57 of 100: Jesus had faith – i.e. He put his trust in his God

Jesus is described as a ‘faithful’ to his God.

Faithful in the Greek is described:

πιστός (pistos pis-tos’)

From G3982; objectively trustworthy; subjectively trustful: – believe (-ing, -r), faithful (-ly), sure, true.

That is Jesus was faithful in the task that was assigned to him. Jesus was faithful as Moses was faithful earlier as a mediator.

Heb 3:1  Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

Heb 3:2  who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.

Catholics teach Jesus had faith:

Did Christ have faith? Question from Michael on 2/12/2003:

Did the incarnate Christ have faith? St. Thomas answers that He did not. However, if Christ was truly man, then wouldn’t he have had faith, a perfect faith, indeed? Furthermore, if Christ had two wills (a divine will and a human will, which St. Thomas admits), and faith is an act of the will, could we say that Christ in his humanity had faith, but in His divinity, He did not? Or am I heretically splitting Christ? Moreover, Christ, while being tempted and praying in the Agony, for examples, demonstrates what appears to be a faith. Lastly, if by the lack of one man’s faith, paradise was lost for all, wouldn’t heaven be gained by the perfect faith of one man? Thank you for your thoughts on this subject.

Answer by Richard Geraghty on 2/18/2003:

Dear Michael, The Church teaches that Christ enjoyed the Beatific Vision both as God (of course) and as man. One who has faith only hopes to enjoy the Beatific Vision. That is why in heaven there is no faith. There is only sight. Now it is very mysterious that Christ could have prayed in the Garden as He did while still enjoying the Beatific Vision. Anyway, the teaching is that Christ had the Beatific Vision and, therefore, did not have faith in the ordinary sense of that world. To have faith is to accept the word of another (God) about some matter. But Christ was God. Dr. Geraghty http://www.ewtn.com/v/experts/showmessage.asp?number=291624&Pg=&Pgnu=&recnu=

It is obvious while they claim to know he truth the truth is ‘mysterious’ to them thereby their knowledge is incomplete.

Origin of Jesus’ faith

Human beings exhibit varying degrees of faith. Jesus encouraged his followers to develop faith through numerous parables, teachings and miracles.

To understand the origin of Jesus’ faith let us consider few other human examples.

Moses

Moses was destined to be special. His birth is described thus:

Act 7:20  At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house,

I.e. Moses was chosen at birth to be God’s mediator at the right time.

John the Baptist

John was influenced from the time he was formed in the womb:

Luk 1:15  for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Luk 1:44  For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Jesus

Jesus was likewise destined to be great being the direct son of God:

Luk 1:32  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

Jesus was called and chosen by God and his faith had origin from the womb that developed and we find at the age of 12 he knew his identity:

Psa 22:9  Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.

Psa 22:10  On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Why do you Trinitarians deny the God of Jesus? For the prophecy asserts that YHWH would be the GOD of Jesus.

Another example:

Psa 71:5  For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

Psa 71:6  Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Early development

John

Again we will compare Jesus’ early development with that of John:

Luk 1:80  And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Jesus

Luk 2:52  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

God’s good hand was upon Jesus as he grew and developed into a man.

Other verses that demonstrate Jesus’ faith

1.]”I will put my trust in him” – Jesus

The writer to Hebrews state:

Heb 2:13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.”

The above quote from ? shows a Jesus who trusted in God i.e. had faith in God

2.] “I have set Yahweh always before me”

Jesus very clearly trusted in his God:

Psa 16:8 I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psa 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.
Psa 16:10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

3.] David and Jesus’ enemies spoke of his faith in God:

Psa 22:8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

v/s

Mathew 27:43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him.

4. “You are my help”

Psa 22:19 But don’t be far off, Yahweh. You are my help: hurry to help me.

5.] I cry in the daytime

Psa 22:2 My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent.

Psa 22:3 But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.

Psa 22:4 Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them.

Psa 22:5 They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.

Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

Psa 22:7 All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,

In effect ‘Our fathers trusted in you.’ Therefore Jesus also follows their example of success!

6.] Jesus’ statement of Faith:

Psa 22:28 For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations.

Psa 22:22 I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.

Psa 22:23 You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

7.] Another example Jesus’ feelings of faith and trust and his relationship with his God:

Psa 69:16 Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.

Psa 69:17 Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!

Psa 69:18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies.

Psa 69:19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you.

Psa 69:20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none.

Psa 69:21 They also gave me gall for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

8.] “As for me”

Psa 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time. God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.

9.] Jesus is our example of faith

Jesus was shamed as part of the continuing pattern of the persecution of the righteousness since the time Abel. Jesus demonstrated faith inspite of adversity

Psa 69:7 Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.

Yet he demonstrated trust in his life:

[1Pe 2:23 Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.]

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2 LEB

Many versions twist this rendering like this (‘our’ added)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Heb 12:2 KJV

Trinitarians are twisters of the truth as is evident above.

10.] Jesus was the real son of God and ‘he learned obedience’

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered

• Does a God learn obedience?
• The trials he was faced with perfected Jesus in the WORK of salvation.
• Even though he was God’s son he was not pampered but tossed into a life of poverty and was tried by his enemies
• But,Jesus did not rebel when challenged

11.] Prayers of Jesus demonstrate faith and trust.

Did Jesus fake all is prayers? Le the testimony of the apostles be true and that of the Catholic and Trinitarian explanations be false.

Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

1. One God of the Trinity is in Anguish? Humans pray to God but do the members of the Godhead pray to each other?
2. Does the resurrected Jesus still do his daily prayers?
3. Does the resurrected Jesus go off to mountain tops to pray to his Father?
4. Does the resurrected Jesus fast for 40 days and 40 nights?

Jesus said “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Prayer was the Jesus’ weapon to overcome the world according to the will of his God!

“Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

If Jesus was was himself in Anguish – how did he overcome? PRAYER!
Jesus weapon as a mortal was his prayer.
At this point he struggled in the flesh to default (“Not my will”) but took the matter to his God for resolution.

Jesus had to have trust/faith in YWWH God to deliver him from the grave because for 3 days he would cease to exist!

“For he was cut off from the land of the living” Is 53:8

Many Christians sing this song to Jesus:

“Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!”

But Jesus himself prayed to his God and Father when he was troubled and in distress.

Why not accept Jesus’ God your God also? Why not pray to the God of Jesus like Jesus?

12.] Jesus who marvelled at peer faith!

Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

The centre of Jesus’ life was faith and therefore he greatly rejoiced when he found a ‘like’ minded man.

‘He marvelled’? Was he just pretending not to know though his divine nature revealed it him?

13.] A God in trouble?

Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

A God whose soul is troubled? Jesus is “ omniscient & omnipotent” yet is troubled? Why is he so sad and troubled? This shows Jesus was human and shared OUR feelings! Yet he emerged victorious on account of his faith!

Was not Jesus the one who taught us not be anxious.

Jesus was frank – Amazing.

Great people suffer from great EGO, but look at  Jesus, he does not pretend, he does not deny and he has the GUTS/LOVE to share his feelings with his loved ones!

This is foundation message of Christianity i.e. Jesus is our example of faith.

As a man he showed faith in his God!

Jesus had faith and therefore taught thus about faith:

Mat 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”

Mat 17:20 He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Mat 17:21 But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Only God was able to save Jesus and therefore Jesus relied upon his God to save him! Jesus taught with faith anything was possible and Jesus had that faith.

14.] Jesus’ faith testified by his prayers

Hebrews 5:7 tells us, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission”

Why?
[1Pe 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord(YHWH) are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”]

Here we see clearly that Jesus trusting his God to deliver his from his own death.

15.] Finally a different Christmas story – How a man attains Divinity:

Php 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Php 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

Php 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Php 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus attained divinity by trusting his God even to the point of death. No man can be tested beyond death and Jesus was tested to the point of death and emerged victorious. Disciples like Stephen whom they stoned showed like faith!

Jesus was exalted by God because of his own he could not do this.

Jesus was the blameless man that God was looking for. (Jesus was not blameless through a divine nature)

• His death showed forth absolute faith and obedience.
• He becomes a supreme example for the human race.
• His death redeems and brings eternal life because of ‘his way of life’ i.e. his example of faith and love and hope is the basis God accepts people. (Contrast with Adam’s way of disobedience)

16.] Jesus had HOPE

We have seen how Jesus had faith and overcome the grave through his faith in his God. Jesus also had hope:

“who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:2

I.e. Jesus also saw beyond the grave ‘joy that was set before him’ i.e. Jesus had HOPE and FAITH. We also have joy set before us and hope in our redemption. Jesus was the first fruit of this process:

1Co 15:23  But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

That Jesus was the first to overcome and is the ‘first fruit’ but we hope to have the same fate as Jesus as we follow the example of Jesus in our lives.

Appendix – Protestant Trinitarian views of Jesus’ faith

The difficulty is how can one God of the trinity have ‘faith’ in another God of the Trinity?

These trinitarian sites acknowledges that Jesus had faith.

— Extract from https://carm.org/did-jesus-hav…

“But then if Jesus had all knowledge and knew everything, could even have faith? Actually, we need to ask whether or not Jesus was, so to speak, accessing the divine attribute of omniscience as he walked this earth. It seems from Philippians 2:5-8 that Jesus had emptied himself and was cooperating with the limitations of being a man. what this means exactly we do not know.

But, in Luke 2:52 Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.

So, there was a sense in which Jesus was not accessing the full attributes of divinity which includes divine omniscience.

*** We do not understand completely how this works but he was, after all, ***

made under the law (Galatians 4:4).

So, we can conclude that as a man, Jesus was cooperating with limitations of being a man, and he probably would have had faith in the work and plan of God the Father.

So, Jesus acted on that belief and trust in God the Father as he went about daily doing his Father’s business.”  https://carm.org/did-jesus-hav…

—-Another Extract from
http://webcache.googleusercont…

Another Trinitarian bears witness to Jesus’ faith as essential:

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (Rom 3:21-23)”

Most translations translate this, “through faith in Christ Jesus” which is an interpretation rather than a translation. The phrase is literally “through the faith of Jesus Christ.” Translators who translate this “faith in Jesus” interpret the “of” to refer to our faith in Christ rather than the faith that Christ had.

If the faith Paul is speaking of is the faith we are to have in Jesus, then the subsequent phrase is redundant. In Greek, the redundancy is even more glaring. While we do not have a verb form for the word, “faith” and have to use the verb, “believe,” Greek does not have that problem. Pistis (faith), pistos (faithful) and pisteo (to believe) are all derived from the same root: “pist”. Let me illustrate the redunancy in English using the word “believe” rather than faith, “even the righteousness of God through belief in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…” See the redundancy? So, the “faith of Christ” is referring to the faith that Jesus Christ had. Because of his faith, he was loyal and obedient to God, which brought salvation to us who believe. Without the faith of Christ, which led to his obedience, our faith is meaningless.

This sheds some light on Romans 1:17.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith (Rom 1:16-17).”

What does the phrase, “from faith to faith” mean? In light of the passage from Romans 3, the first “faith” is probably referring to the faith of Christ. The second one is probably referring to our own faith. Both are involved in our salvation. Both are involved in revealing the righteousness of God. It was the faith of Christ that led him to the cross in trusting obedience.

Now, one might think this is just an isolated verse that uses this phrase. But this is not the only passage that uses the phrase, “faith of Christ.” Here are some others.

“… nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through the faith of Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified (Gal 2:16).”

“But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe (Gal 3:22).”

“… and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, (Phil 3:9).”

Righteousness comes ultimately through the faith of Christ to those of us who have faith. But what of our faith? Does the phrase, “faith of Christ” negate the necessity for our own faith? Not at all. There are several passages that explicitly call for us to have faith “in” Christ Jesus in order to be saved.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal 2:20).”

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:26).”

Unlike the passages above, which do not use the preposition, “in,” these verses explicitly use “in” (“en” in Greek), which indicates our faith in Christ.

There are some other passages that strongly imply that Jesus had to live by faith.

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted (Heb 2:14-18).”

Jesus “shared in flesh and blood.” The word “shared” is the same word also translated, “fellowship” or “participation.” Jesus “fellowshipped” in our flesh and blood. He “participated” in our humanity. He entered into the human experience, which involved among other things temptation. The story of the temptations of Christ in Matthew 3 records real temptations. If they were not, then Jesus really didn’t participate in our humanity. If he didn’t participate in our humanity, then he really didn’t defeat death (1 Cor 15). However, if he truly walked in our shoes, then it stands to reason that in his humanity that he willingly took on, he had to live by faith. That is why the Bible also tells us this.

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15).”

The result of all of this was that through his faith, he overcame temptation, procured forgiveness at the cross, and is now able to be a “merciful and faithful high priest.”

The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus became “flesh” in John 1:14. “Flesh” in does not refer only to the physical body. It is typically used of our humanity. Paul speaks of our “flesh” being at war with the Spirit in Romans 7. This is another way of saying what the writer of Hebrews did. Jesus truly shared in our humanity. He was beset with weakness (Heb 5:2). That weakness is what made temptation real and not just an illusion. He truly entered into human experience. It wasn’t until he entered the human experience that he was “perfected.” Notice this passage.

“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation (Heb 5:8-9),”

Jesus wasn’t “perfected” as our High Priest until he overcame his suffering. He didn’t become a merciful and faithful high priest until he participated in our humanity. As a human, he experience real temptations and real emotions. This comes through especially in the following passage.

“Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matt 27:45-46)?”

Many have tried to explain this theologically. The explanations usually have something to do with God literally turning his back on Jesus. These sorts of explanations are nothing more than conjectures.

To forsake means to “abandon” or “leave.” Did God abandon Jesus? Does God abandon anyone that is faithful? The whole of scripture says no. God does not forsake the righteous.

In fact scripture explicitly says that God did not abandon Jesus to Hades.

“Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay (Acts 2:27).”

So, if God did not truly abandon Jesus, why did he cry out in this way? Instead of a theological explanation, I propose a human explanation. This is actually a quotation from the 22nd Psalm. It is a Psalm of anguish. The Psalmist “feels” as if God has abandoned him. However, he knows that God is faithful and will hear the cries of the afflicted. The conclusion of the Psalm shows that the Psalmist knows God is faithful. Even though he “feels” alone, he knows he is not alone.

As Jesus hung on the cross, a Psalm he must have heard and used in song and worship comes to his lips. Jesus is truly struggling as he struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed to God (Matt 26:39ff). Jesus had to muster his faith. He didn’t fail. He was obedient to the point of death. But he still had to muster his faith.

Did Jesus have to live by faith? The weight of all of this evidence says yes.

Before closing, I want to deal with one last thing in what you elder had said. According to what you had written me, he said,

“Jesus is God and knows all things therefore faith is not apart of who He is. He understand, as well as I do, that when we die faith and hope will be no more because we will be in the presents of God. ”

I need to remind you that knowledge and faith are not one and the same. You can know all things and still not truly have faith. The Bible says that “even the demons believe and shudder (Jas 2:19).” You can “know” something yet not have faith. According to James 2:14ff, Faith involves more than mental agreement. It also involves trust and obedience..