If Jesus is Divine, then why does he constantly
defer to his Father?

A few words upfront: First of all, ELOHIM cannot be born or die! YHWH is Spirit (Matthew 1:20, John 4:24); He has no form (Deuteronomy 4:12 - 5:33). His human Messiah, Yeshua (created inside Myriam by the Ruach haKodesh/Holy Spirit, Matthew 1:20), was the one who died on the cross/stake.

Scripture tells us Yeshua was "the Word" (John 1:1,14); he was "an extension" of the Father, the "arm of YHWH" (Isaiah 53:1); sent to teach YHWH's people about the Kingdom (Luke 4:43 and 8:1; Acts 24:14 and 28:23) before OFFERING/SACRIFICING Himself on our behalf. (Yeshua martyred himself, against which there is no Torah command! He could have called down legions of angels to remove Him from that cross/stake, but He didn't because He KNEW who He was and what He had to do!)

The "arm" (Yeshua) doesn't control the "brain" (YHWH) and Yeshua never suggested that he came to replace YHWH/the "Father" in any way! He even said He came to do His Father's will and NOT his own; and that he would do everything His Father commanded.

Luke 4:43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Luke 8:1 And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

Philippians 2:5-11 and John 10:22-39 both suggest that Yeshua IS ELOHIM - which is why Christians view "Jesus" as "God". The thing is, GOD cannot be born or die and Yeshua did both! Yeshua was a HUMAN with a divine nature, not "God" per se! He CAME from YHWH, and thus, was a part of YHWH who had placed him into the womb of a virgin - which automatically made him divine. (How many other people can say they were born of a virgin whose hymen was ruptured from the inside-out upon the birth of her child?)

The RUACH OF YHWH was encased in the flesh of the SON, and it is that THAT FLESH that was pierced! YHWH Himself was not pierced, never died nor ever replaced by the human "Jesus".... (For a more indepth explanation of Yeshua, please see our blog article on the Passover connection to Yeshua.

A beautiful and simple explanation from Dr. Robin Gould, D.R.E., LMFT: If you've ever put your arms in the sleeves of an incubator to be able to touch a baby without harming the baby (or seen someone do it) perhaps you can understand this analogy: The person of Jesus (represented by the sleeves of the incubator) has the fullest expression of Yah's Ruach possible dwelling within him (your arms in the incubator sleeves) while still being "connected" to the Creator (the rest of your body in this metaphor) who is interacting with baby (humanity) through those sleeves. But the sleeves and the incubator are not themselves, Yahweh.

Unfortunately, many (if not most) Christians have a bad habit of insisting "Jesus is Lord" as the be-all-end-all, without truly understanding the relationship between Father and Son. You rarely ever hear YHWH mentioned in any church; it's all about "Jesus" there, and this Jesus supposedly came to abolish all of "the law"....Nothing could be further from the Truth, as Yeshua Himself explains in just these FEW examples below!

So, let's begin our discussion with this question: Can GOD be born or die?

The answer is: Yes and no. No, ELOHIM/GOD cannot be born or die. Yes, His Son Yeshua (the human Messiah whose given, Hebrew Name means "Yahweh is Salvation") had a divine Qnoma (Nature), and he was born and he did die.

Isaiah 9: 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Pele-Yo'etz El Gibbor Avi-'Ad Sar-Shalom [Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace], 7 in order to extend the dominion and perpetuate the peace of the throne and kingdom of David, to secure it and sustain it through justice and righteousness henceforth and forever. The zeal of ADONAI-Tzva'ot will accomplish this. CJB

Luke 2: 10. And the Messenger said to them, "Do not have fear, for behold I announce hope to you! A great joy which will be to the whole world. 11. For today is born to you in the city of Dawid the Savior who is Master YHWH, the Mashiyach.[1] 12. And this is a sign to you; you will find an infant who is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." 13. And at that instant the great host of heaven appeared with the Messenger, glorifying Elohim and saying, "Glory to Elohim in the highest, and on earth peace and good hope to the sons of men. (Aramaic English New Testament)

Let's dig deeper:

In view of the above, we must clarify that our use of the term "martyr" is intentional because Jewish counter-missionaries and their converts love to point out that "G-d never required human sacrifice!" Well, Y'shua wasn't a "human sacrifice" because nobody "sacrificed" Him. He "offered" himself (consequently, he "sacrificed" himself) and willingly went to the cross/stake because he knew who he was and what he needed to do! As a human being, he had the choice to obey YHWH or not. As we see time and time again, He CHOSE to obey his Father. This cannot be reiterated enough!

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

Note He was NOT preaching about himself; He was preaching the Kingdom of Elohim! And so did His Apostles:

Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets.

Something to think about: While His death, burial, and resurrection are an important part of the Good News, it's not the whole story! God isn't just in the business of "saving" people; as Creator and law giver, He is in the business of teaching us how to be good subjects in His Kingdom to come! If "Jesus abolished Torah at the cross" then why was EVERY believer completely Torah observant for one hundred years after Yeshua's death, including the Apostle Paul who was "caught" being Torah observant 29 years after Yeshua's death (Acts 21:23-24)! Was Paul a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another; or were his teachings, perhaps, misunderstood?

Now, please check out the following which tells us how we can "know" the Father:

Matthew 8: 19. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut and thrown in the fire. 20. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. 21. It will not be that just anyone who says to me "My master, my master" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 10: 32. Whoever, therefore, that confesses me before the sons of men, he also I (will confess) before my Father who is in heaven. 33. But whoever denies me before the sons of men, he will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. 34. Do not think that I have come to bring calm on earth. I have not come to bring calm, rather a sword. 35. For I have come to divide a man from his father, and a girl from her mother. And a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law. 36. And the adversaries of a man will be his household.[1] 37. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38. And anyone that does not take up his staff[2] and come and follow me is not worthy of me. 39. Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it. 40. Whoever accepts you, accepts me, and whoever that accepts me, whom I send accepts him.

Matthew 11: 25. At that moment, Y'shua answered and said, I give thanks to You my Father, Master of heaven and of earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent, and You have revealed them to the children. 26. Yes my Father for such was the desire in front of You. 27. Every thing has been delivered to me from my Father, and no man knows the son except the Father. Also, no man knows the Father except the son and to whom the son desires to reveal him.

28. Come to me all who labor and bear burdens, and I will give you rest. 29. Bear my yoke[3] upon you and learn from me. That I am tranquil and I am meek, and in my heart you will find tranquility in your souls.[4] 30. For my yoke is pleasant and my burden[5] is light.

Matthew 12: 50. For anyone who does the will of my Father[6] who is in heaven, is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.

Mark 14: 36. And he said, Father! My Father! Anything is possible for You. Make pass from me this cup - yet, not my will but Yours.

John 6: 35. Y'shua said to them, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will not hunger. And whoever believes in me will not ever thirst. 36. But I have said to you that you have seen me, and you do not believe. 37. All who my Father has given to me will come, and whoever comes not to me I will cast outside!

38. For I came down from heaven,[7] not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. 39. And this is His will, that of Him who sent me, that all that He has given to me I do not lose even one. 40. For this is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in Him, will have life that is eternal. And I will raise him up on the last day.

So there you have it! It is not easy to explain our Elohim or His Son who came in the flesh. We do know, they are echad (One) - John 10:30, John 14:6) because Y'shua was placed in Miriam's womb by YHWH to become a human being, sent to teach YHWH's people about YHWH and His Torah...and then to ultimately martyr Himself as our Final SIN OFFERING....