Sometimes Christians feel embarrassed about Jesus’ humanity.
They treat it like it’s some family secret we must sweep under the carpet. But there's no cause for embarrassment!
As I explained in last week’s email, the Bible is very clear about Jesus’ humanity.
But many Christians make three mistaken assumptions about Jesus' humanity. If you believe these, you will be cautious to affirm Jesus' full humanity.
These mistakes are:
Mistake #1: Jesus’ humanity makes him less holy.
Mistake #2: Jesus’ humanity makes him less authoritative.
Mistake #3: Jesus’ humanity makes him less divine
Let’s clear up these mistakes so you can affirm Jesus’ full humanity without any reservation.
Mistake #1: Jesus’ humanity makes him less holy.
Have you ever heard the phrase “to err is human”?
When you see someone sin you might say “Oh well he’s only human”. We assume humanity equals sinfulness. Therefore, you may imagine that calling Jesus human is like calling him a sinner.
But that’s faulty logic.
Adam was the first human, the prototype human. Before the fall he and Eve never sinned. So it’s not the case that sinfulness is true humanity.
Quite the opposite. Sin dehumanises us.
God created human beings in his image. That is the definition of a human in the Bible. Sin mars that image. We no longer display God as we should.
Sin doesn’t make us more human, it makes us less human.
If that’s true, Jesus is the most human person there has ever been.
Hebrews 4:15 says he “has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin”.
Jesus remained perfect. Though tempted, he never fell. Jesus’ humanity doesn’t make him less holy.
So we can assert his humanity without feeling it implies he is sinful.
Mistake #2: Jesus’ humanity makes him less authoritative.
Some have argued that Jesus’ humanity means he made mistakes.
Often non-evangelical voices are loud advocates of his humanity.
After all, if he’s human, he could’ve got some matters wrong. If you want to change his message, the idea that he isn’t authoritative seems perfect.
But there’s a problem with that.
Jesus makes clear he is a perfect teacher. For example John 8:28 he says
I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
Jesus makes clear he is the spokesperson for God. God is omniscient and never lies. If he speaks only what he has been taught by God, he never makes a mistake.
Some people today think they know better than Jesus. Yet if Jesus is a spokesperson for God, how dare anyone think to correct him!
But what about Jesus’ learning? Doesn’t that undermine his divinity?
I said last time that Jesus’ human will never opposed the divine will. It just as a human will needed to be conformed. In the same way, Jesus’ mind never believed lies, but God revealed truths as he went along.
That makes sense because Jesus had a physical brain like anyone else, it needed to go through the process of learning and making connections like anyone else
But when Jesus spoke at any time, he only spoke what the Father taught him. When Jesus didn’t know something, he said (as we see in him not knowing his return).
Of course there’s a mystery there, but the Bible does not imply we can ignore Jesus’ words. Jesus’ humanity does not undermine his authority.
Mistake #3: Jesus’ humanity makes him less divine
Most worrying of all is the idea Jesus’ humanity makes him less divine.
Many struggle with the idea Jesus can be fully God and fully man, because theyknow no one else like that. Our finite human brains try to water it down.
Maybe he is 75% God and 25% man. Or the other way round.
Or maybe it’s a bit like a chemical reaction, a bit of God and a bit of man come together and make a whole new substance “God-man”
But that’s not what the Bible teaches. He remained fully God and took on human form in all it’s fulness.
Look at John 1. It starts by making clear that “the Word was God” and then says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father”
Jesus’ glory isn’t diminished by his humanity. He is the Son who came from the Father, even though he is made flesh. He was fully man and fully God
We will struggle to comprehend that but that’s the case.
His divinity isn’t affected. Nothing changes since it’s impossible for God to change. There is no subtraction from his divinity, only the addition of a human nature. Jesus is a full man and a full member of the Trinity.
By the way, this wasn’t a temporary thing either. Jesus is still a full human being and will remain a human being for all eternity.
Sure he now has the resurrected human body which is in some ways an improvement on the bodies we have now – a Human Body 2.0. In this resurrected body, his glory is much more on display. But he still ate fish after he rose from the dead. And he still had the nail marks in his hand.
Jesus is still a man, but now he demonstrates what it means to be a man or woman raised from the dead after trusting in him.
This does nothing to diminish his glory for all eternity. Jesus’ humanity doesn’t make him less divine.
Conclusion
Jesus is truly divine and truly human. Affirming his humanity in no way undermines his real divinity.
Jesus’ humanity doesn’t makes him less holy. If humanity is made in the image of God, then Jesus is the truest human there has ever been.
Jesus’ humanity doesn’t makes him less authoritative. Although a human who learned, he always perfectly conveyed the truth.
Jesus’ humanity doesn’t makes him less divine. He is not watered down in his divinity when he became human. Mysteriously he is fully God and fully man.
So this Christmas time, do not be embarrassed of Jesus’ humanity. Sing with pride:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see! Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell. Jesus our Immanuel.
Next Time
This has all been theoretical so far. You might be wondering what practical difference it makes for you as a Christian. Well we’ll cover that next Tuesday at 9:00 (GMT).
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