Divine Knowledge

“You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.”
2 Corinthians 11:4-6 NLT

Regarded as one of the toughest memory and navigation exams in the world, the “Knowledge” is a test every London black cab driver has to pass. London is a complex matrix of streets and roads with traffic considerations and restrictions, and yet it requires detailed knowledge of the city by London taxi drivers to efficiently navigate the streets and conditions that change almost daily, and sometimes even hourly. While a student, I took a similar, but much simpler, test in Southampton to obtain a “Hackney Carriage” licence from the authorities, enabling me to drive a minicab. But all employment requires some form of knowledge to do the job properly. It is rare to find an occupation that requires no experience or knowledge at all.

But a taxi licence was obviously not the sort of knowledge that Paul was talking about. Paul’s knowledge was far more important because it not only enabled him to live his life in the Kingdom of God while he was alive, but it also gave him insight into the life to come. Paul’s knowledge was based on the Jewish Bible, broadly similar to our Old Testament, and enhanced by his encounter with the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road. The Holy Spirit did the rest, because “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me” (words of Jesus recorded in John 16:13-14).

Paul declared that he was a rubbish speaker. Fair enough, because oratorical skills are not available to everyone. But being able to communicate is important because all the knowledge in the world is useless unless there is a way to convey it to the listener. I have an external hard drive in a drawer somewhere that contains backups of old files and photos, but in its current state, it is useless and will remain so until I plug it into a computer, at which point its treasures become accessible. Paul’s head was full of knowledge, as recognised by Governor Festus in Acts 26:24, “And as he was saying these things in his defence, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind'”. Paul wasn’t out of his mind at all, but instead he had a mind full of knowledge.

But perhaps Paul’s speaking skills were illustrated when he visited Troas. There, Paul and his companions gathered with the local believers, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and then “… since he was leaving the next day, [Paul] kept talking until midnight” (Acts 20:7b). Tragically, “As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below” (Acts 20:9). That probably said it all about Paul’s message delivery, because I’m sure we have all been in a pew listening to a long sermon and have struggled to keep awake, even if the subject matter was of great importance, possibly through the poor speaking skills of the preacher. To complete the story, though, regarding Eutychus, “Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”” (Acts 20:10). But there was no relief for the Troas believers because the next verse reads, “Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left”. That must have been quite a sermon! In fact, it must have amounted to a “brain dump”, where Paul shared all his knowledge.

What knowledge do we pilgrims have, and how have we acquired it? Obviously, it comes from a number of sources, depending on what sort of knowledge we are considering, but for Christians, the knowledge about God and His Kingdom comes from the Bible and through the Holy Spirit, through study and prayer. To assist with interpretation, knowledgeable men and women share their insights from the pulpit, and we can pick up a book or watch a Christian video, but the Source of all knowledge is God Himself. Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding”. Do we have ears to hear what God is saying to us? So often, we have filters in place that process what we are hearing in a way that either helps us forget what was said or translates it into something that it wasn’t. At the end of the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand” (Matthew 13:9). The problem in Isaiah’s day, and it is still a problem, today, was the situation we find in Isaiah 6:9-10, “And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing””. The devil is good at doing just that.

We pilgrims require knowledge to help us in our own walk with God and also to be able to communicate with the needy people who live around us. We must never neglect our Bible Study or times of prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for revealing to us the truths about You and Your Kingdom. Give us open minds, we pray, to receive all the knowledge that You have for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.””
John 13:25-27 NLT

Jesus was, and still is, the Son of God, divine and human. Two thousand years ago He was sent to Israel with a plan for the redemption of mankind, following through every requirement to bring it into fruition, a successful conclusion. Jesus knew that His death and resurrection were the final part of the plan, and He spoke several times about it – Mark 8:31, “Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead“. But how much of the detail beforehand did Jesus know? Father God could of course see the end from the beginning, every twist and turn, every event, because He lives in eternity, a place without time. Imagine something like the Bayeux Tapestry, laid out before Him, but with every event portrayed in its minutest detail. Because of His humanity, Jesus would not have had such a view, and He regularly communicated with His father in prayer to obtain the guidance He needed, to make sure He stayed on track. Through the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, He retained that divine communication.

But Jesus was also human. We see from John 4:6 that He got tired, “Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.” About Jesus, Paul wrote, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. … ” (Philippians 2:6-7a). So Jesus needed to eat and drink, sleep, and use the bathroom. Even as early as the age of twelve, Jesus had a sense of His mission, as we read from the account of Jesus in the Temple, “So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”” (Luke 2:48-49).

So, did Jesus know beforehand about the woman at the Samaritan well? Or the fact that there would be five thousand men and their families to be fed? What about the other miraculous occasions? Did Jesus know about all these in advance? I don’t think He did, but He did know about the power through the Holy Spirit that He had within Him, and He was close enough in tune with His mission and His Father’s will to know what to do at the time. So, how did Jesus know it was Judas who would betray Him? In fact, how did He know that He would be betrayed at all? Judas was a pivotal factor in God’s redemptive plan, to the extent that he was prophesised about in Psalm 41:9, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me“. At first sight, it would seem strange that Jesus gave a piece of bread soaked in the vinegary dip common at the Passover meal, to expose the man who would betray Him. But that was a very real part of the Psalm 41 prophecy.

Jesus did know what was going to happen because He knew the Scriptures. Today, there are many problems both inside and outside the church caused by a lack of Bible knowledge and, consequently, a failure to put God’s commands into practice. But at a personal level, we find most of what we need to live in the Bible. It is a unique book. There in none other like it. As Peter said in John 6:68, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life“. There is nowhere else where we can find the words we need. Of course we pray to our Father in Heaven and trust in the Holy Spirit for power and guidance, but through the Word of God we have a foundation that underpins our lives on this planet and leads us to a life with God for ever.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your Word, and the guidance it provides for our lives. Amen.

The “Knowledge”

How Did Jesus Know?