Why Didn’t Jesus Know?
Q: Concerning the second coming of Christ, Matthew 24:36 has Jesus saying, "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." In John 21:17, after Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, Peter responds, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
How can you reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements concerning the omniscience of Christ?
A: The question of what Jesus knew and when he knew it still occupies the discussions of theologians. In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Alexander Jones reminds us that in the Incarnate Son there are two planes of knowledge. One is total and divine. The second is limited and human.
As Jones expresses it, direct communication between the two is established only by Jesus’ "infused knowledge." This knowledge is given Jesus in proportion to the needs of his redemptive work (e.g., knowledge of his divinity and messianic character). Jesus did not need the knowledge of the time of the world’s ending or the destruction of Jerusalem to accomplish the work given him.
Beyond that, Jones notes the constant practice of the Son was to claim no knowledge beyond that which the Father had instructed him to use.
According to The Collegeville Bible Commentary, the Son’s knowledge is put in a category of its own—above that of men and angels. But as man, Jesus knew only what he had learned in the normal human way and those things which were revealed to him for the needs of his mission.
Apparently the time of the final manifestation was not among those things.
Nor did the disciples need to know. Even in his glorified state, after the Resurrection, Jesus refused them that information.
How can you reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements concerning the omniscience of Christ?
A: The question of what Jesus knew and when he knew it still occupies the discussions of theologians. In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Alexander Jones reminds us that in the Incarnate Son there are two planes of knowledge. One is total and divine. The second is limited and human.
As Jones expresses it, direct communication between the two is established only by Jesus’ "infused knowledge." This knowledge is given Jesus in proportion to the needs of his redemptive work (e.g., knowledge of his divinity and messianic character). Jesus did not need the knowledge of the time of the world’s ending or the destruction of Jerusalem to accomplish the work given him.
Beyond that, Jones notes the constant practice of the Son was to claim no knowledge beyond that which the Father had instructed him to use.
According to The Collegeville Bible Commentary, the Son’s knowledge is put in a category of its own—above that of men and angels. But as man, Jesus knew only what he had learned in the normal human way and those things which were revealed to him for the needs of his mission.
Apparently the time of the final manifestation was not among those things.
Nor did the disciples need to know. Even in his glorified state, after the Resurrection, Jesus refused them that information.
posted by See Tho Zhang Jacob at
9:28 PM
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