GOD AS OUR FATHER
Jesus taught His disciples to call God, Father. It sounds natural to us, but this was something new in Jewish worship. They did not call God Father. In the Old Testament God is referred to by many names: Jehovah, God Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, the LORD, but rarely Father. I could only find five references to God as Father in the Old Testament. The only reference that addressed God as “my Father” is Psalm 89:26. In that passage it is God speaking, saying that David can call him Father.
But then Jesus comes along and talks about God as Father. This was unheard of by the Jews in Jesus’ time. The father that the Jews recognized in the Old Testament was Abraham. To them God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When Jewish leaders confronted Jesus about his identity, they referred to themselves as children of Abraham. In John 8:32, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The people around him responded with indignation saying that they were children of Abraham and were not slaves of anyone. Then later in this encounter they challenged Jesus saying, “Are you greater than our father Abraham?”
Thus, when Jesus called God Father, it must have jarred their way of thinking about God and brought many questions. I can imagine people asking, what is he talking about? What does he mean?
Jesus brought a completely new way to relate to God. Early in his ministry Jesus taught his disciples how to pray by starting with, “Our Father who art in heaven . . ..” More radical than this however, Jesus referred to God as his Father. No prophet throughout the whole Old Testament spoke of God as their father or that their prophetic words came from God their father. Yet Jesus did so throughout his ministry. The gospel writer Matthew quotes Jesus referring to God as my Father 18 times. John quotes Jesus calling God his Father 44 times.
Furthermore, not only did Jesus call God Father, but he alsospoke of himself as being one with God the Father. The significance of this to the Jews is described in John 5:18, “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” That is why they crucified Him!
Jesus brought a way to relate to God based on a familial relationship between God the Father and God the Son, and us as the Father’s children. In Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 11 he praises God that “these things were not revealed to the wise and learned, but revealed to little children.” (Emphasis mine.) Throughout his ministry Jesus challenged his followers that they had to be like little children: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
In our modern-day doctrine and theology, I think we have glossed over what in Jesus’ time was a radical concept; God as Father, and being so, we as his children. Jesus’ challenge was not only for us to be like children, but like little children, in the way that little children act. Like little children who instinctively take hold of their father’s hand when doing something as common as crossing the street. Like little children who cling and wrap their arms around their father’s leg when they sense danger or uncertainty. Like little children who crawl into their father’s lap when they need a hug. Like little children for whom normal daily life is being dependent on their father for food, shelter, and clothing.
Even Jesus’ disciples didn’t get it, as he found them squabbling over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. We as adults don’t normally think this way either because we are accustomed to being in control. With God as our Father, thechallenge for us is to behave more like little children, instead ofadults, daily taking his hand in ours and clinging to him.
Richard Crespo
crespo@marshall.edu
11/06/2023