Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Jesus' Humanity

Luk 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.


Mar 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.


Mat 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.


*******

Angels came and ministered unto Jesus.
The test was over, the temptation ordeal endured and Jesus prevailed over it all.


Do you imagine the angels brought food and drink to our Savior? That they tended to Him in all ways ministering unto him? He had to be exhausted. Yes, exhausted. We don't like to picture our Savior that way, we just don't. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. Jesus was HUMAN. Jesus felt the same way we feel. When we feel hungry and someone else says they're hungry we KNOW how they're feeling because we feel that same thing. We share so much as humans- we can feel compassion for one another because we share so much. We cannot take the humanity out of our Savior to do so is to demean Him, as strange as that will sound to some people. Too many believe extolling Jesus' humanity demeans His divinity as if the human part of Him takes away from His divine part, makes Him less divine. Jesus was NEVER less divine but always part of the divine, and always part human. Before the incarnation Jesus was not human there is NO getting around that fact whatsoever. The SPIRIT overshadowed Mary's womb and the substance of the SPIRIT joined with the human substance of Mary in creating Jesus- God's Son. A UNIQUE being was formed- Immanuel- God with us. This uniqueness took the humanity of mankind and incased the Spirit form of our Savior. The humanity came with ALL that makes us human leaving NOTHING out. Our Savior was a man. This is way so many who knew Him as He grew from boyhood to manhood could not accept Him as their Savior, to them He was just a man giving no indication of ever being anything else. He dressed, ate, slept, had hygiene to be concerned about, personal habits, he was a man. He laughed, He cried, He talked, He was HUMAN. He was so incredibly human that He didn't stand out in any way as being overtly special except for one time that we are told.


Remember this…


Luk 2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
Luk 2:43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
Luk 2:44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
Luk 2:45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
Luk 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
Luk 2:47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
Luk 2:48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
Luk 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
Luk 2:50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
Luk 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.


Jesus knew who His Father was. Young Jewish men became of age at 13- Jesus was 12 when He revealed that He was growing into the full knowledge of His purpose, even if His parents weren't sure what it all meant. So even though He was growing in the full knowledge of what His purpose was it still wasn't time to fully embrace that knowledge and He subjected Himself to His parents and the upbringing He needed. Jesus grew- increasing in wisdom. You want to imagine He had ALL wisdom, but if you have ALL of something you surely don't need to grow any more in that area. Jesus needed to grow in wisdom and stature. Jesus needed to experience the humanity of growing from childhood to being of age and then growing into the full maturity of a man before He was ready to undertake His purpose- His Father's business. The humanity Jesus possess did not grow any faster than a normal human. Having to grow in wisdom yet, Jesus needed to experience so much more of life. Yes, He was God as well as human and yet He did NOT appear as a child God, He did NOT appear as God at all- worthy of worship. NO ONE worshipped Him not for 30 years!


After 30 years He was called to begin His Father's work- to begin it- and still He wasn't to fully reveal His purpose right off, remember this--


Joh 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Joh 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Joh 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.


Mine hour is not yet come. Jesus understood that He had a timeline to follow, that there was a time for everything and He knew that God the Father would reveal to Him all that He needed to know to follow His plan. Jesus also knew when things were not according to plan- Mine hour is not yet come - He said, His words!


Jesus' time had come when He left His entire life behind and went to meet John to be baptized. From there He was taken straight into a testing time, a proving time and then He moved into a healing time, a time of being ministered to while the devil was no longer allowed to tempt Him- gone for a season- the devil could not impede the Savior's mission, Jesus had proven first off that the devil could not tempt Him to fall. With the proving time over Jesus continued onwards slowly, surely ushering in the new covenant, ushering in the gradual change. For three years Jesus brought the new covenant it wasn't an instantaneous change over upon His baptism and it wasn't completed until He ascended into heaven that last time to sit at the right hand of the Father.


By His grace may we continue to learn more and more of this change from the old to the new in which we were born. We can't dismiss the old, it is from the old the new came into being.


In His love!


Amen

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