Understanding Jesus' Humanity

INTRO

Matthew portrayed Jesus as King. Mark portrayed Jesus as Servant. Luke portrayed Jesus as the Son of Man. How is Jesus the Son of Man? He’s the son of Mary, but He’s also tied to humanity. Jesus became human to redeem mankind.

Jesus’ birth fulfilled the words of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.” The disciple John stated, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1), and then clearly explained, “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us” (v. 14). Jesus came to earth to invite us to the table. Jesus knows us so well, and He wants to put everything before us. Jesus will connect with us wherever we are, if we will just come to the table. This is possible because a young virgin named Mary gave birth to the Messiah.

TEACHING

Luke 2:1-7: These verses provided some of the details concerning the birth of Jesus. Mary had a son and named him Jesus (v. 7).

Luke 2:8-20: The shepherds were some of the first messengers of the good news. After the shepherds followed the angels’ instructions and traveled to Bethlehem to see the Messiah, Luke reported, “After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child” (v. 17). Whoever heard their report was amazed.

Luke 2:21-24: On the eighth day, Jesus was circumcised. He was the Son of Man, so He was like us in human form. The name Jesus was given by the angel. Immanuel means “God with Us,” and Yeshua means “The Lord is salvation.” Both point to Jesus’ work to bring about salvation.

Luke 2:25-38: Simeon was a righteous and devout man. The Holy Spirit had promised that he wouldn’t die before “he saw the Lord’s Messiah” (v. 26). When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple for the first time, Simeon took the Child in his arms and praised Him (vv. 29-32). “At that very moment,” Anna, a prophetess, also “began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38).

The remainder of Luke 2 painted a picture of Jesus as a human child by focusing on His boyhood. Jesus’ father was a carpenter. Some say woodworking; others say working with stone and rock because Nazareth had more rocks than trees. Joseph’s occupation was revealed in Matthew 13:55, when the people in Jesus’ hometown responded to His public ministry by wondering, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” As a child, Jesus had a family: Mary, Joseph, and brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and sisters as well.

Luke 2:39-40: Jesus’ family returned to Galilee to the town of Nazareth. Jesus “grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.” Nelson’s Commentary said this described the growth of Jesus’ human nature, not His divine nature.¹He was fully God the moment He was born on earth. This indicated He was growing into humanity to experience what you and I experience.

Luke 2:41-42: Every year, Jesus’ family traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles were celebrated in Jerusalem. The Passover festival came from Exodus 23. They went to Jerusalem to celebrate what God had done in Egypt. Even Jesus celebrated as a young boy with His parents. When Jesus was 12, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the festival. At the age of 12, boys received intensive instruction in preparation for the age of responsibility, which was 13. At 13, Jesus was accepted into the religious community as a man required to keep the law.

Luke 2:43-46: “After those days were over,” refers to Exodus 23, where the one-day feast was followed by the weeklong feast of unleavened bread, a seven to eight day period. The family journeyed toward home, but Jesus “lingered” in Jerusalem. The larger the traveling party, the easier it was for this to happen. This was a seven hour walk, a day’s journey, with many people. Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus among relatives and when they didn’t find Him, they panicked. After three days, they found Jesus in the temple complex listening to the teachers and asking questions. He wasn’t drilling them. He was a little boy, as a human, learning among the rabbis. Consider Psalm 119:99-100: “I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation. I understand more than the elders.” What an awesome picture of humility. Jesus submitted to listening even though He knew more than the teachers. We need to surround ourselves with people teaching the Word based on the Word so we can soak up the Word.

Luke 2:47-50: Jesus had theological discussions as a 12 year old. All who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. His parents were astonished, and Mary said, “Why have You treated us like this? Your father [Joseph] and I have been anxiously searching for You.” Mary’s anxiety came out. Jesus wondered why they were searching because He “had to be in My Father’s [God’s] house.” According to Nelson’s Commentary, Jesus meant He was doing the work of the Lord or He was supposed to be here.²Joseph and Mary didn’t understand. How many times did the disciples fail to understand? Luke 9:45 describes the same mentality. The disciples didn’t understand this statement and were afraid to ask Jesus about it.

Luke 2:51-52: Jesus, being obedient to his parents, went down to Nazareth. His mother kept all these things in her heart. What things do you think was she processing? Jesus didn’t get kicked out of synagogue; He was welcomed. He was having full conversations; He impressed and amazed everyone who was there. Mary had so much to process: she knew what Gabriel had said; she knew that Jesus was the Son of God, the Son of Man, God with us. Jesus wasn’t being disobedient by staying in Jerusalem. Now He honored the Ten Commandments by honoring His parents. Luke ended by saying, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.”

CLOSING

We know about Jesus’ childhood from Scripture. He grew up strong and filled with wisdom. God’s grace was on Him, and He found favor with God and people. Over and over, commentators point out that Jesus grew as a human, but He didn’t stop being God. John MacArthur said Jesus “submitted the use of His divine attributes to the will of the Father.”³Jesus submitted to the Father, God, and allowed God to show Him when to use these abilities. “Christ was therefore subject to the normal process of human growth, intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially.”⁴He constantly gave up His divine attributes to the Father and continued to grow as a human.

Luke wrote of moments in time when omniscience was on display; moments when God allowed Jesus to use His “God power.” Everything was always in submission to the Father, as evidenced by His statement, “I don’t know the times” (Matthew 24:36). While here on earth He gave the use of divine attributes over to the plan of the Father. At times, God released His omniscient powers. It wasn’t until after the resurrection that Christ truly resumed His full divine knowledge and power.

This was the boyhood of Jesus. Luke 3 included an awesome picture of God the Father stating His approval of His Son while Jesus was here on earth. The boyhood of Jesus included His parents and several brothers and sisters. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature while a human here on earth as the Son of Man.