1-17 The Humanity Of Jesus
The Gospel records provide many
examples of how completely Jesus had human nature. It is recorded that
he was weary, and had to sit down to drink from a well (Jn 4:6). “Jesus
wept” at the death of Lazarus (Jn. 11:35). Most supremely, the record
of his final sufferings should be proof enough of his humanity: “Now is
my soul troubled”, he admitted as he prayed for God to save him from
having to go through with his death on the cross (Jn. 12:27). He
“prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup (of
suffering and death) pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as
you will” (Mt. 26:39). This indicates that at times Christ’s fleshly
desires were different from those of God.
However,
during his whole life Christ always submitted his own will to that of
God in preparation for this final trial of the cross. “I can of mine
own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has
sent me” (Jn. 5:30). This difference between Christ’s will and that of
God is proof enough that Jesus was not God.
Throughout
our lives we are expected to grow in our knowledge of God, learning
from the trials which we experience in life. In this, Jesus was our
great example. He did not have complete knowledge of God poured into
him any more than we have. From childhood “Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature (i.e. spiritual maturity, cp. Eph. 4:13), and in favour
with God and man” (Lk. 2:52). “The child grew, and became strong in
spirit” (Lk. 2:40). These two verses portray Christ’s physical growth
as parallel to his spiritual development; the growth process occurred
in him both naturally and spiritually. If “The Son is God”, as the
Athanasian Creed states concerning the ‘Trinity’, this would not have
been possible. Even at the end of his life, Christ admitted that he did
not know the exact time of his second coming, although the Father did
(Mk. 13:32). He asked questions of the teachers of the Law at age 12,
eager to learn; and often He spoke of what He had learnt and been taught by His Father.
Obedience to God’s will is something
which we all have to learn over a period of time. Christ also had to go
through this process of learning obedience to his Father, as any son has
to. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience (i.e. obedience to
God) by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect
(i.e. spiritually mature), he became the author of eternal salvation”
as a result of his completed and total spiritual growth (Heb. 5:8,9).
Phil. 2:7,8 (further commented on in the Appendix) records this same process
of spiritual growth in Jesus, culminating in his death on the cross. He
“made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form (demeanour) of a servant...he humbled himself and became
obedient unto...the death of the cross.” The language used here illustrates
how Jesus consciously grew spiritually, humbling himself completely, so
that finally he “became obedient” to God’s desire that he should
die on the cross. Thus he was “made perfect” by the way he accepted
his suffering.
It
is evident from this that Jesus had to make a conscious, personal
effort to be righteous; in no way was he automatically made so by God,
which would have resulted in him being a mere puppet. Jesus truly loved
us, and gave his life on the cross from this motive. The constant
emphasis upon the love of Christ for us would be hollow if God
compelled him to die on the cross (Eph. 5:2,25; Rev. 1:5; Gal. 2:20).
If Jesus was God, then he would have had no option but to be perfect
and then die on the cross. That Jesus did have these options, enables us to appreciate his love, and to form a personal relationship with him.
It
was because of Christ’s willingness to give his life voluntarily that
God was so delighted with him: “Therefore does my Father love me,
because I lay down my life...No man takes it from me, but I lay it down
of myself” (Jn. 10:17,18). That God was so pleased with Christ’s
willing obedience is hard to understand if Jesus was
God, living out a life in human form as some kind of tokenistic
association with sinful man (Mt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5). These records of
the Father’s delight in the Son’s obedience, is proof enough that
Christ had the possibility of disobedience, but consciously chose to be
obedient.
Christ’s Need Of Salvation
Because
of his human nature, Jesus was mortal as we are. In view of this, Jesus
needed to be saved from death by God. Intensely recognising this, Jesus
“offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto
him (God) that was able to save him from death, and was heard for his
piety” (Heb. 5:7 A.V. mg.). The fact that Christ had to plead with God
to save him from death rules out any possibility of him being God in
person. After Christ’s resurrection, death had “no more dominion over him” (Rom. 6:9), implying that beforehand it did.
Many
of the Psalms are prophetic of Jesus; when some verses from a Psalm are
quoted about Christ in the New Testament, it is reasonable to assume
that many of the other verses in the Psalm are about him too. There are
a number of occasions where Christ’s need for salvation by God is
emphasised.
- Ps. 91:11,12
is quoted about Jesus in Mt. 4:6. Ps. 91:16 prophesies how God would
give Jesus salvation: “With long life (i.e. eternal life) will I
satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” Ps. 69:21 refers to Christ’s
crucifixion (Mt. 27:34); the whole Psalm describes Christ’s thoughts on
the cross: “Save me, O God...Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem
it...Let your salvation, O God, set me up on high” (vs. 1,18,29).
- Ps. 89
is a commentary upon God’s promise to David concerning Christ.
Concerning Jesus, Ps. 89:26 prophesies: “He shall cry unto me (God),
You art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.”
- Christ’s
prayers to God for salvation were heard; he was heard because of his
personal spirituality, not because of his place in a ‘trinity’ (Heb.
5:7). That God resurrected Jesus and glorified him with immortality is a major New Testament theme.
- “God...raised up Jesus...Him has God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour” (Acts 5:30,31).
- “God...has glorified his Son Jesus...whom God has raised from the dead” (Acts 3:13,15).
- “This Jesus has God raised up” (Acts 2:24,32,33).
- Jesus himself recognised all this when he asked God to glorify him (Jn. 17:5 cp. 13:32; 8:54).
If
Jesus was God Himself, then all this emphasis would be out of place,
seeing that God cannot die. Jesus would not have needed saving if he
were God. That it was God who exalted Jesus demonstrates God’s
superiority over him, and the separateness of God and Jesus. In no way
could Christ have been “very and eternal God (with)
two...natures...Godhead and manhood”, as the first of the 39 Articles
of the Church of England states. By the very meaning of the word, a
being can only have one nature. We submit that the evidence is
overwhelming that Christ was of our human nature.
The Relationship Of God with Jesus
Considering
how God resurrected Jesus leads us on to think of the relationship
between God and Jesus. If they are “co-equal...co-eternal”, as the
trinity doctrine states, then we would expect their relationship to be
that of equals. We have already seen ample evidence that this is not
the case. The relationship between God and Christ is similar to that
between husband and wife: “The head of every man is Christ; and the
head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor.
11:3). As the husband is the head of the wife, so God is the head of
Christ, although they have the same unity of purpose as should exist
between husband and wife. Thus “Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:23), as the
wife belongs to the husband.
God
the Father is often stated to be Christ’s God. The fact that God is
described as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3;
Eph. 1:17) even after Christ’s ascension to heaven, shows that this is now
their relationship, as it was during Christ’s mortal life. It is
sometimes argued by trinitarians that Christ is only spoken of as less
than God during his life on earth. The New Testament letters were
written some years after Christ ascended to heaven, yet still God is
spoken of as Christ’s God and Father. Jesus still treats the Father as
his God.
Revelation,
the last book of the New Testament, was written many years after
Christ’s glorification and ascension, yet it speaks of God as “his
(Christ’s) God and Father” (Rev. 1:6 R.V.). In this book, the
resurrected and glorified Christ gave messages to the believers. He
speaks of “the temple of my God...the name of my God...the city of my
God” (Rev. 3:12). This proves that Jesus even now thinks of the Father
as his God - and therefore he (Jesus) is not God.
During
his mortal life, Jesus related to his Father in a similar way. He spoke
of ascending “unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your
God” (Jn. 20:17). On the cross, Jesus displayed his humanity to the
full: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46). Such
words are impossible to understand if spoken by God Himself. The very
fact that Jesus prayed to God “with strong crying and tears” in itself
indicates the true nature of their relationship (Heb. 5:7; Lk. 6:12).
God evidently cannot pray to Himself. Even now, Christ prays to God on
our behalf (Rom. 8:26,27 N.I.V. cp. 2 Cor. 3:18 R.V. mg.).
