Monday in the Twenty-Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32

How Could Jesus Not Know?

Today, I wish to take up a difficult matter that has puzzled Christians from the beginning.  I begin by saying that we worship the Lord of the universe whose being we cannot even begin to understand.  He is so great, so awesome, so above anything we could ever imagine that all we can do is fall on our knees before Him and worship this almighty and gracious God.  Had He not sent His Son and through him revealed to us His will and way which we now have in the Holy Scriptures, we would be as lost as any of the ancient Canaanites or Greeks who worshiped those immoral gods which they created in their own image.  But though God has revealed Himself through Christ and the Scriptures, some things are so mysterious that our finite minds cannot comprehend it all.  I count that a blessing; after all, who wants to worship a god that he has figured out?

One such mystery is the one person of Christ in his Incarnate self, which is composed of two natures.  It took the early Church roughly seven hundred years to hammer out much of what we take for granted, and there are still differences among the various communions on matters over which we may disagree.  The Creed of the Council of Chalcedon of 451 A.D. states that the one person of Christ “be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved….”

I say all of this in reference to the statement by Christ himself that only the Father knows of the hour of his return – the Son does not.  But how can that be?  If the Son is God as the Father is God, how can he not share the same mind?  The answer to this is that when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary in that most holy moment, the Son of God assumed a human nature and body.  That nature, though inseparably joined to the divine nature, still remained distinctly Christ’s human nature, which he had to have to redeem us.  And so we read those wonderful verses where Christ “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52).  We also read that he was “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1).  Why would he need the Spirit if he was God already?  Because the human nature of Christ needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit to perform his work.  Our Lord and Savior sits at the right hand of the Father knowing all things now, including the day of his return, but when he walked on earth, there was a necessary relinquishing of his divine prerogatives (Philippians 2:7-8) in the service of his sinless humanity – so that he could take our sinful place on the cross.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor View all posts by The Reformed Baptist