JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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HUMAN ATTRIBUTES
Jesus was fully human in that He shared all the attributes of what it means to be human.
Normal Baby
Almighty God appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie,
stare, kick and make noises. He needed to be fed, changed and taught to talk like any other child.
Jesus was born of a woman, therefore He is human (Mt 1:18-2:12; Lk 1:30-38; 2:1-20;
Gal 4:4). He had a human ancestry like any other baby. He was born of the virgin Mary (the only
difference being that He did not have a human father), and was made of the seed of David (Ac
13:23; Ro 1:3). The names of His brothers are given, and His geneology on both sides of the
family is given in detail. Eight days after His birth He was circumcised just as any other Jewish
male baby would be (Lk 2:21). Mary also went to the Temple to have the purification ceremony
performed for her, which was required after childbirth (vv. 22-24).
Normal Boy
While medieval artists could picture the baby Jesus in the manger as a little adult, His
family and friends knew that He was a child and that He was a teenager, before He became a
mature adult. It did not occur to them to question whether it had been necessary for Him to grow
and mature. It is noteworthy that the only chapter in the gospels (Luke) about these early years
twice makes the statement that Jesus "developed" or "grew":
"And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace
of God was upon Him" (v. 40).
"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (v. 52).
Jesus grew up like any other youngster. He had a normal boyhood. Like other boys He
learned His father's trade, that of a carpenter. He was in subjection to His human parents, Mary
and Joseph (v. 51). At the age of 12 He traveled to Jersualem to attend the Passover with His
mother and father. This was probably in preparation for His bar mitzvah the following year (at
age 13), when He would be permitted to join the religious community as a responsible member.
Human Appearance
Jesus, like everyone else, had a normal human appearance. In fact, He was so ordinary in
appearance that the Sanhedrin had to hire one of the twelve disciples (Judas) to point Him out in
the Garden of Gethsemane so they would not arrest the wrong man. The woman of Samaria did
not recognize anything unusual about Jesus' appearance. As far as she was concerned when she
first saw Him, He was just another hated Jew (Jn 4:9).