How Human is your Jesus?
Many people struggle with relating with Jesus. It is easy to conclude that since Jesus is God and we are not, we can’t live like Jesus. We throw up our arms and say, “But I am not Jesus.” True you are not. There was only one Jesus and it’s not you. So, was Jesus being unrealistic in John 14:12 when he says, “whoever believes” in Him will do the works He did during His earthly ministry? Jesus goes on to say that his disciples will do “even greater things” than he did! If we cannot do what Jesus did, then we have a bigger issue on our hand, since Jesus Himself commanded us to follow His example. Do you find this hard to believe? Do you lack the confidence to live with this kind of boldness and dependance on the Father that Jesus modeled to us?
To understand what it means to follow Jesus we have to solve this issue — his humanity. Taking a close look at His humanity and how He lived His life on earth is critical if we want live with confidence and boldness as a disciple-maker. Could you say what these writers of Scripture said about following Jesus?
Imitate me, as I imitate Christ, was Paul’s conviction (1 Cor. 11:1)
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps, Peter instructed (I Pet. 2:21).
If any man claims to be in Christ, he must walk as Christ walked, claims John (I John 2:6).
How human is your Jesus? Or better yet, how real is He? All of us have a picture of Jesus in our minds. It might be the way Jesus was taught in Sunday School or maybe your impression of him from a movie, a book or simply your imagination. Whatever the case we need to take a good honest look and see if it is a figment of modern thinking and/or a false “super-hero” mentality.
Superman Jesus – a common view and even a theme from the vacation bible school I attended as a kid growing up. We have this idea that Jesus was like Clark Kent when he faced a challenge too great he would run to a phone booth and return to save the day wearing blue tights and red underwear on the outside… Superman to the rescue! Seriously? If wearing tights, sporting my underoos on the outside and changing clothes in a phone booth are requirements for living like a Jesus-super-hero, then I am out. Do you really think we can find a phone booth anywhere? Okay, a little ridiculous I know, but we think Jesus had to rely on his “super-powers” in order to live out his obedience as a man. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Our modern thinking also impacts this. In our misunderstanding of the humanity of Jesus we tend to elevate his divinity (yes, He is 100% God) and diminish his humanity. By the middle of the nineteenth century, theological liberalism was sweeping Europe. Liberal theologians began to champion the humanity of Jesus because it was a way to ignore and downplay his deity. It is easier to say Jesus was a good moral teacher and acknowledge that he was a man, than it is to believe his claims and follow his teachings. So, in response to this sweeping liberal thinking, conservative theologians responded by over emphasizing Christ’s deity. In the process, the pendulum is swinging and few of us honestly have not stopped long enough to discover the profound implications on the humanity of Christ.
Jesus was not a superhuman. Jesus was fully human – in every way. He was man as God intended man to be. Jesus was completely divine and demonstrates what it means to live as God intended us to live. He models for us what Adam failed to do, thus becoming a “second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). Jesus shows us what our priorities should be. The implications of studying the humanity of Christ could change everything for you as it did for me.
Questions to ponder:
1. What has shaped your understanding of Jesus?
2. Describe what a disciple would look like if they did “even greater things than Jesus”
3. Dive deeper in the subject by checking out these resources:
- 4 Chair Discipling (see chapter 2) // 4chairdiscipling.com/videos
- Wallking as Jesus Walked (see week 2) // walkingasjesus.com/v1/video