My great grandpa’s name was Goebel — and he was a stud. As we were looking through old family pictures a few years ago, I showed a picture of 50-year-old Goebel to my wife and kids. My wife said, “He was a nice-looking guy.” Of course, Goebel was my dad’s dad’s dad, and there happens to be a striking resemblance between Goebel and me — even if my wife and kids claim not to see it. In addition to the handsome physical appearance, we also have a similar personality. Now, I never knew Goebel, but I know that Goebel was a foreman in the coal mines. Then Goebel’s son (my grandpa) became a foreman in a factory. Later on, my dad became a production manager at a large manufacturing company, and I have been running operations in a manufacturing environment for the past 10 years. So not only do we look alike, but Goebel and I have similar characteristics that have led to roles where we are running operations for companies that are producing work. The point is that a father and son (and great grandsons) often have similarities in appearance and attributes.
Anyone who has read even a chapter in the Gospels knows that Jesus is often identified as a Son. Usually, He is called either the Son of God, the Son of Man, or simply the Son. I’ll address Jesus as the Son of Man in my next article, but what is the significance of Jesus being identified as the Son of God?
Does Jesus’ identity as the Son of God give Him a lower status than God? Those of us who are fathers know that for an extended period of time, we are superior to our sons in many ways — intellect, strength, wisdom, telling great jokes. Jesus actually explicitly states, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Also, there are certain things the Father knows that the Son does not know (Matt. 24:36). So does this mean that the Son of God is a being less powerful, less glorious, and less knowledgeable than the Father?
The true significance of being called the Son of God is displayed in how people respond when Jesus identifies Himself as the Son of God. After Jesus heals a lame man, the Jews begin persecuting Him because He was doing work on the Sabbath. Jesus says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). After this, the Jews “were seeking all the more to kill him, because … he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). For someone to identify himself as the Son of God would not be a declaration of subordination to God — rather, it is a declaration of equality with God.
It is also interesting that Jesus never uses the title “Son of God” for Himself in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. In John’s Gospel, Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God only three times (John 5:35, 10:36, 11:4), even though John’s stated purpose for writing his Gospel is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). Other people, like the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:35), Satan (Matt. 4:6), demons (Matt. 8:29), His disciples (Matt. 14:33), and the Roman centurion (Matt. 27:54) call Him the Son of God. In comparison, Jesus refers to Himself as “Son of Man” over 80 times in the Gospels. It seems that Jesus avoided explicitly using the title “Son of God” very often because it would immediately initiate charges of blasphemy, making Himself equal with God.
So what is the significance of Jesus’ identification as the Son of God? He is a son, in that He is exactly the same kind of being as the Father. He has all of the same characteristics and attributes as the Father. Jesus is not another kind of being from the Father; and He is certainly not a lesser being than the Father. Jesus is “the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3). Whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:9). Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). When you look at a picture of your child, that picture is the image of that child. If you could look at a picture of God the Father, that image would look just like Jesus.
If the Son has all of the same attributes as the Father, how could Jesus say that the Father is greater than Him (John 14:28) and that the Father knew things the Son did not know (Matt. 24:36)? Though the Son is one with the Father (John 10:30), during His incarnation He took on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7). In His humanity, He humbled Himself and limited the exercise of His divine attributes in order to accomplish redemption. In His incarnation, a human and a divine nature were joined together in the person of Christ. By taking on a human nature, the divine Son willingly subjected Himself to certain limitations that God the Father did not take on.
Why do the gospels focus on Jesus as the Son of God? This not only emphasizes His equality to the Father, but it also emphasizes the relationship between the Father and the Son. John refers to Jesus as God’s “only Son” (John 1:18, 3:16), and Paul refers to Jesus as God’s “beloved Son” in Colossians 1:13. As the only Son of the Father, the Father and Son have a special affection and intimate bond with each other eternally. This also highlights the significance of the sacrifice God made. He did not go find a random angel to give up for the sake of humanity. He did not create some other random being to suffer for sins. He gave up His only Son — the one whom He had eternally loved.
— Jonathan Cheek is a member of Ridgewood Church in Greer. He holds master’s and doctor’s degrees in theology from Bob Jones University. He and his wife, Renee, have been married 18 years and have two daughters.
