Midweek Advent Service II [Humanity of Christ] (13-Dec-2017)

This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 5.15pm.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus says: See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. (Luke 24:39)

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Tonight we’re following on from where we left off last week, and continuing our series of three midweek services about Jesus. Last week, we were particularly looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Tonight we’re going to be looking at Jesus’ humanity, or we might say, his human nature. Next, we’re going to talk about the fact that Christ is one person, and how his divinity and humanity are united in one person.

Let’s read the summary of this in Luther’s Small Catechism: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Last week we were looking at the fact that Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. And so this week, we’re going to focus on the fact that Jesus is true man, born of the Virgin Mary.

Last week, we were looking at a verse in the book of Hebrews, chapter 1, which spoke of Jesus as truly God. It says that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Now what we believe as Christians is that this Son of God, who existed right from the beginning of time—in fact, before that: who existed from eternity—took on human flesh, and a human body, and human nature. He took on something that he didn’t have before, and joined himself to it. One of the most well-known passages that we have about this is where it says in the first chapter of John: The Word became flesh. This action where the Son of God took on human nature is what we call the incarnation. The word incarnation means taking on flesh. This is what we mean when we say in the Creed on Sundays that he was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

In Hebrews, chapter 2, we also read a couple of other things about this. It says: Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things. It says that human beings, like you and me, share in flesh and blood. And Jesus partook of the same things. Jesus partook of something that he had never partaken of before—he shared in flesh and blood. Also, it says in Hebrew 2:16, that it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. That word “helps” can also mean that “he took on their nature”. We might say that Jesus did not take on the nature of the angels, but he took on the offspring of Abraham. And so, these verses clearly state that on one hand, Jesus took on flesh and blood, partook of these things, and shared these things, and did not become an angel.

Another passage from the book of Hebrews which tells us about Jesus’ human nature is in chapter 4:15, where it says: We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. This little verse has all kinds of wonderful things in it, but I’d like to focus on one part of it, where is says that Jesus is one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. What this means is that when the Son of God took on a human nature, he took on everything about us. But there was one thing he didn’t take on and that was sin. But then even though Jesus was not a sinner, he lived with the full effects of sin, and suffered the punishment for sin, and atoned and died for sin. And so, last week we were talking about how Jesus is just like God the Father. This week, we are talking about how Jesus is just like us.

For the rest of our sermon tonight, we’re going to look at all kinds of different aspects of what it means to be a human being, and how Jesus took on all these things in becoming a man.

The first thing we’re going to look at is that fact that Jesus had a family tree. Every human being on this earth has a family, and we all have parents and ancestors. Jesus, as a true human being, also had a family and a family tree. In fact, if you open up the beginning of the New Testament, at Matthew chapter 1, this is the first thing we are confronted with: Jesus’ family tree. We read: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Jesus’ family tree is traced all the way back to David, and all the way back even to Abraham. In Luke, Jesus’ family tree is traced all the way back to Adam. So, like all humans, Jesus is a descendant of Adam. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God says to the serpent: I will put enmity between and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. There is a wonderful prophecy here of Jesus that says that the woman’s offspring will crush the devil’s head—and this is exactly what Jesus did when he died for the sin of the world. But it is important to remember that Jesus is Eve’s offspring, and so is a true human being just like everyone else.

But also, Jesus is called a descendant of Abraham, and a descended of David. There are many passages where Jesus is called the son of David, and David’s offspring. We could look at many passages about this, but let’s leave it here, that Jesus like all members of the human race has a family and a family tree.

Now, Jesus also became a human being in such a way that he took on every stage of life that everyone goes through, until his death. So Jesus did not simply enter the world at age 30 when he was baptised. Instead, he entered his mother’s womb at his conception, and took on human life as a tiniest little human embryo. He grew in his mother’s womb, just like every child, until the time of his birth, and he was born as a normal baby. He grew from being a baby and into a toddler and into a young child and became a teenager and a young man and reached adulthood. This is a wonderful thing to think about, because we can see that in all these stages of life, that Jesus went through exactly what we have gone through.

So right from the beginning of his human life on this earth, Jesus is called that which is conceived in [Mary]. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and had God the Father as his true Father. But Jesus was also conceived in the Virgin Mary’s womb, and took his flesh from her flesh, and had Mary as his true mother. When the angel Gabriel went to Mary, he said: You will conceive in your womb. We learn here as well that conception is part of what it means to be human. Some people today in wanting to justify the practice of abortion say that a child is not really a child until it’s at a certain stage: until it’s heart beats, or until it looks like a baby, or until it can feel. But we know here that when Jesus was conceived, this was the beginning of his incarnation, and the beginning of his human life. This was where he entered in the world. And so, just as we were conceived in our mother’s womb, so also Jesus became like us, and was conceived in his mother’s womb. The only difference with Jesus is that he had no human father and that his mother was a virgin.

Like all of us, Jesus was not only conceived but he was also born. The angel Gabriel said to Mary: You will… bear a son. And like every baby, when he was born he was given a name: You shall call his name Jesus. In Luke 2, we read: And while they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for [Mary] to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Later, we also read that Jesus was a boy. We read about him going into the temple and talking with the teachers there and asking them questions. And we read: Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. We can see here, that Jesus grew, like all human children. He grew in wisdom, but he also grew in stature. He grew taller—he was a real young growing lad, just like every other young growing lad in this world. And of course, we read about him mostly when he was an adult.

Now there are also a couple of interesting passages that I’d like to mention. Firstly, let’s read Philippians chapter 2:7, where it says that Jesus took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being in human form, he humbled himself… Also, in Romans 8:3, it says that God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In these passages, it says that Jesus was in the form of a servant, that he was in human form. And that he was born in the likeness of men, in the likeness of sinful flesh. Now sometimes when we hear the words “form” or “likeness”, we might think: Maybe Jesus wasn’t really a true human being, but he just had the appearance of one, or he just looked like one. Maybe he was just had human form or likeness, but that he wasn’t really a true man. Now, this is not what the bible means when it uses these words. When it says that Jesus had human form, and human likeness, it means that he was a truly human. Let’s have a look at a couple more passages which back this up.

It’s very important that we realise that Jesus was a true man, and not some kind of spirit that looked like a man. Sometimes people have visions or apparitions and they are so real, that they think it looks like someone is standing before them. There are a couple of places in the bible, where the disciples had to learn that Jesus was not a spirit or a ghost, but a true man with real flesh and blood. One of these instances was when Jesus walked on the water. We read in Matthew 14 that the disciples were in a boat and there was a storm. We read: In the fourth watch of the night [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. Do you see here that the disciples thought they could see a ghost, or maybe we would say a spirit, or an apparition, or a vision. Many people who take hallucinogenic drugs or who practice Eastern forms of meditation sometimes go into their minds and think that they can see real spiritual beings. Now let’s see what Jesus has to say about this. We read: But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” The disciples say: It is a ghost, but Jesus contradicts them and says: It is I. It’s me! I’m not a ghost.

Also, after Jesus’ resurrection, it was also important for Jesus to demonstrate that he was really him, and that it was his true human body that was standing before them. There are many false preachers in the world today who believe that Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead. If he didn’t rise from the dead, then they can only worship his ghost. Instead of worshipping the living Son of God who sends the living Holy Spirit, they are worshipping a dead Jesus with a dead spirit. They turn the church of the living God, into a religion of the dead, or a kind of séance. So when Jesus rose from the dead, Thomas wanted to be absolutely sure that it was him, and said: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. And then what happened? Jesus came to Thomas and said: Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. This was real—Jesus showed to Thomas his real human body, with the real wounds and scars still there. Jesus wanted to demonstrate to him that he was a real man, and not a spirit or a ghost.

But also, we read in Luke, after Jesus rose from the dead that they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a…what? A spirit. Now let’s look at how Jesus contradicts this idea. We read: And [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus says that to think that I am a spirit and not a real man is doubt. Then he says: See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. This is as if to say: If you touch me, you will see that your hand won’t pass through me like air. Jesus says: For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And as if that weren’t enough, Jesus wants to show them further that he is a true human being, and not a spirit. We read: And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They have him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. The fact that Jesus eats a piece of fish shows to the disciples that he is not a spirit, but a true man.

So we can see that Jesus had real flesh, real bones, real wounds, real scars, and ate real food. Also, just like all of us, Jesus really got tired, and slept, and woke up again! We read in Mark chapter 4, where the disciples were in the boat and Jesus calmed the storm. It says: A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. Yes, even Jesus need to take a nap, just like all of us!

Now, we’ve talked a lot about the physical aspects to being a human being. But humans are created by God not just as a body, but we also have a soul. Did Jesus have a human soul? Let’s look at a few passages. In John 12, we read about after Jesus had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday where he is talking to his disciples and says: Now is my soul troubled. Jesus speaks here about his own soul. Later on, we read where Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and we read that he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” This is a wonderful passage, where Jesus talks about his soul again. I remember studying this passage once, and on the following Sunday, a man came to me at the church door and said: “Pastor, I’ve been feeling really depressed.” And I said to him, “Just like Jesus, hey?” And he said, “What?” And I quoted to him where Jesus says: “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” He went away quite encouraged, because he realised that Jesus had been through something similar to what he had been through.

But also, we read when Lazarus had died and he went out to the tomb, we see another reference to his soul, where it says: When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Even we read that he shared in their grief and their emotions, where it says: Jesus wept. These two verses are the shortest verse in the whole bible, but what a wonderful way in which it shows the depth of Jesus’ human nature. So we read in these passages, which are about sorrow and trouble and grief, that Jesus had a true human soul.

What about his will? Did Jesus have a human will? In John 5:30, we read that Jesus says: I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. Also, once again in the Garden of Gethsemane, we read where Jesus was praying and he says: My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. You can see here from the fact that Jesus submits himself to his Father’s will, means that he also has a true human will, just like us.

We could go on, and talk about all the passages about Jesus’ suffering, which shows how he experienced true pain, and truly suffered. He received real whippings which had the normal effect on him that it would have on us, real beatings, real nails were nails were nailed through his real hands, a real spear was shoved into his real side. The most important thing we believe here is that he shed real blood. Let’s leave it here for now, but we there are so many other passages we could look at that demonstrate that Jesus is true man.

Let’s ask the question though—what difference does it make? So what that Jesus is true man? Well, we are humans, and when Jesus became a true man, he became just like. He is a perfect mediator between God and man, because he has entered into the depths of human existence. He is our brother, and he is just like us. He is flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. He is our Redeemer, and he has delivered us with the price of his own blood, and his own death. And what a wonderful thing it is to know that we have a high priest, and a helper, and a Saviour, who is not unable to sympathise with us in our weakness, but who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. What a wonderful comfort this is for sinful human beings like us! What a wonderful thing that Jesus entered into this world and took on our human flesh, our human sufferings, our human problems, our human sorrows and griefs, and died for all of it! Amen.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for taking on human flesh, for partaking of flesh and blood, and for being made in the likeness of human flesh. Amen.