Brothers in God :
The Holy Spirit and Jesus
Next | Index | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Contact Ron | Tellout
1C2. Jesus' Qualities of Deity 
"Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?" (1) "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."(2) "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." (3) "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." (4)
Jesus Knows Everything
This quality of Jesus, called Omniscience, is shown quite clearly in his discussions about the thorny subject of taxes to the government. When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" "Yes, he does," he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes--from their own sons or from others?" "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." (5)
Jesus told the woman at the well, "Go, call your husband and come back." (6) "Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. (7)
Revealing Jesus' Glory
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him,
"Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying,
"This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.
The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
(8)
Meditation
In what way was Jesus superior to Moses and Elijah?
Notes
(1) John 8.4 (2) 2 Corinthians 5.21 (3) 1 Peter 2.22. (4) 1 John 3.5. (5) Matthew 17.22-27. (6) John 4.16. (7) John 6.64. (8) Luke 9.28-36
"The Relationship of the Holy Spirit and Jesus."
