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Is Jesus Equal To or Less Than?

Contradiction

Jesus is equal to the Father.

“The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30, NET)

Jesus is less than the Father.

“You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28, NET)

Explanation

Personal Note: Let me say at the outset that I laugh at the notion that the Apostle John would quote contradictory statements by Jesus (within four chapters) thereby jeopardizing his assertion that Jesus was God. Was he that sloppy? Or are the skeptics missing something? We shall see…

Jesus clearly claimed to be God. If you look at the original word for “one”, you will see that the word does not mean “same person”, rather it means “same thing”. It could be translated, “The Father and I are the same in essence.” Jesus is here claiming that there is one God made up of distinct persons; or as others like Hank Hanegraaff (“The Bible Answer Man”, radio) have put it, God is one “what” made up of three “who’s”.

Let’s look at the context of the passage for more insight:

“The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus replied, ‘I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’” (John 10:24-30, NET)

Upon saying these words the Jewish leaders picked up rocks to stone him for blasphemy. Jesus told them that the miracles he performed were sufficient to prove his identity, but the Jewish leaders still refused to believe that he was the Christ.

So Jesus has complete unity with God the Father — they are of the same mind, the same will, and the same affection.

In the second passage, Jesus is referring to the glory that once was his when he was with the Father. Having condescended to become one of us, Jesus eagerly yearned to complete his mission here on earth and be reunited with the Father; to once again enjoy his glory as Creator of all things; and to accept the crown of his newest honor as Savior of the world. Years later, the writer of Hebrews explained it quite clearly:

“But we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9, NET)

So Jesus, while being equal to the Father in essence, willingly submitted himself to the Father by giving up his Heavenly throne, becoming a man and dying a criminal’s death. As promised, the Father raised him from the dead, gave him a glorified body, and honored him for accomplishing his mission.

Why the trouble? Jesus explained it this way:

“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NET)

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