Seeing the Light: 2. "If Jesus is God, why did He say the Father is greater than He?"

Seeing the Light: 2. "If Jesus is God, why did He say the Father is greater than He?"

- The verse in question is john 14:28 (KJV), "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."

- Although verse alone looks to say that Jesus is inferior (whether in nature or being) to God the Father, let's take a look at some other verses within the same chapter...

John 14:1 (KJV), "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."

John 14:7-11 (KJV), "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

- These verses demonstrate that Jesus is one with the Father in nature, but separate in persons... meaning, Jesus said that the disciples should believe in God and in Him. This claim alone makes Jesus equal to God in nature; again Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father, and Jesus responds by basically saying they have seen the Father through Jesus.

- Additionally, if you are following the Seeing the Light series, we examine in article 1 that Jeremiah 23:5-6 shows that the Messiah would be both God and man, which gives further context into who Jesus really is as the Messiah.

- So, "If Jesus is God, why did He say the Father is greater than He?"

Jesus said the Father is greater than He is regarding the Father's authority... not His nature. Meaning Jesus and the Father (and Holy Spirit) all share the nature of God, but there is a discrepancy in terms of authority. The same way an earthly father and son are one in nature (human nature), the same way the heavenly Father and Jesus are one in divine nature; the same way an earthly father has more authority than his earthly son, the same way the heavenly Father has more authority than Jesus due to his human nature.