Tag Archives: The man Christ Jesus

32 BY THE WAY…WHY DID JESUS THE MAN COME OUT OF THE TOMB?

Bible Study, ,

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

29 BY THE WAY…IS JESUS STILL A MAN IN HEAVEN?

Bible Study, ,

There is another question the Bible needs to answer for us. Did Jesus shed His humanity when He returned to the Father? Is He still a man in heaven?

We know that Jesus took on humanity when He came to earth but…there were also many occasions, before His incarnation, that He appeared to people in the form of an angel. He is called “the Angel of the Lord” as distinct from “an angel”. He spoke as God, for example, as He spoke to Abraham…

 “But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

However, these appearances were temporary and for a specific purpose…and not as a man. 

Jesus, the man, was sent by the Father. He came to earth…His advent planned before creation,  predicted, in great detail, by God through the prophets…at God’s appointed time. He was conceived in the womb of a woman. He was born in the natural way. He accomplished the Father’s purpose…He died as a man…and then He returned to heaven to fulfil His role as Lord but…

Is Jesus still a man now? What does the Bible say?

There is no specific Scripture that tells us that Jesus retained His humanity as Lord, but there are hints…description of Him that suggest that He is still a man in His deity and unity with the Father and the Spirit. Let’s look at two examples. 

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The present tense is clear…”There IS one mediator…(not WAS), the man, Christ Jesus.“

Jesus’ role as our eternal High Priest also suggests that He fulfils that role as a human being…His experience as a man who overcame temptation…qualifying Him to be our representative.

“For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he IS able to help those who are being tempted.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The second example is a description of Jesus as the mighty warrior-conqueror in John’s vision. 

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and Lord of Lords.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭13‬, ‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a vivid picture of Jesus in very human terms…not an angel or a spirit…but a human…a warrior who conquered by shedding His own blood…a man who rules by the power of His word. 

John also saw Jesus, in his vision on the Isle of Patmos, as a glorified man…

“When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Daniel saw this “son of man” in a vision, approaching the Ancient of Days, and receiving an everlasting kingdom over which He ruled with authority and sovereign power. 

“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened….“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬, ‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can conclude, then, with a measure of certainty, that Jesus is still the God-man in heaven, who rules as Lord…but also stands in the presence of the Father as our human representative, forever making intercession for us, presenting His own blood, as our eternal High Priest.