Did jesus know who he was, from birth?

[SM26]

Did jesus know exactly who he was from the moment of his birth, or was it revealed to him through out his life, on kind of a need to know basis?

 

[Sr_Sally]

He certainly knew something by the time he was 12 and stayed behind in the temple. Since he was fully human his baby brain probably didn’t know anything, but being fully divine some part of him somewhere knew it.

 

[JoeyWarren]

Did jesus know exactly who he was from the moment of his birth, or was it revealed to him through out his life, on kind of a need to know basis?

Jesus has always been, so he knows.

 

[davidv]

In his human nature…

And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. Lk 2:40

 

[Fidelis]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

**Christ’s soul and his human knowledge **

**471 **Apollinarius of Laodicaea asserted that in Christ the divine Word had replaced the soul or spirit. Against this error the Church confessed that the eternal Son also assumed a rational, human soul.

472 This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the Son of God could, when he became man, “increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man”, and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience. This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking “the form of a slave”.

473 But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God’s Son expressed the divine life of his person. “The human nature of God’s Son, not by itself but by its union with the Word, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God.” Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father. The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.
**
474 **By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal.

**Christ’s human will **

475 Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but cooperate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Christ’s human will “does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will.”

 

[benedictgal]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Try as some might, you can’t argue with that. Isn’t it funny how some modern scripture scholars (and some TV programs like the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel) seem to think that Jesus had no clue as to His being the Son of God.
There is something very telling in John’s Gospel. I don’t have my Bible with me, but John writes that “Jesus did not need anyone to tell him what was in men’s heart. He knew their nature very well and did not need anyone to tell him about human nature.” Furthermore, He could read the thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees, especially when they were critical of his healings and his forgiveness of sins (i.e. the paralytic man whose friends lovered through the roof and the adulteress whom Jesus saved from stoning).

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that John knew who Jesus was three months before John was born. One can assume that Jesus knew at least as much.

 

[The_Truthinator]

To sum up the Catechism passages which really say it all:

As to Jesus’s divine nature, he was fully and totally aware of his divinity and mission. As to his human nature, his knowledge was finite, but through whatever means, the Gospel of Luke does make it clear that even the 12 year old Christ knew his role as the Father’s Son and some aspect of his mission. I think it’s safe to assume that deep down, in his human nature, he was always somewhat aware of this, coming to a greater understanding as time moved on.

 

[rwoehmke]

Try as some might, you can’t argue with that. Isn’t it funny how some modern scripture scholars (and some TV programs like the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel) seem to think that Jesus had no clue as to His being the Son of God.

Yes indeed, these programs miss a lot that is embedded in the Scriptures concerning this question. Mary at Cana tells Jesus that they have no wine. Kind of a useless observation if she did not know that Jesus could solve the problem. He couldn’t run down to the corner liquor store and even if he could have, he did not have the cash to make more then a dent in the problem. Jesus and his mother certainly knew that Jesus was not just the ordinary kid from down the road.