The mystery of the incarnation of Jesus has been a highly debated topic since his birth. Is Jesus fully man, or is he fully God? It can be so difficult to wrap my mind around his being both. The people that were around when Jesus was alive seemed to have no trouble accepting his humanity. John 1 tells us that they touched and shared life with Jesus. What was not clear to them at first, but would be revealed later through his life, death and resurrection, was that he was truly God. Soon after his time on Earth, it became more evident that people began to struggle with Jesus being fully human. His disciples went from experiencing him as man to worshiping him as God, while we experience him as God first and then learn what it means for us that he was truly man. As we discover that Jesus was fully man, with the same heart, will, body and mind that we have, we begin to see that we are fully saved from all of those same things.
We learn that Jesus had a body just like ours. John 1 says that the Word became flesh. The Bible tells us that Jesus was born, he grew, he became tired, he became thirsty, he became weak, he would even die — just like all humans.
We learn that Jesus had a heart just like ours. Jesus experienced many emotions, just like we experience. The Bible tells us that Jesus marveled, he experienced sorrow, he was greatly troubled, he wept, and he even prayed through loud cries and tears.
We learn that Jesus had a mind just like we do. The Bible tells us that he increased in wisdom and stature during his time on Earth. And it even says in Mark 13 that,“Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus was fully man, even in his wisdom.
We learn that Jesus had his own will, just as we have a will. The Bible shows us multiple times that Jesus would pray that not his will would be done, but the will of his Father.
Knowing that Jesus was fully man does a lot of things in my mind and soul. First of all, it makes me feel okay when I experience my own humanity. In my desire to be more and more like Jesus, it can become defeating for me as I am faced with the reality of my own flesh — when my own body betrays me, when my own heart leads me astray, when my own mind falls short, and when my own will distracts me. But I am fully human. I have a Savior that has experienced all of these same battles with humanity.
But it doesn’t stop there. I have no hope if my Savior only has experienced my struggles, if my Savior only understands my difficulties. Instead, I have a Savior that has power over all of these things. The beauty in Jesus being fully man is that he is also fully God. Although it can be complex for my mind to handle this concept, this is what makes Jesus so worthy of all of our praise and adoration. He is beyond anything our minds can handle or fathom. He is truly spectacular and unique. This is the one I want to give my life to. If I need to be saved from my body, heart, mind, emotions and will, then I needed a Savior that had a body, heart, mind, emotions and will. Jesus took all of my flesh, all of my sin, up to the cross and then defeated it so that I could have victory through his finished work. He became every part of our humanity so that we could be saved from every part of our humanity. This is the Savior that is truly worthy of our praise.