The Character & Humanity of Jesus

Overview:

The humanity of Jesus was evident by how he engaged with people, and the environment around him – despite the supernatural events that followed him and his ministry. People heard, saw and touched him – as seen in 1 John 1:1-3 – just like they did every other person they interacted with. John 1:14 talks about how the ‘Word’ became flesh – a distinction between the physical (mortal) and the spiritual (immortal). Amongst those most familiar with Jesus’ humanness - were his disciples. They saw and interacted with him on a daily basis. They shared in the normality of his life, in eating meals together, walking from town to town, and sleeping in strange places as they went about doing the Father’s work. Jesus had a fully human heart, mind and will. We are privileged to see all across the Gospels that Jesus exhibited a normal range of human emotions, including weeping when he felt sadness over the death of a friend. Jesus got hungry, tired, thirsty and weak. He also felt anger which is well represented in Matthew 21, where he curses the fig tree for not bearing fruit when he was hungry, and lashes out in the temple due to their greed and sinfulness.

Because he was human, Jesus had to bend his own will to that of the Heavenly Father.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Matt 26:39 “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Jesus’ submission to the Heavenly Father is one of his dominant character traits, and provides us an example to follow regarding how we need to bend our own will to that of the Heavenly Father, as he is the one who is divinely sovereign – whereas we are the ones who are fallible and corrupted by sin. If we are to live as if our salvation means something, then we must set aside our own desires and will – so that the will of God can manifest in our lives.

In Luke 2:52 we get a glimpse of a young Jesus, who stays behind talking to the rabbis and priests in the Temple grounds. Already he was talking and speaking of the scriptures in a learned and wise manner. This is why the verse states that he grew in wisdom and in stature both with God and people as he matured. However, it’s in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry years where we will find the source of Jesus’ character, and the source of his growing wisdom. In Matthew 3:13-17, we see that Jesus has the Holy Spirit come upon him as he is being baptised by John.

Matt 3:13-17 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

So, it is to the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ that we can turn to, in order to identify the core of Jesus’ character. Because the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ are the outworking of the Holy Spirit on a person’s life and the character they present to the world around them.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Jesus exemplifies these traits abundantly. He was loving in all that he did – healing people’s illnesses, providing food for the hungry, freeing people from demonic oppression – and in particular – by providing them with the truth of how to be forgiven of their sins, and to restore their relationship with the heavenly Father. Jesus brought the joy of the Lord with him wherever he went, especially as he went about sharing his kindness to others. Because he is from the Father, he exhibited the goodness of God in all that he did. He was faithful to the Father, to his followers, and to the word of God found in the holy scriptures. His gentleness, especially with the lowly, weak and infirm was beyond comparison. And finally, his self-control was exemplary. Jesus could have called down legions of angels to defend him and his followers when the Pharisees, Sadducees and Romans came for them – yet he held back and gave himself up for our sakes, even unto death. Again, his example is the example we should be following, especially in this insane world we now live in.

            We often focus on the divinity, the power and the supernatural that surrounded Jesus and his ministry, here on Earth. However, his humanity, and his personal character played a significant role in how he engaged with both the ordinary person, and also those in authority. It influenced how he ministered to people, met their needs, and how he chose to give his life up so that we may have the forgiveness of our sins, eternal life, and a restored relationship with our God. Furthermore, Jesus humanity and character illuminate the divine, giving us the pattern on which to set our lives, our thoughts and our actions.

Next Section: Jesus as the Messiah