Yes, he knew everything.
30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.
John 16:30 NASBu
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
John 21:17 NASBu
No, he did not know everything.
30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”
Mark 5:30 NASBu
32 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Mark 13:32 NASBu
Bible Contradiction?
Bible critics like to throw doubts on Jesus’ reliability with the seeming Bible Contradiction that Jesus’ disciples confess about him, such as: “You know everything …”. On the other hand, speaking about the end of human history, Jesus said: “… no one knows, … not even the Son, …”
Examples
There are more possible examples. Jesus went to a fig tree to eat something. However, after not finding fruit, he cursed the tree. Why would Jesus have gone to the tree in the first place if he knew everything? It is not plausible to suppose that Jesus was playing a game. A dangerous game it would be for someone who wants to be seen as knowing everything, isn’t it?
The same can be said about the occasion when Jesus tried to find out who had touched him. The story is well known. An ill woman touched Jesus to find healing. The moment she touched him, she experienced healing and Jesus experienced divine power leaving him. Then Jesus turned and asked “Who has touched me?” He almost certainly didn’t know; he didn’t play a game.
Cause of confusion
The examples show clearly that Jesus – in his earthly ministry – didn’t know everything. However there are occasions that Jesus gives the impression that he knew ‘everything’. It is quite clear – especially from the gospel of John – that Jesus possessed a spiritual faculty to get insight in the hearts and minds of the individuals he met. For instance, speaking with the woman at the well, he said to her “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” (John 4:17-18) The remarkable points of the statement are the content, the certitude and the kindness of it. There is no denunciation in it, but the zeal to open the spiritual eyes of the hearer. Prophets of old also had revelations about people they met, but in Jesus’ case we may speak of a real faculty, as is expressed in John 2:25: “… because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
I give here the occasions in the gospel of John which illustrate this faculty: 1:38, 43, 48-49; 2:25; 3:11, 33; 4:18, 32; 5:20; 6:20, 26, 61; 7:19; 8:42; 9:3; 11:11; 13:10, 27, 38; 16:6, 19, 30. All these examples do not prove that Jesus ‘knew everything’, but for his disciples this was certainly part of his fullness: “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary
The first meaning of ‘everything’ is: all that exists.
If we use this meaning, we get: Yes, he knew everything = Yes, he knew all that exists. It’s clear that this is not a proper/useful word combination: knowing all that exists. Not in the Bible and not in modern languages.
Other meanings of ‘everything’ according to Merriam-Webster are:
– all that relates to the subject,
– all that is important (you mean everything to me),
– all sorts of other things (all the pains and colds and everything)
In general, these meanings are results of the fact that ‘everything’ is an indefinite pronoun. The word ‘everything’ receives its specific meaning in the context. We are so familiar with this idiom that we use it almost daily.
The trick of the Bible critic is that he confuses the different meanings of ‘everything’ and doing so he creates an accusation of biblical fraud.
Indefinite pronouns: all, everything
What is the context of “You know all things, …”
“… I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.” His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.” (John 16:28-30)
“Now we know that You know all things …,” Jesus knew a question before someone wanted to pose it to him. This was such a penetrating reality for his disciples who witnessed this frequently, that they said: "… by this we believe that you came from God."
In the same way Peter could say (John 21:17): “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” For the third time he had to confess unto Jesus “I love you,” which made him very sad, as he had denied Jesus three times. Saying this for the third time, he could not refer to his personal cogency, he could only refer to Jesus' knowledge about him “Lord, You know all things … about me! The context of all things is here also: Jesus knew all that was in Peter.
The context of “You know all things,” was Jesus’ faculty through the Holy Spirit that “He Himself knew what was in man.”
No Bible Contradiction
Additional note
Three references remained out of consideration:
Colossians 2:2-3 is not related to Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Matthew 8:10, Luke 7:9 are not relevant to the subject.
When Jesus said: “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel,” he meant that this was the first time that he met such great faith, not that it was hidden for a long time and unknown to him.