The Case For Christ

lesser God. Are they right?" I asked.
Carson sighed. "My father was a preacher," he replied, "and a
dictum in our home when I was growing up was, 'A text without a
context becomes a pretext for a proof text.' It's very important
to see this passage in its context.
The disciples are moaning because Jesus has said he's going away.
Jesus says, 'If you loved me, you'd be glad for my sake when I
say I'm going away, because the Father is greater than V That is
to say, Jesus is returning to the glory that is properly his, so
if they really know who he is and really love him properly,
they'll be glad that he's going back to the realm where he really
is greater. Jesus says in John 17:5, 'Glorify me with the glory
that I had with the Father before the world began'-that is, 'the
Father is greater than V
"When you use a category like 'greater,' it doesn't have to mean
ontologically greater. If I say, for example, that the president
of the United States is greater than I, I'm not saying he's an
ontologically superior being. He's greater in military
capability, political prowess, and public acclaim, but he's not
more of a man than I am. He's a human being and I'm a human
being.
So when Jesus says, 'The Father is greater than I,' one must look
at the context and ask if Jesus is saying, 'The Father is greater
than I because he's God and I'm not.' Frankly, that would be a
pretty ridiculous thing to say. Suppose I got up on some podium
to preach and said, 'I solemnly declare to you that God is
greater than I am.' That would be a rather useless observation.
"The comparison is only meaningful if they're already on the same
plane and there's some delimitation going on. Jesus is in the
limitations of the Incamation-he's going to the cross; he's going
to die-but he's about to return to the Father and to the glory he
had with the Father before the world began.
He's saying, 'You guys are moaning for my sake; you ought to be
glad because I'm going home.' It's in that sense that 'the Father
is greater than I"'
"So," I said, "this isn't an implicit denial of his deity." "No,"
he concluded, "it's really not. The context makes that clear."
While I was ready to accept the fact that Jesus was not a lesser
God, I had a different and more sensitive issue to raise: how
could Jesus be a compassionate God yet endorse the idea of