one and only” Son (John 3:16; 18). He’s the one Son who comes from above, from heaven, and is above all (John 3:31). He’s the only one who truly knows the Father, said the above passage.
And he doesn’t just know the Father, He shares in the Father’s honor and glory. He said he would come “in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels” (Luke 9:26), and that people should “honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:17).
Personally, when I don’t consider myself equal with God, it’s plain common sense, because the opposite would be utter madness. But for Jesus, it’s considered humility, Paul says: even though Jesus existed in the form of God, he “did not consider equality with God something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by … taking on the likeness of humanity” (Phi. 2:6-7). Jesus claimed the Father had given him all judgment (John 5:22), all authority (John 17:2), and all things (John 3:36). When he used that authority to heal people on the Sabbath, he said he was working just like his Father was working (John 5:18). That claim had the religious leaders trying to kill him for blasphemy. Unsurprisingly, they also wanted to kill him when he went all the way and announced, “the Father is in me and I in the Father” and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, 38).
This sort of thing that Jesus said, C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out, would make him an absolute lunatic if they were not true. There’s no middle ground. But if they are true, then it means that Jesus gives us a unique access to meet our creator. If we know him, Jesus said, we will also know the Father (John 14:7). Through his teaching and more vividly through his life, Jesus reveals God the Father. If we’re unsure what God is like, we can find a perfectly focused picture in Jesus: the Kingdom of God is one of love, kindness, forgiveness, humility. And what a compelling picture. We look at Jesus, we see the Father, and in that very experience, are transformed by his Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).
(Luke 10:22)
Reflection:
Jesus consistently called God his “Father”. Naturally, that makes him “son”. Yes, Jesus is the “Son of God”, our good Christian theology tells us. But let’s put it aside once again for just a moment, and put ourselves in the shoes of those who encountered Jesus during his earthly lifetime, and came to wonder: who is this, who claims to be the “Son of God”? When Christians point out it’s significant that Jesus used this title, our Muslim friends are fond of responding that “God has sons by the tons”, in the Bible. And yes, in some sense, all believers are said to be children of God; Jesus told his disciples to pray “Our Father”, and multiple people and groups in the Bible are said to be “sons of God”. But Jesus claimed to be a whole lot more than just a son of God. He said he was God’s “one and only” Son (John 3:16; 18). He’s the one Son who comes from above, from heaven, and is above all (John 3:31). He’s the only one who truly knows the Father, said the above passage.
And he doesn’t just know the Father, He shares in the Father’s honor and glory. He said he would come “in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels” (Luke 9:26), and that people should “honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:17).
Personally, when I don’t consider myself equal with God, it’s plain common sense, because the opposite would be utter madness. But for Jesus, it’s considered humility, Paul says: even though Jesus existed in the form of God, he “did not consider equality with God something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by … taking on the likeness of humanity” (Phi. 2:6-7). Jesus claimed the Father had given him all judgment (John 5:22), all authority (John 17:2), and all things (John 3:36). When he used that authority to heal people on the Sabbath, he said he was working just like his Father was working (John 5:18). That claim had the religious leaders trying to kill him for blasphemy. Unsurprisingly, they also wanted to kill him when he went all the way and announced, “the Father is in me and I in the Father” and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, 38).
This sort of thing that Jesus said, C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out, would make him an absolute lunatic if they were not true. There’s no middle ground. But if they are true, then it means that Jesus gives us a unique access to meet our creator. If we know him, Jesus said, we will also know the Father (John 14:7). Through his teaching and more vividly through his life, Jesus reveals God the Father. If we’re unsure what God is like, we can find a perfectly focused picture in Jesus: the Kingdom of God is one of love, kindness, forgiveness, humility. And what a compelling picture. We look at Jesus, we see the Father, and in that very experience, are transformed by his Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).
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This devotional is written by Guillaume Bignon, author of Confessions of a French Atheist
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