Before Jesus Was Jesus
January 10 (Genesis 18-19)
When Thanksgiving rolls around, I doubt I ever manage to squeeze every single thing on the table onto my plate. The green olives and sweet gherkins probably won’t make the first cut. It’s the same with these daily devotionals. Some may strike a chord where you live. Others may point out something you hadn’t thought about before. And then there are the olives and pickles variety, the ones that leave you wondering how the gears and cogs mesh in my head.
Abraham’s encounter with three men in Genesis 18, prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, is intriguing. We come to find out that these three (18:2) are in fact heavenly visitors. In 18:7 we see that one of them is actually the Lord. When the two other visitors (angels) went on their way toward Sodom (19:2), God remained behind for a bit to visit more with Abraham (18:22).
Most devotionals at this point would focus on the sordid affair of Lot, Sodom, and the destruction soon to come. But my curiosity went to how God walking on earth is presented. Several times we see this figure called, “the angel of the Lord.” He is not your run-of-the-mill angel. This is a unique being who speaks and acts as God, because that’s exactly who he is. Do a Google search on “the angel of the Lord” and you’ll find that when many people meet this particular angel, they hit the deck and realize they have “seen the Lord.”
Jesus confounds the Pharisees in John 8:58 when he confirms his deity by saying, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” We know Jesus existed before he was born. But then again, no he didn’t, at least by the name of Jesus. I believe we are seeing a theophany, an appearance of “The Word” appearing in flesh. Whoever this person was eventually became flesh and went by the name of Jesus.
I got myself in trouble one time because I said that there was a time when the Son was not the Son. That was a bit too close to heresy for some. What I meant is that before Jesus was born, the God who became flesh didn’t go by that name. And I dared to question the notion of if there was even a subordinance of “Father/Son” prior to the incarnation.
Rabbit holes being what they are, as I dug deeper, come to find out, there is a huge controversy among theologians smarter than me about this whole issue, some arguing for it and others against it. If your mind is so inclined, just Google “EFS subordination” and you can go chase those rabbits yourself. But if you are like most normal people, you can just pass the olives on around the table and I’ll see you tomorrow.
“…and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.” John 1:1
