Jesus was fully man

Remember back when you were in school, and there was always someone who messed up the curve. Imagine sitting in class with Jesus. Talk about messing up the curve!!! try beating him in geography… he created everything. Imagine trying to beat him in bible drill… he wrote it… What kind of a pitcher would he be?

It brings up a question. What kind of human was Jesus? Was he like being around superman?

Imagine with me for a moment. Imagine sitting in class with Jesus.

NO!!! He was human like you and I. When he hit his thumb with a hammer, it hurt him like it does you and I. He might not have said some of the things that we might have said, but it hurt all the same.

Jesus was fully God… and fully man.

How do we know that Jesus was a man?

How do we know he was really human?

1. Jesus had a human birth.

(; ; )

Isaiah 7:14 NLT

14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Isa

Matthew 1:23 NLT

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”

Galatians 4:4 NLT

4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

Jesus came into the world just like you and I did… he was born as a baby… helpless, vulnerable, dependent.

2. He showed human growth.

Luke 2:52 NLT

52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Jesus grew intellectually.

Jesus grew physically.

Jesus grew spiritually.

Jesus grew socially.

Jesus was born with some superhuman baby brain, full of knowledge from the beginning. He had to learn it just like we do. He had to memorize the OT…eventhgough he wrote it.

Jesus experienced human emotions.

Most movies don’t show Jesus with emotions, but as a human, he had them.

Jesus felt grief. (John 11:35)

John 11:35

John 11:35 NLT

35 Then Jesus wept.

Jesus grew up in a culture that knew how to express emotions. When Jesus wept, it wasn’t a drip… trickling down his cheeks. He wept openly and they wailed loudly. They even tore their robes.

Jesus felt Sorrow. (Matt 26:38)

John 11:35 NLT

35 Then Jesus wept.

Matthew 26:38 NLT

38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Jesus felt amazement.

Jesus felt love.

Love for an unbeliever. (Mark 10:21)

Mark 10:21 NLT

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Love for his friends. (John 11:5)

John 11:5 NLT

5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,

John 11:5

Love for his disciples. (John 13:1)

John 13:1 NLT

1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.

Love for his mother. (John 19:26-27)

John 19:26–27 NLT

26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

Jesus felt wonder. (Mark 6:6)

Mark 6:6 NLT

6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.

Jesus felt distress. (Mark 14:33)

Mark 14:33 NLT

33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.

Mark

Jesus felt compassion. (Mark 1:41)

:

Mark 1:41 NLT

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

Jesus felt anger. (Mark 3:5)

Mark 3:5 NLT

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

Anger is an emotion, not a sin. What we do with our anger determines if it is a sin or not. Jesus was angry but he did not sin.

4. He had human experiences and needs.

He got tired. (;

John 14:6 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Mark 4:38 NLT

38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

He got tired.

He got hungry. (Matt 4:2)

Matthew 4:2 NLT

2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

Matt

He got thirsty. (John 19:28)

John 19:28 NLT

28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”

He was in agony. (Luke 22:44)

Luke 22:44 NLT

44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

He was tempted. Matt 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1–11 NLT

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

He died. (Luke 23:46)

Luke 23:46 NLT

46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

Luke

He experienced something we will all experience - death.

Why did he go through all of that?

Why did Jesus leave the perfection of heaven to become a man?

Because He Loves You!

The incarnation means “in the flesh” and it describes Jesus. When he was born in Bethelhem, it was the incarnation of God into this world… God becoming flesh.

The conclusion: Jesus is fully man and fully God.

The council of Chalcedon was a group called together in 451 AD to deal with false teaching in that day about the nature of Jesus. This council countered the false teachings of

Arius said that Jesus was not God… that he was a created being.

Apollinarius said Jesus was not human.

Nestorius distinguished between the divine and human nature of Jesus.

Council of Chalcedon

The council determined that Jesus exists in two natures which exist without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, the difference of the natures having in no wise taken away by reason of the union, but rather the properties of each being preserved and both continuing in one person.

Basically,

Jesus was 100% God & 100percent man 100 percent of the time

Jesus was not God indwelling a man. He was not a man who became a god. Nor was he God appearing to be a man. He combined in one personality the two natures: God & man.

This is called

Hypostatic Union

It’s the union of undiminished deity & perfect humanity forever in one person. That means Jesus will always be God and man.

Jesus has always been God. (John 1:2)

John 1:2 NLT

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

Jesus became man while continuing to be God. (John 1:14)

John 1:14 NLT

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Jesus continues to exist as God and Man. (Acts 1:9-11)

Acts 1:9–11 NLT

9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Jesus was and is fully God, and fully man. He is not separately God or man, he is both 100% of the time.

You might be thinking, if Jesus was a man, then he is less than God. Jesus limited himself, but he did not lesson himself.

Jesus limited himself

He limited himself by taking on the form of a man. Phil 2:6-8

Philippians 2:6–8 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

He limited himself by limiting his presence to one place and one time.

He limited himself by taking a position in which the Father was greater (John 14:28)

John 14:28 NLT

28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.

He limited himself by limiting his understanding (Matt 24:36)

Matthew 24:36 NLT

36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

Jesus did not become any less God by limiting himself as he walked the earth. He still possessed the attributes of God’s omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. In Jesus knew what they were thinking in their hearts. I think his omnipotence was shown when the soldiers came to get him and fell down when he identified himself.

This is a difficult concept to understand, and we can’t fully, so it goes in the category of God knows more than I do.

Why would Jesus limit himself? Love

Have you ever limited yourself because of love? minivan instead of a sports car… nice restaurant instead of McDonalds...

Jesus did not lesson himself.

Jesus was fully God as he walked the earth.

The decision to be born as a man, to walk the earth, and to die on a cross was made by him as part of the Trinity.

Even while on earth, he limited himself by choice.

He could have turned the stones to bread when Satan tempted him. ()

He could have called 10,000 angels to save him from the cross. ()

But he chose not to.

Look at this verse

Philippians 2:5–11 NLT

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We must have the same attitude as Jesus (Phil 2:3-4)

Philippians 2:3–4 NLT

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Phil

Don’t be selfish

Don’t try to impress others.

Think of others as better than yourself.

Don’t just look out for yourself

Look out for the interests of others.

The attitude is Humility

Jesus humbled himself and became a man, a man who was willing to suffer the public ridicule of a death on the cross. He did it to save you and I. But he also did it as an example of how we are to treat each other. We can learn from his example and draw from his power to humble ourselves for others: spouse; co-workers; kids; friends...

Listen, we can do this because Jesus is fully /God and fully man.

Because he is fully man, Jesus understands our needs.

Because he is fully God, Jesus can meet our needs.

Salvation

Think about who you can serve this week.

Matthew 10:42 NLT

42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

Look for ways to serve others.