We have a lot of ideas of what the perfect man should be. If you buy a copy of Alpha Male you will see that some people think it is the man who obtains the perfect body by spending countless hours in the gym getting ripped. In the corporate world the perfect man might be someone like Robert Ringer who wrote Winning through Intimidation, and Looking Out for No. 1, as the way to succeed in business. You might think of a man who has been through sensitivity training — one who has read Daniel Goelman’s book, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, where he talks about self-awareness, and relationships. You might think of a celebrity, a singer or a New York fireman. But how many people would think of Jesus?
Jesus really was the perfect man. Reading through the biblical books that contain the story of his life you see his enormous courage. He stood against the powers of his day, both religious and political. He singlehandedly cleared the temple. He stared death in the face and did not back down. He endured beatings, and willingly stayed on the cross through unimaginable suffering. Yet he was one of the most sensitive men alive. He was gentle. He touched lepers. He wept over lost people. He took children into his arms to bless them. He ministered to hurting people and spent long hours teaching and healing them. He stayed up all night praying. He died, then broke the grip of death in his resurrection. He lives forever as that part of God who can never forget what it is like to be human.
Last week we talked about the divinity of Christ. This week we are considering the humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ was 100% divine, but he was also 100% human. This is a mystery, the reality of which was lived out in the life of one we call Jesus the Christ. The Bible, in talking about Christ, says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). It also says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). The Bible explains how Christ being both God and man fulfilled the purposes of God: “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” (Hebrews 2:17).
The first point I would like to emphasize this morning is that by becoming a man: Jesus identified with humanity. Jesus came to live among us as one of us. There is nothing about the human condition that he has not personally experienced. The Bible says, “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. 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” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
He was God who had come to live among us. He was the perfect man, but he was not Superman. Superman could catch a bullet with his teeth or stand in a blazing fire untouched. Jesus Christ could not do that. The amazing thing is that he came to us in a vulnerable condition. If he was tempted, he felt the pull. If he was cut, he bled. If he was hit, he bruised. If he was rejected, he felt emotional pain. If he fell he got hurt. It was possible for him to die. In fact, if he had not been vulnerable like this, he would not have been the perfect man. He would have been a demigod, but not the very real, personal and human Jesus. Now we know he understands us because he was like us.
Not many years after the death and resurrection of Christ, a heresy called Docetism arose among some who said that Jesus’ body only “seemed” to be real. The Docetists believed that he could not feel pain, and that his body was spiritual so that if he walked on the sand he would not leave footprints; if he walked on grass the blades of grass would not bend over when he walked on them. This was the opposite kind of heresy from the other heresy which said that Christ was not God — merely human. They believed that he was not human at all — totally divine. This was such a devious heresy because it sounded so spiritual while it robbed Christ of his humanity, and robbed us of the assurance that he entered our experience in the fullest sense. If Jesus had not become one of us he would not have known what we feel. We could never be sure if he really understood us. More than that, if he had not become one of us, he could not have died in our place.
In order to come for us, he had to humble himself and take on the form of a human. The Bible explains it this way: “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!” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Paul was continually in awe of all that Jesus gave up in order to be with us. He wrote to the Corinthians saying, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He who was at the Father’s side came to be by your side! He became poor that you might become rich. As the Bible says, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman. . . that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
The second point is that by becoming a man: Jesus dignified humanity. What an enormous compliment that God would become human! God bestowed the ultimate dignity on us when he became one of us. The writer of Hebrews asks this question: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” Then he answers the question by saying, “You crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet” (Hebrews 2:6-8). The writer of these words is actually quoting Psalm 8. The Psalm writer makes it even stronger, for in the original language he says, “You have made him a little less than God.”
It is interesting that the pop culture we live in reduces us to animals who are helpless against the urges and instincts which rule us. We are made to believe that we can fight them, but we can never overcome them. But the Bible gives us this incredible dignity of being a little less than God. It tells us that we were crowned with glory and honor. We have dignity and strength. We do not have to live in the gutter. We were created for a position of honor and greatness. We were created with needs, hungers and even passions, but we do not have to let them rule us, we are to rule over them. They are good things, and when we channel these needs and passions in line with God’s original design and intent for us, they become a source of great blessing. When we misuse them they become the source of shame and regret. These things are a part of our glorified humanity and God intended them for our good. But as in anything, the greater the good, the greater the potential for misuse. The more these things are used in alignment with God’s will the greater blessing they become in our lives.
We are more than animals, we were made in the very image of God. In the creation of human beings, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27). In all the other acts of creation God said, “Let there be. . . ,” but in creating mankind he said, “Let us make. . . .” In all the other acts of creation each creature is described “according to its kind,” but man and woman are described as being after God’s kind — in his image. Men and women bear a resemblance to their Creator, unlike any of the rest of the created order. In the creation of plants and animals the issue of gender is not mentioned, but in the creation of man it specifically says that there is male and female — both sharing the divine image. Both having dignity and an elevated position on earth. In none of the accounts of the other created beings is there any mention of their position in the created order, but in the creation of men and women they are given dominion over the rest of creation. We are partners with God in ruling the world.
The writer of Hebrews says, “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11). The Bible says of those who have entered into the fullness of their humanity as God designed: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). The book of Revelation says that he “has made us to be a kingdom and priests” (Revelation 1:6).
Look at what God has done. He has made us partners in creation as our children are conceived and born. He has given us dominion over nature so that we might use what we have been given for good. We can enhance our environment and make the world an even better place. He has shared his intelligence with us, and given us minds so that we are able to develop from our resources skyscrapers, automobiles, airplanes, computers, radios, telephones, televisions. All of this is possible because God has given us minds capable of intelligence and creativity. We become partners with God in the healing process as we discover the laws of physical science which he has built into the world.
It is all so wonderful, but the best is yet to come. The Bible says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Athanasius (295-373) wrote: “He became what we are that he might make us what he is.” Jesus, the perfect man, dignified humanity when he came as one of us, but when he returns he will dignify us even further by making us more like him. I do not pretend to know what all is contained in the meaning of those words, but I do know it will be wonderful.
The third point is that by becoming a man: Jesus delivered humanity. Jesus Christ has delivered us from the grip of sin, Satan and death. He has delivered us from them all. The writer of Hebrews says, “But we see Jesus. . . now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:9-10). He goes on to say, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The Son of God came that you might become a child of God. He did that by giving himself for you upon the cross. As the scripture says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). It cost Christ everything to save and deliver the human race.
This week I watched again the movie Life Is Beautiful. It is a wonderful story of redemption. Roberto Benigni plays the part of Guido, a Jewish servant. He falls in love with a beautiful Catholic woman named Dora who has ties to the aristocracy. The way he wins her heart is as hilarious as it is heartwarming. Eventually, they marry and have a son. But the Nazi noose is tightening around the Jewish community. The day comes when Guido, Dora and their son find themselves in a German concentration camp. Guido convinces his son that the whole thing is an elaborate game, and the winner of the game will walk away with a real tank all their own. Throughout the movie Guido finds ways of communicating with his wife even though they are separated. Once he finds the door open to where the public address system is, and he shouts over the microphone: “Good morning, Princess. I dreamt about you all night. You’re all I think about, Princess. I always thing about you.” Another time he is waiting tables for German officers in the camp when he spots a pile of records near a phonograph. He looks through them and finds a recording of “The Tales of Hoffman,” an opera they went to the night he won Dora’s heart. He puts it on the phonograph and turns the speaker toward the window. The music floats over the night air and reaches Dora’s ear and heart. She knows two things: Her lover is alive, and his love for her remains strong. He is constantly thinking about her. It is what gives her the courage to go on. And then, through a selfless act of courage and devotion, he makes it possible for his son to live. His family is spared through by sacrificing his life. But far from being a tragic figure, he is able to face his situation with joy.
The Bible says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). And even though we are separated at this time, we hear the music of heaven. We hear him calling to us: “Good morning, my Prince/my Princess. I dreamt of you all night. I think about you all the time.”
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 17, 2002
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What kind of unrealistic expectations have you tried to live up to?
2. What did Jesus come to do?
3. What did Jesus accomplish?
4. Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What makes you believe that Jesus understands your problems and temptations? According to these verses how does the work of Christ change how we approach God?
5. What would God seem like if Jesus had never come? What would we have missed?
6. How did the coming of Jesus dignify our humanity?
7. Why was the coming of Jesus Christ to earth important as far as our salvation? Could he have paid for our sins without coming?
8. Read Colossians 1:15 & 2:9. Does it surprise you to think that God would come to earth in human form? Why is this a staggering thought?
9. Read Hebrews 2:14-17. What is the important truth this scripture is telling us? How does it affect you emotionally?
10. Read Philippians 2:6-8. Take time to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for what Christ’s sacrifice has done for you.
