At the heart of Christian theology lies the ‘Incarnation’ – the belief that Jesus Christ was fully human and fully God. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). No one questioned his humanity during his ministry. It was plain enough to those who saw, heard, touched and shared life with him (1 John 1:1).
He had a job for a start! He experienced physical hunger and thirst. He got tired and needed sleep. He was tempted. He laughed, grieved and wept. As John Calvin memorably summed it up, “Christ has put on our feelings along with our flesh”. His humanity was demonstrated in the manner he freely mingled and embraced people from all walks of life, especially those who were spiritually, morally, socially, economically despised and written off by the religious establishment.
And it is for this reason, the religious leaders hurled this insult against Jesus, that he was a ‘glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:34. Read also Luke 15:1-2). Their main complaint about him wasn’t that he was too radical – it was that he wasn’t religious enough. It is worth sitting with this irony!
However, as precious as this truth is, De Young wisely warns, it must be safeguarded, like every other precious truth in the Bible. Otherwise, it can be twisted all out of biblical recognition. For instance, De Young observes, “‘Jesus ate with sinners’ becomes ‘Jesus loves a good party’, which becomes, ‘Jesus was more interested in showing love than taking sides,’ which becomes ‘Jesus always sided with religious outsiders’, which becomes, ‘Jesus would blow bubbles for violations of the Torah’”.
While Jesus was utterly and scandalously human, he was and is the Lord of all. He performed actions reserved for God alone. Forgiving people of sins is the first thing that comes to mind. He had power over nature. He turned water into wine. The same Jesus who wept outside his friend’s tomb, turned and commanded the grave to give him back!
Consider his interaction with the Samaritan woman in John 4. By speaking to her, he shattered religious and cultural barriers of his day. Jews viewed Samaritans as religious heretics. Public interactions between unrelated men and women were strictly taboo. He sees straight past the surface of her life and doesn’t hold back on telling her the whole story of her life without condemning or shaming her. Then he challenges her about her spiritual need and how He is the One in whom she can find freedom, love, healing and transformation. In other words, Jesus was asking her to give control of her life over to Him as her Lord!
As Pippert points out, Jesus’ desire to be the Lord of our lives is not some little fetish of his. The Lordship of Christ is important not only because of who he is but also for the fact that he is the only who can be in control of our lives without destroying us. No one will ever know us and love us like him. Jesus knows faith means submitting to his authority, not merely getting what we want from him.
Learning how to fish for people!
Mark
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