 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
2010-12-01 13:20:00
The divine and human nature in Jesus
Question: : Recently you answered questions about the divine nature and human nature of Jesus. Tell me, as he was growing up, did he have to learn everything he knew with his human nature? For instance, when he was teaching in the temple, was he teaching things he had learned with his human nature or his divine nature?
Answer: This is a difficult question to answer because Jesus was truly human and truly divine. That itself is a difficult concept. We believe it by faith. As we understand it, however, Jesus of Nazareth was a human being who had to learn human knowledge, just as any human being does.
Regarding your specific question about his teaching in the temple, we can say the following. Luke includes this story in his gospel to show that Jesus was a true Israelite. He also uses the story to say that, just as Jesus was “given to the Lord” in his dedication, Jesus himself now claims a special relationship with God. Further, the story is connected to Samuel’s story in the Old Testament.
In the story, it does seem as if Jesus has knowledge and understanding beyond his years here, as well, but we cannot say much more than that, for that is not the point of the story for Luke.
