Fully God Fully Human

Have you ever been frustrated by your own limitations and shortcomings? I’m sure we all know that feeling. There are times that we wish we didn’t get so tired, or make so many mistakes. When I am sick, I sometimes wish I would never know nausea or pain again felt like again. When we are asked questions about the Bible which we do not have answers for, we wish we knew everything. When someone else is hurting, there are times that I wish I could just snap my fingers and remove the hurt. But I am so limited! We am so human!

We’re all aware of the frustration of being human. But it is that fact which makes what Jesus did for us so VERY REMARKABLE! As we saw in the last study, Jesus was always God! The amazing thing is that He chose to become a man. Now, He did not stop being God, but as a man, Jesus knew many of the frustrations that we know. When Jesus became a man, He deliberately limited Himself.

The Bible is clear about this point. Jesus was not only fully God, but He was FULLY MAN! Consider some of the following experiences which Jesus had, things which marked Him as fully man.

  1. In Matthew 4:2 JESUS KNEW HUNGER. Jesus was not only that after forty days and nights of fasting, Jesus “was hungry.” In His fully human form, Jesus knew what it was to be hungry.
  2. In John 19:28 JESUS KNEW THIRST. As Jesus hung on the cross as we might expect, His mouth and throat became very dry. therefore, we are told that Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” In His fully human form, Jesus knew what it was like to be thirsty.
  3. In John 4:6 JESUS KNEW WEARINESS AND FATIGUE. John records one of Jesus’ journeys from Judea to Galilee. He had to travel through Samaria and stopped at Sychar. The John says, “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well.” In His fully human form, Jesus knew what it was like to be tired.
  4. In John 11:35 JESUS KNEW HUMAN EMOTION. John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the New Testament. It simply says, “Jesus wept.” His good friend Lazarus had died, and as Jesus stood before the tomb, His emotions swelled and He cried. It takes a great man to care that much! Because He was fully human, He new firsthand what sorrow was like. We might also note what we read in Luke 10:21, that Jesus knew every human emotion from sorrow to joy.
  5. In Matthew 24:36 JESUS KNEW LIMITATIONS IN KNOWLEDGE. In human form, Jesus was the full revelation of God. Even so, as a man He had limited knowledge concerning the time of the second coming. He said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus knew what it was like to be limited in knowledge.
  6. In Hebrews 5:8 JESUS KNEW SUFFERING. How amazing! The thought that Jesus would so limit Himself that He would have to suffer at the hands of men is staggering. Yet that is the case. Hebrews says, “Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” Jesus knew what it was like to suffer.
  7. In Luke 23:46 JESUS KNEW DEATH! Nothing reveals more clearly the human side of Jesus than His death. The eternal one was willing to experience what we all have to–DEATH. Luke writes, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When He said this, He breathed His last.” In His fully human form, Jesus knew what it was like to die.

The Bible clearly indicates that Jesus was FULLY MAN. But there are two very important things we must understand about Jesus becoming a man.

1. Although He was fully human and knew the limitations of being a man, HE DID NOT SIN!

The Bible speaks of Jesus as being our high priest and it says in Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet without sin.”

Because He was human He understands our limitations! Because He did not sin, He could become our perfect sacrifice and bring us the fellowship with God!

2. The reason that Jesus was willing to become a man and experience the frailty of being fully human is because HE LOVES US.

Our sin had cut us off from God and we needed someone who could act as our mediator in restoring us to the Father. Therefore, Hebrews 2:14-17 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy Him who the power of death–that is, the devil– and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fears of death. . .For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

In short, the only way that you and I could have ever been made right with the Father was if Jesus became a man. He loves us so much that is precisely what He did, and in so doing He suffered and died so that you and I might have eternal life. May we never stop giving Him praise and living for Him because of what He has done for us!

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY:

  1. Where does the Bible tell us that Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry, thirsty, and tired?
  2. What human emotions do we see displayed in Jesus in John 11:35, Luke 10:21 ?
  3. When Jesus was on earth as a man, did He know everything? If not, what did Jesus not know according to Matthew 24:36 ?
  4. One of the marks of full humanity is suffering. Where does the Bible tell us that Jesus suffered?
  5. What more than anything else reveals the full humanity of Christ according to Luke 23:46 ?
  6. What does Hebrews 4:14 tell us is the reason why Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses?
  7. Even though Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, did He ever sin according to Hebrews 4:15
  8.  Why was Jesus willing to become a man according to Hebrews 2:14-17 ?
  9. What does it mean to YOU that Jesus became a man?
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