WHEN DID JESUS KNOW HE WAS THE SON OF GOD?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Did Jesus know, without a doubt, he was really the SON OF GOD? Was there ever a time when he DOUBTED who he was? When did he find out his TRUE identity?
a) Jesus Christ had supreme faith, being born with the Holy Spirit without measure, so we should not think He had doubts regarding His true identity. Notice Peter's confidence in identifying His true nature when he said to him 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' (see Matthew 16:13 - 17).
b) Although various ideas existed as to who Jesus was, he himself knew His true identity. God blessed Peter by revealing to him this identity and allowed him to proclaim it to the other disciples.
c) One never sees any self-doubt Jesus may have had about His identity. His hesitation in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37 - 39), which concerned His temptation to want the cup of His sacrifice to pass by, wasn't about His identity or a kind of self-doubt. Since he was also a prophet, He had direct knowledge of God that humans never had. Therefore, given that knowledge, He didn't need faith to know about God the way we do, since we never have had the kind of direct contact with the Father like He did before his incarnation (That is, before being put into the Virgin Mary's womb).
d) He certainly had NO DOUBT regarding his identity as the Messiah when he testified before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:60 - 62, see Daniel 7:13 for the Old Testament text he was alluding to). It was his statement regarding who is REALLY was that gave the Jewish religious leaders the excuse they needed to condemn him to death.
e) It is problematic to think Jesus would be uncertain about confessing His identity as the Messiah when such a statement would cost him the pain and suffering of the cross.
f) One interesting speculation that can't be definitely 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 does not seem plausible He always knew that He was Deity, such as when He was three years old (see 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 (see John 1:1, 14). They found Him answering questions in the temple and amazing the teachers there about how learned He was at such a young age. He commented to His human parents Joseph and Mary, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). It may be this was the first time he felt a mission from God was revealed to Him. It is possible from this point forward He knew He would eventually be crucified, which is a most gruesome thought indeed.
The End ...
1. Did Jesus know, without a doubt, he was really the SON OF GOD? Was there ever a time when he DOUBTED who he was? When did he find out his TRUE identity?a) Jesus Christ had supreme faith, being born with the Holy Spirit without measure, so we should not think He had doubts regarding His true identity. Notice Peter's confidence in identifying His true nature when he said to him 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' (see Matthew 16:13 - 17).
b) Although various ideas existed as to who Jesus was, he himself knew His true identity. God blessed Peter by revealing to him this identity and allowed him to proclaim it to the other disciples.
c) One never sees any self-doubt Jesus may have had about His identity. His hesitation in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37 - 39), which concerned His temptation to want the cup of His sacrifice to pass by, wasn't about His identity or a kind of self-doubt. Since he was also a prophet, He had direct knowledge of God that humans never had. Therefore, given that knowledge, He didn't need faith to know about God the way we do, since we never have had the kind of direct contact with the Father like He did before his incarnation (That is, before being put into the Virgin Mary's womb).
d) He certainly had NO DOUBT regarding his identity as the Messiah when he testified before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:60 - 62, see Daniel 7:13 for the Old Testament text he was alluding to). It was his statement regarding who is REALLY was that gave the Jewish religious leaders the excuse they needed to condemn him to death.
e) It is problematic to think Jesus would be uncertain about confessing His identity as the Messiah when such a statement would cost him the pain and suffering of the cross.
f) One interesting speculation that can't be definitely 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 does not seem plausible He always knew that He was Deity, such as when He was three years old (see 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 (see John 1:1, 14). They found Him answering questions in the temple and amazing the teachers there about how learned He was at such a young age. He commented to His human parents Joseph and Mary, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). It may be this was the first time he felt a mission from God was revealed to Him. It is possible from this point forward He knew He would eventually be crucified, which is a most gruesome thought indeed.
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