Jesus, God and Man

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:46-52 ESV). Our reading today is revealing and very encouraging. Jesus was not an apparition. He was not some spirit roaming about the Earth. He was an actual flesh and blood human being. And, he was fully God as well. Even Mary and Joseph did not fully grasp that at first. We have difficulty with it today. However, it is essential to the comfort we so desperately need in our walk. When Jesus was on Earth, He didn't empty himself of His divine attributes, but accepted the limitations of humanity. For example, we know that Jesus became weary like we do. On one occasion as He came to the city of Samaria, we read that He was weary (see John 4:6). Why? He had been walking all day in the hot sun of Israel. Now if I were God, I probably would have said to the disciples, "You boys go on up to Samaria, and I will see you there." Then I would have just appeared in Samaria. After all, why tire myself out like that? But Jesus voluntarily went through the process of feeling what it was like to be tired and exhausted. We see this throughout Scripture. We know that Jesus was tired. We know that He experienced physical thirst. As He hung on the cross, Jesus said, "I thirst" (Luke 19:28). The very God who created water allowed himself to experience thirst. We also know that He was hungry. Jesus experienced physical hunger after fasting for 40 days during His temptation in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:2). Jesus grew as a human, but there was never a moment when He suddenly became God or when deity was transferred to Him. That was always a part of His life. He was fully God and fully man. What this means for us is that not only does he know what we experience; he also has the power to do what needs to be done to help us endure each one of them. Our journey is made easier because he is God made man! Trust that he knows and cares. Trust that he can and will bring good from every circumstance.