“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” – 1 John 5:20
There are many things about God that can be difficult to wrap our brains around. One of them is the dual natures of Jesus. Jesus is true God and true man.
The God-hood of Jesus was difficult for the people of Jesus’ day to both understand and remember.
Jesus-God and the Disciples
You might think that the disciples would have fully understood this. However, that’s not the case. Not only did it take a while for them to begin to grasp that Jesus was God, they continually seemed to forget.
I guess it’s understandable since Jesus was walking, eating, sleeping, and doing all those other things we regular people do, you might think that eventually, they would just understand.
Jesus-God and the Religious Leaders
The disciples may have been amazed at the God-hood of Jesus, but the religious leaders were angered. They mutter against Jesus when He forgives sin. They fear the people are listening to Jesus when He raises someone from the dead. Then Jesus had the audacity to say it plainly,
“I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30
For that, they picked up stones to kill him!
Jesus-God and People Today
People still struggle with the concept of Jesus as God, today. Some, want to dismiss the idea. It can’t be! Others, like the religious leaders of Jesus day, feel threatened by Jesus want to throw Him out of the public square. The first thing many dictators do is restrict or abolish religious practices.
We just celebrated Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. For many scholars, this is proof that the Bible isn’t true. After all, people don’t come back from the dead. People, no, but Jesus isn’t just a person. He’s God. We see this most clearly when He conquers death and rises from the dead. Rather than being proof that the Bible isn’t true. It’s proof that, as the centurion by the cross said,
“Surely he was the Son of God!“
That centurion said that after seeing Jesus’ death and all that happened when He died. Just imagine what he said when He heard Jesus had risen from the dead!
It’s because Jesus is God that we know He rose. It’s because He is God that we know His words of forgiveness truly forgive us. It’s because He is God that we know that no matter what is happening in the world around us, we are victorious and will spend eternity with Him.
Dear Jesus,
Truly, You are the Son of God. Let me never forget that You are God, Your word is true, and Your salvation is final.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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