The Humanity of Jesus

God took an incredible risk by sending Himself—His very divine essence and Person—in the form of a human baby. He would grow up on earth to experience its burdens, pains, and temptations, all for one purpose: to live a sinless human life and atone for the sins of the world.

Jesus came in the body of a Jewish male child, complete with all the facets and limitations of human nature. He did this without surrendering His God-ness. By taking on a human form, Jesus could reverse what Adam had done in Eden. Jesus is an example of perfectly holy humanity.

The church holds that Jesus’ incarnation (becoming God in flesh) requires full divinity and full humanity. This doctrine is so important it was cemented in the Apostles’ Creed (and eventually the more thorough Nicene Creed):

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

Though mystical and mysterious, this doctrine impacts daily life in meaningful ways:

• Jesus has fully experienced the suffering of humanity and therefore is the perfect “high priest” to intercede for us in our suffering.
• The fact that God came in physical form is evidence that He values and honors human bodies.
• Because Jesus came as God in a physical body, He is a perfect, sinless substitute for us and our sin, reconciling us to God.
• Jesus’ physical resurrection (see Day 7) is the foundation of Christian hope and the template for the resurrection of believers after death.

Jesus poured all of His divine power and majesty into the helplessness of a human child. That child grew up into a man “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but assumed the role of humble servant for the entire world. This willing, humble heart paved the way for us to dwell with God. What grace!

Respond

Jesus empathizes with your weaknesses and intercedes for you when you suffer. In your next struggle, invite Him to make his empathy and strength known to you.