Son of God

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)

The author of Mark’s gospel begins with the statement that Jesus is “the son of God”. However, such explanation put us into trouble in many ways. First of all, the word God has a son itself difficult to understand. It is nonsense that the God of the Bible who exists with the Spirit has a son like gods of Greek myth. Despite we accept it as granted and what is more we have a tendency to accept it as the root of Jesus’ supernatural power.

When we read the Bible we have to always keep the fact in our mind that all these statement is nothing but an ‘interpretation’. It means that the fact Jesus is the son of God not because of he declared “I’m the son of God.” but Christian community interpreted Jesus as the son of God. The New Testament community interpreted about Jesus in various ways. So there are many names about Jesus in the New Testament. Messiah, Kurios, son of David, the Lord of second coming, son of man, only son etc. many name sometimes overlap or comes independently. It signifies the early Christian community that experienced totally different salvation from Jesus clarified Jesus through names that handed down in those days.

Returning to the contents, what does Mark’s interpretation that Jesus is the son of God comes from? In fact the expression of the son of God already came in the Old Testament. Though it is slightly indirect expression Psalm 2:7 says, “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” When Israel’s king hold a coronation ceremony this Psalm was sung by a chorus. Jesus was acknowledged as the son of God according to such Old Testament tradition. And also this expression contains the fact that Jesus confessed God as a father. In this connection the core of such statement laid in the fact that the early Christian community experienced Jesus as Messiah.

Does the statement that Jesus is the son of God effect to us today? Perhaps woman theologian might feel a little burden to call it saying don’t say a son of God but a daughter God. If Jesus is a man biologically calling as a daughter doesn’t fit then call him just as ‘Child of God’. If they say in this way then I don’t have much word to say more. The people who have a similar faith as Gnosticism of early Christianity era might deny Jesus’ humanity from such statement. Jesus was the son of God not a man. If people insist on this way they are not the person to read the Bible rightly. The Bible and Christian tradition didn’t accept such names in order to reduce Jesus’ humanity. It is important that they experienced Jesus as Messiah. One of many expression for such experience is rightly Son of God.

What had happened to Jesus then early Christians confessed Jesus as the Son of God? Have their experience delivered to us vividly? This question again leads us to ask again who God is? It is important to concern on God. Do not linger in having faith unconditionally or simply memorize the creeds but pour out our soul to God himself. Then only our life get life for God is rightly the source of life.