Jason M. shot me a question yesterday, one which raises crucial pastoral and dogmatic issues. Here’s what he asked and my reply:
I have a question for you if you have a moment… I am preaching this weekend on Mark 15:1-20. It seems to me that when we talk about Jesus’ silence in response to accusations that we assume that he was really just not SAYING what he REALLY felt… and seeing THAT as our example or model to follow (1 Peter 2)… But is not the outward response of Jesus the heart of Jesus as well? Does he really just hold back the anger that we would tend to lash out? It seems that one way of reading Jesus deference is that he is wholly deferential, not just in his silence—that there is no division within himself. He is not suppressing an inner desire to defend himself but wholly deferential. Does that seem right?
Yes, it does seem right. Christ is not divided (1 Cor. 1:13)! Jesus lived (and lives!) in conflict with evil and death, of course, and he was (and is!) troubled by disbelief. But he was never conflicted, never at odds with himself—no more than he was opposed to or at odds with the Father. He suffered, obviously, but he was not torn or ambivalent. He never suppressed his emotions, never fought to regain his composure. He did not have to bite his tongue or swallow his anger. Notice what Peter says: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). That’s another way of saying what you’ve said, isn’t it? Jesus never lied to himself any more than he lied to anyone else. All that he did and said was a revelation of his heart, and precisely so a revelation of the divine nature, which we are meant to share.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Speakeasy Theology to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.