01.01.02 - Jesus Christ is truly Human

2. Jesus Christ is truly Human: Perhaps the most profound wonder in universal history – of surpassing glory from the ages to the ages and rivaled only by His dying for our sins on the cross once He had become God in human form – is Jesus’ taking on of true humanity in the first place, a necessary step in order to accomplish the Father’s plan of redemption. In our present finite and limited condition and until we “know as we are known” (1 Corinthians 13:12), it is impossible even to begin to grasp the wonder and the glory, the graciousness and the mercifulness, the cost and the sacrifice involved in our Lord Jesus becoming a true human being.

You too should have this attitude which Christ Jesus had. Since He already existed in the very form of God, equality with God was [certainly] not something He thought He had to grasp for. Yet in spite of this [co-equal divinity He already possessed], He deprived Himself of His status and took on the form of a slave, [and was] born in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even [His] death on [the] cross [for us all]. Php 2:5-8.

Although we cannot this side of heaven truly understand the depths of it or truly appreciate what He gave up for us, yet we should never fail to willingly accept in faith the truth and reality of it, and to stand in thankful awe of all this glorious act of becoming a man as well as God implies. For the fact that God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has become in addition to deity a genuine, living, breathing human being has changed everything in the universe forevermore. For through the incarnation Jesus has in His now absolutely unique Person permanently wed undiminished deity to humanity. The implications of this truth are at once staggering and mind-boggling. When one considers the transcendent magnitude of the divine and contrasts it with the physical universe which is so pathetically puny and transitory by comparison, the news that God has now irreversibly joined Himself to this material universe in the Person of His one and only Son is breathtaking. While all of the implications are at present impossible to digest, at the very least we who have believed in the Son of God for salvation should never fail to appreciate that while God in His good pleasure could well have constructed a trillion times a trillion universes a trillion times larger and more complex than the one we presently inhabit without the slightest effort, He has in fact now through His Son irrevocably committed Himself to us. This is a truth which should never fail to humble and awe each and every one of us, and cause us to fall to our knees in praise and thanksgiving. For now that Jesus has become, in addition to God, one of us in every way only without sin, we can know of a certainty that we are no experiment or afterthought or one of many such developments, but that we instead have always been a part of His unchangeable purpose. We are absolutely unique because He, the unique one and only Son of God, has cast His lot with us and for us in this overwhelming, awe-inspiring and unchangeable way. a. Christ’s taking on of true humanity was necessary in order to provide our salvation: Beyond all argument, everything in the plan of God ultimately comes down to Jesus Christ, and nothing in the plan of God can be disaggregated from Him and His sacrificial work on the cross for our salvation. That is why, for example, the “cross of Christ” can serve as an all encompassing symbol for the gospel (e. g., Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; 1 Corinthians 1:17; Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 2:14), the good news about salvation and our eternal relationship with Jesus through faith on the basis of His gracious sacrifice (Ephesians 2:8-9). Simply put, for us who believe “Jesus is everything”, all that He is for us is intimately and inseparably tied up with His death for us on the cross:

[Jesus Christ] is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Everything in the heavens and on the earth was created by Him, things invisible as well as those visible – whether thrones, authorities, rulers or powers, everything was created through Him and for Him. And He Himself is before everything, and everything subsists in Him. And He Himself is the Head of the Body[, that is, ] the Church. [Even] He who is [its] Ruler, the Firstborn from the dead, [thus resurrected] to the purpose that He Himself might become the One who occupies the first place in all things. For it was [God’s] good pleasure for the fulfillment [of His plan] to reside entirely in [Christ], and so through Him to reconcile everything to Himself, having made peace through Him, through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth, or things in heaven. Colossians 1:15-20.

While the wonder and the glory of Jesus in His eternal capacity as God cannot be underestimated nor with our present limitations more than dimly understood, scripture is very clear about the fact that He had to take on true humanity in order to accomplish eternal salvation for us. God cannot suffer; God cannot die; God cannot become a sacrifice for sin or atone for sin or indeed in His perfect holiness have direct contact with sin. Only a human being, a perfect human being, could possibly fulfill the role of becoming our sin-bearer. As sinful human beings, absent intervention by God on our behalf, we were destined to face the “wrath to come” and the eternal damnation final judgment inevitably entailed. But the indescribably good news of the gospel is that Jesus incurred this judgment for us, bearing all of our sins in His own body on the cross. To accomplish this for us, He had to be a human being, and a perfect one at that, a genuine human spirit in a genuine human body, wherein He would bear the sins of the world on the cross (John 2:21; Romans 7:4; 1 Corinthians 11:27; cf. Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46; John 19:30-42): And having taken the bread and blessed it, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is being given on your behalf. Be doing this to remember Me”. Luke 22:19 (cf. Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; John 6:51-59; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25) The cup of blessing which we bless – is it not fellowship in the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break – is it not fellowship in the body of Christ? For one bread, one body we many are, since we all partake of that One Bread. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. For He Himself is our peace, for He has made both [Jews and gentiles] one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, that is, the enmity between us, by discharging the Law of the commandments and its requirements in His [own] flesh, so that He might re-create the two into one new Man by making [this] peace, and might reconcile both in one Body to God through His cross, having by means of it abolished the enmity [between God and mankind]. Ephesians 2:14-16.

You were once alienated from God – your very thoughts were hostile towards Him and your deeds were evil. Yet God has now made peace with you through the death of Christ in His physical body so that you may stand before Him as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. Colossians 1:21-22. For in Him (i. e., Jesus Christ), dwells all of the fullness of deity in bodily form. Colossians 2:9.

Therefore since these children (i. e., of Hebrews 2:13) have a common heritage of flesh and blood, [Christ] too partook of these same [common elements] in a very similar fashion (i. e., not identical only in that He was virgin born and so without sin), in order that through His death He might put an end to the one possessing the power of death, that is, the devil, and might reconcile those who were subject to being slaves their whole lives long by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15

Unlike the [human] high priests, [Jesus] has no need of making sacrifice day by day, first on behalf of His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For this [latter] He did once and for all when He offered Himself [as a sacrifice]. Hebrews 7:27.

Therefore as [Jesus Christ] was coming into the world (i. e., at His birth) He said, “You [Father] did not desire sacrifice or offering, but you have prepared a body for Me. In burnt offerings for sin you have taken no pleasure. At that time (i. e., His birth) He [Jesus Christ in His deity] said, ‘Behold, I have arrived (i. e., been born) – in the scroll of a book it is written of Me – to do your will, O God’”. Above when He speaks of sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings for sins [as things which] “You did not desire nor take pleasure therein”, [these are the things] which are being offered according to the Law. [But] “Then”, He has added, “Behold, I have arrived to do your will”. [God the Father] is [thereby] taking away the first [covenant] in order to establish the second one, [and it is] by [His] will [in this matter] that you have been sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Hebrews 10:5-10.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we might die to sins and live to righteousness. By His wound you are healed. 1 Peter 2:24. b. Christ’s taking on of true humanity was necessary for victory over the devil: The one who is committing sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God appeared, that He might put an end to the devil’s deeds. 1 John 3:8. The cross and the crown are integrally related. Jesus had to endure the cross in order to win the Messiah’s crown, and the crown was won on the basis of the cross.

[For by means of the cross, God] has stripped [demon] rulers and authorities [of their power] and subjected them to public humiliation, having triumphed over them in [Christ]. Colossians 2:15 (cf. Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8 b) Our Lord’s sacrificial death in a genuine human body on Calvary’s hill for us all thus forms the necessary basis for His defeat and coming removal of the devil, and that ultimate victory (along with all the glories it entails for us) is no small part of the purpose of His victory on the cross.

Therefore since these children (i. e., of Hebrews 2:13) have a common heritage of flesh and blood, [Christ] too partook of these same [common elements] in a very similar fashion (i. e., not identical only in that He was virgin born and so without sin), in order that through His death He might put an end to the one possessing the power of death, that is, the devil, and might reconcile those who were subject to being slaves their whole lives long by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15.

Evil had to be defeated at the cross in order for it to be removed from God’s universe so that the eternity of the New Heavens and New Earth might begin, and only by Jesus’ atoning for our sin could this blessed victory be won and reconciliation effected between God and those willing to turn to His mercy. For it was [God’s] good pleasure for the fulfillment [of His plan] to reside entirely in [Christ], and so through Him to reconcile everything to Himself, having made peace through Him, through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth, or things in heaven. Colossians 1:19-20.

Satan’s rebellion had set in motion the string of events that necessitated the creation of mankind, and, with our corporate fall in Adam, the necessity of the Last Adam’s substitutionary death in our place as well. Only as a true human being could Jesus win the victory of the cross, and it is as a true human being that He will rule forever as a result of His ultimate victory over the devil when our Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory at the second advent (Revelation 11:15; cf. Hebrews 10:11-13).

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and called, and elect – and faithful are those with Him. Revelation 17:14.

It is as a result of His victory and His descent to Hades and subsequent ascension into the presence of the Father in His resurrected and thoroughly genuine human body that we, the Body of Christ, share in that victory and the gifts and rewards that flow from it. And to each of us this grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. For it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive (i. e., He brought pre-cross believers to heaven). He gave gifts to men.” Now [as to] this [phrase] “He ascended”, what can it mean except that He had also [previously] descended into the lower reaches of the earth (i. e., Hades, from whence He brought the pre-cross believers to heaven)? The One who descended is also the One who ascended above all the heavens (i. e., into the third heaven, the place of the Father’s residence), in order to fulfill all things (i. e., complete the victory won at the cross; cf. Psalms 110:1). Ephesians 4:7-10.

Although it is doubtful if the devil and his angels realized it, from the very moment of the incarnation, salvation was assured and Satan’s defeat a certainty. Satan had corrupted a third of angelic kind through their desire to know the pleasures of having physical bodies, but Jesus took on a human body not for sensual experience but, after having experienced the sorrows of this world beyond measure, to suffer and die for us on the cross in order to save us (Isaiah 52:13-15, Isaiah 53:1-12). This is the great victory upon which our salvation and our adversary’s dethronement depends, one which necessitated our Lord coming to earth in the flesh. The seventy returned and said with joy, “Lord, even the demons obey us in your Name!” And Jesus said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like a star”. Luke 10:17-18.

Now the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. Romans 16:20.

[God the Father], who rescued us from the power of darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Colossians 1:13.

Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the prince of this world be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself. John 12:31-32 (cf. John 16:11) For since death [came] through a man, resurrection of the dead also [had to come] through a man. For just as in Adam, all die, so also in Christ, shall all be made alive. But each [will be resurrected] in his own echelon. Christ [is the] first-fruits (i. e., the initial person and echelon of resurrection). Next [will be] those belonging to Christ at His coming (i. e., all believers at the 2 Advent). Then the end [of human history – the resurrection of millennial believers], when He will hand the Kingdom over to the Father, after He has brought an end to all rule, all power, and all authority (i. e., hostile human and angelic control). For He must rule until He has placed all His enemies under His feet. 1 Corinthians 15:21-25 (cf. Psalms 110:1) c. Christ’s taking on of true humanity was necessary for fulfilling God’s prior promises and prophecies: In respect to the fulfilment of all of God’s promises to us it was also necessary for our Lord to take on true humanity. For indeed, all of God’s promises to us are dependent upon the ultimate promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcision for the sake of God’s truth, that is, to confirm the promises (i. e., covenants) made to their ancestors – and also so that the gentiles might glorify God for His mercy (i. e., in providing salvation through Jesus). Romans 15:8-9 b As many promises of God as there are, in Him, [Jesus Christ, they are] “Yes!” So also through Him the “Amen!” [we say] to God results in [His] glory through us (i. e., our faith in His promises ratified in Christ). 2 Corinthians 1:20.

God’s promises are abundant, and they never fail (Joshua 21:45; Romans 9:6; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 13:5-6), because our Lord has empowered them through His death for us as a true human being on the cross. For all of the promises of God are based upon what Jesus did for us: grace of every sort is a result of Christ’s work on the cross (Romans 3:24; Romans 5:15-21; Ephesians 2:5-8; Titus 3:7; cf. John 1:16-17). Time would fail us if we attempted to relate here all of the promises of the Word of God (cf. John 21:25; Hebrews 11:32 ff.), for there is a promise on every page of the Bible. What concerns us here is how those promises, predictions, and prophecies of the Word relate to the incarnation of our Lord. Herein we may focus on three particular areas of promise that require the provision of a person who must of necessity be God as well as man, but true man nonetheless:1) to fulfill the promise of a prophet greater than Moses whose words would be perfect in leading to salvation; 2) to fulfill the promise of a priest greater than any prior high priest, all of whom were all unable to do any more than represent the sacrifice which would cleanse us from our sins; 3) to fulfill the promise of a king who would rule forever, a son of David who would somehow be greater than David and be David’s Lord as well. Only by Jesus Christ, true God come to earth by taking on true humanity, could these promises be fully realized, for each represents one of three critical aspects of God’s plan of salvation, announced through prophecy, effected through priestly sacrifice, and realized in all its blessedness in the coming reign of the Messiah.

1) Jesus fulfills the promise of the Prophet to come, embodying in His Person the entire message of God’s prophetic revelation of salvation (He is the Prophet):

“The Lord Your God will raise up from your midst, from among your brothers, a Prophet like me (i. e., the Lord Jesus Christ). You must give heed to Him, just as you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb (i. e., Sinai) on the day of your assembly [there], when you said, ‘May I not hear the voice of the Lord My God any longer, nor see this great fire lest I die!’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have done well in what they have said. I will raise up for them from the midst of their brothers a Prophet like you. And I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him. And it will come to pass that the person who does not listen to My words which He will speak in My Name, that I will require it of that person’ (i. e., hold him responsible for rejecting salvation).’” Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, “We have found the One whom Moses wrote about in the Law and [whom] the prophets [wrote about too], Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” John 1:45.

If you had believed Moses, you would have believed in Me. For He wrote about Me. John 5:46. So the people who saw the sign He had performed were saying, “This is truly the Prophet who is [prophesied to be] coming into the world.” John 6:14 (cf. Matthew 21:11; John 7:40) So repent and turn back [to God] for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshment may come from the Lord, and so that He may send to you the One acknowledged as the Christ [Messiah], [namely] Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the times of the restoration of all things of which God has spoken through the mouths of His holy prophets from of old. For Moses said, “The Lord God will raise up for you from among your brothers a Prophet like me”. Acts 3:19-22 b (cf. Acts 7:37) The prophets spoke the Word of God, but Jesus is the Word of God and the fulfillment of this and all of the rest of God’s promises prophesied in the scriptures.

2) Jesus fulfills the promise of the High Priest to come, along with all of the prophecies and rituals which taught and proclaimed the need for a “better sacrifice” (He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek): When He had accomplished the cleansing of [our] sins, He took His seat (i. e., beyond the veil) at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:3 b For this reason He had to be like His brothers in every way, in order to become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things relating to God in order to propitiate the sins of the people (i. e., through the sacrifice of Himself). Hebrews 2:17.

Since we have, therefore, a Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens (i. e., as through the veil), [even] Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession [of faith in Him]. Hebrews 4:14. And this hope [truly] is what “anchors” our lives, a secure and solid [anchor of hope] which penetrates [behind] the veil (i. e., the heavens) into the inner place (i. e., the heavenly holy of holies) where our vanguard, Jesus, has entered on our behalf, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20.

Now the others who have become priests are [of necessity] many since they are prevented from remaining [in office] because of their mortality. But He, [Jesus Christ], because He abides forever, possesses the priesthood irrevocably. For this reason He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He lives forever making intercession for them. This is just the sort of High Priest we needed, holy, without fault, without imperfection, completely separated from sinners, and having ascended higher than the heavens [into God’s presence]. Unlike the [human] high priests, [Jesus] has no need of making sacrifice day by day, first on behalf of His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For this [latter] He did once and for all when He offered Himself [as a sacrifice]. Hebrews 7:23-27. The sum of what we have said is this: we have a High Priest of such [amazing] quality that He has [actually] taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, a Minister of the holy things and of the true tabernacle which the Lord has pitched, not man. For every priest is appointed to present offerings and sacrifices. Wherefore it was necessary for Him also to have something to offer. Now if He were [ministering] on earth, He would not have been a priest, inasmuch as there are already those who present offerings according to the law [of Moses]. These minister in [what is a] copy and a shadow of the [actual] heavenly [tabernacle], just as command was given to Moses as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For He says, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain (i. e., Sinai).” Hebrews 8:1-5. But Christ has already arrived [in heaven] as [the true High] Priest of the good things to come, [having passed] through the [veil of the] greater and more perfect tabernacle, that is, the one which is not of this creation (i. e., through the heavens and into the third heaven). Nor was it through the blood of goats and bullocks, but through His own blood (i. e., His death) that He entered once and for all into the [heavenly] holy of holies, having wrought eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12. For this reason (i. e., the inability of the blood of animals to cleanse us from sin) it was necessary for the heavenly exemplars of these earthly representations to be cleansed with better sacrifices than these [earthly ones]. For Christ did not enter into a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one. Rather, He entered into heaven itself, so as to present Himself before God [the Father] on our behalf. Hebrews 9:23-24. A priest ministers to God, but only Jesus in His humanity could present Himself as the ultimate sacrificial offering and so fulfill the promise of the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

3) Jesus fulfills the promise of the King and all of the prophecies of the messianic kingdom (He is the King): And the Lord declares to you that the Lord will produce a house for you. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your Seed after you, [One] who will come from your own loins, and I will establish His kingdom.
2 Samuel 7:11-12. And He said to me, “Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold a Man – ‘Branch’ is His name (i. e., the Messiah; cf. Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 53:2; Zechariah 3:8). And He will branch out from His place and will build [up] the temple of the Lord. For it is He who will build [up] the temple of the Lord. And He will raise up [its] glory. And He will sit and rule [as King] upon His throne. And He will [also] be Priest upon His [kingly] throne. For there will be a [unity of] consultation between the two [offices].” Zechariah 6:12-13.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? For in the east [where we live] we saw His star, and we have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2. And as soon as He was nearing the descent of the Mount of Olives the entire crowd of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God, saying, “Blessed is the One who is coming, the King [who is coming] in the Name of the Lord”. Luke 19:37-38 b (cf. John 12:13) Nathaniel replied to Him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel!” John 1:49.

Then Pilate said to Him, “So you are a king then?” Jesus replied, “You say [rightly] that I am a King. For I have been born for this purpose, and have come into the world in order to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37.

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and called, and elect – and faithful are those with Him. Revelation 17:14. And He has a Name on His robe and on His thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19:16.

Kings rules in God’s stead, but only God’s very own Son is qualified to be His Regent over the entire world when He returns in glory at the Second Advent. d. Christ’s taking on of true humanity was necessary for Him to become our Mediator: For as God is One, so there is [only] One Mediator between God and Man, Christ Jesus in His humanity, who gave Himself as a ransom for all [mankind] . . . 1 Timothy 2:5-6 a The idea of a third party intervening to mediate a dispute between two estranged parties is one to which we can all relate. Thus the biblical concept of Christ the Mediator is inextricably linked to the doctrine of reconciliation, where by Christ intervenes to dissolve the barrier of enmity that separates God from sinful mankind (Ephesians 2:14-18; cf. Colossians 2:14). But there are three points in which the mediation accomplished by our Lord is vastly different from the resolution of most human conflicts. First, God and Man are nothing like equal parties, with mankind moreover being entirely at fault in this “dispute” so that the satisfaction required for resolution must be directed toward God alone (i. e., we have no basis whatsoever for complaint against God, something Job would have done well to remember: Job 9:33). The role of Mediator between the King and His offending subjects can only be played by someone who is on a par with both the Father-King and His creature-subjects: only a Son (incarnate) can be sent on such a mission of reconciliation (cf. Matthew 21:33-40). Second, since the problem requiring resolution is the universal sinfulness of mankind, and, further, since mankind, flawed because of sin, has absolutely no way of paying off the least part of the debt for sin, the Mediator Himself had to be the one to provide satisfaction to the offended party if reconciliation were to occur. This our Lord did on our behalf when He was judged for all or our sins in the darkness on the cross. Thus, thirdly, in order to accomplish the payment of this “ransom”, Jesus had to become a true human being, since only a true human being, and one sinlessly perfect at that, could pay the price for all of humanity’s sins. It is by His work for us on the cross that Jesus has fulfilled His role of mediation, opening up the offer of reconciliation for every human being, an offer that is accepted through faith in the One who made the offer possible through His blood (Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:16-17; Colossians 1:20-23). For it is by faith in His Son who died for us that we accept and receive God’s “peace offer” (Luke 2:14; John 14:27; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:12-14, Ephesians 2:17; Colossians 1:20; cf. Romans 5:1). e. Christ’s taking on of true humanity is proven by scripture: The Bible’s testimony as to this important teaching of Jesus’ advent in true human flesh is unmistakably clear. Despite heresies to the contrary, if we put our faith in scripture, we are left in no doubt as to the genuine humanity of our Lord, possessing a truly human body (Hebrews 10:5-10) and spirit (Matthew 27:50; Mark 2:8; Mark 8:12; Luke 23:46; John 11:33; John 13:21; John 19:30) just as all of us have (though in His case apart from sin).

You too should have this attitude which Christ Jesus had. Since He already existed in the very form of God, equality with God was [certainly] not something He thought He had to grasp for. Yet in spite of this [co-equal divinity He already possessed], He deprived Himself of His status and took on the form of a slave, [and was] born in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even [His] death on [the] cross [for us all]. Php 2:5-8.

1) This is shown by His genuinely physical birth: And all this has happened to fulfill what was said by the Lord through the prophet [Isaiah], saying, “Behold, the virgin will conceive and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name ‘Immanuel’”, which translated means ‘God [is] with us’. Matthew 1:22-23. And the Word became flesh and tented among us, and we saw His glory, a glory like that of a father’s one and only child, full of grace and truth. John 1:14. And the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! For behold, I am giving you a message of great joy which will belong to all the people. ‘Today in David’s city a Savior has been born for you, [even Him] who is [the] Messiah (i. e., “Christ”) [the] Lord’”. Luke 2:10-11.

[The gospel] which is about [God’s] Son, the One who was born of the seed of David according to His flesh, and marked out as God’s Son by the power of the Spirit of Holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1:3-4. For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have given begotten you.”? Hebrews 1:5 a 2) This is shown by normal human experiences of His life and death: And having fasted for forty days and forty nights later (i. e., since being led into the wilderness by the Spirit), [Jesus] was hungry. Matthew 4:2. And [Jesus] Himself was in the stern [of the boat], sleeping on the cushion. Mark 4:38.

"But the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say . . .Luke 7:34. And having taken [Jesus’ body] down [from the cross], [Joseph] wrapped it in linen and placed Him in a tomb [which has been] carved out [of the rock] where no one had [ever] yet been lain. Luke 23:53. And Jacob’s well was in that place. So Jesus, having become fatigued from the journey, accordingly sat down at the well. John 4:6.

Jesus wept. John 11:35. And next, [the soldiers] came to Jesus. [But] when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance, and there came forth immediately blood and water (i. e., “serum”). John 19:33-34.

3) This is shown even in His resurrection:

“Behold, my hands and my feet, [and see] that it is [really] me. Touch me and see that a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have”. Luke 24:39.

Jesus thus not only is truly human, having become a genuine man in order to die for our sins on the cross, but He also knows precisely what we are going through in this world, having endured the worst of it and having drunk its tears by the bucket full (Isaiah 53:3), yet without sin: For we do not have a High Priest who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, since He too was put to the test in all things just as [we are], [only] without sin. Hebrews 4:15.

[Jesus our High Priest] who in the days of His flesh[ly life] (i. e., while He was on earth prior to the resurrection), having offered up prayers and petitions with powerful shouting and with tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and having been hearkened to on account of His devoutness, although being [God’s one and only] Son, nevertheless came to understand [firsthand in His humanity] from what He suffered [what] obedience to God [truly is] (i. e., what it takes for a human being to be obedient to God), and, once He was perfected (i. e., perfectly completed His course), became the source of eternal salvation for all who are obedient to Him (i. e., believers). Hebrews 5:7-9.