March 17

God and man? How could Jesus be both? What was it like for Jesus to be both?

One of the most important early creeds of the Christian church expresses this reality with the phrases, “…being very God of very God and very man of very man…” Theologians often state this truth this way, “His humanity was undiminished by His divinity, yet His divinity was undiminished by His humanity.”

In other words, Jesus was just as much man as if He were not God…and just as much God as if He were not man! Completely taking on humanity without losing His divinity was such an amazing miracle that it would have been utterly impossible if He were not God. Because He was more than just a man, He could become man. He took on humanity though the power of His divinity.

The Incarnation is one of the greatest mysteries and one of the most important doctrines of the Bible. When Jesus took on human form, God was coming near to us, revealing Himself to us. He was called “Immanuel” which means, “God with us.”

This truth is the foundation for one of the greatest calls to Christian humility in the Bible, Philippians 2:5-8,

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

As Luke writes his Gospel, being the doctor that he is, he often notes things that the other Evangelists leave out. Our New Testament passage for today says something very important about Jesus as a child and as a young person and it gives us great insight into the reality of the Incarnation.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:51-52)

Precocious though He was - enough so that He astounded the most learned teachers of the Law at a very young age - Jesus had nonetheless clearly laid aside His former, eternal, divine knowledge when He took on human flesh. Luke observed that as a young man Jesus needed to grow in wisdom as well as stature. He goes on to state that Jesus grew in favor with God as well as man. Although Jesus was God, while He was flesh He laid aside His divine attributes to such a degree that He actually related to the Father as a human being though the study of the Scriptures and the agency of the Holy Spirit and grew in His relationship with God!

The reason these details are important is because all of us are called to follow Jesus and to be like Jesus. Sometimes we excuse our failings and shortcomings when we read what He was like, what He said or did or how He responded in certain situations by saying to ourselves, “But…that was Jesus…!” as if He was so different than us that we could never be like Him. Luke’s account of His life strips all of our excuses away. Through the Incarnation, Jesus became just like us and we are called to be just like Him. We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

Here are a couple of more verses to ponder in this regard,

Hebrews 4:15–16  — 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 was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Acts 10:37–38 — 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

When you read this devotional, I encourage you to pray this prayer,

Lord Jesus, Thank you for becoming human so that you could show me the way to God. Thank you, too, for showing me how to live. Help me be like you. Live in me and through me each day, filling me with the Holy Spirit, giving me the strength and the power that I need to be and do the things I should. I want my life to bring you glory and I want my life to point others to you. In your name I pray, Amen!