Daily Bible Nugget #390, John 21:17

The Nugget:

John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Muslims have a different view of Jesus than those of the Christian faith. I supplied the following response to the first objection of five to the Christian belief about Jesus on the “Islam and Christianity Debate Group” Facebook discussion.

But first, let me share the introductory statement posted by Farid EL Moustain:

The Islamic view of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected Jesus as a prophet of God, called him an imposter. The Christians, on the other hand, considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam considers Jesus to be one of the great prophets of God and respect him as much as Abraham, Moses, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Them) to mention but a few.

This is in conformity with the Islamic view of the oneness of God, the oneness of divine guidance, and the complementary role of the subsequent mission of God’s messengers. As the notion of trinity contradicts the oneness of God. Now, let us examine facts about Jesus one by one, to get a clear picture of him.

1- God Is All Knowing … But Jesus Was Not
When speaking of the day of judgement, Jesus clearly gave evidence of a limitation on his knowledge when he said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the son, but the Father” (Mark 13: 32 and Matt 24:36). But God knows all. His knowledge is without any limitations. That Jesus, of his own admission, did not know when the day of judgement would be, is clear proof that Jesus is not all-knowing, and that Jesus is therefore not God.

This is a question my elderly friend, Uncle Frank, delighted to pose. Uncle Frank’s answer to the question, “If Jesus is God, why did He not know when He would return?” was that Jesus chose not to know at that time, for reasons probably known only to Himself and the Father. The statements in Matthew and Mark do not preclude Jesus having the Divine attribute of omniscience, as is most evident when one considers the rest of the testimony of the New Testament.

1. God is all-knowing, but Jesus is not.

The question is, does the New Testament record of Jesus Christ support the doctrine that Jesus is all-knowing, or to use the theological term, is Jesus omniscient?

John 21:17. Peter, speaking to Jesus, said, “Lord, thou knowest all things.”

The Greek word for “knowest” is very significant: oida, which specifies intuitive, complete knowledge which cannot be improved upon.

This statement by Peter ties in to many other declarations found in the Bible, which may be learned by following carefully the cross references given for this statement, some of which I share below.

John 2:24, 25. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
Joh 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

John 4:16. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
John 4:25. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 4:28. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

How explain that Jesus knew the past life history of this woman, a woman He had never met before, to such a degree that the woman exclaimed, “Come see a man, which told me all things that ever I did”?

Surely this knowledge possessed by Jesus Christ of another person demonstrates His omniscience–He is all-knowing.

John 5:5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
Joh 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

How did Jesus know the man had been a long time in that case?

John 5:38. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Joh 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

How did Jesus know the inner spiritual state of the men He was addressing?

John 6:60. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

That Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him is yet another example of His omniscience.

John 11:11. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe;

They did not have cell-phones and instant messaging in that day. How did Jesus know that his close friend Lazarus was dead when Jesus was a good distance away, no messenger having brought Him word of this death? Surely this is another remarkable instance that shows Jesus was all-knowing, and omniscient.

This is already a long post for Facebook, and I have barely scratched the surface on this one issue–evidence that Jesus is omniscient–to be found in the New Testament. Let me jump ahead in the cross references to show just one more very remarkable incident recorded in Matthew 17:24-27,

Matthew 17:24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
Mat 17:25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
Mat 17:26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
Mat 17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

As Peter returned to where Jesus was, before Peter could get a single word out of his mouth, Jesus knew where Peter had been and what had transpired.

Then Jesus gave directions to Peter on how He and Peter would obtain the necessary finances to pay the Temple tax for them both. How did Jesus know that the poor fish was swimming uncomfortably in the water with the proper change in his mouth, and that when Peter went fishing that this particular fish is the one Peter would catch?

If that is not a display of the omniscience of Jesus Christ, I do not know what is. Surely the evidence I have presented from the New Testament historical record demonstrates Jesus was indeed omniscient, and Peter was most justified when under duress he exclaimed to Jesus, “Lord, thou knowest all things.” Peter knew by repeated personal experience that this was so.