I think that the Human Jesus has many of the good qualities and characteristics of my friends and family. These qualities and characteristics emerge from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and especially Luke, which emphasize his compassionate nature and his bravery and even qualities which we see as bad such as anger or fear.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is portrayed as an extremely compassionate person. Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word “compassion” is: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Jesus, on many occasions, lives up to this ideal as he heals countless people in his ministry. The number of people he cures in the span of just two pages in the Bible is astounding, much less how many Jesus must have cured every day in his life. The form of illnesses and the people he cures also shows his compassion towards all people. In Luke 5:12, “a man full of leprosy in one of the towns…fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, ‘Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.’” If any other person had walked by, they would have passed by, or rather hastened by, for lepers were outcasts of society in Jesus’ time. Furthermore, Jesus also associated with the lowest of people in Jewish society including prostitutes, tax collectors, and other such people. He realized that they lived pathetic existences in their towns and took it upon himself to show them a better way to live. In this, he showed his compassion for them by first noticing the suffering of the people and then helping them to escape the suffering. Finally, I think that compassion shows Jesus as a human because he felt genuine sadness and sorrow for the people around him.
Furthermore, Jesus is portrayed as a very brave person. First, by the very fact that Jesus risked social rejection by associating with women, tax collectors, and prostitutes shows that he was brave enough to act according to what he thought was right. For example, in Luke 7:36-50, a sinful woman comes to Jesus to ask for his forgiveness, and even though a Pharisee (who is already skeptical of Jesus) is sitting at the table with them, he forgives the woman of her sins. Jesus here has the bravery to exercise the power of God for a sinful woman in front of a man who could convict him of blasphemy. Furthermore, Jesus displayed bravery when he performed exorcisms on the people of Israel. There are many accounts of exorcisms, and I believe Jesus showed bravery in each of them because making demons come out of people must be really scary work. Finally, Jesus demonstrates his bravery in his trial against the Sanhedrin. When he subjected himself to scourging and death for his conviction, he shows me that he is a very brave man. I think that it is important to realize that Jesus had reason to be brave as a human. I don’t think God can be brave because he is omnipotent and bravery requires some amount of risk. This is why I think Jesus’ bravery shows his humanity.
Finally, instances where Jesus does not live the “Jesus Image” that most people characterize proves his humanity. For example, when Jesus, “drove out those who were selling things” (Luke 19:45) he shows us that he is, in fact, capable of anger. He shows us in this passage that he has the power to prove his authority over the traders and merchants in the temple. Furthermore, Jesus even had periods of doubt in God, for he says at his death, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) I think this is important to realize because everyone goes through periods of time where they doubt God, and seeing that even Jesus has times like these makes him seem much more human. The important thing to remember, though, is that in the end, he says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) Although he did at one time doubt God, he trusted God in the end.
So in conclusion, I believe that these four points, Jesus’ compassion, bravery, anger, and doubt, best reveal that Jesus’ humanity was just like our own. And by understanding that Jesus was human, I think that my own sense of humanity is strengthened.
Youth Sing Praise presents GODSPELL. Image taken by Christie Kwock.
I think this picture is an excellent example of Jesus as the real person. First, the picture depicts one on the points I made earlier about Jesus' humanity when he appeals to God. At the same time, this shows his humanity because all humans must die. It is something that every person must face, and because Jesus experienced death, he was fully human.