Why didn't Jesus ever encourage his own worship?

[Judas_Thaddeus]

Why didn’t Jesus ever encourage his own worship? If he is supposed to be the literal begotton son of God, why didn’t he ever make this explicitly clear to us, even after his death and resurrection?

Jesus said it himself, that he came not to be served, but to serve.
We also find in Philippians that Jesus had humbled himself, mak-
ing of himself “no reputation”, that not only did he, GOD, become
a Man, but he didn’t even make himself a glorified Davidic warrior
king to free Israel from the Romans as the Jews had expected of
the Messiah at the time.

Now why didn’t God make it explicitly clear? Well in my mind at
least, God wants us to REALIZE who he is, and what we owe to
him. I believe also that God likes to have us think a little. If God
had just told us SO plainly, the message might have clothed us,
but would we as easily “internalized” God’s message? Wonder…

 

[rcwitness]

He came to serve is very important to answering this question. His nature, displayed in Jesus, is true humility.

Philipians 2:6-11
“…who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled Himself by being obedient, to the point of death, even death on a cross.”…continue the rest!

Also, He desired those who recognized Him as the Son of God (being equal to God) through love, and faith…not under compulsion of commands.

The Apostles did worship Him on the boat after He calmed the storm, if I remember correctly. But sometimes we worship out of fear (not always bad) when he wishes us to worship out of true love and devotion in belief.

 

[xvFIRESTORMvx]

Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. The Trinity is one God in three Persons.

What is a Person?

A rock has no persons; it is inanimate.

An animal has no persons; it lacks a rational soul.

A human being has one person, composed of a physical body and a rational soul.

God has three Persons, composed of Divinity. The three Persons of God share one will, one mind, and one divinity.

The names of the three Persons of God are the Father (called by many names, including Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah, etc.), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.

The Father is the Origin. Jesus is the Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father creating and holding in existence all that exists, both visible and invisible. He took on human form and nature in the womb of Mary (thus, He is one Person with two natures: human and divine) and was born, lived, and died to save us from our sins. He rose again from the dead to make it possible for human beings to go to Heaven.

The Holy Spirit is the Person of the love between the Father and the Son. He is also the soul of the Catholic Church.

Not to be difficult, but what do you mean by person with the animal one? Some Animals have personalities, like Dogs and the different Apes?

I would also suggest and I think may be a better way to approach learning about the faith is go talk to a priest about the questions you have about the Church. While he may not be able to sit down with you and have hours of discussion, I hope and suspect that a priest will be ready and willing to explain the faith to you OR find someone who can help you better understand the faith.

While you will find the answer at CAF I think you will have a better experience with a priest.\

Priests don’t seem to like talking to me. It has never gone well in the past, and I doubt it will in the future, but if I come across another opportunity to talk to one who seems kind of level-headed, I think I will take it.

And, RCIA is starting about now.

What is RCIA?

-if you only approach him as a son of God, just as the rest of us, then his word has no more truth than any of the rest of us. Which means when Saul said to kill Christians for blasphemy, he was equally truthful as Jesus saying love your enemy, as I have loved you. This line of thinking leads one to chaos and confusion.

Thanks for the interesting food for thought!

Why is this? This would be like comparing someone like Adolf Hitler with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was all about peace, but Hitler thought it was ok to exterminate the Jews. In this instance would we say that what both of them are of equal truth, just because they are both Human beings, or would we reason on it?

 

[xvFIRESTORMvx]

What about after his death and resurrection though? Why not encourage it then, seeing as he had already shown that there is definitely some element of divinity involved?

 

[Dorothy]

What about after his death and resurrection though? Why not encourage it then, seeing as he had already shown that there is definitely some element of divinity involved?

We are encouraged to worship the Lord Jesus Christ every day…in prayer, Mass, and receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Catholic Faith.

 

[jmcrae]

Not to be difficult, but what do you mean by person with the animal one? Some Animals have personalities, like Dogs and the different Apes?

Animals may well have “personalities” but they are not persons in the sense in which God is three persons, or that a human being is a person.

Animals are “living machines” - they are animate and they have physical bodies, but they don’t have rational souls, and they are not self-reflective. They can be taught to speak, but they can’t have conversations. They can be taught to make tools, but they can’t build civilizations. They are useful servants, but they would make terrible masters.

 

[rcwitness]

R.C.I.A.

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

Todays reading rewarded the worship of the leper. Luke 17:15-18

Also, it tells us Jesus IS God! And in Matthew 14:33, they did indeed worship Him!

 

[irenaeuslyons]

Why didn’t Jesus ever encourage his own worship? If he is supposed to be the literal begotton son of God, why didn’t he ever make this explicitly clear to us, even after his death and resurrection?

Was Jesus the literal son of God, in that God is literally his Father, or is it better to describe him as a son of God, seeing as we are all supposed to be sons and daughters of God?

Mt. 2:2,11;8:2;14:33;28:9;28:17;Lk. 24:52;Jn. 9:38 – Jesus allows Jews to worship Him.

 

[jonathan_hili]

Hi Firestorm, that’s a good question.

Firstly, I think you need to bear in mind the historical and cultural situation Jesus was in. Had he insisted in a less-than-oblique manner that he should be worshipped, even his disciples would have abandoned him and probably killed him. Look at the reactions of the religious leaders at the time when Jesus confronted them with his identity: they often try to stone him; and his disciples too deserted him when he stressed the importance of Eucharist. Considering the context, it isn’t surprising that Jesus did not openly come out and say, “Worship me!” It would have immediately jeopardised his mission and life. Such a reality needed time and reflection on the part of believers to accept.

Secondly, there is very clear indication that Jesus was God and accepted worship. Some verses just outright demonstrate this, for example, Matthew 28:17:

When they saw him [Jesus], they worshipped him…"

or, more famously, John 20:28:

Thomas said to him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!”

Thirdly, there is a lot of implicit - though not difficult to see - evidence in Gospels that Jesus equated himself with God, and that people understood this. Some examples are Jesus forgiving sins, walking on water, the “I AM” sayings, performing certain divine miracles, and so on. The disciples’ reaction is telling indeed, see, for instance, Mark 10:32:

And they [the disciples] were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid.

Like the first respondent, I would definitely recommend something like Catholicism For Dummies.

God bless.

 

[TimothyH]

Mt. 2:2,11;8:2;14:33;28:9;28:17;Lk. 24:52;Jn. 9:38 – Jesus allows Jews to worship Him.

Excellent point. Jesus certainly didn’t stop anyone from worshiping him.
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2:2)
**
and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.** (Matthew 2:11)

And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

**And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. **(Matthew 28:17)

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:9)

**And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; **(Mark 5:6)

**He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him. *(John 9:38)

-Tim-