New Page 1

When did Jesus Learn that He Was the Messiah?

Associate Pastor's Column
Sunday, October 8, 2006

Never. He always knew it.

All over the place we find this dramatic question, “when did Jesus learn who he was?” We find it in theologians writings, in popular news magazines, in blogs on the internet, in catechism books especially ones for High School students.

The question is of course bad, and I’ll explain that in a moment. But it’s enough to see the question to understand something about the questioner. See, it paints Jesus as an adult adolescent, just “coming to terms with himself.” The questioner sees Jesus as an interiorly conflicted man, at best a frustrated existentialist philosopher filled with dark questions about the meaning of his own existence. Often the questioners are authors, teachers or homilists start with this question to end with, “How to find the inner Messiah in yourself,” like a trite self-help book. I’m OK, you’re OK, I’m a Jesus and you’re a Jesus too, so let’s all feel good about ourselves.

But the problem here isn’t that the one who poses the question sees Jesus through the lenses of 21st century pop-psychology. The problem isn’t that the one who poses the question is a pantheist, that is, one who thinks that God is identical to the sum of everything in the universe, including himself and you and me. The problem isn’t that this pantheist is trying to figure out how he can imagine himself to be God or a part of him.

The problem is that the one who asks the question has no faith in the incarnation of the Son of God. Now, this may need a little bit of explaining.

See, the scenario is that Jesus was a “normal” little boy living in a small town, and when he grew up, he had some sort of interior crisis which ended in his discovery of himself as the Messiah. This scenario often comes with the discreet little corollary, that the Messiah isn’t one, unique, substantial reality, but that it is a state of consciousness of self to which only a few can rise.

The scenario completely fails to remember that Jesus wasn’t just a man. He was a man, totally a man, in every which way, yes that’s true. But he was also God, the one eternal, perfect and blessed God. And that’s what we forget. The councils of the Church in ancient and even less ancient times remind us of the fact that Jesus Christ is one person in two integral natures, one human and one divine.

And therefore, he knew with two intellects. We as human beings don’t have the experience of knowing with two intellects, much less with a divine one, so it is simply impossible for us to imagine what it must be like to know with two intellects.

Therefore, Jesus was one person who knew in three ways: he knew with his divine intellect, he knew with the infused knowledge given to his human intellect, and he knew with the experiential knowledge of his human intellect.

Jesus’ divine intellect knew all things at all times, and it was identical to his very substance and love, for God has no parts and is infinitely perfect.

Jesus’ human intellect knew in two ways. There are some things which were infused into his intellect, much like a soul in the state of grace experiences the gift of knowledge, one of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is in fact the infused knowledge of the things of the faith. And in this way, his human intellect was always perfectly enlightened. Nonetheless, this human intellect of his was truly human, therefore not infinite, and his human intellect could and can enjoy the truth of the Father only in a limited way, not in a complete and unlimited way like his divine intellect could.

Jesus’ human intellect also learned by experience. Not only is it natural for the human intellect to learn in this way, but the scriptures describe Jesus’ growth (Lk 2:52). His human intellect is sometimes even surprised by the faith a pagan had in him, which surpassed Israel’s (Lk 7:9).

As a child, Jesus taught the teachers (Lk 2:46-47), for there was never a moment when he did not perfectly know all things, including the inner life of the Trinity. He enjoyed perfect infused knowledge, but at the same time had experiential knowledge, like a true man, a perfectly holy man.

So if anyone ever asks you, “When did Jesus figure out he was the Messiah?” or “How did he learn how to do all those things which he did in his messianic mission?” Already you know that person has either no faith or an imperfect faith in the fact that Jesus is both God and man.

Picture: Hieronymus Bosch (1450 - 1516), Nativity, Oil On Panel, Church Of St. Peter and St. Guidon, Anderlecht, Belgium. Behold, the child who knew all things.