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In John
John 14:22-23 (LSB) – “We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.“
22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.
John 7:39 – “because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (NRSV)
John 14:25-31 – “I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.”
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.
John 17 has many verses where Jesus is addressing God as a separate entity. https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/17/1/s_1014001
John 17:1 KJV – These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
John says JBap saw the dove come down on Jesus. If Jesus was God why the Dove?
The passage is John 1:32–34. John the Baptist explicitly says that he saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus.
John 1:32–34 (NRSV): “And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One of God.’”
The important distinction is that John’s Gospel does not actually say that John the Baptist saw Jesus being baptized. It says that John saw the Spirit descend like a dove and remain on Jesus. This is somewhat different from the Synoptic accounts:
- Mark 1:10 — Jesus sees the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove.
- Matthew 3:16 — the Spirit descends like a dove; the narrative does not explicitly identify the observer.
- Luke 3:22 — the Spirit descends like a dove; again, no observer is explicitly identified.
- John 1:32 — John the Baptist explicitly says, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.”
That difference is significant if you’re examining who witnessed the baptism/theophany in the different Gospel traditions.
“…there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified.“
John 7:37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified.
In Matthew
Matthew 26:36-44 – “…let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.“
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38 Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” 39 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” 40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.
Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8 – In the transfiguration narrative, a divine voice confirms Jesus’ identity.
The transfiguration narrative presents a theophanic [a visible manifestation of a deity] moment where Jesus is transfigured, Moses and Elijah appear, and a divine voice confirms Jesus’ identity. This supports the view that the gospel writers saw Jesus as separate from God, i.e., “the divine voice.”
Jesus says the Father knows something the Son does not.
Mark 13:32 (NRSV): “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Here, Jesus says the Father knows something the Son does not; i.e. the Son is limited. This statement comes from Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, a prophetic teaching He gave to His disciples about the end times and His return.
Parallel passage:
Matthew 24:36 (NRSV): “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Where Jesus most directly questions being called “good”.
It is found in all three Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—but the version where Jesus most directly questions being called “good” is in Mark 10:17–18:
Mark 10:17–18 (NRSV) – “As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”
Also found in:
- Matthew 19:16–17
- Luke 18:18–19
In Matthew, Jesus slightly rephrases: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good…” (Matthew 19:17)
Paul
1 Corinthians 11:3 – But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.
1 Cor 15:20-28; 20 – But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.
In Luke/Acts
Acts 10:36–38 (NRSV) – Shows that the writer of Acts did not view Jesus as God.
“You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.“
Luke explicitly portrays Jesus as undergoing normal human development
Luke says that Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature.”
Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” — Luke 2:52 (ASV)
The Greek is: **καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν [ἐν] τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις.
The NRSV translates it: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.” — Luke 2:52 (NRSV)
The verse concludes Luke’s only account of Jesus between infancy and the beginning of his adult ministry. It follows the episode of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 2:41–51).
An important point for your earlier questions about Jesus’ age and development is that Luke explicitly portrays Jesus as undergoing normal human development: he increased (προέκοπτεν) in wisdom and age/stature, rather than simply possessing complete adult wisdom from childhood. The Greek ἡλικίᾳ (hēlikia) can mean age, maturity, or stature, which accounts for the difference between the ASV’s “stature” and the NRSV’s “years.”
In Mark
Mark 6:5 – When he went home he was “not able to do a deed of power”
Hebrews
Hebrews begins with an extraordinarily elevated description of the Son in relation to “God”:
“He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being…”
—Hebrews 1:3, NRSV
The passage has highly sophisticated Greek prose and a carefully constructed sequence describing the Son’s relationship to God and creation.
