Personal Jesus, Part III: Jesus, Just Hype or Incredibly Human?
It says in Hebrews 2:14-15,18:
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery… 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
This section of Scripture conveys an extremely personal Jesus. A Jesus that is incredibly human. When it comes to the humanity of Jesus, we often buy the hype of a superman-like Jesus flying above the radar when it comes to real struggle. However, the Bible doesn’t give us this option of thinking. Jesus was a person like any other person. In this teaching we consider that:
Jesus had to grow in the understanding of who He was
Jesus had to give up the independent use of His attributes
Jesus had to qualify to be our Savior
In each of these dynamics of life, Jesus rooted His life as a human in a trust for the Father. In each of these categories, the overarching passion of Jesus was to do what the Father wanted, to trust Him. In this way, Jesus demonstrates that He is the Savior and can extend to us His righteousness precisely because He was fully human and never sinned. My hope to be accepted by God is found in the obedience of Jesus a He lived his life. To minimize or neglect the humanness of Jesus is to minimize my hope and standing before God the Father.