Perhaps they simply took him for granted. Because He claimed to be equal with God, the religious leaders wanted to kill Him (Jn. (John 12:31–32) It says that Jesus did the Father’s work and His followers will also do the Father’s work (Jn. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. What are the similarities and differences between the, Why did Jesus call Himself the “Son of Man”? He also withdrew at the end of his Galilean ministry to Tyre and Sidon, which were ancient pagan cities. • “of His own free will He gave up all He had” (GNT) George, I appreciate you being flexible and being able to discuss this. 2:3-4). “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn. Claimed Ability to Defeat the Devil and Draw Everyone to Himself. Therefore, Jesus was performing His miracles not by His own power but by the power of the Holy Spirit. However we end up at the place of disobedience, all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus struggle to obey the commands of our Lord. 20:33-34). I get from your article that Jesus was “selective” with his use of HIS power. Some people “cherry pick” verses to claim that Christ gave up all His divine ability and lived on earth as a person filled with the Holy Spirit so that all He did was done by the power of the Holy Spirit (Jn. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, because of disagreements amongst them he urges them to have unity (Phil. The miracles also revealed His divinity (Jn. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” (NASB). Consequently, while Jesus had dealings with the various socio-political groups and religious ideologies of his his time, he took his own unique life-option. Jesus was unique in his wisdom and in his miracles. Question: "Why did Jesus choose Peter, James, and John to be His inner circle?" He preached and taught and referred often to Old Testament content, explaining it in the context of his own life and His Heavenly Father’s. Central Baptist Theological Seminary. This means that they couldn’t do whatever He did. Who resurrected Jesus from the dead? Jesus, also called Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee, or Jesus of Nazareth, (born c. 6–4 bce, Bethlehem—died c. 30 ce, Jerusalem), religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the world’s major religions.He is regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus refuses to give a miraculous sign to prove his authority. • “stripped Himself (of all privileges and rightful dignity)” AMP 2:7). 10:28). It is the uniform view of orthodox Christianity that this “emptying” involved the voluntary surrender of the independent exercise of His inherent divine powers, the voluntary surrender of His divine will to that of the Father, and the voluntary complete veiling or concealment of the visible or outward manifestation of His divine glory, but not the loss in any manner of any of His divine attributes or essences as God. What about God’s promises to give believers whatever they ask and move mountains for them? He knew the future (Mt. Because they were human and not divine, the disciples couldn’t duplicate these examples of Christ’s divine power. 14:12c). And did he depend on God’s leading? But where is his anger directed in this passage? In particular, they should “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. We must never stop breathing spiritually. He then gives an example of humility because humility can end arguments and disunity. Because Jesus was sent to earth by God the Father, His goal was to do God’s will (Jn. Revelation 11:17 Verse Concepts 9) Jesus lives for his Father’s will “…I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” He is equal in Deity as a part of the trinity, but submissive in his role. This one was to suffer, be rejected. YES JESUS is the way the truth and the life and with out HIM we can not make it into the KINGDOM. Furthermore, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The Bible teaches everyone to become more like Jesus each and every day, so it’s helpful to learn about some of the character traits He had. This is described as, He “made Himself nothing” (or “emptied Himself” ESV, HCSB, NET). He lived and He thought, He worked, He taught, He conquered sin and won victories for God in the power of that very same Spirit whom it is our privilege also to have. ( Log Out /  John 16:10 But Jesus did spoke of the return of the second Son of Man. Here, we see Jesus being in charge of the natural world, which shows that he is one with God – God’s Son. He also gives eternal life (Jn. The reason for this is that it seems He did most of His miracles by His own inherent divine power, and not by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Read Mark 4:37-39.) What a change! So, He always obeyed the Father and never acted independently (Jn. He appeared to over 500 people after His death. He terminated his life by suicide and went to “his own place” (Acts 1:25), i.e., the place he had prepared for himself by his rebellion. And Matthew observed that Jesus made Capernaum “his own city.” “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Tim. Biologically, He had a human mother but not a human father. He had a strong grasp of His own purpose for being on the earth. It says “the Holy Spirit descended on Him” (when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit), He was “full of the Holy Spirit”, He visited Galilee “in the power of the Holy Spirit” and He drove out demons by the Spirit of God (Mt. One of the most transformative periods in my faith was when I took time to re-read the Gospels of the New Testament and get reacquainted with Jesus' himself, in his own words. I’m not sure where they got that, but I do believe that if the Bible is true, he received his power from the Holy Spirit? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. What does all things are possible with God mean? One place in scripture where we can see an example of Jesus’ intentional leadership is in the feeding of the five thousand. He is the unique Son of the Father, and his name is honored alongside the name of the Father and the Spirit as a divine name (Matt. The Pharisees marveled at the way Jesus responded to their question about paying taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:21). It sets up conflict. 16:29-30; 21:17). Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Here’s a link to my post on: Observations on life; particularly spiritual, Being fruitful in work, service & relationships, The phrase “all things are possible with God” (Mk. Luke 4:14 says that Jesus, after the temptation, “returned in the power of the Spirit ” (and be it noted that John informs us that the Father gave to the Son the Spirit without limitation, John 3:34). This message was spoken to the disciples and we know that their “works” are given in the book of Acts where we see more people coming to trust in God than in the gospels. He was both human and divine (Jn. What the phrase “power of the Spirit” entails is illuminated for us in Matthew 12:28, where Jesus said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God,” as indeed He did. As there is no Scripture suggesting He solely relied on the Spirit, there is no evidence that Jesus always functioned as a human being who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Jesus certainly didn’t always function as a human being who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, because then He wouldn’t have been unique and He couldn’t reveal Himself or the Father (Jn. Jesus also had His Father’s Spirit without measure . Of course God the Son and the Holy Spirit are under the authority of God the Father (Jn. Answer: Jesus officially chose His twelve disciples in Luke 6:12–16. • “gave this up” WE This is divine omnipotence. 1:17; 9:15; 2 Cor. Likewise, because people today are not divine we can’t do whatever Christ did. Click here to see what Jesus did with regard to His relationships to people: Jesus taught in the synagogue of his own country and the people there were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Matthew 13:54). But while He was on earth He used them less often. The moment Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit; He walked as much different man on earth. Jesus absorbed our sins refusing to recycle it in vengeance. 9: 3). • He had the power to raise Himself from the dead (Jn. Jesus is believed by Christians to be the Christ - the Son of God. One crucial theological aspect of Christ’s incarnation was His “self-emptying” as described by Paul in Philippians 2:6-7. Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. But as God, He knows it. Why does the Bible describe “death” as “sleep”? 4:18-19, 29). He carried the full authority of Heaven because He had the fullness of Heaven working on His behalf. ( John 7:18, 2 Corinthians 10:17-18) Neither does it make the person more important than other people Jesus said "he who humbles Himself shall be exalted". Listening to the guidance of Jesus, and having the laws of God written on your heart by God so you can keep them! (For a convenient but not quite complete list of Gospel references to Jesus’ miracles, see A. T. Robertson, A Harmony of the Gospels, p. He came to serve both God and humanity in God’s plan of redemption (Mt. This is not meant as an attack, but as a respectful discussion, maybe that I am having with myself, out loud. And it is His resurrection and ascension to heaven that prove He returned with the same full power of … But Jesus Christ was willing to give up His high position in heaven with all its privileges. Matthew 26:39-44 and John 17 are examples of Christ’s prayers. 1 Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. 5:19; 16:13). The moment Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit; He walked as much different man on earth. 2:1-11; 4:2-3). Thanks for listening, and for your thoughts and your research. 10:13) and many believed after they saw them (Jn. Instead, He chose to limit the use of these unlimited powers. Consider how Jesus dealt with a windstorm that appeared to threaten the lives of his disciples. It means that everything to do with the miracle of salvation is only possible through God’s power. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. For example, when two blind men told Jesus “we want our sight”, the Bible says He had compassion on them and touched their eyes and immediately they received their sight (Mt. Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 160 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. 13 There was great diversity in Jesus’ miracles. Jesus spoke of him going one way no return. One of the most fundamental beliefs of Christianity is in regards to the Nature of Christ. Is the theory of biological evolution science or history? And does this mean that today Christians can also do whatever Christ did? Read through John 6:1-13 and notice all the times Jesus had his disciples minister to the people during this event. Read through John 6:1-13 and notice all the times Jesus had his disciples minister to the people during this event. Jesus had to relinquish the glory and power He had in heaven before His incarnation, and He told His disciples then that He was keen that they see Him with the glory He once had. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. This is just not the way I learned it, and my teachers may have been wrong (and selective). 15:15). The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. After all: When warned that the Jewish client king Herod wanted to kill him, Jesus did not defer to the king’s power or fear his wrath, but instead replied defiantly (see Luke 13:32). Even this term Lord, used so often of Jesus, speaks of His supreme power and authority. It theoretically could have been the Father’s will for the Son to perform miracles in His own divine power, but apparently it was not, thereby maintaining the self-imposed limitations of His humanity. 6:57). Did you know? Why did Jesus do miracles? Jesus came with the purpose of reclaiming the world with the Gospel. The history of Christian reflection on the teachings and nature of Jesus is examined in the article Christology. He went from a high position to a low one. The gospels report that great crowds followed him. This power is not power or authority over other people. As we trust Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit will produce his character within us and empower us to be his witnesses. 2:8; Lk. Today I came across John 8:50 where Jesus says that he is not seeking his own glory. My conclusion is that “Jesus did miracles to confirm His divinity; to confirm His message; to help Jews accept the message; to bring people to belief, repentance, and eternal life; and to show compassion”. There are three choices: (1) the crowds (9:37), (2) the disciples (9:40), or (3) the father (9:23-25). – if He used His divine power all the time, He couldn’t be a human being, and The “mountain” is a figure of speech for the obstacles and difficulties being faced. Jesus goes on to say that there is one who DOES seek his glory (I think this might be a reference to the Father). This is divine omniscience. 14:25-32). This means that He didn’t need to do them in the power of the Holy Spirit. John 5:19, 30a says, Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner… . They also rely on the Bible’s conditions for answered prayer being satisfied. In His own divine power, or by some other means?”. On the specific relationship between Jesus’ voluntary non-use of His divine powers and how He was nevertheless able to perform miracles, some New Testament texts are particularly pertinent. 1:3). While the first Son of Man(Jesus) was also to suffer, be rejected but was going to be killed. 11:7). Why did Jesus call Himself the “Son of Man”? When the Bible says that Jesus didn’t know the date of His second advent it is referring to him as a finite human being, not as the divine Son of God.