Is Jesus Human or God?

Read This: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God . . . Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.” John 1:1, 14

Think: That Jesus is completely God and completely human is a hard concept to wrap our minds around. Some say that he was a just man who became God or that he was created by God the Father just before he came to earth. Others say he sometimes acted as man and sometimes acted as God. But neither of these accurately portrays what we see in the Bible and the miracle that took place when God the Son took on humanity and came to live with us.

God’s Word tells us that Jesus was there from the beginning, he’s been around as long as God the Father and the Holy Spirit—he wasn’t created or else he wouldn’t be fully God. John 1:3 says, “All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” During his time on earth, we see evidence of his divinity from the beginning. The angelic presence at his birth, God’s hand protecting his life as a young boy, and later Satan and demons recognized him, he spoke with authority unlike anyone before him, and he lived a life without sin. Finally, he conquered death and rose to life again and the battle was won for all who would put their faith in him.

But even though he was God, he willingly submitted himself to human limitations to the extent that many doubted he was God—even some of his own family. He had to obey his parents, experienced hunger, fatigue, public disgrace, betrayal, loss, and temptations. Hebrews 2:17 says, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.” For Jesus to die in our place he had to be every bit as human as we are.

We have the honor of serving a God who loves us enough to come down to our level to save us. He understands our struggles because he walked this life and experienced it as a man. We will probably never completely understand how Jesus can be fully God and fully human, so at a certain point we just have to trust and accept that it’s a mystery. Our finite minds can’t grasp the infinite. There is one thing we can be sure of, that mystery saved our lives.

Ask: Most of us tend to relate to Jesus as either more human or more God. Which way do you lean and why? If someone asked you today who Jesus is, would you have a concise and accurate answer?

Pray: Spend some time thanking God for all he has done for us by sending Jesus to come to earth and live and die for us.