Not Detached but Distinct

 

 

I’ve been puzzled for a while

Concerning Mark 13:32,

Because these are the words of Jesus

They surely must be true.

 

But of that day and that hour

Knoweth no man,

No, not the angels which are in heaven,

Neither the Son, but the Father.

 

Jesus had just foretold

The destruction of the temple

And this had evoked a probing query

From four of his disciples.

 

“Tell us,” they had inquired,

“When shall these things be?

And what shall be the sign

When all these things shall be fulfilled?”

 

Whatever your eschatology

You certainly cannot ignore

That here is something the Son of man

Is saying he does not know.

 

It was a searching question,

It meant a lot to them

And the fact that Jesus did not know

Posed a colossal problem.

 

This is fodder for the JWs

Who argued Jesus is not God

 And Allah has no son, you should note,

Is the Muslim call.

 

It was a challenge for the disciples

And a difficulty for me too,

Is there anybody with an answer?

Tell me, have you?

 

I have listened to a few people

As they shared their view

But any who contradicts the Word

Surely cannot be true.

 

Jesus makes this statement!

It can only be false or true,

There can be no other option here-

This is neither opinion nor view.

 

God knows everything

And Jesus is shown to be God,

How can Jesus not know something

If he is also God?

 

Jesus always spoke the truth

And these are the words he said,

It is established that God cannot lie

Why would His Son lie instead?

 

Let’s look again at the statement

And ascertain its facts,

It is explicit and uncomplicated

And of clarity there is no lack.

 

But of that day and that hour

Knoweth no man,

No, not the angels which are in heaven,

Neither the Son, but the Father.

 

Notice first the hierarchy:

At the bottom is “no man”

Then the angels which are higher

And of the heavenly clan.

 

“No man and not the angels!”

And next: neither the Son!

The Son knew not the day or the hour

When these things would come.

 

Mark 13:4

 

Tell us,

When shall these things be?

And what shall be the sign

When all these things shall be fulfilled?

 

 

That the Son knew not the answer

Is crystal clear to me

Though both God and man

The Bible shows, was he.

 

Hence, the title of this poem:

Not detached but distinct,

From this we can grasp a few things

If we take the time to think.

 

I speak of the Son’s dual nature:

He was fully God and man,

Without the issue of sin of course,

To effect redemption’s plan.

 

In his divinity he knew everything

But in his humanity, he did not

And it was in the latter status

That he spoke to the enquiring lot.

 

Although he was the Son of God,

He humbled himself as a man

And thus, in his incarnate humanity,

He was not privy to every plan.

 

You would recall Luke 2:52

Where it says his wisdom increased

Hence, as a man he was limited

But as God such limitations ceased.

 

 

Not detached but distinct

To fulfilled redemption’s plan,

Jesus Christ was the Son of God

But also, he was the Son of man.

 

On the one hand he knew all

As accorded by his divinity

But at times his limitations were evident:

The effect of his humanity.

 

Romans 2:6-8

 

“Who, being in the form of God,

Thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation,

And took upon him the form of a servant,

 

And was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man,

He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,

Even the death of the cross.”

 

 

Imposed limitations

Not forced on him by any man

But in accordance with his dual nature

To accomplish our salvation plan.

 

Stewart Russell © May 15, 2023