Jesus Christ’s Authority as the Son of God

Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.4.1

Jesus’ divinity is expressed through his knowledge of God, miracles and resurrection.

The phrase ‘Son of God’ can be understood in different ways.
In Jewish thought, the ‘Son of God’ was a chosen King, someone selected to carry out God’s will to free Israel.
In Greek thought, ‘Son of God’ means elevating a human to become a divine being.
Both of these meanings were influential in early Christian thought about the true nature of Jesus.

The authority of Jesus as the Son of God is seen in his knowledge of God.
There are many passages where Jesus talks of his relationship to God.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus uses the phrase “I am” on numerous occasions (e.g. John 6:35, 8:12, 14:6).
This echoes the name God gives himself when talking to Moses: “I am who I am.”
Jesus also says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) and “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).
For some theologians, this demonstrates that Jesus knew that he was fully God.

Other theologians argue that since Jesus was human, he cannot have been fully God.
Such theologians note that Jesus says “the Father is greater than I”. (John 14:28)
Another approach is to say that as a human, Jesus was fully aware of God.
If Jesus is seen as the new Adam, then he is in a relationship with God that mirrors that of Adam and God before the Fall.
That is to say, a harmonious relationship in which there is no barrier between God and Jesus.

The miracles of Jesus are another way that Jesus is shown to be the Son of God.
His ability to perform ‘mighty works’ indicates a status more than just a human being.
Some theologians argue that Jesus healing a blind man (John 9:1-41) and walking on water (Mark 6:47-52) demonstrate Jesus’ divine power.
He is able to perform tasks impossible for an ordinary human being.

Others argue that these accounts show Jesus’ authority to give special insight into the nature and kingdom of God.
An example would be in the account of healing a blind man.
This story could really be about the contrast between the faith of the man healed and the scepticism of the Pharisees.
The one who is blind sees the truth, while those that can see are blinded to the truth, so sight becomes a metaphor.
In the story of Jesus walking on water, Jesus echoes the ‘Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters’ (Genesis 1).
In both Genesis 1 and this story, order is brought to creation and as a result, fear and chaos subside.

The resurrection can be argued to show Jesus' authority as the Son of God.
For some Christians, Jesus' miraculous resurrection is the ultimate demonstration of his divinity.
Another idea is that Jesus’ resurrection points us towards the resurrection of humans on judgement day.
We could argue that Jesus is the second Adam, restoring the harmony of the created order found in the Garden of Eden.
This opens us up to the restoration of the harmony between God and humanity.

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