|
|
|
|
Answers About The
Bible. Who is Jesus? Part 2.
HE BECAME LIKE US
Philippians 2:4-8
INTRODUCTION: The
Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is more than a man. He is God come in
the flesh (John 1:1- 2, 14) He had the power to heal the sick, make
blind people see, the lame walk, raise the dead, and even have power to
command the winds and the wave to be still. Anyone who denies that Jesus
is divine is departing from God's Word.
But this morning we
are going to examine the other side of Jesus. When he came to earth he
emptied himself and became a man. He became like us. He walked, talked,
breathed, ate, slept, drank, and did everything else that man would do
upon the earth. He became like us!
BODY
I. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN HIS LIABILITY TO HUMAN INFIRMITIES.
A. He suffered all
the human frailties that we all suffer.
1. Matthew 21:18-
"Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was
hungry."
2. John 4:7-
"A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her,
"Give Me a drink.""
3. Luke 8:23-
"But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down
on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in
jeopardy."
B. Jesus could be
tempted through the means of satisfying his physical needs.
1. Matthew 4:2-4
"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward
He was hungry. 3) "Now when the tempter came to Him, he said,
"If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become
bread." 4) "But He answered and said, "It is written,
'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'""
II. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN THE LIMITATION OF HIS KNOWLEDGE WHILE HERE ON EARTH.
A. Jesus had to
develop in His knowledge.
1. Luke 2:40, 52-
"And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with
wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. 52) And Jesus increased
in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
2. Mark 9:21-
"So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening
to him?" And he said, "From childhood."
a. It seems from
the passage that Jesus was asking for information and did not know
how long this young man had a mute spirit.
B. Jesus was limited
as to His knowledge of the future.
1. Mark 13:32-
""But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
III. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN HIS DEPENDENCE UPON OTHERS.
A. As a child
growing up he learned to depend on his parents.
1. His mother and
earthly "father" provided for all his physical needs. It
is certain that Joseph taught him his trade, just like every other
Jewish father did for their son.
2. They
undoubtedly provided for his spiritual training.
B. When he was
working in his earthly ministry he depended upon others.
1. He depended
upon his disciples for assistance, just as they depended on him.
2. He depended
upon such individuals as Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus,
and other disciples, to help him with shelter, clothing, food and
drink, etc.
3. The
self-existent one learned what it was like to depend on others.
IV. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN HIS LONELINESS.
A. While he worked
he had no place to call his home.
1. Luke 9:58-
"And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His
head.""
B. He felt the pangs
of being abandoned by his disciples.
1. You can feel
that loneliness in his statement to his apostles after many of his
followers had abandoned him.
a. John 6:66,
67- "From that time many of His disciples went back and
walked with Him no more. 67- Then Jesus said to the twelve, Do you
also want to go away?'"
2. You can feel
that loneliness in Jesus wanting to take Peter, James, and John with
him in the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
a. Matthew
26:37, 38- "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38-
Then He said to them, 91My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to
death. Stay here and watch with Me.'"
3. You can feel
the loneliness in his sad remarks to his sleeping disciples.
a. Matthew
26:39, 40- "He went a little farther and fell on His face,
and prayed, saying, 91O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'"
40- Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said
to Peter, 91What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?'"
C. Jesus even felt
the pain of loneliness when he suffered alone on the cross.
1. Matthew 27:46-
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?""
2. Even his Father
left him alone, as he was bearing the sins of mankind.
D. Jesus' loneliness
should not surprise us. It was foretold in God's Word.
1. Isaiah 53:3, 4-
"He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4- Surely He has borne
our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted."
V. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN HIS LIABILITY TO TEMPTATION.
A. Jesus was subject
to temptation, just as we all are.
1. Hebrews 4:15
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without
sin."
B. The Gospels
record how Jesus was tempted by the Devil.
1. Matthew 4:1ff
2. Just as the Devil does with us when we win a victory over him, he
only depart for a time.
a. Luke 4:13-
"Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed
from Him until an opportune time."
3. The Devil even
used Jesus' own disciples in an effort to tempt Jesus to sin.
a. Matthew
16:23- "But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me,
Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.""
VI. JESUS BECAME LIKE
US IN HIS NEED TO BE OBEDIENT TO THE FATHER WHILE ON EARTH.
A. Jesus knew that
he needed to do the Father's will while on earth.
1. John 9:4-
""I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is
day; the night is coming when no one can work."
2. John 4:34-
"Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who
sent Me, and to finish His work."
3. John 5:30-
""I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My
judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the
will of the Father who sent Me."
B. Jesus
"learned" obedience.
1. Hebrews 5:8, 9-
"though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things
which He suffered. 9- "And having been perfected, He became the
author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,"
2. Jesus learned
what it was like to bend his will to that of his Father.
a. Matthew
26:39- "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and
prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You
will.""
CONCLUSION: During the
long war years a boy looked frequently at a picture of his daddy on the
table. He had left when the boy was a young infant. After several years
the boy had forgotten him as a person but he would often look at the
picture and say, "If only my father could step out of that picture
and be real...." On a sad day of sin when man had almost forgotten
God, He stepped into the world in the form of His Son. Our Lord became a
man so that we might live with God someday.
Copyright
1999 by Grady Scott may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes at no
cost to others.
a.
The Bible:
What is The Bible?
Part
1,
Part 2,
Part
3,
How to Study the Bible?
Part 1,
Part 2,
Part
3,
b. Who is Jesus?
Part
1,
Part 2,
Established 1972, All
Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
