Moving A Mountain, Feeding 5,000, BRB.
Back on the wagon of posting, after a week's worth of a weekend.
"How real is your Jesus?" Dann Spader starts the second week of study with this question. He expounds upon the possibly the most common problem that Christians and non-believers have when looking at the life of Jesus on earth; How can Jesus be FULLY GOD and FULLY HUMAN?
Spader is good at leading the reader to the conclusion he's going for. By directing the reader to read a specific scripture and then asking a question, the scripture makes the answer very clear. For instance, Spader asks "Was Jesus fully God? Read what Paul says in Colossians 2:9." The answer is obvious. Spader leads the reader through thoughts and questions that leave no other option than to reckon with the nature of Jesus on earth according to scripture. I like this approach because it leaves no room for my excuses, justifications, loopholes, or allowances. All or nothing, truth or lie, hot or cold, yes or no. This kind of simplicity and straightforward teaching is necessary for all Christians, even though it forces us to reckon with things we may not want to understand/believe/like, like our own failings and brokenness or our mixed up doctrine.
The lesson wraps up like this; If we are to take scripture as truth, as the official word of God, then Jesus must have been FULLY man in light of Hebrews 14-18. Verse 17 leaves no room for confusion...
"17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[a] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."
If Jesus had not been FULLY man while on earth, then His sacrifice would not be sufficient. If Jesus had used his "God Card" (Spader's analogy) while on earth, He would cease to be fully human.
I am left wondering a few things after the lesson is over. Jesus, while on earth, raised people from the dead. He fed thousands on little, he turned water to wine (read "The Merlot Method") and he could see people before he met them.
Following the logic of "if this is true, then that must be true", what does this mean? If Jesus was fully human and I am also fully human, am I capable of doing things like this as well? Jesus must have performed these miracles while FULLY HUMAN, otherwise his sacrifice would not be sufficient. Well, I am DEFINITELY fully human. I'm remembering the famous verse Matthew 17:20...
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
It's possible then that the only thing standing between me (or anybody) splitting 5 loaves of bread between 5,000 people is faith. If Jesus did it as fully human, it must have been through faith, not by swiping his "God Card".
TO BE CLEAR, I am NOT claiming to be Jesus, nor that anyone else can be a great as Jesus was on earth. It's laughable I even have to type that sentence out. I have never, nor do I ever expect to, perform a miracle. However, in light of the above scripture, maybe we shouldn't consider them as such an impossibility.
What do you think about Jesus' fully human form? What implications does that have for us? Let me know your thoughts, and don't forget to subscribe!