JESUS CHRISTS HUMANITY When the Word became a man, He entered into a new state of being. He was a fleshly person with two natures. The word likeness in the Greek text (Philippians 2:7; Romans 8:3) refers to that which is made like something else. His humanity was a real likeness. He was not a phantom, as some of the Docetists believed, but His human likeness did not and could not express the whole of His being. Jesus was also God, but His human form could never express the fullness of God, even though He was God. Fully man and fully God is a cliché that has an appealing simplicity to it. At the least, however, it obscures a reality that should be more accurately articulated and understood. At the worst, it is a confusing and misleading statement that defies accurate biblical explanation. It would be far better to use the expressions already inspired in the text of our Bibles. John, as mentioned above, writes, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He gives no percentages of fullness of either humanity or divinity. Paul says something similar in Hebrews 2:14: Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same. Jesus Christ was Immanuel, God with us. Jesus of Nazareth had as much of Gods nature in Him as could be expressed in a human being. Matthew 1:21 The Son of God became a human being to save people from their sins. Thus, salvation is the process whereby sinners are rescued from the consequences of sin. Matthew 11:2-3 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Because the prophet Isaiah foretold the Messiahs exercise of miraculous power (Isaiah 35:4-6; 42:7), John the Baptizer asked for such a sign of Christ. Jesus replied: The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them (verse 5). His miracles provided proof of who He was. Christ came into the world, not only as Gods personal representative on earth, but as God manifest in flesh. He was Himself a miracle in human form, and His miraculous works are bound up inseparably with His life. When we accept the miracles of His prophesied birth, sinless life, and glorious resurrection, then any other miracle is possible. Born holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26), He was conscious of His God-given responsibility to bless and relieve mankind in miraculous ways. In describing Jesus healing miracles, Luke, a doctor, emphasized the power of God by saying, The power of the Lord was present to heal them (Luke 5:17), and the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all (Luke 6:19). Similarly in Acts, Peter describes how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38). One could say Christs miracles were parables in deeds, just as His parables were miracles in words. God designed His miracles to symbolize His power to meet spiritual needs, as well as physical and material ones. Jesus recorded miracles are real-life experiences of what it means to be under the wonderful rule of the powerful but merciful King of Gods Kingdom. Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Even Jesus, though He was God—Deity—had to increase the same way that we do. He had to study Gods Word, to question, to grow. Luke 3:23-38 23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, 31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, 32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, 33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, 34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, 35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, 36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, 37 Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. How do we know that the Luke 3 lineage is Marys? We do not know it for certain, but that conclusion is the most reasonable. One factor is, again, the purpose of this particular gospel. Luke wrote primarily to Gentiles, and he stresses Jesus humanity throughout his book. The evangelist thus gives our Saviors natural, biological family tree to show He shares humanness with the common man. He is not just the Jews Messiah, but He is also the Gentiles Messiah! So Lukes genealogy goes all the way back to Adam, rather than stopping at Abraham as Matthews does. Another factor is that Luke had to deal with a virgin birth. What a unique situation for a genealogist! Luke had to determine, therefore, what points would matter to a Gentile. Would he be concerned with Jesus Davidic ancestry? Not initially. Would he care that Jesus is a Jew and an Israelite? Maybe. Would he desire to know if Jesus was a man like he was? Certainly! Thus, Luke would record a line of descent that showed His universality to every man, and this would go through Mary, Jesus link to humanity. Some raise objections to this on the basis of verse 23, particularly because it says, Joseph, the son of Heli. Notice, though, that Luke does not use the word begot as Matthew does. In fact, he uses no word at all, just a marker to denote possession. So the phrase literally says, Joseph, of Heli. Some say, then, that this connotes a levirate marriage because Matthew says Josephs father was Jacob. Levirate marriage, however, was fairly rare, so this is an unlikely stretch. Others argue that this is Jesus priestly lineage, but this is even less probable, since it shows Judah, not Levi, as an ancestor (see Hebrews 7:14). Companion Bible, gives a more likely explanation: Joseph was begotten by Jacob, and was his natural son (Matt. 1:16). He could be the legal son of Heli, therefore, only by marriage with Helis daughter (Mary), and be reckoned so according to law. At that time, Jewish law traced inheritance and descent through the male, not the female line. Thus, Luke 3:23 would be clearer if translated as, Joseph, the son-in-law of Heli, or Joseph, the legal son of Heli. No matter which we choose, it traces Helis line from that point on back to Nathan, the son of David. There is no stigma or disqualification in Solomons name being absent from the list. In messianic terms, Davids name is the vital one. John 1:1-4 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. The Word in this passage is translated from the Greek logos, which means spokesman, word, or revelatory thought. It is a name there used for an individual Personage. But who or what is this Logos? Notice the explanation in verse 14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. When he was born as Jesus Christ, he was flesh and blood, materialistic, and could be seen, touched, and felt. But what was he? As God—as the Logos? That is answered in John 4:24, God is a Spirit, and spirit is invisible. We know what was his form and shape as the human Jesus. But of what form and shape was He as the Word? The Word, then, is a Personage who was made flesh—begotten by God, who through this later begettal became his Father. Yet at that prehistoric time of the first verse of John 1, the Word was not (yet) the Son of God. He divested himself of his glory as a Spirit divinity to be begotten as a human person. He was made Gods Son, through being begotten or sired by God and born of the virgin Mary. So here we find revealed originally two Personages. One is God. And with God in that prehistoric time was another Personage who also was God—one who later was begotten and born as Jesus Christ. But these two Personages were spirit, which is invisible to human eyes unless supernaturally manifested. Yet, at the time described in verse one, Jesus was not the Son of God, and God was not His Father. John 4:3-6 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacobs well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. At this point in His ministry, Jesus was gaining attention, and to avoid arousing even more attention and directly clashing with the Pharisees, He moved His work north into Galilee. The shortest route there was through Samaria, the land of the Samaritans. Verse 4 says He needed to go that way. He had a choice of two roads to get to Galilee. One went around Samaria, the other through it. The latter was obviously the shorter route. Most Jews took the longer route to avoid having to deal with the Samaritans. The Greek indicates that Jesus was led to choose the shorter route: He had to go that way. By the time the group reached Jacobs well, Jesus was exhausted. Most of the modern versions fail to give the force of His tiredness because it takes a great number of English words to parallel it. They may say He sat down, just as He was. It indicates He wearily flopped down, as if it was more than just being tired from traveling. We can easily think of Jesus as the all-conquering and mighty Messiah who swept aside every obstacle in His path as if they did not exist. John, however, shows us a Jesus who had to struggle against His humanity. It is good for us to remember that the Word became flesh (John 1:14). Hebrews 4:15 says He was tested in all things as we are. Yet, even when He was bone weary, He did not allow his weariness to justify sin or failure to carry out His God-assigned obligations in serving and setting an example for mankind. Experiencing the kinds of obstacles we must overcome fully prepared Him to function as our High Priest. When Jesus speaks, we need to be confident that He has every right to speak, not merely because He is God but also because He has experienced the limitations and weaknesses of humanity. Jesus manhood was not something that was merely apparent but a real participation in humanitys frailties. His work was just as fatiguing to Him as it would be to us. This story of the woman at the well begins with a bone-weary, physically worn out Jesus. The disciples leave Him to go into the city to buy some food. When they return, they find Him in an entirely different state: His hunger is gone, His exhaustion ended, and He is full of fresh vigor, ready to go on doing His work. Their first thought is that someone else had supplied Him with food and reinvigorated Him, but this is not the case at all. Jesus reply is that something entirely different reenergized Him. Commentators commonly conclude that Jesus said doing Gods work stimulated him. It is true that involvement in work produces further stimulation. From our own experience, we know that a job we dread doing seems to erect a barrier that keeps us from even starting, leading to procrastination. Finally, we drag ourselves into beginning, but once we get going, the work produces its own energy in us, our attitude changes, and we really get into the job. Notice that the language of the original is so constructed as to give prominence to the idea that the aim of the Christs life was the doing of the Fathers will; and that it is the aim rather than the actual performance and realization of the aim which is pointed at by our Lord. His words, then, are better rendered, My food is that I may do the will of Him that sent Me and finish His work. His reinvigoration derived from making the accomplishment of the Fathers will His every impelling motive. In this case, it was not the actual doing of the work but the motive for doing it that was so energizing and stimulating. The Revised English Bible translates this verse as, But Jesus said, For Me it is meat and drink to do the will of Him who sent me until I have finished His work. Until properly indicates He was being sustained and energized from the motivation to see the work done. The apostle Paul expresses a similar motivation in I Corinthians 9:16, For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! These men felt driven to do the work God had appointed for them. If our lives are going to be at all worthy, it will be because of two factors: What we aim for in life and recognizing who we are. The first may be simply described by saying, You gotta have high hopes, and we can have no higher aim in life than to do the will of the Father. The second can be understood by grasping why psychologists keep trying to persuade parents to work to build their childrens self-esteem. They have observed that, if children do not think they are anything or can do anything, are of no value and unloved, or have absolutely no skills, they will not do anything. They will spend their lives cowering in self-pity and spinning their wheels in ineffective, low-level activity. Anything connected to doing the will of the Father supersedes all other ambitions in life. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Galatians 4:4 Was Jesus Christ born under the law and thus bound to keep all of the Old Covenant rules and regulations? From this verse, some attempt to show that Jesus Christ was under the law from His birth. They conclude that Christ was duty bound from His birth to do many things that we do not have to do. However, this assumption overlooks the true meaning of this verse, which is often obscured by the interpretation given by modern translators. The word translated born in modern translations is from the Greek word ginomai, which can have many different shades of meaning depending upon the context. It primarily means to cause to be or to come into being. The King James Version translates it: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Jesus Christ was physically born through the normal process of human birth to the virgin Mary. But God did not inspire Paul to use the Greek word for born, gennao, in Galatians 4:4 because He wanted to focus on the miraculous conception of Christ and the overwhelming significance of Jesus sacrifice. God emphasizes His Sons humanity in this verse. Like all other men, Jesus was born of a woman; He was flesh and blood. Hebrews 10:5 verifies this: Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: Sacrifice and offtering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. Another point of note is that the original Greek text does not read the law, but simply law. The definite article is missing! Paul is speaking of law in general, not specifically the law of God. The apostle thus means that, when Jesus became a man, He was subject to the same terms, forces, and conditions that any other man is. It simply becomes another reference to His humanity like Hebrews 2:10-18. The verse does not support the idea that Jesus was bound by the Old Covenant because He was born into it. The deeper meaning of Galatians 4:4 is that Jesus Christ came into being through the divine miracle in which God the Father caused Mary to conceive by the Holy Spirit. Also, by another miracle, God the Father caused Jesus to be placed under the law - under the death penalty - at the time of His crucifixion. Note the King James rendering of Galatians 3:13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made [ginomai] a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Jesus Christ was never under the law except at the time of His crucifixion when God the Father laid the entire burden of the sins of the world upon His head (II Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:4-12). He led a perfect life. Therefore, the Old Covenant rules and regulations did not apply to Him because they were designed to remind the people of Israel of their sins and their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:19).
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:46:44 +0000
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