The Uniqueness of Christ预览

1/ Unique in his Person: His Humanity (1)

Jesus Christ is unique in his person. No other prophet, priest or god compares with him. This uniqueness is found in the fact that he was both God and man, fully divine and fully human.

This is clearly stated in two great early Christian hymns, which tell us plainly that in Jesus, God took human form and actually became human flesh (Phil 2:7-8; 1 Tim 3:16).

An ancient creed named Docetism (from the Greek word dokein, to seem) suggested that because human flesh was sinful, God could not possibly embrace it. Therefore, Jesus only seemed to be human. He was like a phantom, God in fancy-dress as it were. As we shall see, if Jesus was not truly human, then the whole gospel message is false. 

Certainly, he displayed many human qualities: hunger, thirst, tiredness, sorrow and so on. He wept and ached and cried out to God (Heb 5:7-8). He showed two convincingly human attributes. First, limited knowledge (Mark 9:21; 13:32). As a human, he could not know everything, including the future. Second, he was subject to death (Mark 15:37). God cannot die. 

Probably, as a child, like any other little one, he fell over as he learned to walk, banged his head or his elbow on things, cried when he was hurt, needed to be taught how to dress himself, tie his sandals, use a spoon and so on. 

He worked as a carpenter, where presumably he often suffered bruises and cuts. If he hadn’t, surely this would have attracted attention. But there is no record of it. Quite the contrary: the Bible says he learned obedience through the things he suffered (Heb 5:8). 

We know he could suffer pain because he did so on the Cross. Was it any different when he was just a kid? It is hard for us to imagine how he could be like this, but if not, he was not a real human.

The Bible says, he was tempted and tested in every way—which means emotionally, physically, sexually, mentally—just like us, but amazingly, he never once yielded (Heb 4:t5).

And as we shall see, were it not so, he would have been disqualified as our Saviour. It was in his humanity that his mercy and faithfulness showed most clearly (Heb 2;17).

What next?

When you are tempted to sin, how can Heb 4:15 encourage you? Name at least two ways.