What Would Jesus Know?

I was thinking (and let’s just use that “T” word lightly since it was still dark and I was working on cup number one of coffee) this morning about what things I didn’t know and one of those things is whether or not the creation happened in six literal days. One argument that is often thrown at me is that apparently Jesus believed in the literal six day story and apparently if its good enough for Jesus it should be good enough for me. I’m not arguing that last statement, but here’s what I’m thinking.
Christianity teaches Jesus was one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God. The man Jesus didn’t know everything, taking for one example the statement he made that only the Father knows the hour and the day that Heaven and Earth will pass away. He certainly knew a lot, I’m not disputing that. I’m curious though that if Jesus’ knowledge was incomplete and if he did believe in a literal six day creation, then perhaps he was wrong about that. And if he was wrong about that then would there be anything else he was wrong about?
Or could he be right about that and everything else and in areas where his knowledge was incomplete, he just remained largely silent. That would certainly mean that I may have to adjust my thinking about the creation and that’s assuming that he believed in it in the literal sense. I’m not actually aware of a verse where he says he does.
I don’t really have any answers on this one. I was humorously accused after I tweeted this question “Did Jesus the man know everything?” of always asking the softball questions. So any takers?

  • http://www.thechristianbeete.wordpress.org Paulette

    Here’s my take on the creation story: God’s way smarter than the us we are now, with thousands of years of scientific knowledge and innovation. So imagine how much wider that knowledge gap was when the Bible was first written down. It’s interesting that Jesus often told parables, to put spiritual concepts into human terms. I imagine God did the same thing in the OT; I honestly don’t know if the early Bible writers would’ve had the context to be able to grasp the Big Bang theory, if that is, in fact, the way the world started. What’s important to me about the Creation story is that God made it happen, which holds true for me with evolution too. Here’s my take on Jesus and whether or not he believed the creation story: It doesn’t matter to me. Everything he’s actually said in the NT seems to be spot-on to me, so I’m not so concerned with what he didn’t say. Although, again given back to his use of parables, I’d say that God could’ve chosen to give the human Jesus divine revelation about the creation story, the way he gave George Washington Carver divine revelation about the many uses for peanuts. God also could’ve given Jesus the word but told him not to share it, the same way he sometimes gives us words as believers that he doesnt’ want us to share. So that’s my way more than two cents.

  • Leigh

    Just a little something to think about. Jesus didn’t say he didn’t know the hour of of the Earth’s passing away, He only said the Father knew. If he was fully God he would have known, but also being fully God he wouldn’t have told because he doesn’t
    want anyone to know yet. I think it is a concept that we can’t grasp because we can’t imagine of having existed and then being born living as human and then dying and becoming alive again to be eternal. It blows the mind.
    As far as the creation story not being one hundred percent true. If it is a parable it is taken to extremes. It is relied upon as proof of God’s power and relied upon as the reason for the Commandment about the Sabbath day and as you stated recalled in the NT as well. For so much to be hinged on a parable is a little difficult to swallow.

  • http://www.spiritualtramp.com Scott

    Test

  • http://www.salguod.net salguod

    As the softball accuser, I figured I should comment. :-D
    I’d like to know where folks get the assumption that Jesus believed in a literal 6 day creation. I certainly don’t recall him commenting on it. I’m not sure it was even in any serious sort of debate at the time. I mean, evolution as a theory wasn’t yet around so what other interpretation was there in year zero?
    As to what he would have known, that’s an interesting question. I’m not sure I feel comfortable saying he was ‘wrong’ on anything, but saying he was uninformed or even ignorant seems plausible. Of course, that might lead him to be wrong.
    He certainly wasn’t wrong on anything important. It’s one of those questions that can tie folks in knots.

  • http://www.biblearchive.com/blog Rey Reynoso

    I’m not sure where they get the idea that Jesus believed in a literal 6 day creation; they may just be pulling some 1neUpmanship.
    I think that whatever Jesus did know, though, He knew correctly. Not that having wrong information is a sign of the fall or anything like that, but rather the stuff He knew attested to what He spoke. He says in John 5 that all the Son knows is because the Father taught him. He says that He says nothing of His own accord, but that which the Father wanted Him to say, that He says. He seems to have knowledge of how things would have panned out if God had acted differently and even have knowledge of how The Father would react if He asked a specific thing.
    So even though, we can allow that Christ on earth may not have had the exact hour of His return, I think we can assume that He didn’t have inaccurate information as to when He would return. For example, He wouldn’t be thinking “Friday 1989″; He just wouldn’t have that information and wouldn’t speculate on it.
    I don’t know if that robs Him of His humanity but I think what it does do is take His divinity seriously. We’ve never seen what the 100% combination of God and Man looks like before Christ; the fact that Jesus tears into creation and knows He was sent by God but doesn’t know exactly when He is coming back is mind boggling.
    This is all short hand for saying that we can’t possibly know. LOL.

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