Monday’s thoughts
“Jesus God’s Son”
This is the most recognized title given to Jesus and the one that is most hotly contested. Some want to make this title a defining ascription to determine if one is Christian or not. It is said, “If you do not believe that Jesus is the ‘Son of God’ you are not a Christian.” The larger question, and the most interesting question pushes us to ask the relationship of Jesus to God and the relationship of each of us to God. In other words we might conclude that Jesus is “the Son of God”, but what does that say about us? Are we sons and daughters of God?
Mark ends his gospel narrative portion that tells of Jesus death with the witness of the Roman guard who is standing at the foot of the cross. Mark 15:33-39, “When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave out a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly, this man was God’s Son!’”
If we look at the footnote at the bottom of the page of most Bibles you see an alternative translation of that last phrase. It says, “Truly, this man was a son of God.”
Is Jesus to be thought of as “The Son of God” or “A son of God”? Are we also to be thought of as “sons and daughters of God”
This will be the issue next Sunday and I’d appreciate your insights. If Jesus is The Son of God, what does that mean to us? If we are able to think of ourselves, also, as “sons and daughters” of God, what does that say of us?
Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and my email address will pop up.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Jesus was said to have asked His disciples “Who do people say that I am”, and then “Whom do you say that I am”?. That is still a question that each must answer for themselves. Do we think of Jesus as “a” Son of God, or “the” Son of God?
To debate the translation of the Mark 15:39 verse would, I think, be futile. The Greek wouldn’t translate directly to English, and the Greek phrasing doesn’t contain either a direct or indirect article.
What is important is that this Roman centurion was depicted as seeing much more in Jesus than he had expected. That there was something of God in this man whom he’d considered just another common criminal.
The title “Son of God” used in the New Testament seems to imply something special about Jesus. Certainly the gospel of John calls Jesus a “uniquely created” Son of God.
I believe the implication is that the gospel and epistle writers were portraying Jesus as somthing beyond a devoted servant of God. There was something in Jesus relationship with God that was beyond anything seen before. To call Jesus the Son of God is an attempt to describe a relationship thathas no direct translation to our experience, just like the Greek phrases don’t directly translate into our language usage.
To the question “Are we also to be thought of as sons and daughters of God”? More to the point is whether we choose to have God as “heavenly Father” Again, the gospel of John would say that we all are granted the privilege or power to be the sons and daughters of God through Jesus.
But that cannot be a passive relationship on our part. I believe that was part of the point of the parable of the loving father. The prodigal son originally wanted the immediate material benefits that came from being an heir to his father. The other son spent his years giving his father service and obedience in hopes of earning a place of honor. What they both missed was that their father just wanted a relationship with them. That all the other aspects of service, reward, and obedience would flow as a natural part of being parent and children. But as adult children, they needed to be approaching him. He couldn’t force that issue.
So if we are to truly gain the privilege of being “children of God”, it’s our obligation to approach God as our parent, and to honor and relate to God this way. I believe the life, death, and ressurection of Jesus has made this possible for us in ways I don’t fully understand. I believe that Jesus as “the” Son of God (ho huios tou Theos) created the bridge to this relationship and invites us to join Him as “sons and daughters of God”.