2. Jesus: Fully Man

1. Jesus was not:

· Solely a holy man. His divinity is crucial to Christian faith.

· Apparently a man (Docetism). If so, our faith would be based on a mistake (his death) and a lie (“This is my body….my blood”). 1 Tim 2:5

· A superman.

He was a real man, able to fail and sin.

2. Jesus’ human characteristics:

· He was born and grew up.

· He died (and paid taxes! Mt 17: 24-27).

· He lived in a family & community.

· He got hungry and ate (Mt 4:2, Mt 11:19).

· He got tired and slept (Jn 4:6, Mt 8:24).

· He was sad (Lk 19:41, Jn 11:33, Mt 14:13).

· He felt anxiety (fear?) (Mk 14:34, Lk 22:44).

· He felt angry (Mk 3:5, Mk 10:14)

· He got frustrated (Lk 11:37-53).

· He was joyful (Mt 11:16-19, Lk 10:21).

· He was tempted.

· He was surprised & disappointed (Mt 8:10, Mk 6:6).

· He felt love & compassion (Mt 9:36, Mt 14:14, Mt 20:34, Mk 9:22, Lk 7:13, Mt 15:32, Mk 1:41, Mk 10:21, Jn 13:1).

· He felt pain.

3. Implications of Jesus’ humanity:

· It shows how much God loves us. The eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God limited himself to a human life-span needing to eat, drink and sleep. An amazing love!

· It shows us that life is worth living. Life is not a one-star stopover – enjoy the journey! Jesus brings us life in all its fullness.

· It is an example to us of how life can be lived. Ask “what would Jesus do?” Phil 2:5.

· It is an encouragement and support to us. Heb 4:15-16:

“Our Rep isn’t distant and cold; he doesn’t sit there tutting at our pathetic mess-ups. No, he’s been through it all. Been ‘that close’ to everything we’ve gone through. He’s like us: same drives, same needs. Only difference is, it didn’t sucker him. He felt the pressure and walked away unpolluted.” (The Street Bible)

If we are facing temptation, if we’re tired, anxious or frustrated, if we’re in pain or feel let down, if we feel rejected or separate from God, we can turn to Jesus who can truly say “I know how you feel.”