Title: How Is Jesus God?
farewell sermon
John 14-17 are the “farewell sermons” that Jesus gave just before his arrest and crucifixion. Like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, this farewell sermon can be viewed as a compilation of the teachings of Jesus scattered throughout the world. Of course, Jesus could preach such a lengthy sermon in the face of death, but if this lengthy text was a sermon that was actually preached, there is no reason why it would not have been dealt with in the Synoptic Gospels. This means that the farewell sermon was established in this passage by John's unique theology. The hallmark of John's theology is that it is highly speculative, conversational, and dialectical, as evidenced by the introduction of the logos at the outset. Today's text also shows this characteristic without any doubt. What is the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)? What does the phrase “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (9) also mean? What does it mean that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus (10)? This, which sounds like a very philosophical argument, continues to the end of Chapter 17.
The reason the text is called the “farewell sermon” is because it is the word Jesus spoke at the moment when he had to part with his disciples after nearly three years of public life. What does it mean for Jesus to die? Does it refer to the fate that a person, once born, must die someday? Of course, it goes without saying that the death of a human being is a shocking event for those around you. It is common around us that a member of one's family dies in an accident, either from old age or from illness. Still, we usually go about our daily life as if it had nothing to do with it. If you live like this without preparation and encounter such a thing, you will fall into great mental chaos.
However, Jesus' farewell sermon is not just a word of comfort for the sorrow caused by parting with someone close to you. To the disciples, Jesus was not just a teacher, friend, acquaintance, or family member, but something entirely different. The disciples, who are now listening to Jesus' farewell sermon, have abandoned their families, friends, and jobs because of Jesus. A situation came when Jesus, who had abandoned everything he thought was the most important in daily life and followed them, could no longer be with them. If the object on which you staked everything disappears, it is the same as losing the meaning of your own existence. In this respect, Jesus' farewell sermon has a special meaning for the disciples.
The farewell sermon is not just for the disciples. It is the same word that applies to the John community, which inherited the faith of the disciples, or early Christianity, and furthermore, to us. What do you mean? It means that Jesus does not exist in reality even for us today. Jesus has already left the world we live in. Just as the disciples who lived with Jesus for three years lived by believing in God in a world without Jesus, we must maintain that kind of faith in a world without Jesus today.
Of course, some people say that Jesus is not with us now, but he is with us spiritually. That's not wrong, but it's pointless if not interpreted sufficiently. Furthermore, this claim is merely intoxicating with one's own subjective beliefs. It's like thinking that the wife or husband you loved is dead but still alive in your heart. If there is another woman or man, this feeling will disappear. The Christian faith is not believing that something is in your heart when you have nothing. The Christian faith contains a much more fundamental reality. You cannot understand the depth and mystery of the Christian faith unless you take seriously this dreadful reality of living in a world where Jesus is not present. In this sense, today's farewell sermon is openly apologizing for the existence of our Christian faith.
Thomas and Philippi's Question
Jesus spoke to his disciples like this: “Don’t you worry. Believe in God and believe in me. There are many places to be in my father's house. And I go to prepare a place for you. What would I say if there was no place to be? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you and be with you where I am. You know the way where I am going” (1-4). What were the disciples' concerns? If the person who entrusted their fate to them disappeared, all hope would be in vain, so it would have been like a mountain of worry. So Jesus seems to have told them not to worry.
Upon hearing this, Thomas asks: “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (5). Thomas' question is very honest. Thomas, who could not understand the word itself that Jesus was leaving, would not have been able to understand Jesus' words that the disciples already knew the 'way'. When a teacher says one word, few students understand ten words. Such disciples are no longer disciples, but other teachers. But it is a much bigger problem to not understand what the teacher is saying and not ask any questions. There are some people who claim that Christianity is an unconditional belief, not a question, but that is fanaticism, not true faith. It is a very important religious attitude for us today that Thomas asked a question directly without knowing it without pretending to know.
To Thomas' question, Jesus answered: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. Since you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you have come to know him. No, I have already seen it” (6, 7). Thomas' question was about the way. That way was Jesus Himself leading to God. To know Jesus means to know God. So Jesus could say that the disciples had already seen God.
To this request, Jesus answered: “Philippi, listen. You mean you don't know me even though I've been with you for so long? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. But what do you mean by letting me see you?” (9). This answer from Jesus was not what Philippi wanted. He was asking for more extraordinary events, more mysterious things, and conclusive evidence that no one else could say otherwise. In front of the unexpected answer, the disciples probably felt embarrassed or uncomfortable. It must have been disappointing because Jesus did not offer anything to be admired to the disciples who wanted to receive a definitive answer or evidence at this moment of farewell when Jesus was leaving. Really? Is this answer from Jesus insignificant? no. This answer of Jesus is the basis of the existence of Christianity. In some ways, this may seem like a trivial answer, but only here can our faith be maintained. Because this answer is a declaration that Jesus and God are one, that is, the Son and the Father are one.
son and father identity
“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (9). These words are not just an answer to Philippi, but an answer to early Christianity and us today. Those who know Jesus know God, and those who meet this Jesus are those who have met God. Are these words of Jesus true? Jesus prayed to God, calling God his Father. Then Jesus and God must be distinct. It is not easy for us to accept that we are distinct persons and at the same time one. Two is two, how do you mean two and one? Could this be a pun?
If you look at the analogy in our human life, you might think like this. Let's say there are two people who love each other. These two people have the same heart and have similar personalities, so looking at just one person is like looking at the other. If you are twins, this feeling will be much stronger. But strictly speaking, no matter how similar we are, we cannot become one in the end. Just because one person dies, the other cannot die with it, and even if they commit suicide because they love each other too much, they don't become one. Their relationship is fundamentally exclusive and anti-life, because they coincide only in that they never become one towards the world.
So, what does it mean that Jesus and God are one? More precisely, how does Jesus become God? If that's the case, can't you just believe it? Let's listen more to the words of Jesus. “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If you don't believe it, believe it even when you see these things I'm doing" (11). According to this verse, when Jesus and God are one, it means that they exist in each other. Being ‘in’ does not mean simply thinking about each other. This word does not refer to our psychological state, but rather to some fundamental being. What the hell is that?
To “I am in the Father” means that Jesus made Himself completely dependent on Heavenly Father. His personal thoughts were completely denied, and only the thoughts of Heavenly Father completely ruled over him. Some people may say that they live that way, but that is an illusion. In order for us to depend on our Heavenly Father's thoughts, we must first have an accurate awareness of His thoughts, which we do not have. Some people confuse their thoughts with God's thoughts. Although he studied theology or planted a church because of his brief thoughts or personal circumstances, he insists that it was God's idea. We believe that Jesus is the only one who fully understands the thoughts of our Heavenly Father and is completely obedient to them. That is why only Jesus could become one with God, and in that sense, Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself.
The phrase “the Father is in me” merely reverses the previous proposition. God exists in the way that His reign will come. It is right to say that God is in Jesus because Jesus perfectly executed His reign. So, Jesus tells us to believe “because of the things I do” if it is difficult to believe. It means that Jesus' actions and his destiny are God's way of being.
Jesus became one with God by being in harmony with God's will. What we need now is to become one with this Jesus. Although we cannot see God directly, those who have seen Jesus are the same as those who have seen God. Those who know Jesus are those who know God. This means that if we become one with Jesus just as Jesus became one with God, eventually we too will become one with God. It is the essence of the Christian faith to believe that this kind of life is the truth. *