In Part One of this series, we discussed the first Mind-Blowing Reality of the Doctrine of Christ…
God came to earth.
Today, we’ll look at the second reality.
MIND-BLOWING REALITY #2
GOD BECAME A MAN
God’s arrival on this planet wasn’t flashy. It was very simple. He came on one cool, clear evening as a baby born in a manger.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
— Luke 2:11-12 ESV
I love the way Barbara Brown Taylor described the incarnation:
“His name is Emmanuel – the God who is with us – who is made out of the same stuff we are and who is made out of the same stuff God is and who will not let either of us go.” —Barbara Brown Taylor [1]
The reality of Jesus’ full humanity is essential. It gets described in Philippians 2.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
— Philippians 2:5-11 NIV
This passage of Scripture is amazing because it reveals to us that the second member of the Trinity came into human history as the man Jesus Christ.
In doing so, Jesus demonstrated perfect and unparalleled humility.
The Creator entered His creation to reveal God to us, identify with us, and live and die for us as our humble Servant King.
Consider for a few moments the HUMANITY of Jesus.
- Jesus had a human body.
According to Luke 2:40 and 52, He experienced all the normal stages of childhood development we experience. He grew up as a boy. He went through puberty. He grew to be a man.
He didn’t live in luxury. He worked as a carpenter until He was thirty years old.
As a man, Jesus got hungry, just like we get hungry, and He had to eat.
As a man, Jesus got thirsty, just like we get thirsty, and He had to drink.
Jesus got tired, just like we get tired, and He had to rest.
- Jesus had a human mind.
Luke 2:52 says that Jesus “grew or increased in wisdom.”
- Jesus had human emotions.
He experienced emotions like anger, sadness and disappointment. He even wept at the funeral of a friend.
When Jesus was arrested, interrogated and tortured, the crown of thorns they placed on his head drew real blood. The nails that went into his hands and feetpierced real flesh and caused real pain.
- Jesus actually died a real death.
The humanity of Jesus is essential because of the MISSION He came to accomplish. Jesus came to present the human race before God. Part of His work on earth was to be our PRIEST. And, in the OT, a priest’s role was to stand before God on behalf of the people.
Hebrews 2:17 says that “…it was necessary…” that Jesus came to be our priest and representative before God…
Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
— Hebrews 2:17 NLT
The requirement of Jesus’ full humanity not only made it possible for Jesus to offer himself for our sins, but it also assures us that He knows what we’re going through.
Jesus UNDERSTANDS our PROBLEMS and our PAIN…
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
— Hebrews 4:15 NLT
The MSG translates Verse 15 as follows:
We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.
— Hebrews 4:15 MSG
Jesus was like us in every aspect of our humanity. The difference is that Jesus was without SIN.
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, Home By Another Way, p 20.