Low Christology

Another way Christians have understood Jesus is known as "low Christology." A low Christologist begins with the formula from the Council of Calcedon, namely that Jesus was a human like us in all things except sin. A low Christologist reasons like this: if Jesus was a human like us in all things except sin, then Jesus comes to know like we come to know; we come to know things sequentially, step by step, gradually (even been in a math course in which the teacher "skipped a step?"); therefore Jesus came to know things gradually and sequentially. Low Christology begins with the human Jesus, the historical Jesus, with the gospels.


LK 2:52 "Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and men." (The Jerusalem Bible: "And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.")

MK 13:32 "No one knows, however, when that day or hour will come -- neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, only the Father knows."

LK 7:9 "Jesus was surprised when he heard this."


Comment: If high Christologists are correct, how could Jesus have "increased in wisdom'? If one knows all, there are no surprises. The verse from Mark is even more revealing: there are some things that Jesus did not know.