Behold the Man
There are people who hear or read this teaching and get offended because they so want Jesus to be who they want Him to be rather than who He really is! Why? Because, if they know who Jesus really is - suddenly, they have the responsibility to do what He did! So, what happens when the individual hears this lesson and gets offended? Their heart has been revealed! Every time this lesson is taught people’s hearts are revealed!
This lesson shows the unfathomable measure of Jesus life that He gave up for us and the lesson glorifies Jesus’ whole existence on this earth!
However, when this lesson is taught or read the person is forced to make a choice. They either follow Jesus’ example, or they walk away. Whichever way they choose the responsibility is put on their self.
There is so much in this teaching that puts the responsibility on us to follow Jesus’ example! There are many people who do not want that either!
The minute you take away Jesus’ supernatural ability to do everything better than we can - suddenly, we are that much more responsible for how we walk as people who claim to be Christians!
Understand this: People who are trying to do the right thing with the right heart intent – they are willing to hear and see the truth of what is taught. Why? Because, it encourages them to do even better. However, people who do not want to do their best do not want to hear it! And, it offends them!
People who want to do what they want to do – they want to just keep saying how marvelous Jesus was and how wonderful Jesus was and how we can never be like Him. That is what they want to hear. They do not want to do greater things! They do not want the responsibility that goes with doing greater things!
They want Jesus to do greater things for them – never mind them doing greater things for HIM!
I want to make sure there is no mistaking what is being said here: Jesus is the Son of the Living God and HIS HOLINESS WAS GOD IN THE FORM OF A MAN!
I know what is going to happen when I die. I know that I am going to Heaven, but is that all I have to look forward to at this time? I am not minimizing that. I certainly do not want to spend eternity in Hell. What about all the rest? Let us go on:
Jesus came to die for us, but He came for more reasons than that. You see when God has a plan, it is a complete plan, it is a perfect plan! That is what we are going to look at in this teaching. Do not misunderstand me, I am not minimizing Jesus death on the cross. If He had not chosen to die for us, our sins would not have been paid for, because there had to be a sacrifice for us! And He willingly became that sacrifice!
Every iota of what Jesus did on this earth was important, in fact it was vitally important! In this teaching, we are going to look at Jesus’ walk on this earth, we are going to look at the - man Jesus. It is ALL Supernatural!
We need to come to a full understanding of Jesus moment to moment walk while here on the earth; because that walk is our example of how to live! In looking at how Jesus did things, we can learn to walk in peace and in freedom. Jesus came to set us free! What kind of a God would come just to die on the cross to allow us to have eternal life in Heaven and not deal with the rest of our life here on earth? What about all the rest of it? What about our day to day struggles? What about all the problems we face on a moment to moment basis? What about all the fears we have? What about all the rejection we feel in our lives? Does God care about that? What kind of a God would leave us to struggle daily for years and years without any guidelines in the written Word?
There are a great many do’s and a lot of don’ts and a great deal of do this and do that’s! But Jesus took all those do’s and don’ts and set the right example for us to learn how to walk on this earth!
I do not want to spend eternity in Hell! But what about all the rest of life? What about the prelude to going to Heaven? Back in the sixties there was a song titled “IS THAT ALL THERE IS?” Do you ever feel like that? Is this it? Have you ever thought: Okay! I have eternal life, so do I have to wait until then to get any peace? I know that my sins have been paid for, but what about all the rest? Do you ever not want to get up in the mornings? Do you ever feel like you are defeated, and you cannot get it right? I sure have! I know that I am going to Heaven but is that all I have to look forward to on this earth?
I am here to tell you that God did not leave a stone unturned. There is a way to get through life, in freedom and in peace. Jesus came here to show you and I how it can be done! However, I must emphasize something first. Contrary to popular opinion, we were placed on this Earth for a purpose. Everything we do, say, think, and speak must glorify God! Jesus did that and that is the example He set for us! His every thought, word and action glorified His Father. We were created by the hand of God for a purpose! In and through His walk on this Earth, Jesus showed us how to do that and that is what we are going to look at!
Jesus was an overcomer! Jesus did not settle for being a survivor He overcame the obstacles in His life!
Yes, He was special, but that was not the reason that He overcame all the problems that beset Him, and we are going to look at that. What was His secret? Was it a secret? Is it a secret? No, it is not, but it is not taught enough and in depth. Jesus came to this Earth to show us how to live and how to walk out our life. He came to set us free – free to follow Him!
“...Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV) John 8:31-32
“So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (NIV) John 8:36
Jesus showed us the way to get through life on this earth in freedom and in peace. You see when God has a plan, it is a perfect plan, and He just does not take care of the ending. God’s plans have beginnings, and they have middles, and they have endings. God is in control of the beginning of our lives and He is in control of the end! However, the middle is where we can take control and do as we please! How? Because, what we choose to do in every area of our individual lives determines how we live. If we choose the way God wants us to go, we allow God to be in control! If we choose what the Devil offers us and tempts us to do, we give Satan control – what we choose determines the outcome of the middle!
As we go through this teaching, I urge you to keep in mind, that one of the examples Jesus set for us was this. He allowed nothing, absolutely nothing to deter, detain, or distract Him from accomplishing what the Father had told Him to do each day of His life here on earth. He never allowed anything to affect His purpose on this earth for any given moment of the day. We must remember that.
As we continue in our walk, we need to take time to come to a clear understanding of exactly what our Lord Jesus did for us by choosing to lay down His Deity. We need to clearly look at some of the situations and incidents surrounding His life on this Earth to get a clear perspective of what Jesus was up against as He went about the Father’s business.
All through church history, many individuals have had the idea that when Jesus came to this Earth, He did not lay down His Deity and power. They believe that He had a - “jump start” on us!
What does the word deity mean? The Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary defines it as, “the essential nature or condition of being a god: Divinity”. Jesus gave up everything for us. He gave up His position and His power and came to Earth as a man.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! (NIV) Philippians 2:5-8
In the Phillips translation, it is written this way:
“Let your heart attitude to life be that of Christ Jesus Himself. For He, who had always been By God by nature did not cling to His privileges as God’s equal, but stripped Himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born a man. And, plainly seen as a human being, he humbled Himself by living a life of utter obedience, to the point of death, and the death was the death of a common criminal.” Philippians 2:5 (Phillips)
The King James Version puts it this way.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (KJV) Philippians 2:5-8
There are several words in the above text that I feel God wants us to look at. In Philippians 2:7 the word “made” is Strong’s #2758, in the original Greek the word means: made of none effect, laid aside equality with the form of God, deprived of force, render vain, useless of no effect. This is from #2756, meaning empty handed, without a gift.
The next word to look at is the word “men”. This is Strong’s #444, meaning, human being, with the added notion of weakness by which man is led into a mistake or prompted to sin.
The final word is the word, “humbled”, which is Strong’s #5013, meaning, to level, reduce, and assign a lower rank, to be ranked below others who are honored or rewarded, to behave in an unassuming manner, devoid of haughtiness.
Jesus Chose
When Jesus chose to come to this Earth as a baby, He knew very clearly that He was going to have to come, live and deal with the things of the Earth in the same way that any one of us has to. Therefore, He came to this earth as a newborn baby stripped of all knowledge of God the Father and He came stripped of His power, wisdom, and His position in Heaven! He did not have any special advantage of any kind. It simply would not have been fair. A foul could have been declared! You see, He would not have been able to say to us, “I know how you feel, and I have felt how you have felt.” It would have been a lie. We have got to understand that when Jesus came to this Earth as a baby, He gave up all knowledge of knowing God. He had to start from scratch just like we did, He had to do it the way we had to! He had to! There was no other way. If He had done it another way, He would have been a fraud. This needs to be stressed extremely hard. He was not put here on this Earth with all the knowledge He had in Heaven, He had to work for it. Just like we do! If it were not this way, His whole testimony would not have been valid. Jesus had no preferential treatment upon coming to the Earth, or while He walked the Earth. He worked, He toiled, He suffered, He was rejected, and He was put to death. As He grew, He did not know who He was until the appointed time. He did not know His calling on this Earth. Once again if He had, He would have had a “jump start” and that would not have been fair.
Jesus The Man!
What kind of Savior would He be if He had come with an advantage on us? To come to this earth to accomplish what He had to, Jesus had to lay down His Deity. He could not have come to this earth with a head start on us. If He had, He would have been a liar. If Christ had come to earth with even the smallest part of his Deity, it would have canceled out everything that God the Father would have wanted. The Word came to earth as a man, He Himself referred to Himself as a man.
“As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God...” (NIV) John 8:40
The Apostle Peter referred to Jesus as a man.
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (NIV) Acts 2:22
During His earthly ministry, Jesus displayed common physiological needs:
He experienced fatigue:
“Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” (NIV) John 4:6
He required sleep:
“Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” (NIV) Matthew 8:24
He required food:
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” (NIV) Matthew 4:2
“Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.” (NIV) Matthew 21:18
He required water:
“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." (NIV) John 19:28
Jesus did not even have the advantage of being “good looking”, if it is an advantage.
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (NIV) Isaiah 53:2
The Son of Man
Repeatedly in the written Word, Christ is referred to as, the Son of Man.
“Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!” (KJV) John 19:5
“. . .what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (NIV) Psalm 8:4
“But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (NIV) Hebrews 2:6
These are just a few of the over a hundred references to the “man” Jesus. If Christ had come to earth with even the smallest part of His Deity, it would have canceled out everything that God the Father wanted to do.
When Jesus was on this earth, He went through all the trials that we go though now. The Bible tells us that.
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.”
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed”. (NIV) Isaiah 53:3-5
Jesus Earthly Life
Let us look at some of the situations in His earthly life, but first I want to make a few statements.
I do not know how much information that you reader have heard about Satan or the “Devil” as he is called. I do not want to get into a great deal of information at this point about him because our emphasis is not on him, it is on Christ’s walk on the Earth. But I do want to share these facts with you to further clarify what Jesus, unlike us, was up against.
1) Satan is the “prince of this world”.
“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (KJV) John 12:31
2) Satan knew who Jesus was before He did! If Jesus had known from the beginning of His life on Earth, He would not have been playing fair. He had to learn things and experience everything the way we do so He could honestly say, “I have experienced what you are experiencing.” Every iota of His testimony had to be valid, everything! Please understand and keep this in mind as we go on.
3) Satan thought that Jesus was coming to set up a kingdom and take over his domain. Is He going to? Yes, but it was not at that point. That shows us that Satan is not as smart as he would want us to think he is. Jesus will set up a kingdom on this Earth but, that period and time will come after the rapture of the church.
4) Satan knew that Jesus was going to be born, because there where prophecies made regarding His coming in the Old Testament. He was fully aware of what was happening when the stage began to be set with the announcement to Mary that she was going to give birth:
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
(NIV) Luke 1:26-33
Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
“THIS is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" -- which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (NIV) Matthew 1:18-25
I need to clarify here that our Savior experienced sibling rivalry and everything that goes with living in a family. He came from a large family - after His birth Mary and Joseph had other children.
“When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" (NIV) Matthew 13:53-56
When Jesus was about two years old, the wise men came to see Him.
I want to stress that Jesus was a small child, no different from any other. In a sense He was at the mercy of His earthly parents and their choices. For God, the Father to be able to protect the child Jesus, His parents had to be listening to God. They had to be obedient, if they had not been, there would have been a big problem. Things could have gotten overly complicated. If Joseph and Mary had chosen not to obey, I am not quite sure what God would have done. He would have done something, but the point and the lesson here is this. In the eyes of God, while raising our children, we are responsible to God for what we do with those precious lives.
The written Word tells us that After Herod’s death, another angel appeared to Joseph and told him to return to the land of Israel. Upon their return, it was learned that Herod’s son was in power, so God directed Joseph to take the family to Nazareth. Jesus was now about 5-6 years old. (Matthew 2:19-23)
During my time of study and prayer God revealed to me that from the time of the families return to Nazareth until the visit to the Temple Jesus learned many things around the age of 10 to 11, Jesus came to the understanding of who He was. The written Word would back this up, for Jesus to have had the perspective that He did when He went to the temple, and for Him to amaze the teachers with His understanding of the scriptures, He would have had to at this point know who He was. And, He would have had to have learn to hear the voice of God. Plus, He would have been spending a great deal of time talking with the Father. Keep in mind that Jesus had to learn about God the same way we do – or we could not be able to really relate to Him. Plus, having to give up what He did and having to learn the way we have to He can fully understand how we feel!
“Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (NIV) Luke 2:41-52
Joseph and Mary thought He had run away. When they found Him, and He answered them with, “Didn’t you know I had to be about My Father’s house?” This shows that He knew solidly who He was and what His purpose was. He was not trying to be a wise guy; He was trying to explain but they did not understand, and He went with them anyway. He obeyed them anyway, but to an extent He was right. They were wrong, we know that He is always right. Remember, one person that is right does not necessarily make another one wrong. They thought they were doing the right thing too. But He was in the right more than they were. He was the child, and He obeyed them anyway. But, when He said that, He knew at this point that this was His place.
Let us note here that although His birth was such as it was, Mary did not really understand who He was. Joseph did not understand who He was either and this is the first of quite a few of the scriptures to tell us that. In fact, Mary did not understand until after the resurrection who He was. Up until that point she never quite understood it all.
From this point on there is not written accounts of Jesus life until He is thirty years old. At that time, the account of the walk of the Christ on this Earth, shows Him arriving at the river Jordan to be baptized.
“Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.” (NIV) John 1:32
Did you know that a Dove especially a turtledove is hypersensitive and very shy? Pigeons are loud and boisterous – they are not shy! Turtledoves never fight, pigeons fight all the time! Turtledoves cannot stand noise and they are afraid of humans. They cannot be trained nor can they be domesticated. Once let out of a gage they will not return unless there is no other source of food. Doves mate for life! As with the Holy Spirit - Doves do not adjust to humans we have to adjust to them! That is if we want them/Him to stay! It is extremely easy for a Dove to be upset and fly away. Just as it is when the Spirit is quenched or grieved! I find it amazing that God used a Dove to represent the Holy Spirit! We have much to glean here.
“And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (NIV) Luke 3:21-22
The Temptation of Jesus
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So, if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: `Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "`He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (NIV) Luke 4:1-13
I call this Jesus’ “one on one with Satan”. There is much to be seen here from this portion of scripture and I would like to point out just a few at this time. First, Satan in a sense pulled out all the stops at this point, He knew that Jesus was about to start His ministry on this Earth. He also thought He was going to set up His Kingdom on this Earth. Jesus WAS A BIG THREAT TO SATAN! Satan was more than scared at this point. Let us look at a few things, here. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, and He was fasting. Satan was trying to use the written Word on Him, because He knew if He could get at Jesus, this was going to be the way to do it! How totally arrogant, haughty, and evil Satan is: as I just said: “He was using the Word of God on THE WORD OF GOD!”
“The Word of God is ALIVE, and His name is Jesus!”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-5) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV) John 1:14
Because, Jesus was the “Word became flesh”. Satan began to slam Him with it. He twisted it and he tainted it. He thought that He could get Him angry enough to blow it. He attacked the Word with the written Word. Satan was trying his hardest to get Jesus to pick up one piece of His Deity in any way. That is all he wanted, then Jesus would have had to returned to Heaven and face the Father and tell Him, He had blown it.
Jesus Family and Friends Thought He Was Crazy!
From this wilderness experience, Jesus left there and went back to His hometown where He had been brought up. He went to the synagogue and He stood up to read from the book of Isaiah. After reading the scriptures, He said to them.
“. . .and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (NIV) Luke 4:21
Upon hearing this the people began to ask, “Is this not Joseph’s son? After saying some more to the people, they got furious with Him.
“All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (NIV) Luke 4:28-30
The point here is this, Jesus suffered and experienced the rejection of people. And, this scripture tells us that He experienced it to the point of them running Him out of town to throw Him over the cliff. Jesus is still being rejected even today in this world. He is laughed at and scoffed at and those people who choose to follow Him are treated the same way. Let us go a step further. When someone is scorned or laughed at for being a believer, God through His Holy Spirit is being rejected once again at that very moment. Because the Holy Spirit lives in that person. Understand?
His family had a great effect on Him, let us look at a few situations:
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. (NIV) John 2:1-11
In a way Mary was manipulating Christ, she did not realize it, but she was. He was put into a position that He did not think was His place, basically. She pushed and Jesus listened to His Father and out of the situation came the first earthly miracle of Jesus’ ministry.
Here is another example of the fact that Jesus’ family did not know who He was in fact they thought He was crazy.
“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." (NIV) Mark 3:20-21
They thought that He was crazy for a multiplicity of reasons. The church was angry at Him, you must understand that if the local congregation was angry at your brother or your son, or your mother. How would you feel? There was a great deal of people that He offended, the church, the government, and people where mad at Him. He had enemies. Understand, when you expose the things that people are doing wrong, or if you challenge them with the truth of a situation, they normally will get angry. Remember: when you become offended - is it to reveal your heart?
Does your family understand you? Do your parents understand you? Do you have people in your family that do not understand who you are? I have! But you know what? So did Jesus, and He understands exactly how I feel, and how I have felt!
Jesus was Plotted Against!
Practically the entire time that Christ walked the Earth He was plotted against:
“For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking theSabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (NIV) John 5:18
“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.” (NIV) John 7:1
JESUS experienced Anger!
Our precious Lord was very human in every way as He walked the Earth - very human indeed! There was nothing that we experience today that He did not feel while He was walking this earth! “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)
“After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" (NIV) John 2:12-16
I love this version of this story because the Apostle John makes one statement that says so much: “So, he made a whip out of cords...”.
For the Master to do that, He did not stop off at the Ace Hardware and buy the whip. The written Word says, “He made a whip”, so what He had to do was leave the temple and go outside the walls of the town and gather the material. Then sit down and weave the material together. You know what? All this time He was talking to His Father and venting His frustration out to His Father – while getting direction from His Father on how to handle the situation! But all the while He was following God’s direction to a tee – what a statement He made! Jesus was angry and rightfully so!
During this situation, He taught us something that we can use when we encounter a situation that gets us terribly angry. We need to walk away, go sit down and talk it out with God, go “make a whip” so to speak! Then come back and deal with it exactly how God directs you too! This does not mean that you are going to turn over tables and order people out. To go “make a whip” is an expression to remind us to step back and seek direction for God to work through us even during our anger. Satan can really get a foothold in anger. We need to be incredibly careful.
“. . . for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (NIV) James 1:20
The best part is that He demonstrated to us that we can deal with and handle anything, if we are willing to take the time to listen and obey the Father. We as the children of God, have the right to hear God’s voice and then make the choice to obey. The two go hand in hand and that is the only thing that will allow us to walk in this evil and corrupt world in freedom. That is what Jesus did. He set the example and we are - to follow it.
Jesus even experienced the feelings that accompany your friends letting you down. As we look at these verses, pay attention also to the fact that our Savior was in great distress regarding what was about to happen to Him. These are the emotions of a human being.
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and the two sons of Seabed along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. (NIV) Matthew 26:36-45
I want to point out here a few things, when we look at pictures of the Savior on the cross we need to understand that there has never been a picture painted or drawn that has projected the truth of what really happened on the cross. You could hardly recognize Him; they beat Him, and they grabbed His beard and pulled it out of His face.
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” (NIV) Isaiah 50:6
They put a crown of thorns on His head, they did not just place it there, they drove it in to His head. His face was covered with blood. We all know that a head wound bleeds terribly hard. They stripped Him of all His clothing and put a robe on Him. When He was hung on the cross the robe came off because history tells us this is the way the Romans did it. Everything was done to someone to cause them the most emotional and physical pain that could be inflicted. Let me point out right here that Jesus endured sexual abuse (stripping someone of their clothing and exposing the individual to individuals is categorized as sexual abuse). Jesus experienced severe shame because He hung naked on the cross. It would take a great deal of time to go into the process of Roman crucifixion. The Roman soldiers who were given this type of assignment were trained to create pain, they had it down to a science.
“They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. (NIV) Matthew 27:28-29
These are just a few of the situations to show you the humanness of our Lord and Savior as He walked this Earth. He walked it in confidence, He walked in boldness, He walked in the power of the Almighty God, because He humbled Himself to take direction and obey. He did not walk around carrying a Bible – because there were not any! There was the Torah, but they were few. He walked in constant communication with the Father, He spent time with Him, and He received His direction for each day. There are several scriptures that tell us that He went away by Himself to pray.
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, (NIV) Matthew 14:23
Everything that He did glorified His Father, everything!
“So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. (NIV) John 8:28
Everything Jesus did we can do, and we can because He came and showed us that by His example. He was in the world, but He was not of it.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” (NIV) John 17:16
We must learn to hear the voice of God, we must! We do not know how to run our lives. If we did know how to run our lives, then why are we so miserable, why do we make mistakes. Jesus set the example, He learned to hear the voice of His Father, and He set that example. So, why should we not follow our Master’s example?
Jesus did not have access to anything from God the Father that we do not have access to. God would not have given Him the opportunity to attain anything higher on this Earth than He would allow us to attain. That is not the kind of God that we serve. In fact, Jesus told us that we would do greater things than He did, because He was returning to Father and the Holy Spirit would come.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father”. (NIV) John 14:12
One last scripture to show that Jesus did lay down His Deity: After His work was completed, He ask the Father to return to Him the “glory He had before!
“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (NIV) John 17:4-5
Jesus knows exactly how we feel in every way because He experienced each and everything, we must face each day! He knows what it is like to be a human being living on this earth. He gave us a perfect example on how to overcome everything we face! He understands all our concerns, and all our feelings. “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)
Jesus set the PERFECT EXAMPLE for us in how to walk through our daily life!
“But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” I John 2:5-6 (NIV)
IT IS ALL SUPERNATURAL!
(sw-h)
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