Scriptures
I read today about the apparent suicide of
Aaron Swartz. I had never heard of him before reading the article. He was
apparently an important computer hacker in the hacker world. He advocated
openness on the internet, a code word for, among other things, the ability to
steal intellectual property freely. He suffered with depression for years. He
apparently hung himself. I learned something.
But just how important is that information?
Will it change my life and cause me to live more in a way that positively
affects my eternity? I doubt it.
When Jesus encountered people they often
said that He knew much more than would be apparent to the eye. John records
many of these statements (Jn 16:30, 21:17, 2:24-25, 4:29). But this just emphasizes how little they
knew in comparison to how much Jesus knew.
The big question is “How much does Jesus
know?” These other people say that He knows everything, but does He? In Luke 6:8 & 11:17 it is recorded that Jesus knew what people
were thinking. Maybe Jesus was just a fantastic observer and really good
guesser! I know that there have been a few times when I have been able to
accurately guess what people were thinking and feeling. Is this all Jesus was
doing?
Things change when Jesus begins talking
about His upcoming death and resurrection. You might say that we have some
control over the timing of our death, or at least Jesus did. He could make the
religious leaders so mad with His claims that they would kill Him on the spot.
They had started to kill Him previously, as we have examined. But it is one
thing to predict the timing and manner of your death, but something entirely
different to know that you will rise from the dead three days later AND THEN DO
IT! Lots of people have claimed lots of things about coming back to life, but
only Jesus predicted it and accomplished it. Mt 16:21, Jn 12:33
One final area I want to examine, one of
great importance. Jesus says that He knows “all things” Mt 11:27. One of the things we certainly can’t know apart from Him is God the
Father. Jesus says that He has a personal knowledge of the Father, and that the
Father has a personal knowledge of Him. Jesus can share that personal knowledge
with us, if He chooses.
What I find interesting is that this knowledge
is not a wiki fact, but a personal encounter. I could give you access to all my
personal information, but you still would not know me. You would only know
about me. Jesus wants us to know Him, not just know about Him. Jesus has the
ability to reveal the Father to us, not just reveal facts about the Father.
Knowing about Aaron Swartz is not the same as knowing Aaron Swartz. Know about
God is not the same as knowing God. Jesus can make that personal knowledge
available to us.