Jesus – was he really like us? (Heb 2:10-18; Heb 4:4-16; John 1:1-14)
Billy Milton - May 14, 2006
Last week we took a look at the deity of Jesus and we saw that there is very strong evidence to support the claims of the Christian church that Jesus is God …and that he knew it. This week we are looking at the other side of Jesus – he was fully human as well …and he knew it. Whether you appreciate it right now or not, by the end of this sermon I hope you’ll see why we need both.
When God took the decision to enter into time and space in the person of Jesus we called it the ‘incarnation’. Traditionally we concentrate more on this at Christmas time. God becoming a man. Most of us prefer not to think about that concept too deeply because it is such a difficult concept to understand. Let me perhaps re-assure you right away. I don’t fully understand it either. In fact with our limited human minds no one completely understands what God becoming man really means.
* How can a limitless person become limited?
* How can the creator become part of creation?
To modern ears this sounds like science fiction.
* How could the Almighty God compress himself into the form of a helpless baby nursing at his mother’s breast?
*As he grew up did he really have to learn things and experience things or was he just acting out a role for our benefit?
* Did he actu ally have to learn to read and write, to hammer a nail in straight, to ride a donkey? Just what is involved in God becoming a man? Why is it so important?
Many years ago when I was about 10 years old I managed to jump into some quicksand at the side of a river near where I lived. I was wearing wellies so I guess I thought I was invincible! Anyway, I began to sink into this slimey mud and before long I was well and truly stuck. The mud began to suck me deeper until I was I up to my thighs.. and beginning to get worried. My 2 friends, who were falling about laughing at me and my plight, began to realise that maybe this was getting a bit serious and they began to try and pull me out. They couldn’t manage and I was now up to my waist and really panicking. One of my friends ran off and found an adult who was fishing nearby and this bloke was able to jump down to where I was struggling and reached out and pull me slowly out of the clinging mud until with a final ‘shloop’ I was deposited on the bank covered from head to toe with mud …and minus my wellies! I don’t know how deep I might have sunk but it felt like that fisherman saved my life.
- My well-meaning friends couldn’t save me.
- Mother Nature seemed very keen to drown me.
- All my own struggles couldn’t save me.
- Someone shouting instructions from a nearby bridge couldn’t save me.
- What I desperately needed was someone with the required strength and knowledge to be willing to jump into the mud beside me and pull me out. That was the only thing that was going to help me in my perilous situation.
When God looked down on his creation and saw the mess we had gotten ourselves into and that, rather than getting better, we were sinking further:
- He didn’t settle for sending down some instructions by the prophets – although he did try that; and
- He didn’t settle for posting warning signs about the danger we were in – although in the 10 commandments he did try that.
- He didn’t even settle for sending angels.
- Oh no, when God saw the trouble we were in he jumped right into the mud with us, got his feet dirty, got his clothes messed up.
- He became just like us – with one major difference. At the exact same time he was still God with all of the resources of God available to him.
So, when we talk about the incarnation we are actually saying that God became a man with the feelings, emotions and temptations that we have. He came to where we were. The Bible is quite clear that Jesus was that man.
- He felt hunger and thirst at different times;
- He felt sorrow;
- He was tired and had to sleep;
- He felt angry.
None of these feelings and emotions were just put on to fool us. A careful reading of the gospels would show you that Jesus was really a man in every way.
However, that leads to another problem. If Jesus was truly like us how come he wasn’t a sinner? What stopped him giving into the temptations that swirled around him? The ’solution’ to this problem is just incredible. It was through the Virgin Birth. This was how the Divine was able to meet the human. It is the power of God enabling Mary to conceive a child without first receiving the seed of a human father. From Mary, Jesus took his humanity but, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, he did so without in any way compromising his deity as the eternal Son of God. Through the means of the Virgin Birth, Jesus was able to start his life in a state of perfect integrity. So, even although this is a very difficult concept for us to grasp, that’s why I cringe when I hear so-called theologians denying the Virgin Birth. If you deny the Virgin Birth you also need to deny who Jesus is, I’m afraid.
We saw this last week. At the very heart of the Gospel lies John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” The Son of God became one of us. Some early Christians had a hard time accepting this fact that God actually became human. It caused a lot of almost violent debate in the early church. You see they just couldn’t accept that God
- Could actually be hungry or thirsty.
- That he could suffer pain and despair.
- That he had an actual human body.
- That he could actually be tempted to sin.
Yes, Jesus knows what it’s like to be tempted because Jesus chose to be JUST LIKE ONE OF US! Heb 2:17–18 tells us that he had to be like us in every way. Why? Because if he didn’t understand what it was like to suffer and to be tempted how on earth could he ever help us? Only one who truly suffered could end our suffering. Only one who was really tempted could help us in our temptations. When I begin to sink in quicksand I know that I want the one with the power to save me to be there. But I also want someone who can sympathize!
Granted, you can’t be picky when you’re in quicksand but, if possible, I’d rather have a sympathetic rescuer. I’d rather not hear:
- “How did you get in to such a mess?”
- “How stupid can you be?”
- “You know if you’d just stuck to the path you wouldn’t be in this mess?”
- “I ought to just leave you in there.”
I know I’m stupid. I know I should have stayed on the straight and narrow. But I didn’t. What I need, and what you need as well, is one who has been down the path before and knows just how easy it can be to get off the path and into trouble.
This is exactly what we have in Jesus Christ, our merciful and faithful High Priest. One who will stand before God on our behalf as our Brother and mediate on our behalf. One who helps us when we are tempted because he himself was tempted. One who has experienced my pain.
Joseph Damien was a 19th century missionary who ministered to people with leprosy on the Island of Molokai, Hawaii. Those suffering grew to love him and revered the sacrificial life he lived out before them. One morning before Damien was to lead daily worship, he was pouring some hot water into a cup when the water swirled out and fell onto his bare foot. It took him a moment to realise that he had not felt any sensation. Gripped by a sudden fear of what this might mean, he poured more hot water onto the same spot. No feeling whatsoever.
Damien immediately knew what had happened. As he walked tearfully to deliver his sermon, no one at first noticed the difference in his opening line. He normally began every sermon with, “My fellow believers.” But this morning he began with, “My fellow lepers.” He was no longer just a concerned and caring helper, he was now a fellow sufferer.
IN CONCLUSION
Here’s why Jesus being a man is so wonderful:
- When you think, “I am so alone.” Remember: Jesus has been alone. Mark 15:34 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
- When you think, “No one can understand the despair I am feeling.” Remember: Jesus has felt despair. John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”
- When you think, “How could my friend do that to me?” Remember: Jesus had friends that let him down. Matt. 26:14–16 “Then one of the Twelve, the one they called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”
- When you think, “I am overwhelmed.” Remember: Jesus too has been overwhelmed. Mark 14:33–34 “He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.’ he said to them.”
- When you think, “Why did God not answer my Prayer?” Remember: Jesus asked for something in prayer that he didn’t get answered. Mark 14:35 “Going a little farther, he fell down and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.”
- When you think, “How could anyone possibly understand what I am going through?” Remember: Not just anyone can.
Just be thankful that the one that matters CAN! Christians aren’t promised a trouble free life. We are, however, promised that one who understands and cares will help us with our troubles.
Was Jesus really like us? You now know that the answer is thankfully yes – otherwise we could not know God. But on the other hand, thankfully no – otherwise he could not have paid the price for our sin. It’s a mystery, but by faith we believe it and experience it.