Two Natures of Jesus
Christian Education Class
November, 2003
Christmas is coming. With it, there is lots of focus on many things.
Q. What are some things that come to mind when you think of Christmas? (write giant list on the board as students say them.)
Of course, one focus- the most important focus- is Jesus.
Q. What are some ideas and thoughts that come to mind when you focus on Jesus and Christmas? (write on board).
What are some of the songs that focus on him? What messages come from them?
- Away in a Manger
- Joy to the World
- O, Little Town of Bethlehem
- We Three Kings
- Angels from the Realm of Glory
Who is Jesus? No question of his impact on the world.
- BC, BCE, AD
- western world- with values he taught- US was founded as a Christian nation; Montreal was founded as a Christian city.
Who was Jesus? Idea of something called ‘hypostatic union’. What in the world is that?
1. He was born as a baby? What does that mean? He was human. His mother was whom? A person- even a teen, possibly. So, if she was a person, what about her baby? A person. A human.
2. But who was Jesus’ father? God, through the Holy Spirit.
- Matt.1.18, 20; Jn.1.1-5; Lk.1.35
- Therefore, He is God, too!
Interesting! Jesus=God man. He was fully man and fully God. This is somewhat mysterious, to say the least, but what Christian thinkers- theologians- have come to. It’s called the hypostatic union. 100% human + 100% God= 100% Jesus.
So, what? What was his main job/calling/task/commission?
- Matt.1.21-22-23- he came to save us from our sins.
Why did he need to be human?
- to understand, to feel, to experience
Why did he need to be God?
- for value/worth. If he had been only human and died, how many people’s sins could he pay for? If he were perfectly human, at most, 1 person’s. (If he had sin, then he could only ‘pay for’ his own sins- but if he were perfectly human, then for 1 other person, at most.) So, 1 person, in this world, over all these years, could be saved.
- BUT, if he were God, then such a life was big enough to carry all of us- to pay for all of us.
Without Jesus’ being 100%/100%=100%, you and I would be stuck, without hope. But because Jesus was all he was, we live in hope and promise!
