And maybe that's why he hasn't dealt with it head-on, which is not a criticism; it may, in fact, show great wisdom. There are some issues that may be better suited for a discussion than a sermon. Plus, we must keep in mind that the sermon is for the Body.
At any rate, we can think about and discuss such topics here.
By now, you may be thinking: What is this topic?
The topic is the knowledge Jesus had of himself and his identity. More specifically, the topic is whether Jesus had to grow into this knowledge.
Last week, the sermon dealt with the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7). It is a troubling story because Jesus calls this woman a dog, denying her request for a healing. She then responds that even the dogs get the crumbs from the table. And, as a result, Jesus has a change of heart and provides the healing.
There's no getting around the fact that, in Scripture, Jesus calls a woman a dog. And it seems as if he calls her such because of her race (e.g., her non-Jewish, or Gentile, status). As our pastor noted, many commentators try to soften this fact. But that's because they read the story from a post-Easter perspective.
Although our pastor was critical of such interpretations, he was nonetheless uncomfortable accepting the interpretation that Jesus experienced a conversion, a change of attitude, as a result of being confronted by this woman. He compared it to the baptism of Jesus, which he said was not necessary.
I happen to disagree on both points, but that's not the issue. The issue is that these are things we should be discussing in (and out of) church.
Is Jesus a static person who never changes? (Hebrews 13.8)
Or, does Jesus grow and mature over time? (Luke 2.52)
Connected to this discussion, this week the sermon dealt with the extent to which Jesus knew who he was/is, if he had doubts or questions, and how he handled this.
It revolves around a question Jesus asks: Who do you say I am?
An interesting point raised in the sermon is that Jesus may not have known, or may not have been sure, or may have been sure but had doubts, or was seeking an outside opinion. This is an interpretation Nikos Kazantzakis offers in his novel, The Last Temptation of Christ. And it is suggested again later when Jesus prays in the Garden before his execution.
Are you comfortable with a Jesus who has questions, who has doubts? Are you comfortable, in short, with a Jesus like you and me? Why, or why not?
What an interesting discussion David has provoked in his preaching and JB has launched in this blog. I think if we accept the ancient doctrine that Jesus is "fully human and fully divine," we need to concentrate on the fully human part--because that's why he became human flesh, to show us how how God wants us to live our finite human lives on this earth with a sense of that spark of divinity that is in each of us.
ReplyDeleteJesus was born like every other baby, circumcised like every other Jewish boy, and "grew in wisdom and stature." Are we to think that at some point he stopped that growing. I think not. He grew into the fullness of God's plan for all humans, to be completely embraced by the love and the will of God for his life.
Perhaps he was growing into his full humanity when he experienced so many of the things we experience: hunger (in the 40 days of his wilderness wandering), thirst (at the well in Samaria), sorrow (tears at the grave of his friend Lazarus), anger (with the money changers in the temple).
Perhaps he was growing when he relented and blessed the woman he had called a dog. Perhaps he was still growing as late as the night before his death in the anguish of the prayer to "let this cup pass from me." Or on the cross when he asked why God had forsaken him.
Yes, I am very comfortable with a Jesus who changed and grew. I would be very uncomfortable with static perfection in him from childhood onward. That would mean I could never identify with him--and that would negate his divine mission.
I certainly don't feel threatened by believing that Jesus had questions, was limited in his knowledge, and truly suffered as we suffer. In fact, I take comfort in the fact that God understands our joy along with our difficulties with pain and temptation because his Son experienced it. And it is not mere chance. God has chosen to be found in this way. He is the great companion, the fellow-sufferer to all of us. (Moltmann).
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