Answers to Quiz on Jesus As a Human Being

Question 1

1. With respect to his humanity, Jesus was just like us except that

a. his humanity didn’t limit him in any way.
b. his blood had special divine properties which gave it power to save.
c. he did not have a sin nature with sinful desires.
d. all of the above.
e. a and c above.

The correct answer is c. Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus was like us in every way except sin. As the second Adam, he was a human being in the same condition Adam was before the fall.

Regarding wrong answer a: In respect to his humanity, Jesus had limitations or human weaknesses. He grew tired and hungry, just to name two of the most obvious limitations. Luke tells us that he grew in wisdom—he learned things in the same way the rest of us do—so in his human nature, there were limits to what he knew. I’ll have more to say on this specific point in the answer to the next question.

Regarding wrong answer b: This particular wrong answer is in response to a specific doctrine I come across now and then, which is the teaching that Christ’s blood as a material substance had divine properties, and that’s why it could save. I’ll have more on this, too, in the answer to the next question.

Question 2

2. Jesus’s human nature is

a. mixed with his divine nature.
b. distinct from his divine nature.
c. separate from his divine nature.
d. none of the above.
e. b and c above.

The correct answer is b. This question is straight up from the Definition of Chalcedon (or the Chalcedon Creed), which states that Christ is both human and divine,

in two natures without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without contrasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the “properties” of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one “person” and in one reality.

In other words, the human nature and divine nature of Jesus are distinct without being mixed or separate.

This helps explain a little more how answers a and b in Question 1 are wrong. The properties of each nature—divine and human—are conserved, so with respect to his humanity, Jesus had human limitations, yet with respect to his divinity, he was not limited; and his blood, as part of his human body, was just regular old human blood. It’s special power to save come not from anything unique about the substance of the blood, but because Christ, as the perfectly obedient human being, represented sinners in his death.

By the way, it’s on the side of Christ’s humanity rather than his diety that conservative evangelical Christians are most likely to run into error. We are much more likely to think of his humanity as a kind of “diefied humanity” than we are to think of his divinity as a humanized divinity. This is, however, a heresy that was dealt with a long time ago, but still keeps popping up in subtle forms from time to time. This is most likely a result of wanting make sure we protect Christ’s full divinity—and that’s a noble aim—but his full humanity is just as important to protect as his full divinity. We’ll see the extent to which Christ’s full humanity is necessary to Christianity in Question 5.

Question 3

3. In his humanity, Jesus was

a. in one location at a time.
b. able to experience suffering and death.
c. learning things as he grew and experienced.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c above.

The correct answer is d. These are all limitations that came from being fully human. As a human being, Jesus is in one place at one time. At one moment, he was not in Jerusalem and also in Nazareth. In his divinity, of course, he is omnipresent. As a human being, he was capable of suffering and dying, as history shows. We are also told that he grew in wisdom and learned obedience, so we know that he learned things as he grew and experienced.

Question 4

4. In his humanity, Jesus had

a. a human will.
b. a human mind.
c. human emotions.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.

The correct answer is d. If Jesus was like us in every way, then he had all of these elements of humanity. He had a human will that had human (albeit not sinful) desires. He wanted food when he was hungry and rest when he grew weary. As already mentioned, he also had a human mind that learned as he grew. He had human emotions, too, so that, for instance, he was troubled and sorrowful before his crucifixion. It is because he had all of these things that the author of Hebrews can tell us that Jesus was in every respect tempted like we are (Hebrews 4:15). It is the completeness of his humanity that makes his perfect obedience throughout his life so remarkable.

Question 5

5. That Jesus was fully human means that

a. his obedience can be counted as our obedience.
b. he can be a mediator between humanity and God.
c. he could be a propitiatory sacrifice for human beings.
d. all of the above.
e. b and c above.

The correct answer is d. Romans 5 tells us that as a human being, Christ’s obedience was parallel to Adam’s disobedience. Through Adam’s disobedience, many were made sinners, while through Christ’s obedience, many are made righteous. His humanity was also necessary for Christ to be the one mediator between God and humanity. He can represent us to God because he is one of us (Hebrew 4:14-16 and 1 Timothy 2:5). It was also necessary for Christ to be one of us in order to act as our priest and make a propitiatory sacrifice for us. Hebrews 2:17 tells us that

he had to be made like [us] in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (ESV)

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Here are three reasons why the doctrine of the humanity of Jesus is important to you as you live your life right now.

1. The whole of your salvation hinges on Jesus being fully human. No one could be saved without Christ being human in exactly the same way we are human. How can we not be awe-struck by what Christ gave up for our sakes?
2. The confidence with which we can ask for help from God in the various difficulties that arise in our lives comes because Christ our mediator understands by way of his fully human experience what we are going through.
3. We know that none of our temptations are impossible to withstand, since Christ withstood them as a human being just like us. He felt the entire force of each temptation, because he was victorious over each one by enduring it to its end. Knowing this should give us strength to hold fast, with God’s help, when we are tempted to give up and give in to temptation.

Mary Did You Know?

sung by the two men who wrote it—Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry.

Birth (7)

The Holy Family
by Rembrandt (1634)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. (Matthew 1:18-24 ESV)

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)