I mentioned that Rabbis in Jesus’ day believed that their disciples, their apprentice would be like them, do what they did.
I came across this quote which helps me better understand what these Rabbis meant. Dallas Willard “As a disciple of Jesus, I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in a manner that he did all that he did.”
Love that.
Anyways, I want to ask you a question, that if we don’t grapple with honestly, we won’t be able to live out of vision – be like Jesus.
Where do you land more heavily – Jesus’ humanity or Divinity? Human or Divine? Why does it matter?
If we put more weight on Jesus as divine, we make it impossible for us to be like Him…to walk as he walked. 1 Jn 2:5b-6 says, “By this we may be sure that we are in Him; whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.”
So, let’s consider how Jesus walked. What would Jesus do? Not just miracles, but His posture. How he treated people. Values? Behaviours?
1. What kind of person was Jesus?
2. How did Jesus become the kind of person He was?
Now we need both, Jesus’ divinity and humanity.
Human: Only the human Jesus can be a model for living in the kingdom of God
Divine: Only the divine son of God can save us from our sin on the cross
In other words… If Jesus wasn’t human, he can’t model what it means to live the Kingdom. If Jesus wasn’t divine, then what He did on the cross wouldn’t have had divine power – atoning power.
Interesting even in the super heroes of today tend to be painted with more of a human brush stroke… There’s divine, and human. Power, and weakness coupled in two.
All major doctrines of the church is paradox.
What are the major paradoxes of the church:
1. Exalted through humility
2. Least will be the greatest
3. Strength in weakness
4. Receiving through giving
5. Freedom through servitude
6. Gain through losing
7. Live through dying
8. Finding through losing
The humanity of Jesus, and the divine, but we hold them in tension
All the major doctrine of the church is paradox. Major on one, to the neglect of the other, we will fall into heresy.
So, we live in tension.
In focusing primarily on Jesus’ divinity, I am afraid we miss something.
So here's the crux of what I am trying to communicate.
If we put more weight on Jesus’ divinity, he can’t be followed. Jesus had an unfair advantage.
But if we strive for a healthy balance, and embrace Jesus' humanity as well as His divinity, we can learn to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to be like Him, and follow in His footsteps.