Sermon Tone Analysis

Emmanuel: The True Man

In Luke's genealogy today, Luke seeks to make a point, see if you can catch it in the last verse.

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Did you catch it?

It's a theme of Luke's throughout Luke and Acts.

That Jesus came for everyone (and a sub-theme is that Jesus came especially for the lowest people).

Specifically though, that Jesus came as a human being.

He stepped down into frail humanity to be like us so that he could relate to us and to our struggle and save us.

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Or John's gospel puts it this way:

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The early church had a saying that they repeated in trying to flesh out some of this doctrine of understanding who Christ is and how to balance his human nature with his divine nature and to defend against heresy.

(Aside- doctrine doesn't save you, but it's awfully important ().)

But the saying that they had was:

"What Christ had not assumed He could not redeem."

Men by definition have a human nature, and if Christ does not, then there is no way He can be the example for mankind.

But he can't be JUST a man, because if he was, then his perfect life and sacrificial death is only applicable to one person.

He needs eternality to redeem all of creation.

And so the early creeds were very careful to say the Jesus was 100% man and 100% divine and in these two statements, there is no contradiction.

"What Christ had not assumed He could not redeem."

This is a very important statement for our salvation.

If Christ was not a human, he could not redeem humans.

Hebrews puts it this way:

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And Jesus is just what we've been waiting for.

100% God and 100% man.

Do you remember what Job cried out when he was suffering?

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And later:

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And is indeed, something that Job predicted:

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(Aside- Job wasn't wrong saying that he was being punished for no reason.

God was angry with his friends.

God sidesteps Job's accusations).

But it's so important to remember that What Christ has not assumed, he cannot redeem."

So we have a God who stepped down to us.

He lived among us.

He wasn't immune to the stench of fallenness that encompasses the whole earth and us.

Jesus was tempted (says Hebrews).

Jesus got sick.

Jesus experienced weakness.

Jesus experienced deep sadness (Johan 11.35).

Jesus experienced fear.

Jesus experienced deep stress.

Jesus was betrayed.

Jesus bled (by his stripes we are healed).

Jesus felt abandoned by God (Mat....

And like we will, Jesus tasted death.

And so, when you're tempted, when you're sick, when you're weak, when you're melancholy, when you're afraid, when you're stressed, when you're betrayed, when you bleed, and when you feel abandoned by God cry out to the one who can understand.

Who lived with the holy spirit in him, who was himself, a member of the trinity and yet, still cried "eloi eloi, lamba sabacthani".

You are not alone.

Jesus came in the flesh to redeem you.

To purchase you.

To know you.

To love you.