Did Jesus have two fathers, as mentioned in Luke 1:32–both God and David? Why did Christians make him a deity?
Question:
Did Jesus have two fathers, as Luke mentioned in 1:32, i.e. God and David? If Jesus was not a Son of God in a literal sense, then why did Christians make him a deity?
Answer:
Good question. I am not sure what your background in Christianity is, so I will start with the basics. According to the Bible and according to long-accepted Christian theology, Jesus is both completely human and completely God. He is God-in-the-flesh, but he was also human in every sense. He is both God and man. As a human he is the “Son of David.” His ancestor in the flesh was King David. This is found in both the genealogy in Matthew and in Luke. Jesus was called the “Son of David,” both in his lifetime (Matthew 15:22, Matthew 21:9 and more) and in messianic prophecy (2 Samuel 7:13-14). Jesus is also the “branch of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of David. (Isaiah 11:1,10, Jeremiah 23:5, where Jesus is the branch of David).
So, Jesus is the son of David. Not literally, of course, but by descent, and as part of the means by which God sent the Messiah in human form.
But Jesus is also the Son of God. His birth was miraculous. He had a human mother but his father was, both literally and figuratively God the Father. Jesus was fully human, but he was also God-in-the-flesh (John 1:1,14).
By the way, in Matthew’s genealogy, in Matthew 1:1, Jesus is called the “son” of both David and Abraham. In this case, as in Luke, “son of” means descendant of. Jesus is the promised “son” of David (2 Samuel 7:13-14), but he is also the promised son of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).
Obviously, Jesus did not have two physical earthy fathers. In fact, his was a miraculous birth through the virgin Mary. In this sense, he had no earthly/physical father at all. He was the son of God in his miraculous birth, but also the Son of God—God-in-the-flesh. But, as stated in both the Old and the New Testaments, Jesus was the descendant of David and the fulfillment of the promise to David to always have a king ruling on his throne. Yes, Jesus is the son of David and of God.
Christians did not “make him a deity.” Jesus was and is the Son of God. He told us so many times and in many ways while he was here on the earth (John 8:58-59, Luke 22:68-71, and so many more). Like Paul said, “In Christ the fullness of deity dwelt in bodily form.” (Colossians 2:10). Thomas addressed Jesus as “My Lord and my God,” because that is what he was. Christians did not make Jesus deity. He was and he is deity. He is God-in-the-flesh. This is what Jesus said, it is what his apostles taught, and it is what the Bible says.
John Oakes
