The Omniscience of the Lord Jesus

 

In this article, I will list some passages from the Gospels which proves that our Lord Jesus is omniscient, and hence the divine Son of God. I'll also give some quotes from biblical scholars and commentators proving that these verses do indeed teach that Jesus is omniscient.  These proofs are useful in debate against Muslims and heretical groups which deny the truth of the deity of Christ. 

According to the rest of Scripture, God knows the hearts and thoughts of men (1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 44:21; Ezekiel 11:5; Matthew 6:5). The NT writers ascribe this to Jesus, thus understanding Him to be God:

Mark 2:5-10: "And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' "(Mark 2:5-10) '

John Gill: "And immediately, when Jesus perceived in his Spirit,.... "His own Spirit", as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read; not his human soul, nor the holy Spirit of God, though both may be said to be his Spirit; but his divine nature, in and by which he knew all things, even the most sacred thoughts of men's hearts: and as soon as ever the above thoughts were conceived in the minds of the Scribes and Pharisees, they were perceived by him, and told to them," (https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/geb/mark-2.html)

Robert H. Stein: "The reference to Jesus’s “spirit” (πνεῦματι, pneumati) does not refer to the Holy Spirit but to Jesus’s own spirit (cf. 8:12). If this were a reference to the Holy Spirit, we would expect “in the Spirit” or “in the Holy Spirit” (cf. 12:36), not “in his [αὐτοῦ, autou] spirit.” Here it serves as a synonym for “heart” (cf. the synonymous parallelism in Ps. 77:6). Mark gives no explanation of how Jesus knew what the scribes were thinking. He probably assumed that, if the prophets possessed such clairvoyance (cf. John 4:16–19), certainly Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would possess this as well (cf. Mark 5:30; 12:15; 14:18–21). Although “they were reasoning within themselves” (διαλογίζονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, dialogizontai en heautois) can be interpreted as meaning that the scribes were talking among themselves, this is unlikely since in 2:6 the locale where this takes place is the “heart.” If this involved a visible whispering of the scribes among themselves, we would expect that instead of “Jesus knowing in his spirit,” Mark might have written “Jesus seeing [or ‘hearing’].”" (Robert H. Stein, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament - Mark, pg. 120)

Matthew 12:25 - " Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. "

Luke 6:5-8 - "And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there."

John Gill: "Being the omniscient God; though they had said nothing of their intentions, he knew what they designed, should he heal the man with his withered hand, as they expected he would" (https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/geb/luke-6.html)

Luke 9:46-47 - "An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side."

John 2:25 - "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he [Jesus] himself knew what was in man."

Craig Keener: "Jesus’ response was based on his knowledge of their character (2:24–25), which in turn would affect their actions (cf. 3:20–21). By claiming Jesus’ knowledge of human character, John again affirms Jesus’ deity." (Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, 2 vols, pg. 531)

Scripture teaches that only God has omniscience:

"...then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind)," (1 Kings 8:39)