Why Jesus Became A Man "Let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery
to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men:
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also
has highly exalted Him, and given Him the name which is above every
name…" Philippians 2:5-9.
This scripture teaches that Jesus Christ existed
from eternity as the eternal Son of the eternal Father and that He
possessed all the attributes of deity that the Father did. We are
told that the eternal Son of God took upon Himself the attributes of
humanity. We note the following phrases:
"Who being in the form of God…" The Greek
word, hyparchon, translated here as "being in" is in the perfect
tense and carries the idea "remaining in", meaning that even while
appearing as a man Jesus Christ continued to possess His attributes
of deity in the form of God.
"...Coming in the likeness of men", "being found in
appearance as a man". These phrases describe the virgin birth and
incarnation of Jesus Christ. The virgin birth means that Christ
entered the human family as a result of the Holy Spirit
"overshadowing" the Jewish virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). The incarnation
means that Christ took to Himself a genuine human nature in addition
to His eternal divine nature. This is summed up so beautifully in
Colossians 2:9 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily." Our question now is, why did Jesus become a
man?
To Submit Himself The Frailties of the Human Body"Who …taking
the form of a servant…" verse 7.
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of
flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same…"
Hebrews 2:14.
Jesus Was Helpless As A Baby
As a little baby He nurses from His mother's breast; is
cleansed and has His every need met
Jesus Obeyed His Mother And Stepfather
At twelve years of age we are given a cameo
picture of His growing years. Luke 2:51 says regarding His
relationship with His parents that he "…was subject to them". Jesus obeyed His mother and stepfather. He honored them as all
children are commanded to do.
Jesus Became Tired
In His ministry He experienced weariness and
exhaustion. As Jesus was passing through Samaria we are told "Now
Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His
journey, sat thus by the well…" John 4:6.
After a day of preaching Jesus and His disciples
got into a boat to cross the sea of Galilee. Mark tells us that a
storm arose that was so violent it had nearly filled the ship with
water. He then adds, "And He (Jesus) was in the
stern, asleep on a pillow…" Mark 4:38. How weary Jesus
must have been to remain sleeping through such a storm.
Jesus Knew Hunger
Jesus knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty.
Following his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness he hungered.
Matthew 4:2. As He walked from Bethany to Jerusalem one morning
during the passion week "He was hungry". Mark 11:12. He asked
the woman who came to the well of Jacob at the time of the noon day
heat, "Give me to drink." One of the last things He said on
the cross was, "I thirst".
Jesus Lacked The "Necessities Of Life"
Jesus was acquainted with what we call being
deprived of the necessities of life. He said, "Foxes have
holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Matthew 8:20.
Jesus Knew Temptation
Jesus experienced temptation. He "was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15.
We also read the reason why, "For in that He Himself has
suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who
are tempted.." Hebrews 2:18.
Jesus knew suffering
Need we say Jesus knew suffering? When we observe
the Lord's Supper we quote His words, "Take, eat; this is My body
which is broken for you."
1st Corinthians 11:24.
Jesus Became A Man To Submit Himself to Man's Condemnation
"…And became obedient to the point of death, even the
death of the cross."
Thorns, The Symbol of God's Curse on Man.
After Adam and Eve had sinned God said to Adam, "…Cursed
is the ground for your sake…both thorns also and thistles it shall bring
forth for you…" Genesis 3:17, 18.
Paul tells us, "Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…"
Galatians 3:13. And what was Jesus wearing on His head as He
hung on the cross, "When they
had twisted a crown of thorns they put it upon His head…"
Matthew 27:29. On the cross He wore the symbol of God's curse on
man.
Death, The Penalty For Man's Sin
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin; and thus death spread to all men,
because
all sinned." Romans 5:12. "For as in Adam all die…"
1 Corinthians 15:22 The scriptures present death in three areas:
- Physical death which is separation of the soul from the body
- Spiritual death, which is separation of man from God
- Eternal death which is separation from God for all eternity.
Jesus Received the Penalty for Our Sin as Our
Substitute on the Cross of Calvary.
Our sins were laid on Him. "All
we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned everyone, to his own
way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
Isaiah 53:6.
Jesus received our death for us. His blood is the
evidence of His physical death: "For the life of the
flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to
make atonement for your souls…" Leviticus 17:11. The evidence of his
spiritual death is His cry, "My God, My God, why have You
forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46 (See also Psalm 22:1-3)
When
we receive Jesus Christ by faith as our Savior we experience a
divine exchange. We receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ that makes us acceptable
to God. "For He (God) made Him (Jesus),
who knew no sin to be sin for us; that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him." 2nd Corinthians 5:21.
Dr. H.A.
Ironsides visited a cattle ranch in Texas. He saw a lamb covered
with the hide of another lamb. He was told that a mother sheep had a
lamb that died and there was a lamb whose mother had died. The
workers put the orphan lamb in a pen with the mother sheep, but she
pushed it away. They covered the orphan lamb with the hide of her
dead lamb and she accepted it, nurtured and loved it. This is a
crude, but helpful illustration of how we are made acceptable to God
"in Christ Jesus".
Jesus Became A Man To Deliver Man From Death And The Grave
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him…"
Genesis begins, "In the beginning God…"
and ends with the words, "In a coffin in Egypt." From the
time of man's sin in the Garden of Eden man has ended his earthly
journey in death.
The prospect of every man, woman, boy and girl is
death, but Jesus has experienced death and the grave for us. To us
He gives the ultimate victory over death and the grave.
We are told that Joseph of Arimathaea prepared a
tomb for himself and his family. (Luke 23:52, 53) But Jesus was the
one who was laid in death in Joseph's tomb. A huge round stone was
rolled down a track to cover the door. The Roman Seal forbade anyone
to open the tomb. It seems that the enemies of Jesus were unaware
that over 700 years previous Isaiah prophesied, "And they made his
grave with the wicked---but with the rich at his death."
Isaiah 53:9. Isaiah
went on to prophesy, "…when you make His soul an offering
for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." Isaiah 53:10.
Three days later the resurrected, glorified
Christ rose in victory over death and the grave. God the Father was
satisfied with the sacrificial death of Christ for man's sin. That
huge stone was hurled from the mouth of the grave…not to let Jesus
out, but to let others in to see that He was not there. Jesus
proceeded to give infallible proof over the next forty days that He
was risen from the dead.
What does all this mean? It means that every
person who has trusted Christ as their Savior has the assurance that
even if their bodies go into the grave, they won't stay in the grave
for the Lord Himself will come and call their bodies to resurrected
life. Paul also indicated that when the bodies of the redeemed are
resurrected every mouth will shout, "O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?" 1st Corinthians
15:55.
Yes, a glorious reason Jesus became a man was to
deliver man from death and the grave. Perhaps the apostle Paul put
it all together when he wrote, "This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners; of whom I am chief" 1st Timothy 1:15. He came to save you. Have you
allowed Him to do it?
Copyright © 2002 Thomas E Berry
Scripture quotations are from NKJV unless otherwise noted
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