The Apostles' Creed sums up what we believe about Jesus in these words - "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead".
During his ministry Jesus made many statements and inferences concerning his identity. Was he speaking the truth, or was he merely a fanatic? He was both loved and hated - and nailed to a cross!
He claimed to forgive sins - in an absolute sense that is the prerogative of God alone (Matthew 9.1-7). Was this blasphemy… or the truth?
On several occasions he spoke of himself as "I am…", most dramatically in John 8.58 - "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" The Jews picked up stones to throw at him. Why? Because he was identifying himself with the "I Am" of Exodus 3.14.
The most daring claim was that he would die and rise again. When Jesus first spoke this way, disciples were so filled with horror at the thought of his death that they missed altogether the promise of his resurrection (Matthew 16.21-22).
And in John 10.17-18 - "… I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again".
This was the basis of his prayer and commitment in the Garden (Matthew 26.36-46), his reaction to the crowd who came to arrest him (v. 53), his demeanour before Pilate (John 19.10-11)… When he was on the cross, was he unable to answer the taunts of the passers-by (27.40) and of the religious leaders (vv. 42,43)? Had they gained mastery of him now?
These were the questions in the minds of the two disciples who were walking to Emmaus on the first day of the next week (Luke 24.13-32). They had hoped that he was "the one who was going to redeem Israel", but all these hopes had been dashed because he had been crucified and had died. The discovery that he truly had risen changed the whole perspective from which they understood who Jesus is and why he had come.
Paul writes that Jesus "through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1.4). There was simply no question for the New Testament writers that Jesus was the eternal Son of God who came into our human history.
But the record also makes clear his humanity. It is important to our understanding of why Jesus came to keep his divinity and humanity together. We talk about the "Incarnation" - the Word, eternally with the Father, became flesh and dwelt among us.
Between the unique events of Jesus' conception and resurrection we have the story of a real human life lived in a human body - he was born, he grew, he became hungry and thirsty, he was tired, he died and his body was laid in a tomb.
His mind, not warped by sin, needed to "grow in wisdom" (Luke 2.52), asked for information (Mark 5.30; 9.21) and expressed surprise (Luke 7.9).
He had human feelings and affections - he loved, was grieved, was indignant, wept. And in the life of the spirit, he was subject to human conditions - he could be really and sorely tempted (see Luke 4.2; John 12.27,28; Luke 22.28; Matthew 27.38,39), and he was dependent on prayer.
How can the eternal Son of God come to live a truly human life? "He made himself nothing" (Philippians 2.7) - literally "he emptied himself".
In the days of his flesh Jesus had laid aside his heavenly glory and prerogatives. He was truly able to be the "second Adam" (1 Corinthians 15.45), to live the human life the way it was always meant to be lived - with our limitations, temptations and divine resources, but without sin.
Three of his disciples had a glimpse of his glory on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17.1-8). This made a lasting impression on them (see John 1.14b and 2 Peter 1.17-18). That only happened once. Just for a moment his glory shone through.
So Jesus was fully human, fully divine. The hymn writer, Charles Wesley, put it this way (AHB 229) -
Last week we noted that "the human approach to God must be on the basis of an atonement. The alternative is judgment. And God approaches humankind in revelation on the basis of atonement - or in judgment".
As we look at the Gospel records we note three major reasons why Jesus the Son of God came - Revelation, Redemption and Rule (or Kingdom).
Again and again in the New Testament we see Jesus as the Revelation of God. He didn't just reveal God by what he said, but by what he was. As John put it, "No one has ever seen God but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John 1.18)
His specific mission was Redemption. The very name "Jesus" is a Greek form of the Hebrew name "Joshua", meaning "the Lord saves". "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10.45; see also Matthew 9.13b; Luke 19.10).
His ministry was very closely related to the Rule (or Kingdom) of God. It was the central theme of his teaching.
The events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus are given prominence by the gospel writers. Jesus said to the two who were walking to Emmaus, "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (Luke 24.26).
The apostles, though slow to grasp it before it all happened, became quite convinced of this point. On the day of Pentecost, Peter affirmed that the death of Jesus was not just the result of human scheming - it was part of "God's set purpose" (Acts 2.23). When Paul was speaking to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, he declared that through this Jesus who died and rose again forgiveness of sins is now available to everyone who believes in him (13.38-39).
As we seek to understand the meaning of the Cross of Christ, we firstly see the great Love of God, the great desire of God to rescue sinners and to bring them back into a positive relationship with himself (John 3.14-16; Romans 5.8; 2 Corinthians 5.19).
We also see the seriousness of human Sin. We assume that all we have to do is sin and all God has to do is forgive us - "to err is human, to forgive divine". But in the absolute sense there cannot be this kind of cheap forgiveness, or the whole moral order of the universe is called into question. God is the moral Ruler and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6.23a). The holy God who is also the loving Father can only forgive us on the basis of an offering he himself has made in the person of his Son (Romans 3.21-26).
To understand the Cross requires an appreciation of Jesus as the God-Man. Redemption is the action of God himself, not an appeasement offered by sinful men. Yet Jesus stands also as a representative of the whole human race, the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15.22,45) who lived a sinless life (John 8.46; Hebrews 4.15). Jesus was (and is) eternal, and both Revelation 13.8 and Hebrews 14.14 seem to be speaking of the Sacrifice occurring at a particular date in history, yet accomplished from all eternity. Its benefit was therefore available for those who believed before he came (Romans 3.25-26) and reaches forward to the needs of those yet to be born.
So, again and again, the New Testament writers restate the theme that Jesus took the consequences of our sin. The sinless one identified himself with our sin (2 Corinthians 5.21), experiencing, not simply physical death, but separation from the Father (Matthew 27.46).
For us forgiveness is a very small matter. In reality, forgiveness involves accepting the hurt, pain, loss… These don't just vanish somehow. Reflect on the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18.21-35 - the huge debt is either held against the servant or accepted by the king. By the death of Jesus, the God-Man, God has accepted the huge debt of human sin himself, and now offers forgiveness to all who will believe in him.
That is why the eternal Son of God "became flesh and dwelt among us". That is why he died for us on the Cross. He is the "bread of life", broken to give life to the world. "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6.40).
And he is alive - our Redeemer and Lord. By his Spirit he calls us to be his Body in this world!
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