Introduction: A friend sent me a video clip
from an Oprah television show in which Oprah argued
vigorously that there are many different paths to
truth and heaven. She is not alone. This is the
philosophy of the day - everyone has an equally
valid opinion. The one exception would be if you did
not agree. In that case your opinion would not be a
valid "path." The Bible does not accept the "diverse
opinions are equally right" theory. Rather, it
teaches that you are either right or wrong. There is
no neutral ground. One subject on which you are
either right or wrong is the subject of this week's
lesson: the humanity of Jesus. The Bible claims that
Jesus is fully human and (as we studied last week)
fully God. Let's dive into our study this week of
the human "side" of Jesus!
1.
The Importance of Acknowledging His Humanity
1.
Read
1
John 4:1.
What does this text say about the Oprah theory that
all beliefs are equally valid? (It says we need to
"test" theories to see if any are from God. A lot of
falsehood is out there from people who claim to
speak for God.)
2.
Read
1
John 4:2-3.
What is the basis for deciding whose opinion is
Godly and whose opinion represents that of the
antichrist? (Whether the person acknowledges that
Jesus "came in the flesh.")
3.
Read
1
John 4:4-6.
Would you expect the world to listen to you? Would
you expect them to think your path is "valid?"
1.
How many people watch Oprah and listen to her
opinion? Does this text explain why?
(The world listens to the viewpoint of the
world.)
2.
How can the world and the church have such
different views? Do they not use the same logic?
(Notice that verse 4 states that the "One" in you is
greater than the one in the world. For you Oprah
fans, I do not know her views about Jesus. I'm just
looking at what I heard her say about the "many
paths" approach to truth.)
3.
How have we "overcome" the world through
Jesus? (Jesus triumphed over sin and the grave! Part
of this victory is that Jesus came in the flesh.)
1.
Why is Jesus' humanity so important? Why is it
important to His victory over sin?
Let's turn to that next.
2.
The Importance of Jesus' Humanity
1.
Read
Hebrews 2:10.
How can Hebrews talk about making Jesus "perfect?"
He is God. What imperfection could He have?
2.
Read
Romans 5:12-14.
How did sin enter the world?
(By the sin of Adam and Eve.)
1.
Notice that Adam is a pattern "of the one to come."
Who is that?
3.
Read
Romans 5:15-17.
How is Jesus a counter-point to Adam? (Adam brought
us sin and death. Jesus brought us salvation and
eternal life.)
4.
Read
Romans 5:18-19.
Why does Romans concentrate on the disobedience of
Adam and the obedience of Jesus? (Adam and Eve had a
test: would they obey God? Would they believe and
trust God, or would they distrust God and want to
depend on themselves by trying to become like God?
Adam and Eve failed the test. The logical result of
this text is that Jesus took up where Adam left off.
It is that reason Adam is called the "pattern" for
Jesus. Jesus came to earth as a human, He believed
and trusted His Father. He did not sin by
disobedience and distrust. He did not sin even
though He suffered.)
1.
What would be the point of all of this? (If God
created a law that could not be obeyed then how can
we be blamed for our sins? Sin would be a natural,
inherent part of life. We would always live in a
world plagued by sin and the suffering that results
from sin.
Jesus proved that sin is not necessary.)
5.
Considering the task before Jesus, can you
now answer the question how a perfect God became (
Hebrews 2:10)
"perfect" through suffering? (He became the perfect
substitute. He became the perfect "Second Adam." He
became the perfect "Lamb of God." His perfect life,
His suffering for our sins, His death on our behalf
gives us the opportunity for life eternal!)
6.
Read
Hebrews 2:14-15.
How does Jesus' death destroy the devil? (It takes
away from Satan the power of death. When Adam
sinned, we were all consigned to die for our sins.
When Jesus showed that humans could live in
obedience to God, when Jesus took our sins on His
shoulders, when He died on our place for our sins,
He took away Satan's power over us. He took away
Satan's authority to insist on our death.)
7.
Read
Hebrews 2:17.
Why did Jesus have to be made like us "in every
way?" (This is the key to the importance of
understanding the reality of Jesus' humanity. He
could not have stood in the place of Adam and
defeated sin (won where Adam lost) if He did not
become human.)
1.
Why is Jesus compared to a "merciful" High
Priest? (The High Priest in the Old Testament
sanctuary service offered the blood of the sacrifice
in atonement for the sins of the people.)
2.
Read
Hebrews 9:11-14.
How is Jesus our High Priest? (Jesus offers His
blood on our behalf for our sins in the sanctuary in
heaven. Since He understands the pull of sin
first-hand, He is merciful to us.)
8.
Read
Hebrews 4:15-16.
How could Jesus be tempted in every way that we are
if He was not fully human?
1.
Was Jesus tested like we are or like Adam and Eve
were? (It appears from the Genesis account that Adam
and Eve had only one temptation. (Or at least one
testing time before they sinned.) I have tests all
the time.
So did Jesus.)
1.
Let's look at a practical application of
this. If Jesus was tested like me, but did not sin,
do I have an excuse for sinning? (Adam and Eve were
created perfect. The sense I have from Romans 5 is
that Jesus came as Adam - in that Jesus was not
predisposed to sin.)
2.
What would be my goal in trying to live a
perfect life? Why would I want to do that? (All the
texts in Hebrews that we have been reading which
reveal Jesus' work in heaven as our High Priest,
covering our sins with His blood, make it clear that
we are not entering heaven by our own works. We
should not aim to live a "perfect" life to enter
heaven. On the other hand, Jesus went through all
His suffering and pain to defeat sin. Why would I
want to be involved in the very thing which Jesus
defeated at a very great cost to Himself?)
3.
The Hope
1.
My daughter's mini-van just had a flat tire.
It ruined the tire, so I ordered a new tire shipped
to the gas station which had her wheel and ruined
tire. Because we were going on a trip, it would be a
few days before she could get back to the station
and have the new tire mounted. This caused me some
concern that the gas station might think she had
lost interest and throw away her special(but not
expensive)aluminum wheel. Once the gas station
received the new tire I had less concern about the
station thinking we were not coming back. What
parallel do you see between my "tire thinking" and
what we have been discussing about Jesus' sacrifice
on our behalf?
2.
Read
1
Corinthians 11:23-26.
What does this text suggest is the connection
between our hope in Jesus' Second Coming and His
death on our behalf? (After going through all of
this - becoming a human, living a perfect life,
suffering a terrible death, conquering death, do you
think He is going to walk away from what He did?)
1.
Who does Jesus seem to worry about losing
interest - Him or us? (Jesus considers His sacrifice
on our behalf to be the key event to give us
assurance He is coming again.)
3.
Friend, do you believe that Jesus was fully
human as well as fully God? If, in His humanity, He
made it possible for you to live eternally free from
sin, death and suffering, would you be willing to
share that fantastic news with someone else?
4.
Next week: The Wisdom of His Teachings.
