Can Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Be God’s Servant?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is said by many to be Almighty God, “God the Son,” the second person of the Trinity. However, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is mentioned in the Bible as being God’s “servant.” In view of the claims that Jesus is Almighty God, how can he be God’s servant? First, let’s look at some of the claims about him:
“Peter’s sermon identifies Jesus with the ‘I Am’ of Israel’s history”—The Word In Life Study Bible, page 1928, citing Acts 3:11-26 as “proof.”
“The Church responds by worshipping Jesus”—The Word In Life Study Bible. page 1928, citing Acts 4:23-27 as “proof.”
Contrary to the above claims, Jesus is not called “I Am” in Peter’s sermon, nor is he worshipped, in Acts 3 & 4. In fact, the scriptures in Acts 3 & 4 contradict such claims. Let’s look and see.
“God Servant”
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus”—Acts 3:13 NIV
“When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways”—Acts 3:26 NIV
“Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed”—Acts 4:27 NIV
“Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus”—Acts 4:30 NIV
In the context of Acts 3 & 4, Jesus is called God’s “servant” four times. God is clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus. We ask, how could Jesus be the “I am” of Exodus 3:14, therefore, God, if he is God’s “servant”?
Acts 4:26 quotes Psalm 2:2, which says, “Kings of the earth station themselves and princes have been united together, against YHWH, and against his Messiah” (LSV). Jesus is clearly shown to the “Messiah” in the New Testament. Psalm 2:2 makes clear that Yahweh has “his Messiah,” thus strongly indicating that Jesus is not Yahweh God. Other scriptures in the Bible also refer to Jesus as God’s “servant.” For example:
Matthew 12:17-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1-4. “Here is my servant whom I have chosen” (Matthew 12:17 NIV). This obviously refers to the Messiah Jesus Christ, as being God’s “servant.” In fact, all four ‘servant songs” of Isaiah are applied to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The other three “servant song” references in Isaiah to “my servant” are as follows:
“The LORD . . . said to me, ‘You are my servant” . . . he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant . . . I will make you as a light for the nations'” (Isaiah 49:1,3,6 ESV).
“Which of you fears Yahweh and listens to his servant voice? (Isaiah 50:10 NJB)
“Behold, my servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Isaiah 52:13 ESV)
Another Old Testament reference to “my servant” is in Zechariah: “High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch” (Zechariah 3:8 NIV). Both ‘my servant” and “the Branch” are Messianic titles that refer to Jesus.
There is cryptic reference to Jesus as “my servant” in Ezekiel: “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd . . . David my servant will be my servant forever” (Ezekiel 37:24,25 NIV). Jesus is twice called “my servant” in this context.
How can Jesus be Almighty God if he is ‘God’s servant’? The Scriptural answer? – He can’t!
Worship Jesus?
Who did Jesus say we should worship?
“The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 ESV).
“You shall worship the Lord your God” (Matthew 4:10 ESV).
Jesus sent the Revelation. Who does Revelation say to worship?
“Worship God” (Revelation 19:10; 22:9).
We can clearly see that the New Testament flatly contradicts the idea that Jesus was worshipped by early church, or that he should be worshipped by Christians today.
2 thoughts on “Can Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Be God’s Servant?”
BA1: How can Jesus be God if he is God’s servant?
GW1: He cannot. That would be a contradiction.
BA1: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is said by many to be Almighty God, “God the Son,” the second person of the Trinity. However, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is mentioned in the Bible as being God’s “servant.” In view of the claims that Jesus is Almighty God, how can he be God’s servant? First, let’s look at some of the claims about him:
GW1: You are correct here – Jesus could not be God. Jesus is alleged to be one deity in a trio of deities – The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. But in reality, Jesus was not even God’s servant. Why? Because God does not exist. This has been proven.
BA1: “Peter’s sermon identifies Jesus with the ‘I Am’ of Israel’s history”—The Word In Life Study Bible, page 1928, citing Acts 3:11-26 as “proof.”
GW1: So what? What’s your point here?
BA1: “The Church responds by worshipping Jesus”—The Word In Life Study Bible. page 1928, citing Acts 4:23-27 as “proof.”
GW1: So what? What’s your point here?
BA1: Contrary to the above claims, Jesus is not called “I Am” in Peter’s sermon, nor is he worshipped, in Acts 3 & 4. In fact, the scriptures in Acts 3 & 4 contradict such claims. Let’s look and see.
GW1: So, your point is that Jesus was not “I Am” and thus not God. Ok, I agree.
BA1: “God Servant”
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus”—Acts 3:13 NIV
“When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways”—Acts 3:26 NIV
“Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed”—Acts 4:27 NIV
“Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus”—Acts 4:30 NIV
In the context of Acts 3 & 4, Jesus is called God’s “servant” four times. God is clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus. We ask, how could Jesus be the “I am” of Exodus 3:14, therefore, God, if he is God’s “servant”?
Acts 4:26 quotes Psalm 2:2, which says, “Kings of the earth station themselves and princes have been united together, against YHWH, and against his Messiah” (LSV). Jesus is clearly shown to the “Messiah” in the New Testament. Psalm 2:2 makes clear that Yahweh has “his Messiah,” thus strongly indicating that Jesus is not Yahweh God. Other scriptures in the Bible also refer to Jesus as God’s “servant.” For example:
Matthew 12:17-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1-4. “Here is my servant whom I have chosen” (Matthew 12:17 NIV). This obviously refers to the Messiah Jesus Christ, as being God’s “servant.” In fact, all four ‘servant songs” of Isaiah are applied to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The other three “servant song” references in Isaiah to “my servant” are as follows:
“The LORD . . . said to me, ‘You are my servant” . . . he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant . . . I will make you as a light for the nations'” (Isaiah 49:1,3,6 ESV).
“Which of you fears Yahweh and listens to his servant voice? (Isaiah 50:10 NJB)
“Behold, my servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Isaiah 52:13 ESV)
Another Old Testament reference to “my servant” is in Zechariah: “High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch” (Zechariah 3:8 NIV). Both ‘my servant” and “the Branch” are Messianic titles that refer to Jesus.
There is cryptic reference to Jesus as “my servant” in Ezekiel: “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd . . . David my servant will be my servant forever” (Ezekiel 37:24,25 NIV). Jesus is twice called “my servant” in this context.
GW1: All the above verses are good evidence in support of your claim that the author of the Bible did not think Jesus was God, but thought he was God’s servant.
BA1: How can Jesus be Almighty God if he is ‘God’s servant’? The Scriptural answer? – He can’t!
GW1: I agree.
BA1: Worship Jesus? Who did Jesus say we should worship?
“The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 ESV).
“You shall worship the Lord your God” (Matthew 4:10 ESV).
Jesus sent the Revelation. Who does Revelation say to worship?
“Worship God” (Revelation 19:10; 22:9).
We can clearly see that the New Testament flatly contradicts the idea that Jesus was worshipped by early church, or that he should be worshipped by Christians today.
GW1: I agree with your main point here. However, although Jesus believed in God and that he was serving God, and Bible authors believed that Jesus was serving God, he was not in fact serving God. Why? Because God does not exist. We know this. It has been proven. What is rather shocking is that about 90% of the time when I make these three assertions together, nobody challenges me. Apparently, most people agree with my assertions or they lack the motivation, knowledge, or courage to challenge me. What about you?
GW1: Also, the Bible alleges that Jesus performed miracles. But if God did exist, he would do his own miracles, not assign them to other people to do.
Your “God doesn’t exist” theme and related theorems have been soundly refuted numerous times, but we’ll share the basics with you once again.
The scientific facts are:
1. The universe had a beginning.
2. Prior to that there was nothing physically that existed.
3. Anything that has a beginning has a cause.
4. Something cannot come from nothing.
5. Energy transformed into matter at the beginning of the universe (E=MC2).
Science cannot explain why. But the Bible does:
1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”—Genesis 1:1
2. How did God do it? He took some of his “great power”, or energy (Isaiah 40:26 NIV), and transformed it into matter at the beginning of the universe.
You’re in no position to decide what God can, and can’t, do! God has done “his own miracles” many times. (For example, see Joshua 10:11-14; 2 Kings 20:8-11; Matthew 27:45; Acts 12:10; 16:25-28.) The Almighty God, who created the universe, has unlimited power, and can do anything he wants to, and operate any way he wishes to, even empowering humans to perform miracles (Acts 1:8; Acts 5:15,16).