The Humanity of Christ

He was born.

The circumstances of Jesus’s conception were obviously miraculous; he was conceived in Mary’s womb without the aid of a father’s genetic material. But the nature that was created by God in the womb of the Virgin was undeniably human; he shares in Mary’s humanity and is, in this way, truly the offspring of Abraham and David—indeed, the offspring of the first woman, Eve, the mother of all the living. Although his conception was miraculous, his birth was typically human: Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).He grew and developed. In his humanity, Jesus experienced ordinary human growth and development. We read that when the holy family returned to Nazareth, “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). The New Testament only records one story of Jesus’s childhood: the episode in the temple, when his parents left him in Jerusalem. After that incident, Luke tells us that Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). As mind-boggling as it may seem, given the overwhelming New Testament evidence for Christ’s divinity, as a human, Jesus grew intellectually, physically, spiritually, and relationally.

He experienced limitations .

The human nature that Jesus assumed in his incarnation was free from any stain of sin or corruption, but it nevertheless possessed all the marks of ordinary human finitude. And living in a fallen world, Jesus voluntarily assumed the infirmities common to our fallen humanity. He hungered (Matt 4:2), thirsted (John 4:7; 19:28), grew tired (John 4:6), and experienced the full range of ordinary, non-sinful human emotions (Matt 26:37; John 2:15; 11:35). There are even a couple of indications in the Gospels that Jesus did not possess omniscience in his human mind. He asks who had touched him when power went out from him to heal the woman with an issue of blood (Mark 5:30). And he declared to his disciples that not even the Son of Man knows the day or the hour of his return (Mark 13:32). Some in the history of interpretation have sought to attenuate this teaching on the apparent limitations of Christ’s human knowledge, arguing instead that Jesus said these things only for the benefit of his disciples and not because of any actual lack of knowledge on his part. But such a reading is unnecessary if we once again keep in mind the two-natures doctrine of Chalcedon. In his divinity, the Son possesses omniscience, perfect knowledge of all facts—past, present, and future. But in his humanity, his knowledge was sometimes limited according to the will and purposes of God.

He was tempted.

Another mark of Jesus’ humanity is evident when we consider his temptations. The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus never sinned (

Heb. 4:15; 9:14; 1Pet 1:19). And although theologians have debated the question of Christ’s impeccability—whether or not he could have sinned—it seems that the answer most consistent with the fullness of the New Testament revelation is that Christ, in fact, could not have sinned. Because the person of Christ is divine, and a divine person, being necessarily good, cannot sin, it seems best to argue for Christ’s impeccability. But this understanding of Christ’s inability to sin need not detract from the biblical teaching that Christ, as a human, was indeed tempted (Matt 4:1–11) and even “suffered” in his temptations (Heb 2:18). There may be better and worse ways of reconciling these two apparently contradictory aspects of the New Testament teaching, but however we attempt to reconcile them, it seems best to hold them both, without seeking to alleviate the tension by diminishing either.

He suffered, died, and was buried.

The Gospel narratives of Christ’s passion, death, and burial also highlight his humanity. In his divine essence, God cannot die; he is immortal. But because the God the Son assumed humanity, he is capable of suffering and death as a part of his atoning work. He assumed the likeness of sinful flesh in order to condemn sin in his own body through death (Rom 8:3–4). He was legally reckoned to be a sinner, though he himself was without sin, so that he might pay the penalty for sin (2Cor 5:21).

He was raised in his humanity.

Jesus’s resurrection is also a human affair. He was raised in the same body in which he died, only now in glorified, immortal life. In this way Christ is, as Paul puts it, the last Adam, the true human who ushers in the age of the resurrection, the first fruits of all humanity, who will be raised on the last day (1Cor 15:45).

He continues his kingly and priestly work.

The Son’s incarnation had a beginning in human history, but it has no end. He continues to reign as the exalted Son of God from the Father’s right hand (Rom 1:4; Col 3:1). He also continues his priestly work of intercession in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 7:24–25).

He will return in his humanity.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, the angel announced to the apostles that Christ would return just has he had been taken up into heaven (Acts 1:11). Again, Jesus did not shed his humanity like a garment when he entered the clouds. He remains a glorified human being and will return personally and visibly on the last day (Col 3:4).