Ok, my math skills are kinda weak, so I need some help here. 0.5 + 0.5 = 1? Got it! 1 + 1 = 2? Alright, on a roll! So when does 1 + 1 ever equal 1? When Jesus Christ was both human and God at the same time.
This isn’t a study about the divinity of Jesus, I think that most people visiting this blog already believe that Jesus was indeed God the Son in the flesh on this earth (John 1:1-2), if not, then shoot me an email and we’ll talk. But, rather I want to take a look at Jesus, the Son of Man.
1. He was born just like you and me, though not under the same circumstances. You, like me, we’re most likely born in a hospital. A hospital that was clean and sterile, (mostly) free from germs. Also, there was probably a nurse tending to your mother and a doctor that specializes in childbirth there to care for you when you were finally born. Not Jesus, He was born in a stable, His first bed was a food trough that a horse probably ate out of minutes before He was born. But still, He was brought into this world through a human birth (Luke 2:6-7).
2. He lived a normal life just like you and me. Well, maybe not normal, I don’t remember teaching the elders of my congregation anything new when I was only 12 years old (Luke 2:41-51). But what I mean to say is that Jesus worked for a living. Mark 6:3 tells us that He was a carpenter, not an easy job even on the best of days. His hands were calloused and he worked in the hot sun. The average July temperature in Bethlehem today is 86° / 60% humidity, with a “nice” desert breeze.
3. He was tempted just like us in every way (Hebrews 4:15). That really speaks for itself, you know yourself and you know the things that tempt you on a daily basis. Try smashing your thumb with a hammer, like you know Jesus probably did given His profession, and not wanting to say something inappropriate. But more than that, His God side (if you will) was tempted as well (Luke 4:1-12).
4. He had emotions just like you and me. In Matthew 21:12-13 He was angered by the buying/selling and money changing going on in the temple where it shouldn’t have been. And He cried when His friend Lazarus died, even though He knew beforehand that Lazarus would be raised from the dead (John 11:35).
5. He died, not at all like you and me. He died FOR you and me.
And why did God the Son leave His Father’s side in Heaven to live and die for us? So that He could mediate the difference in God’s expectations and our human failings (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 2:17-18). The God of the Old Testament is the same God that we worship today, He has not changed. His law was perfect, but humans are not. When God would have destroyed us time and time again for sinning against him like he has done in the past (Genesis 6:17, Genesis 19:24-25, Numbers 16:31-35, etc), Jesus can say, stop! And tell the Father that He has been there Himself, and that we as humans are doing the best that we can (Hebrews 2:17-18). And if we continue to do the best we can and try to live a sinless life God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:5-10), all thanks to Jesus Christ, our mediator.
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