A Portrait of Christ. D. Patrick Ramsey

including death itself, and bring us to the one true living God?

      There is only one correct answer to this question, and that is Jesus, the God-man. Our savior must be both fully God and fully human in order to save us. And indeed, Jesus is just that: God incarnate.

      The Humanity of Jesus

      The Gospels make it painfully obvious that Jesus is a normal human being. He is fully and completely human, with a body, soul, mind, emotions, and so forth. His birth and subsequent development into an adult male provide the evidence.

      When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, he told her that she was going to conceive in her womb and bear a son, a descendent of David (Luke 1:31–32, 35). Shortly thereafter, Mary became pregnant and went to visit Elizabeth. Elizabeth greeted Mary by saying that the child she was carrying was blessed (Luke 1:42). Nine months later, Joseph and Mary, “who was with child,” were in Bethlehem, and “while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son” (Luke 2:5–7). So like any normal human being, Jesus was conceived in his mother’s womb, and nine months later, he was born.

      Eight days after his birth, he was circumcised, like every other Jewish boy. When it was time, Mary and Joseph went to the temple to present the infant Jesus as a firstborn son to the Lord, according to the law of Moses. They then, along with their son, returned to Galilee, to the town of Nazareth. Luke writes that “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:40).

      Several years later, when Jesus was still a boy, Mary and Joseph returned again to Jerusalem. While there, the boy Jesus went to the temple and sat among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions (Luke 2:46). Eventually, Jesus returned to his hometown with his parents, and Luke records that he “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

      Like other children, Jesus had to obey his parents, go to school, and develop physically, mentally, and intellectually. He experienced the regular stages of human development: infant, boy, teenager, and adult.

      Rich Mullins has a song that nicely captures the humanity of Jesus, particularly in his youth, entitled “Boy Like Me/Man Like You.”3 In this song, Mullins talks about how Jesus was a boy and grew up just like him. He wonders what kind of games Jesus played, how Jesus reacted when he scraped his knee, and if the girls ever giggled when he walked past. It is a good song to remind us that Jesus is just like us.