Who is Jesus? by Caleb Olayiwola - HTML preview

3. How did he know his purpose

It is one thing to know where you come from, and it is another thing to know why you came from where you come from. These are riddles to all men that dwell on earth, isn’t it? But not to Jesus Christ.

Jesus knew where he came from, and why he came from where he came from, even at a tender age. No ordinary man on earth can know the details of his existence “before” he was born, but Jesus knew.

He knew both his past and his future, and was even courageous to speak about it among men.

The moment a child left his mother’s womb, he remembers nothing and knows nothing until he reaches a certain age. Although he lives and breathe, he his completely unaware of everything that go on around him because he has no knowledge about them at all. Nothing makes sense, and everything is just pure noise and distraction.

From age 0 to about age 5, it is like he is living in a dream, whereas he is living a reality.

However, we all reach a certain age where we begin to remember what we heard and what we saw, and from there our lives started as kids. We learn to pick new words, remember faces we saw, understand and comprehend human emotions, while adapting to people and things that surrounded us.

It is a slow journey that required almost 8 years before we begin to mature, and from there adulthood started.

Adam did not experience or passed through any of these because he was molded from the sand. He was not given birth to. After he was made, his purpose was clearly made known unto him too. He was told to work in the garden and to take care of it (Gen 2:15). What work did he do in the garden? His first work was to name other creatures that God created (Gen 2:19-20).

From his birth, Adam was given a purpose. He was not just created to be idle but to serve his God. Tending the garden and taking care of it were service - he was not serving himself, but was serving the God that put him there. Eve also had her purpose! she was to be a helper (Gen 2:18).

Do they benefit from their service? Of course, they do. They can eat as much as they want from any of the trees planted in the garden. Their only need was food and God provided it for them - they don’t need to ask. Before they were created, their meals were already waiting for them.

Jesus came to the world knowing why he came, just as Adam knew why he was in the garden. He was not “directly” told by any angel or by any prophet what he came to do, or the path that he needed to walk. From his birth, his only guardian was his parent. Apart from his parent, there were none else that contributed to his childhood.

His parent knew “a bit” about him because they were told, but that information was a “caution”. It was to let them know the type of child that they were about to raise. Moreover, Jesus was a suckling when two men bore witness of him to his parent, Anna the Prophetess (Like 2:36-38) and Simeon (Luke 2:25-35).

These two witnesses testified about Jesus according to what God had revealed unto them beforehand, not unto Jesus because he was still a little child, but unto his parent.

Who had all the information? It was his parent. The angels, Anna, and Simeon all talked about him when he had no knowledge about himself as a little child. He couldn’t have learnt about his purpose from them.

The first time Jesus talked about his purpose was when he was 12 years old, according to the scripture. At the age of 12, he confidently told his parent why he came to the earth and what he came to do in just few sentences.

He merely said, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” - Luke 2:49 (ESV)

The full context can be read from Luke 2:41-50.

Was he talking about Joseph his father here? Definitely not. Joseph did not build that temple. Then, who was Jesus referring to as his father? The owner of the temple of course. The owner of the temple is the father that Jesus was referring to. So, who owned the temple?

The temple has been there for centuries - it may be the same temple built by Solomon. Was Solomon his father? Hmmm. He was telling his father and mother about another father at the tender age of 12. The existence of another father gave him the sense of his purpose.

He called the temple his father’s house, but the temple was not built by Joseph. He claimed the temple as his right because he believed he was the son of the person that owned the temple, which is either Solomon or God. Jesus came from the lineage of David, Solomon’s father, which is the “direct lineage” of Joseph his father (Matthew 1:1-16).

If Jesus called the temple his father’s house as a direct descendant from the lineage of David and of Solomon, his son - he was right. Solomon his forefather first built it.

However, kings don’t live in the temple. The temple is a house dedicated to God. Solomon wouldn’t call the temple his house, so why would Jesus do? He must be referring to God. He was found teaching in the temple which he called his father’s house. Was he teaching about Solomon? Definitely not. He was teaching about God.

Right from the age of twelve, he already knew God as his father and was found teaching about his father in the temple. As a man, how did he knew that God was his father? That is a question that no mortal can answer. At the age of 12, he was convinced that God was his father and was even confident to tell his earthly father and mother.

Jesus never called or referred to Joseph as his father throughout the scripture. The word “Father” was synonyms to “God” in Jesus dictionary.

He was so sure. He was so convinced. He believed it to the point of death. His conviction was affirmed because God regarded him as his son too.

Not once did God “openly proclaimed” Jesus Christ as his son, but these happened years after Jesus knew God as his true father. He was already certain before his open manifestation and before he began his ministry.

God called Jesus his son:

i.) When he was baptized (Matthew 3:16-17)

ii.) At his transfiguration on the mountain (Matthew 17:5)

He came to know about his purpose by first identifying his source. If Jesus had seen Joseph as his “true father”, he could have become a carpenter just as his father, and his purpose would have been lost. But God planned it well.

Whether we believe it or not, Jesus was a man when he was on earth, but he saw himself to be much more because he knew where he came from, and the reason why he came from where he came from. He knew his source. He knew his father. He knew his identity.

If Jesus hadn’t believed he is the son, he wouldn’t have been able to give his life on the cross and we wouldn’t have been able to call ourselves his sons. He knew his purpose by first knowing God as his father and his source, and by putting himself under his will.

His Father’s will must be done.

Our Father’s will must be done.