Jesus – The Man 3/29/09
Date – 3/29/09
Sermon Title: Jesus – The Man
Text: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:14-18, ESV)
Theme: This message will focus on the fact that Jesus came and wholly participated in the human condition. Although He was totally God he also came and experienced total humanity personally.
Introduction: One of the strangest things that I have ever participated in was the incredible miracle of childbirth. I will never forget the incredible reality of holding my child for the first time. I think that one of the things which made this experience so remarkable for me was the secondary nature of my participation up till that very moment. Let me explain. You see the child bearing experience for the fathers is an experience lived as a non-participant. While we can try to commensurate and empathize with all that our wives are going through the truth is that because we are not sharing in the actual experience of the pregnancy it is hard for it to be a real event for us until that squirmy little thing is actually put in our arms for the first time.
You see while our wives are experiencing all of the discomfort and physical changes and fear that is associated with the pregnancy they are also getting the reality of a little life that is growing inside of them. This experience, I am convinced, helps prepare them for the knowledge that a real human life is being introduced into their lives.
Transition: Today as we continue our study of Jesus and prepare ourselves for Resurrection Sunday, we are going to talk about what it means that Jesus came as a real, physical human being. What impact does it have in our lives that God clothed Himself with flesh and came and participated in the lives of real people in a real setting. Today we are going to talk about the fact that God came down and shared a human life with His special creation.
1) Jesus shared in human weakness
a) One of the things that we need to get square in our minds is the idea that when God clothed Himself in flesh, he participated in a real way in the weaknesses that this flesh brings to us.
i) He was physically human – He got tired and hungry (during the temptation “after forty days without food he was hungry”) and had all of the same types of physical problems which we all go through.
ii) He was spiritually human. We can only imagine what it meant for Jesus to be outside of the type of contact which He had enjoyed with the Father and Spirit throughout eternity.
b) This sharing in our weakness was a necessary part of the process of redemption which took place through His mission.
i) “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18, ESV)
c) As incredible as it seems to us the truth is we have a God who determined that it was not enough for Him to know us with perfect knowledge of the creator, He had to know us as a part of the creation as well.
2) Jesus shared in discipleship
a) I think another important aspect of the humanness of Jesus is that He was able to example to us a life lived in discipleship with others.
i) His ministry was marked by discipleship.
(1) As you look at the chronological events that marked his ministry you find that when it was time for His redemptive mission to begin Jesus first of all went and made a public appearance and was baptized by John and approved of by God. Then he went out in the desert to face off against Satan for forty days. You might say it was the opening salvo in their battle. Then the very next thing that he did was gather disciples to begin his ministry. You can’t even get out of the first chapter of John to see the importance of this event. (John 1:35ff – Andrew, Simon, Philip and Nathanael.)
b) This priority of discipleship should not be lost on us as believers. As we survey the ministry of Jesus it is easy to see that discipleship – the intense sharing of our lives in a way that builds up other believers – was the major theme of his ministry. Is that the case with us? Are our lives wrapped around the sharing of our faith walk with other believers?
i) It was the character of the early Church. – Acts 2: 42-47
ii) It is a command of scripture – Hebrews 10:22-25
3) Jesus shared our pain
a) One thing that always captivates me when I study the life of Jesus is the times that He was genuinely touched with compassion for people.
i) “And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once,” (Mark 1:40-43, ESV)
ii) Over and over we that Jesus reacts with compassion and tenderness towards His people. It is immensely important to know that we have a God who has shared our condition, has firsthand knowledge of human pain and weakness.
b) Illustration on empathy – One night while conducting an evangelistic meeting in the Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago, Booth Tucker preached on the sympathy of Jesus. After his message a man approached him and said, “If your wife had just died, like mine has, and your babies were crying for their mother, who would never come back, you wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying.” Tragically, a few days later, Tucker’s wife was killed in a train wreck. Her body was brought to Chicago and carried to the same Citadel for the funeral. After the service the bereaved preacher looked down into the silent face of his wife and then turned to those attending. “The other day a man told me I wouldn’t speak of the sympathy of Jesus if my wife had just died. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, but it has a song put there by Jesus. I want that man to know that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today.”
