Introduction:
The followers of Islam, the Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other groups that reject the deity of Jesus Christ frequently quote John 14:28 in an attempt to deny His divine nature. They often present this verse as if it were conclusive proof that Jesus is not God, focusing only on His statement, “The Father is greater than I.” However, this approach isolates a single verse from its immediate context and ignores the many other passages in the Gospel of John that clearly affirm Christ’s divine identity. Instead of considering why Jesus made this statement and the circumstances in which He spoke it, they assume that it permanently places Jesus in an inferior nature to the Father. A careful examination of the surrounding verses and the whole testimony of Scripture, however, reveals that John 14:28 does not deny Christ’s deity. Rather, it reflects His voluntary humility during His earthly ministry, when He took on human nature to accomplish the work of redemption. Understanding the verse in its proper biblical context removes the apparent contradiction and harmonizes it with the Bible’s consistent teaching that Jesus Christ is truly God who became man.
*
[John 14:28] You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
*
Answer:
Jesus came out from the source Spirit who is the Father God [Isaiah 6:8 & John 15:26], for this reason the Father is greater than Jesus. No messenger is greater than the sender as Jesus said in John 13:16. Moreover, Jesus went to the world only to serve, consider the statement of Jesus below;
[Luke 22:27] For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
: In the verse above, Jesus pointed out that the Father Spirit is greater than him in the sense that the Father is sitting at the table, than himself who is serving at the table. For instance, if you serve food or drinks to your visitor at a table, he is greater than you in that instance since you are serving him, but it doesn’t mean he is greater than you in general sense. The Father is greater than the Son in authority, but not in nature being God. Your father is greater than you in authority because you came from him, but you are one in nature being human.
The persons of God are co-equal since they are one in nature _Divine spirit. When the spirit or word of God (the Son) came to the world, he lowered himself because he lived on Earth in human flesh [John 14:10 & Philippians 2:5-8]. And why the Son needed to become a man? Because all people sinned, thus they are doomed to perish since the wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23]. Humankind needed a perfect or sinless man to save themselves. Jesus should be a perfect man and must live without sin because that is what the law requires from a man. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man [1 Corinthians 15:21]. The Son’s lesser status was only for meantime while his saving work on Earth was not yet finished. But when his flesh died and was glorified, his status renewed to equality with the Father, the same glory he had with the Father before the world was [John 17:5]. Consider the verse below;
[Hebrews 2:9] But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Prophet Isaiah testified that the Son to come to Earth is God;
[Isaiah 7:14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).
[Isaiah 9:6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Even the Father called the Son as God;
[Psalm 45:6-7] Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.
[Hebrews 1:8-9] But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
*
If Allah can not show to the people in flesh, then he is not God, for all things are possible to God [Matthew 19:26]. This god was not able to perform a single miracle when the Arabs demanded it. He was not able to protect Muhammad (the supposed greatest prophet) from a fatal poison (Sahih al-Bukhari 4428). In fact, He admitted that He cannot have a son because He has no wife (Q 6:101). This Islamic god has many limitations. Our God Yahweh visited us in human form (Jesus) and performed miracles before the many [Isaiah 52:10].
∼ο∼
ALSO READ: If Jesus is God, why He can do nothing?
One Response