Now, that’s an interesting question! Why didn’t Jesus go straight back to the Father when He died? Why did He tell the thief on the cross,
…“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:43 NLT
…if He didn’t intend to remain with the Father.
Why did He come out of the grave as a man? Is Jesus still a man after He ascended to heaven?
The answer to this question opens up the whole purpose of creation. Why did God create humans in the first place if He knew that they would rebel against Him?
Look at all the terrible things His people did in defiance of His covenant! They disobeyed Him, insulted Him, and disgraced Him in front of the surrounding wicked nations. In the end, they were worse than the people to whom they were supposed to show the nature of their God by the way they lived.
However, none of this wickedness derailed God’s plan. He always intended to have a family of humans, created in the image of His Son, who would live and reign with Him forever.
God created humans to live on the earth. He also planned to have heaven …the unseen spiritual realm, and earth…the visible and physical realm…united as one, so that He could live with His people.
God kept showing His people, first through the tabernacle, then through the temple, and finally through Jesus Himself, that He wanted to be with them…to live among them and be their God.
“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
John 1:14 NLT
The only way God could finish what He started was to send His own Son to earth as a human…first to reveal the true nature of the Father…and then to deal with the obstacle to His plan…sin!
Something amazing happened when the human Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb. God and man became one in a single person!
“Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”…You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus…“Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:28, 31, 34-35 NLT
Charles Wesley captured this miracle in one sentence in his magnificent hymn…”Let earth and heav’n combine…” (hymnary. org)
…”Our God, contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.“
So, for thirty-something years, Jesus was a real human, living and dying as a human. Why?
Clearly explained…
“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.”
Hebrews 2:14-18 NLT
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the pivot on which the whole gospel turns. Jesus had to return from the dead as a human…
To prove that He was alive…
“He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”
1 Corinthians 15:4-6 NLT
To show, by His physical resurrection, that He had overcome death…
“But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.”
Acts of the Apostles 2:24 NLT
To prove that He is the Son of God…
“and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 1:4 NLT
To return to heaven as our eternal high priest…
“But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”
Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT
To be our mediator in the presence of the Father…
“For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
To prove that the resurrection of all people is true…and the climax of God’s rescue plan.
“And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”
1 Corinthians 15:16-19 NLT
To fulfil our hope that we shall be raised from the dead into an immortal and perfected body…
“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
1 Corinthians 15:20 NLT
“But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”
1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT
“Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
1 Corinthians 15:49, 52-53 NLT
This is, then, the truth of the gospel…that Jesus took on a human body…lived and died as real human…rose from the dead in an immortal human body…reigns with the Father as Lord…represents us to the Father as our high priest…will raise us to be like Him…and is coming again to set up His eternal kingdom on restored earth.
This is the amazing truth of the incarnation. Jesus, the second person of the trinity, took on humanity forever, like us, and we, in turn, shall be, forever, like Him.
“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”
1 John 3:2 NLT