Last week was the first of a number of articles devoted to this idea of whether or not Jesus viewed Himself to be God. I have actually spent since April discussing this issue altogether, which is not just one of the most important doctrines today, it is THE most important doctrine, for whether or not Jesus is God affects everything else we believe and understand about the Bible.
Is Jesus God? Yes! Did He see Himself to be God? Of course! We know He did because, as we saw last week, He taught with divine authority. In other words, He taught as though He were God Himself. We also know Jesus viewed Himself this way because He had a UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WTH GOD THE FATHER.
When Jesus was a young boy, He sat with the religious leaders in the temple, amazing people with the answers He gave. When His distraught parents finally found their ‘lost’ adolescent, He replied by saying, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, italics mine). Jesus’ reference to God as “my Father” is a radical statement of a unique, intimate relationship with God, of which He was already fully conscious. Such a reference by an individual was unprecedented in Jewish literature. Jesus took this unique personal address to another level by referring to God the Father using the affectionate Aramaic expression “Abba” (Mark 14:36), which is practically equivalent to our “Daddy,” something no Jew would have ever dreamed to do.
Why did Jesus do this?! It is precisely because He was/is a unique person in relation to the Father, that they are connected to one another in a divine way, sharing the same essence and nature. Jesus is drawing on a unique relationship that only He shares with God the Father precisely because He is God the Son. I recommend John 8:24 for further reflection.
