Was the Father Greater Than the Son?

As we look at the life of John the Baptist, one of his most endearing characteristics is his ability to fully grasp his place in redemptive history. In other words, John the Baptist had a part to play, but that part was secondary to Jesus. John was the opening act. Jesus was the headliner. And this was much the same type of relationship Jesus had with His Father. Both were God, yet Jesus seemed to take a subordinate role to that of His Father. We can see that in the way Jesus describes His relationship with His Father.

For example, consider the following:

“You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)

Uh, what? What did Jesus mean when He said His Father is “greater” than He is?

The Relationship Between Jesus and His Father

It appears in Scripture that Jesus chose to assume a subordinate relationship with His Father yet, as we know, Jesus and His Father are one (John 10:30). But this raises a few questions we will be addressing as we move forward. Some of them are:

Are they each equally God?

And, if so, is there a subordinate relationship between members of the Godhead?

Is that relationship based on worth or merit or something else?

And why is this even important?

These are some of the questions we will be answering as we dig deeper into John’s statement in John 1:30:

“This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'” (See also John 1:15, 27 where John the Baptist makes the same claim about Jesus.)

If you have a desire to know more about the relationship between Jesus and His Father and, at the same time, uncover some incredible truth, then keep listening.