Blog 2 - If the Divinity of Christ is so important to Christian Faith, why is He not stating His divinity overtly?

Firstly, the Jews would not be able to accept that Jesus is God even if He overtly states it. Because in OT times, as the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah and the Servant of the Lord, together with the similar prophecies by other prophets, the Jews never thought that this was pointing to God Himself. To them, God is so holy and highly exalted that they did not even dare to call God by His name. They were waiting for the special anointed one – the Christ, who came from Davidic line – the Messiah, to redeem them. But Christ and Messiah to their mind would still be a human being sent by God.

Secondly, Jesus chose not to overtly state himself as God because this will mess up people’s understanding of the trinity function. Jews would not be able to grasp the trinity concept in their monotheistic belief. Until the event of death and resurrection which proved God’s confirmation on the divinity of Jesus, and later with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the apostles could then reflect upon what Jesus had taught and hence grasp the concept of what later Christians called the “trinity”—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in one God. To our understanding now, the trinity is equal in essence but hold different functions. On the other hand, not to forget that by adding human attributes into His divine attributes, Jesus was temporary in functional subordinate to the Father. He genuinely took upon himself the limitations of humanity and hence unable to disclose certain heavenly matters in replying to His disciples, especially in relates to His second coming.

Thirdly, Jesus came to fulfill the messianic task – to reveal about God, to preach about the kingdom of God and to die a redemptive death. As this is His purpose, He might not want to confuse the believers due to the timing factor. Jesus is ministering in full obedience to the Father, thus He adheres to Father’s plan to which time is a crucial factor. But through His claims on His prerogatives, numerous statements and actions, Jesus did in many times imply that He has the same divine nature and authority as God, which was important to Christian faith.

Blog 1 - The Importance and Relevance of Historical Jesus

The quests on historical Jesus for the past two centuries are although counterproductive, they pointed to the classic faith-reason dichotomy. Yes there are apparent weaknesses in their presuppositions (e.g. antisupernatualism) and inadequate methodologies in the past historical investigations, they have contributed to today’s new endeavor.

In fact, historical investigation is necessary against docetic belief. We know that God reveals Himself through history. The quest can be very useful if one is asking about faith seeking understanding. Only when faith in Christ is utilized in the search for historical Jesus, while employing the principle of probability in its method, and with humility in hearts, I believe the investigation will help us to grasp the significance of the distinctive historical features of the real human Jesus in His Judaism background. An increased understanding of the historical Jesus will be able to solidify our Christian theology, and hence create in us the real conviction and adoration on the divinity of Christ, especially our belief on the incarnation of Christ, Jesus’ divine authority on earth witnessed through His miraculous healing and preaching ministry, and His atoning death and victorious resurrection.