Luke 1:26-38, The Man Christ Jesus (2)

We concluded the previous post with several passages that emphasized the true humanity of the Son of God.  I want to return to the question of “how” this could be?  From Phil. 2:5-8 we saw that the Incarnation required the humility of the Son. He was willing to leave the majesty of heaven and be the Servant to the Father.  But now we should consider what might be the “technical” answer to that “how” question.  For God to be true God and yet become true Man, it required that He be born of a virgin.  Listen to the Bible on this.

Matt. 1:23 (to Joseph): Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’  Joseph had nothing to do with the conception and birth of Christ.  Thus, having the Christ child among us was having God among us.

Luke 1:35 (to Mary): And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Mary’s conception, without the any mans help, was a miraculous work of God.  He was uniquely and truly, Son of God (Deity) and Son of Man (Humanity).

·       The EXTENT of His humanity.

Again, let me say: it is hard for God to become Man.  And perhaps even harder for humans, even though we are made in the image of God, to understand this.  The scholars struggle hard to describe what happened.  But what they did do, at least those who came to be understood as “orthodox” (true in their doctrine), was to accept all that the Bible said about Jesus.  Here is perhaps the classic statement of the two natures of Christ (from The Tome of Leo, June 13, 449AD):

Thus the properties of each nature and substance were preserved entire, and came together to form one person.  Humility was assumed by majesty, weakness by strength, and mortality by eternity; and to pay the debt that we had incurred an inviolable nature was united to a nature that can suffer.

As we said, this may be hard to understand.  But it is the testimony of Scripture.

o   God, who never sleeps nor slumbers, who has no need, who is Creator of all things, dwelling in a home where there are no tears, no death.

o   Christ, born a helpless child, growing up in a home, subject to parents, became weary and thirsty and hungry.  He cried and was at times distressed.  He lived in what we would call poverty.  He needed care from others, such as parents and the support of wealthy women.  Above all, He knew death (Phil. 2:8).  THOUGH HE WAS SINLESS!  He knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21).  He was without sin (Heb. 4:15).  He offered Himself unblemished to God (Heb. 9:14).  He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth (1 Pt. 2:22).  In Him is no sin (1 John 3:5).