Transcript
Stephen:
There’s a verse in Luke chapter 1. It’s the angel speaking to Mary. The angel says to her, the son you’re going to have will be "the Son of the Highest ... the Son of God".
We’ve talked about his birth. At the point of Jesus’ death, the reason why the Jewish leaders were begging for his blood and wanted him destroyed is because they saw him as a blasphemer who called himself the Son of God.
But there are actually a lot of different people in the Bible who are given that same title. Angels are called sons of God. Adam is given the name son of God. Believers are described as sons of God. So what is it about this title, Son of God, that is so important?
Joel:
Yeah, we need to get this right, Steve. It’s so important because understanding the Christian message means understanding who Jesus Christ is. He is the message. If we understand him, we understand what God wants us to know.
And as you’ve pointed out, this title is used in different ways of others, but it’s applied to him consistently throughout the New Testament. He is the Son of God in a very unique way.
In Luke’s context, the word “son” meant more than just “child of.” In the ancient Near Eastern world, a son represented the father. He spoke and acted on behalf of the father. He did the father’s will. He shared in the nature of the father. There was a sense in which father and son were one.
Adam was designated the son of God in the beginning. He was supposed to mediate God’s purposes to creation, but he lost that through sin. In the New Testament, the title is used of the Lord Jesus in a unique way. In John 3:16 he is called the “only begotten,” the one-of-a-kind Son of God.
So he has this relationship with God in a very particular way. And you’ve highlighted that the Jewish leaders recognised this. When Jesus called himself the Son of God, they said it was blasphemy. They understood the magnitude of that claim.
Stephen:
And that’s where, for some people reading the Bible out of curiosity, this can feel far-fetched. Are we really saying that God became man? That Jesus is deity and humanity together?
Joel:
It does seem incredible. But think about it. If there is a God who is all-powerful, who created the sun, moon, stars – the whole universe – just by his word, then it’s not a leap at all to see that God could write himself into the human story.
It is remarkable that the eternal stepped into time, that the immaterial took on full humanity. But there’s nothing inconsistent or illogical about that.
It is a mystery, yes, but just because I don’t fully understand something doesn’t mean it isn’t true. We see divine power working with human processes elsewhere, like in the writing of Scripture. Paul, John, Peter – they wrote with their own minds and styles, but were guided by the Holy Spirit.
The same principle is at work in the incarnation. Supernatural divine power working with natural human processes. Scripture calls it a mystery, but not an illogical one.
Stephen:
So let’s get to the implications. The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus because he claimed to be the Son of God. They saw it as scandal. But his life proved that claim. So what should our response be?
Joel:
There are only two responses. Either you reject him, scorn him as a liar and blasphemer, or you accept that what he said is true.
C.S. Lewis put it this way: he's either mad, bad, or the Son of God. He’s either liar, lunatic, or Lord. There’s no other option. Some people want to present Jesus as a wise teacher. And while he is a wise teacher, he never claimed merely that. His claims go way beyond that.
So either we dismiss him and despise him as the religious elite did, or we recognise that what he claimed is true – that he really is God manifest in flesh, the representative of the Father. If we’re going to know the Father, it will only be through the Son. Everything true of the Father’s nature and character is also true of him. Therefore we bow before him as Lord.
Stephen:
Totally. And you know, sometimes in life you’re longing for God to be more visible. You pray, “Lord, will you show up? Would you make yourself seen?” Heaven can feel silent.
But actually, in the Lord Jesus – the Son of God – God has made himself visible. Hebrews 1 says God spoke in many ways before, but now he has spoken by his Son. Or think of Jesus’ words in John 14 to Philip: “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
That’s the invitation of Jesus as the Son of God: if you want to see God, come to Jesus.
