Why did God (the Father) give a revelation to Jesus (Rev. 1:1) if Jesus is God? Wouldn’t Jesus already have the revelation?
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,” (Rev. 1:1).
First of all, the Bible teaches that Jesus is God in the flesh. We see this taught in John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8, and other verses. From that fact, some might conclude that Jesus would not need anything given to Him by God the Father. So, if that is the case, then why did Jesus have a revelation given to Him by God in Revelation 1:1?
I think the answer is simple. God the Father reveals Himself through the Son and so He gave the revelation to Jesus. Please consider the following verses that show how the Father works through the Son.
- Matthew 11:27, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
- John 5:19, “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”
- John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’“
- John 17:6, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
Other Possible Answers
Some other possible reasons by Jesus would have a revelation given to Him, could be as follows. Though I don’t think they are very good options, I offer them since they are possibilities.
- It was given to Him before Jesus’ ascension and before that time, Jesus was not yet glorified in heaven.
- It is the result of Jesus being a man and in that humbled state, He received that revelation.
- It is a designation of the greatness of Jesus in relation to God.
