By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute
1. If Jesus is God, why did He pray to God?
(Matthew 26:39 – Who was He talking to?)
Scholarly Response:
The doctrine of the Incarnation (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6-8) teaches that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. As the eternal Son of God, He existed with the Father from eternity, but in the fullness of time, He took on human nature (Galatians 4:4). As a true man, Jesus prayed to the Father, modeling perfect dependence and obedience (Hebrews 5:7-9). His prayers do not deny His divinity; rather, they reveal the relationship within the Trinity: the Son communicating with the Father. This is not a contradiction but a profound mystery—God the Son, in His humanity, prays to God the Father. The early Church Fathers, like Athanasius and Augustine, affirmed this: “He prays as man, but hears prayer as God” (Athanasius, On the Incarnation).
Summary: Jesus' prayers reveal the Trinity and the reality of His Incarnation, not a denial of His deity.
2. Why did Jesus say, “The Father is greater than I”?
(John 14:28 – Can God be less than God?)
Scholarly Response:
When Jesus says, "The Father is greater than I," He is speaking from the vantage point of His incarnate mission. In His divine nature, the Son is equal with the Father (John 1:1; John 10:30; Philippians 2:6). But as a man, He voluntarily accepted a position of submission and humility (Philippians 2:7). Early Christian creeds (e.g., the Nicene Creed, AD 325) clarify: Jesus is "of one substance with the Father," but in His humanity, He could say the Father was "greater" in role, not in nature or essence. This is an example of the “functional subordination” of the Son during His earthly ministry, not an ontological (essential) inferiority.
Summary: The “greater” refers to position or function during the Incarnation, not to Jesus' divine nature.
3. Why did Jesus never say “I am God” or “Worship me”?
Scholarly Response:
The claim that Jesus never said “I am God” ignores the historical and cultural context. In 1st-century Jewish monotheism, explicit self-identification as God would have been misunderstood and provocative. Instead, Jesus repeatedly made implicit, unmistakable claims to divinity:
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John 8:58: “Before Abraham was, I AM” (echoing Exodus 3:14, God’s name).
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John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.”
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John 20:28: Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God,” and Jesus affirms it.
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Mark 2:5-12: Jesus forgives sins—something only God can do.
Jesus also accepted worship (Matthew 14:33; 28:17; John 9:38) and rebuked those who refused to honor the Son as they honor the Father (John 5:23). For a Jewish rabbi to accept worship or claim the Divine Name was, to His hearers, an unmistakable claim to deity.
Summary: Jesus spoke and acted as only God could, and His followers rightly worshipped Him.
4. Why did Jesus admit He doesn’t know everything?
(Mark 13:32 – “Not even the Son knows…")
Scholarly Response:
Mark 13:32 refers to Jesus’ voluntary acceptance of human limitations in His Incarnation. Philippians 2:6-8 states that the Son “emptied Himself” (Greek: kenosis), not of deity, but of the independent exercise of His divine attributes. As the God-man, Jesus lived in full dependence on the Father and the Spirit. The Church Fathers explained that in His divine nature, the Son knows all things, but in His human experience, He did not always exercise that divine prerogative. This demonstrates the reality of His humanity, not the denial of His divinity.
Summary: The “not knowing” is a reflection of the Incarnation’s mystery, not a denial of His divine nature.
5. If Jesus died, who ran the universe for 3 days? Can God die?
Scholarly Response:
God, in His divine nature, is immortal and cannot die (1 Timothy 6:16). But in the Incarnation, the eternal Word took on mortal flesh (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14). On the cross, Jesus experienced death in His human nature, not His divine nature. The Church has always taught the doctrine of the communicatio idiomatum: the attributes of both natures are ascribed to the one Person of Christ. The universe was never out of God’s sovereign control—Jesus’ divine nature remained fully alive and upholding all things (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). His human body died, but His divine person did not cease to exist.
Summary: Jesus died as a man, but as God He continued to sustain the universe. Death touched His humanity, not His deity.
CONCLUSION:
These questions do not undermine the divinity of Christ; they highlight the profound mystery of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation and the Trinity. Jesus is the God-Man: fully God, fully human, united in one person. The consistent witness of the New Testament, the Early Church, and Christian theology is that Jesus is God in the flesh—worthy of worship, trust, and adoration.
Muslims and others are invited to examine the depth of these mysteries not as contradictions, but as revelations of God's unique way of saving humanity—by becoming one of us, dying for our sins, and rising in glory.
References:
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The Holy Bible (John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-20)
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Nicene Creed (325 AD)
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Athanasius, On the Incarnation
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Augustine, De Trinitate
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Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology
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Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
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