When I began investigating the Catholic faith and Christianity in general, I became convinced that Jesus was indeed divine based on two sentences:
- “… Whichever of you is free from sin shall cast the first stone at her.” (John 8:7)
- “Whereupon Jesus answered them, Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:17)
The way Jesus completely shuts down the Pharisees in a mere sentence on not one, but two occasions, is astounding. These Pharisees and scribes, mind you, were not a bunch of buffoons. They were the smartest, best educated, and shrewdest among the Jews. Furthermore, they had been busy constructing subtle and complex traps for Jesus, giving them (so they thought) the element of surprise.
But Jesus is not only unfazed, He has an instant comebacks, a mere handful of words, that are completely unexpected, completely irrefutable, and so profound we continue to unpack their meaning to this day. Jesus exceeds the wit of an Oscar Wilde and the profound insight of a Socrates or Confucius to convey with unparalleled power two of the most important lessons imaginable: obedience to God and forgiveness to others.
It’s impossible for me to believe that a mere human could do this — and not only did Jesus do it, these two episodes were in many respects nothing more than side notes to His ministry — a kind of coffee break between driving out demons, giving sight to the blind, conquering Satan, reformulating morality, establishing a universal and divine church, etc.
Reflection
Jesus has infinite love and infinite power. He gives us all kinds of evidence He is True God and True Man, so that everyone can come to believe. But the Lord has given us free will, so we must look, and then we must see.
Am I seeing Jesus everywhere, as I should, or only where I want to see him?
