I have been taking my children through Bible verses which point to the divinity of Jesus Christ (ie, evidence that Jesus is God). Every morning, on the 10-minute car ride to school, I inculcate them in Biblical knowledge by looking at one new verse every week. We recite and discuss the same verse for one week, Monday through Friday. That gives me time to ask them questions about what they think it means or to explore the context of the verse.
Recently, we have been going through John 5:21, 22, and 23 (all great verses to explore the divinity of Jesus). Last week, we added John 5:18 to our arsenal. As a mnemonic, I broke the essence of each of the first three verses (John 5:21-23) into one word. John 5:21, 22, and 23 have to do with life, judgment, and honor, respectively. My kids know that by rote now. When I ask them for 3 verses showing Jesus’ divinity, they’ll say, “John 5:21, 22, and 23 … life, judgment, and honor.”
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
John 5:21-23 (NKJV)
As I said, we added John 5:18 last week to our quiver. In that verse, the Jews accused Jesus of equating Himself to God. And He didn’t try to “correct” their understanding (ie, He never says, “No, no, guys. You misunderstand. I’m not saying I’m God.”). Many religions and Christian cults (eg, Islam and Jehovah’s Witnesses, respectively) say that Jesus is not God. In their view, He is either a good man, a prophet, or an angel who took on flesh. They will argue that Jesus never comes out and says, “I am God.”
Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:18 (NKJV)
But, I believe that something can be believed in, based on the totality of the evidence, even if it doesn’t meet our specific, personally-desired criteria. For example, if you see a green egg laying on the ground, you know it’s a green egg, even if it is not labeled with the English words “GREEN EGG.” Your eyes apprehending its color and shape are two points of evidence pointing to it being a green egg. And, if you picked it up and felt it, that would be a third piece of evidence. If you really wanted to test the identity of the green oblong-shaped item in front of you, you might actually crack it open to spill yolk all over yourself. My point is this: evidence comes in many forms and there may be a very good reason why Jesus never comes out and says, “I am God.” From His virgin birth, to the fulfillment of 150+ Old Testament prophecies, to His amazing, beautiful words, to the miraculous works he wrought, to His bodily resurrection, there is plenty of evidence of His divinity.
So, after finding John 5:18, it got me thinking, “What other evidence do we have that (at least) Jesus’ listeners believed He was making Himself equal to God?” That brought me to John 10:30-34.
30 “I and My Father are one.”
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
John 10:30-33 (NKJV)
There it is again! That phrase: “You [being a man], make yourself God.” As I was discussing this verse with the kids this morning, I realized something amazing about what Jesus is doing here. Based on the little that I remembered from neuroscience back in medical school, I was pretty sure that the same area of the brain which was involved in answering questions (the frontal lobe) is also responsible for controlling the center of negative emotions (the amygdala). After the car ride, I confirmed this with a little bit of online research1: it is well-known that the frontal lobe is responsible for self-control and modulating emotion. What I wasn’t sure about—but came to confirm—is that the pre-frontal cortex (part of the frontal lobe) is also one of the main centers for cognition, reasoning, and intelligence. In fact, studies have shown that a small area of the pre-frontal cortex, called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is the part of your brain that fires up when you suppress anger or violent desires.
So, I asked my kids, “Do you see what Jesus is doing here?” (Now, of course, it was a little bit of an unfair “read-my-mind” kind of question; my seven year-old didn’t chime in and say, “Yes, daddy, Jesus is engaging their pre-frontal cortex with a question, in order to subdue their violent thoughts.”). So, they asked, “What?”
I said, “Jesus asks them a question in the middle of them picking up stones to kill Him. He’s engaging their intellect to quiet down the violent thoughts in their brain. The frontal lobe of the brain is involved in thinking and answering questions. And it controls the amygdala, a little almond-shaped part of your brain which is involved in fear, anger, and violence.”
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The lesson I was able to teach them, by observing the Master, is that you don’t just leave violence alone. To be silent would have been to give the violence free reign over the environment at that moment … Literally: “silence is violence.” Instead, you have to question violence. You have to challenge it. Especially with intellect. And, as Jesus has shown, asking questions is a good way to do that.
Pray with me: Thank You, o kind Master and Creator, for coming to live a humble life where You faced all the same trials and temptations that we face. You showed us the way to live a righteous life and, more importantly, You lived the righteous life, in our stead, that we never could. Thank You for imputing that righteous life to our account so that we could walk free! What great love! Give us the wisdom to deal calmly with those who would assault us in violence the way You did. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God. You are a brilliant genius and we love You.
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