A Very Human Jesus

I'd like to do a little reflecting on the idea that Jesus was (and, incidentally, still is) a man. This is something that we all know. And yet, I have a feeling that there are too many of us who haven't spent much time thinking about it. So, let's spend a little time doing that right now. 

Let's start with this. It's my guess that most folk think that Jesus was as wise and good as He was just because He was God. Being the wonderful person that we read about in the Gospels was pretty much guaranteed. He grew up to be that wonderful person just because. But that's not true. Jesus had to choose to become wise and good. He had to make lots of choices to become the wonderful person that He actually did become. And why do I think this is the case? Well, there are these verses. 

This one is about His being a kid in His parents’ home. 

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 

Please note the important word 'increased'. Jesus didn't start out with all the wisdom that He would need. He didn't start out enjoying to the full His Father's favor. These are things that grew, that increased. And they increased for Him in the same way that they would increase with any of us. Jesus made choices. He took to heart what Proverbs was about, choosing the wise and avoiding the foolish. It was a process. 

Here's another verse about Jesus developing as a person. 

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Hebrews 5:8 

 I hope that you caught the key word here, 'learned'. There were things that Jesus had to learn. One of them was obedience, a growing sense of obedience. The obedience of a five-year-old boy is so very different from the obedience of a forty-year-old man. And that's because life for a five-year-old boy is so very different from life for a forty-year-old. Obeying the Father in more and more sophisticated ways was not automatic for Jesus. It was something that He learned. Now, some of you might think that there is another word here that qualifies as important: 'suffered'. Yes, Jesus suffered things as He grew up. And it's because of the things He suffered that He was able to learn how to obey in the way that He did. And this was also a process. 

And now, consider this verse. 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8–9 

Was this a real temptation? Or was Jesus just going through the motions? I'm quite sure that this was a very real temptation. It certainly was for Satan. He really meant what he said to Jesus. He was ready to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, something the Father also promised Him. But as an added bonus - and enticement - there would be no cross. Imagine that. All the world without any cross. Just worship Satan and the world would be His. Was this for real? Absolutely! Just like all the other situations that He faced before this and after it, Jesus had to choose. 

So, do you see what I mean when I talk about Jesus being truly man? Do you see what I mean when I say that He became the man that He was by His choices? 

And I think that is important because this makes Him more - more what? How about it makes Him more human.