The Coming of Christ (5)

The Humanity of Jesus Christ(E)

Jim Davis

Introduction

A. Jesus counted it not robbery to be equal with God.

Phil 2:5-8
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being
in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

B. Angels worshipped and served him.

Hebrews 1:6
But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
"Let all the angels of God worship Him."

C. Jesus was God's Son.

1. Jesus proved the legitimacy of his claim to be the Son of God,

not by acting like a supernatural being or stunning men with his
wisdom or communicating knowledge of higher worlds.

2. Jesus, who could have truthfully said of himself, "I am wise

and powerful" chose instead to say "I am gentle and humble in
heart" (Matt. 11:29). Gentleness appears to be weak but is
actually quite powerful and it makes a person attractive to
others. ("Opposites Attract" by Jim Long. Campus Life, May/June
1990. Pages 23-25. Via InfoSearch Database)

3. "A son of God who defends his title with the arguments that he
is the brother of even the poorest and the guilty and takes their
burden upon himself: this is a fact one can only note, and shake
one's head in unbelief-- or one must worship and adore." ("Why
I celebrate Christmas" by Helmut Thielicke. Christianity Today,
Dec 9, 1988. Pages 21, 22. Via InfoSearch Database)
D. Jesus was human; he was one of us.

1. The man.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

Heb 3:3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than
Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more
honour than the house.

Heb 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an

unchangeable priesthood.

Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

2. Jesus refers to himself as the "Son of Man."

Luke 5:24
"But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth
to forgive sins"-- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I
say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."

a. He was a typical human being.

b. He is so human that it masks his deity.

I. THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST.

A. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which was sixty miles from

Jerusalem. The city is not mentioned in the O. T. The population
was small and the neighborhood was very poor. It was a poor
neighborhood of bad repute, a place of bad morals and lack of
intelligence.

John 1:46
And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

B. Jesus was born among men. He was completely human. He did

not have a spotless pedigree.
James Farmer tells about a wealthy woman who hired an author
to write her biography. The author discovered that one of her
grandfathers had died in the electric chair at Sing Sing. The
woman wanted that information so written that the black spot in
her family's past would not be obvious.

So the author put the facts together in this way: "Her grandfather
occupied the chair of electricity in one of America's most noted
institutions. He was very much attached to his position and
literally died in the harness."

C. The reason that the common man gladly heard Jesus was
because he was so common.

Matt 13:53-58
When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.
Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their
synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this
wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. "Isn't this the
carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his
brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters
with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they
took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his
hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." And
he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

1. The neighbors were unconvinced that Jesus was anything

special. The neighbors were in effect asking, Isn't this the kid my
kids were raised with? Isn't He the one who, years ago, played
hide'n seek with them around the corner? Isn't this the same One
we saw grow up in His father's carpenter shop? He's the same one
who repaired our cabinet? He's the same Jesus isn't he?

2. The neighbors brought forth every piece of evidence possible to

prove that he was human. They were very familiar with his
humanity.

3. Are you aware that there was a time in Jesus' earthly life when
His own flesh and blood considered Him insane?

Mark 3:21
But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay
hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."

D. He was so common that the inscription over his head was

written as mockery of his claims, "King of Jews". The Jews were
so offended by it that they wanted to change it to read "He
claimed to be king of the Jews".

II. THE EARTHLY LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST.

A. Jesus spent the first thirty years of His life simply growing
in stature and in favor with God and man. It is easy to focus on
his origin while losing sight of the real life he lived.

1. Before He launched any kind of messianic ministry, he took a

lot of time to establish credibility among His relatives, neighbors,
and fellow Israelites.

2. He knew what it was like to have to struggle to earn a

living.

3. It was in the home, the marketplace, and the carpenter shop

where He developed His character. It was through these
experiences that He gained His understanding of ordinary
people.

B. We have seen sixteen century art portraying Jesus as

effeminate, we have thought of him as holier than thou, but
Jesus was human.

1. His name was Jesus ... a very common name in his day. His
name would have been found a number of times on any role book
in school. Jesus himself was so common that if walked through
one of our malls today no one would take notice of him.

Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out
of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

2. The common man heard him gladly. There was not one person
who was reluctant to approach him for fear of being rejected.

Mark 12:37 "...And the common people heard Him gladly."

3. Man seems to love to create a distance between himself and

God. But it is man who creates the distance.

C. It is true that Jesus counted it not robbery to be equal to God,

but it is also true that when he descended to this earth he gave
up equality with God. He had the same earthly limitations
that you and I do. He had a human brain, a human body.

Matthew 9:5-8
"For which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven you,' or to
say, `Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of
Man has power on earth to forgive sins"-- then He said to the
paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And
he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes
saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such
power to men.

Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a

Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs
which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know--"

Luke 22:69 "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand
of the power of God."

John 17:5
"And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with
the glory which I had with You before the world was.

1. Jesus Christ went through the same growth stages that any
normal person goes through; i.e., childhood, adolescent, young
adulthood, death, etc.

Luke 2:40
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with
wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

2. He grew in stature and in favor with God and man.

D. Jesus grew among men; he did not come from heaven like
some android programmed and ready to go. He was formed in the
womb of his mother and born among men.

Galatians 4:4
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His
Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

E. I wish we could bring Jesus down to earth in our own thinking

so that he would be allowed to walk through life with us as our
friend and counselor.
1. Jesus knew sorrow.

Matt 26:37
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

2. Jesus knew hunger.

Luke 4:2
" . . . being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those
days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He
was hungry."

3. Jesus knew poverty.

Luke 9:58
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

4. Jesus knew weariness.

John 4:6
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from
His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

III. JESUS HAD REAL HUMAN FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES.

A. Jesus was born to experience the same human experiences we

all must face.

Romans 5:12
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and
death through sin, and in this way death came to all men..."

Heb 4:15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are,
yet without sin.

Heb 5:7
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him
from death, and he was heard because of his reverent
submission.
B. He ministered to humanity with human strength.

"God collapsed, somewhere in the narrow, winding street

leading out of the city, His bloodied back gave way under the
weight of a large wooden cross...Nowhere can we see God more
with us, more immanent..."

1 Peter 2:20-23
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing
wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you
endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were
called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and
no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their
insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made
no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges
justly.

B. He had to learn obedience.

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from

what he suffered.

1. Christ experienced the full discipline of obedience --- even in

suffering.

2. Heb 5:9
"... once made perfect, he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him..." He is the perfect High Priest,
because he learned through his own personal suffering. He was
the pioneer of our salvation.

C. His approach was much different.

He did go to the synagogue for worship and to teach, but He

spent most of His time ministering at parties, on boats, in
fields, and along the road. The main focus of Jesus' ministry was
building people. Sometimes it's called discipleship.

It meant that He shunned crowds and popularity for quiet times

alone with just a few men and women who on the surface
seemed unlikely to ever amount to much, but He saw that they
were ready to learn.

Jesus Christ shunned institutions to perpetuate the gospel, he

chose men to perpetuate his teaching.
He did not hesitate to respond with compassion to women who
had been immoral and men who were corrupt.

D. Jesus came to this earth to sanction humanity. We see God on

his knees in the upper room washing the disciple feet. (John 13)

E. Jesus came to earth to recognize the imperfections of

humanity and offer man a remedy for his imperfections.

Conclusion:

After Jesus' resurrection he met Mary and he said, "Touch me not;

for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren,
and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and
to my God, and your God." (John 20:17) Through Jesus God made
a painstaking effort to identify with the human experience. He
says, "my brethren" and "my Father, and your Father." He didn't
come to rise above us in greatness but to live among us as you
would live with a family. He wants us to know that he is our
brother, and his Father is our Father.

Hallelujah What A Savior!