I read today about the apparent suicide of Aaron Swartz. I had never heard of him before reading the article. He was apparently an important computer hacker in the hacker world. He advocated openness on the internet, a code word for, among other things, the ability to steal intellectual property freely. He suffered with depression for years. He apparently hung himself. I learned something.
But just how important is that information? Will it change my life and cause me to live more in a way that positively affects my eternity? I doubt it.
When Jesus encountered people they often said that He knew much more than would be apparent to the eye. John records many of these statements (Jn 16:30, 21:17, 2:24-25, 4:29). But this just emphasizes how little they knew in comparison to how much Jesus knew.
The big question is “How much does Jesus know?” These other people say that He knows everything, but does He? In Luke 6:8 & 11:17 it is recorded that Jesus knew what people were thinking. Maybe Jesus was just a fantastic observer and really good guesser! I know that there have been a few times when I have been able to accurately guess what people were thinking and feeling. Is this all Jesus was doing?
Things change when Jesus begins talking about His upcoming death and resurrection. You might say that we have some control over the timing of our death, or at least Jesus did. He could make the religious leaders so mad with His claims that they would kill Him on the spot. They had started to kill Him previously, as we have examined. But it is one thing to predict the timing and manner of your death, but something entirely different to know that you will rise from the dead three days later AND THEN DO IT! Lots of people have claimed lots of things about coming back to life, but only Jesus predicted it and accomplished it. Mt 16:21, Jn 12:33
One final area I want to examine, one of great importance. Jesus says that He knows “all things” Mt 11:27. One of the things we certainly can’t know apart from Him is God the Father. Jesus says that He has a personal knowledge of the Father, and that the Father has a personal knowledge of Him. Jesus can share that personal knowledge with us, if He chooses.
What I find interesting is that this knowledge is not a wiki fact, but a personal encounter. I could give you access to all my personal information, but you still would not know me. You would only know about me. Jesus wants us to know Him, not just know about Him. Jesus has the ability to reveal the Father to us, not just reveal facts about the Father. Knowing about Aaron Swartz is not the same as knowing Aaron Swartz. Know about God is not the same as knowing God. Jesus can make that personal knowledge available to us.
The Arnold Journey 