Questions of Divinity

            The question came up recently, “If Jesus is God, then who was Jesus praying to in the Garden?”  I can answer that one of two ways, and I’m not sure myself which is the better answer.  Let me start by saying that Jesus was our perfect example, and so, as silly as it may seem for Jesus to be praying to Himself, if He hadn’t gone on record at least once as having prayed, there would be some people who would use that as an excuse not to pray.  This prayer also served as a reminder that God is not like a genie in a bottle; sometimes you don’t get what you want, and we should pray that His will be done, not ours.  Secondly, let me remind you that at the time that He was praying in the garden, Jesus was in the flesh.  Granted, in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, but He was a flesh and blood being.  Scripture also teaches us that unto Thee (God) shall all flesh come.  His Spirit, being the Spirit of God, may not have needed to pray, but His flesh did.

Another question raised recently was, “Doesn’t the Holy Ghost coming down in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice from Heaven at Jesus’ baptism prove that there are three separate Gods?”  God is God; He is infinite, almighty, all-knowing…  If He chooses to appear in two different forms, and speak from a third location all at the same time, that isn’t hard for Him to do.  Let me take a moment here for a side bar.  I had heard that before, and when I first started writing this, I looked for the appropriate passage, and came up with tow others that are somewhat ambiguous.  Matthew 3:16 says, “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.”  Now, that last “he,” is that referring to Jesus?  If you read that verse by itself, it certainly seems like it is, because Jesus is the only “he” in the verse.  If you read it in context, of course, John the Baptist was there, too.  Now, whatever position you believe Jesus held, it doesn’t really make sense for God to show Him a sign of His calling; Jesus knew who He was.  John the Baptist had already proclaimed Jesus the Lamb of God, but, being somewhat more human, may have needed a little more encouragement.  Mark 10:10 is similar, “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him:”  Luke 3:22 says, “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice from heaven, which said, Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee am I well pleased.”  Now, in John 1:32, it says, “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.”  That makes it clear, at least, that John was the one who saw the dove.  It seems to me that if the entire crowd had seen the dove, and heard the voice, then it would have been very hard to keep talk of that event from spreading far and wide before Jesus even started His ministry.  If you’re going to ask questions about this event, perhaps the question you should be asking is, “How did John know it was the Holy Ghost, and not just a dove?”  The answer to that is that it was divinely revelated to Him.

            Another question that comes up occasionally is, “Why did John the Baptist doubt that Jesus was the Christ?”  It seems pretty silly, considering the powerful confirmation that John got at Jesus’ baptism, but John was only human.  Everyone has doubts.  Still, I can’t help but notice that the Bible doesn’t ever actually say that John had doubts; only that he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One.  Many people interpret that as an expression of John’s doubt, but I’m not convinced.  It’s easy for me to imagine John getting frustrated as he was trying to scale down his own operation, and direct people to his cousin, only to have his followers question the wisdom of such a shift.  “Look, you’ve followed me this long; I’m telling you that you’re supposed to follow Him now.  You don’t believe that He’s the One?  But I’ve told you that He is.  If you won’t believe me, then go ask Him yourselves!”  John probably did have his doubts, but I have a hard time believing that he would express those doubts to the people that were following him, and that he believed should be following Jesus.