`I am who am': Jesus' understanding of Himself

"Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man" (Luke 2:52).

That phrase, say Scripture scholars, is only the first indication of many that Jesus was not always aware of either His divinity or His mission, but struggled with the path His life would take just as all human beings do.

Scholars still argue over how much Jesus knew of His identity at various points in His life. As a child, several theologians told The Evangelist, Jesus would have received a typical Jewish education, learning about the Torah and Levitical laws and attending the temple and festival days with His family.

Early years

Jesus' early life and knowledge of His mission remains unexplored in the Bible, other than an incident that occurred when He was 12 years old: Jesus ran away from His parents and was later found in the temple, where He amazed even the teachers with His understanding of Scripture.

When Mary and Joseph said how worried they had been at His disappearance, Jesus told them: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

Robert Sheard, author of "An Introduction to Christian Belief," suspects that that event can be considered more of a legend than a retelling of fact. "That would not be understood as something that literally happened," he stated. "It's part of Luke's attempt to get at the mystery of Jesus."

Parental stress

A hint at whether Jesus even knew that He was the Messiah at that point can be seen in the reactions of His parents, said Rev. Roger Karban, a Scripture scholar and columnist for The Evangelist.

"Obviously, Jesus' mother and father don't already believe He's God, because why would they be so frantic?" Father Karban questioned. "How do you lose God?"

Just as we understand ourselves differently at different ages, the theologian said, "Even when you speak about the knowledge Jesus had about Himself, that's still a growing concept."

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese stated His own belief that "Jesus grew in His understanding of His messianic mission, and did not have full knowledge of His mission and its implications at that outset.

"It's my understanding that Jesus was fully human -- and just as He grew physically, He grew and developed emotionally, psychologically and spiritually as well," the Bishop said.

Quiet time

In "Imagine Jesus," author Rev. Frank Andersen, MSC speaks of Jesus' early years even into adulthood as "silent and hidden and uncommitted." It wasn't until Jesus' baptism, the scholar writes, that He realized He was truly the Son of God: "Only after He had found the courage to make this public declaration did He know in His bones the affirmation of God's special choice and love. It was as if the Spirit, lying somehow dormant within Him over these years, was stirred to emerge."

In Mark's Gospel, "Jesus doesn't become God until His baptism," Father Karban said. "That's when the heavens open up and the voice says, `You are my beloved Son.'"

Discernment

After that, say some theologians, the rest of Jesus' life was a process of discernment of His mission. "In Mark's Gospel, Jesus only prays when He's under `Messianic stress,'" explained Father Karban. "Jesus is trying to figure out what He's going to do, what kind of Messiah He's going to be."

Dr. David Matzko, a professor of religious studies at the College of St. Rose in Albany, pointed out that even Jesus' closest friends had no clear understanding of His mission.

"They think Jesus is going to throw off Roman rule and establish Himself as king," Dr. Matzko said. "The disciples aren't fully in touch with who Jesus was until after His death; so if He had some awareness Himself, He didn't bring it across that well."

Claire Langie, a directress of the Oneness in Peace Spiritual Center in Germantown, pointed out one phrase that she believes highlights Jesus' coming to knowledge of His identity: "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM" (John 8:58).

"He has come to that point and He is telling them who He is," she stated. "It's a verification of the fact that Jesus was revealing who He was."

However, Dr. Matzko said, "When scholars study the New Testament and Jesus' saying, `I and the Father are one,' many scholars will say that that's not what Jesus said, but what people said many centuries after Him."

Did Jesus ever reach a full understanding of His identity and mission? We may never know the answer, but Dr. Matzko believes that if we look at Jesus' mission as unending, the answer is unimportant: "It's not much of a problem, because Jesus' life extended after His death."

(03-27-97) [[In-content Ad]]