Jesus was human
Jesus acknowledge that he is human:
So Jesus said to them... "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" -- John 5:19,46-47 (ESV)
and Moses wrote:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
“And the LORD said to me: What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which he speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
-- Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (NKJV)
This interpretation of the prophecy was also confirmed by Peter (Acts 3:22-26).
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God." -- John 8:39-40 (ESV)
Both Peter and Paul preached to unbelievers and had the opportunity to teach that "Jesus is God", yet they taught that Jesus was only "a man appointed by God" and people still got saved.
Some would argue that Jesus was a human, but he was risen (or reincarnated) to be God after being baptised or crucified or ascended or exalted.
However, the same Paul who only wrote his letters after all these things happened to Jesus, continued to education his churches that Jesus was a human:
For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. -- Romans 5:15-17 (ESV)
and
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. -- 1 Timothy 2:5-7 (ESV)
and
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. -- 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (ESV)
Even the author of Hebrews taught that Jesus was made to be a human like us:
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers 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. -- Hebrews 2:14-17 (ESV)
John, a faithful witness of Jesus also declared:
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ -- John 1:30 (ESV)
None of the apostles suggests that Jesus was some kind of God-man hybrid being. Nothing can be "100% God and 100% human".
God is not a human
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. -- Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!" -- 1 Kings 8:27 (ESV)
Some would argue, that Jesus was risen or exalted (or reincarnated) to be God after living a human life. This argument contradicts:
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. -- Psalm 90:2 (ESV)
and
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
-- Isaiah 40:27 (ESV)
and
... but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith... Romans 16:26 (ESV)
There was and would be no temporary period where God was limited or not be God.
God does not have a human body as:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
-- John 4:21-24 (NKJV)
This Jesus said while he was a human walking on Earth.
The attributes of God and a human is not compatible:
God | Human |
---|---|
omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10; Ephesians 4:6; Revelation 19:6) | limited by space |
maintain the universe (Matthew 6:26, Matthew 7:11, Matthew 10:29, James 1:17) | limited multi-tasking capabilities |
outside time | limited by time |
almighty (Genesis 17:1, 28:3, 35:11, 43:14, 48:3, 49:25; Job 11:7; Luke 1:37) | limited capabilities |
all seeing (Matthew 6:4,18) | limited visibility |
all knowing (Matthew 6:8,32) | limited memory, access to information |
everlasting (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 40:27; Romans 16:26; 1 Timothy 6:16) | limited lifespan |
immortal (Romans 1:23; 1 Timothy 1:17) | mortal |
never changes (make no mistakes) (Malachi 3:6) | grows (make mistakes) |
does not repent (Numbers 23:19) | need repentance (even Jesus) (Mark 1:9; Acts 19:4) |
does not sleep | need sleep |
Therefore, it is a paradox to claim that someone is simultaneously 100% God and 100% human.
A typical response to these arguments is:
Limited human minds will never understand an infinite God and we simply need to belief that He can simultaneously be a single person or be multiple persons in different forms (e.g. human & God) even if it is a mystery which we will never understand.
In other words, God is almighty and can do anything even if it violates the laws of common sense and reasoning.
This problem with this reasoning is that if God violates common sense, then it also means that He can cheat and lie and still be "honorable and true" even though it all logic because of this reasoning. This makes everything related to God questionable. Therefore, I would reason that the Almighty God, still have to operate within His own natural boundaries of common sense to be trustworthy and honourable.
Jesus was born
No apostle claimed that Jesus was an angel or divine being. Jesus had a human genealogy as seen in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. If Jesus was some sort of hybrid human, then Matthew or Luke would have mentioned it.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
...
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
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.
-- Matthew 1:1,17-18 (ESV)
Mary was not Jesus' surrogate mother. Matthew recorded Jesus as part of Jewish genealogy and that he was birthed like any other human baby.
However, the word translated as "the birth" in Matthew 1:18, it comes from the Greek word "genesis".
The meaning of Genesis according to Cambridge Dictionary means
the origin of something, when it is begun or starts to exist
According to Strong's Concordance:
genesis : origin, birth
Original Word : γένεσις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech : Noun, Feminine
Transliteration : genesis
Phonetic Spelling : (ghen'-es-is)
Definition : origin, birth
This is also the reason why the first book in the Bible is called Genesis.
This could potentially mean that Matthew believed that Jesus "originated" (start to exist) when Mary became pregnant, because the Greek has a different word for "birth" which is "genete". When Mary "was found to be with child", Jesus was not born yet. It makes more sense to say Jesus life "originated" when Mary "was found with child".
Matthew stated by writing "in this way", that the following statement would explain in which way or how Jesus was born. Yet, Matthew does not mention any pre-existence of Jesus before "Mary was found to be with child".
Paul also support this view:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of woman... -- Galatians 4:4 (ESV)
However, some would argue that this reasoning clash with John 8:49-58 where Jesus says "before Abraham was, I am" which usually mean "existed".
In the context of John 8, when the Jews argued that Abraham was greater than Jesus:
The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
And the prophets died!
Who do you make yourself out to be?”-- John 5:52-53 (ESV)
Jesus defended himself to say that this was not his own idea, it was the Father that glorified him (John 5:54). In addition, Jesus also said that when God showed Abraham the future which included Jesus, Abraham was glad (approved it):
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. -- John 8:56
When the Jews misunderstood Jesus on this point (John 8:57), Jesus argued that his calling was so important that it was determined by God even before Abraham existed. Jesus never said that "he saw Abraham". That was what the Jews implied by their misunderstanding. Jesus said "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day."
Firstborn
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
...
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
-- Colossians 1:13-15,18
Usually:
- "born" mean that someone came alive by being born as a baby which implies there was a time that this someone did not exist yet and
- combining that with "of all creation" means that he is one of the created creations, otherwise Paul would have said something like "He is God over all creation" or something of the sort.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. -- Romans 8:29 (ESV)
However, Paul chooses to give the Son the reputation of the "firstborn among many brothers", which implies he was like other humans.
We have the same body as Jesus
Paul wrote that in the future Jesus Christ will transform our bodies to be like his:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even it subject all things to himself. -- Philippians 3:21 (ESV)
If Jesus was God, then it means that we would also be transformed into gods.
Jesus had real flesh
Jesus was not an illusion from God.
And he (Jesus) said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
-- Luke 24:38-43 (ESV)
If the disciples truly believed Jesus was God Almighty, then these proofs would not have been necessary, and he would rather have addressed their weak faith.
Jesus could have said: "Do you know belief I am God?", but instead he went through the trouble to provide 3 proofs that he was the expected human Jesus they knew and believed:
- He looked like a human.
- He felt like a human.
- He ate like a human.
This, Jesus had done to proof that he was really alive, because his disciples witnesses and believed that their human Christ had died.
Jesus own disciples treated him like a human
Despite being in Jesus' physical presence for a long time, witnessing all his miracles, being trained by Jesus himself and attending every sermon of Jesus, they still did not treat him as their God:
- Judas Iscariot betrayed him (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11)
- They all forsook him (Matthew 26:34-35; Mark 14:27-29)
- Peter denied him (Luke 22:55-62; John 18:15-18)
- Peter argued with him (John 13:8-17)
- Peter doubted him (Matthew 14:25-33)
- The disciples though Jesus was not capable (Mark 6:35-37)
- The disciples did not take Jesus seriously (Mark 14:32-42)
- Thomas did not believe that Jesus was omnipresent (John 14:8-9)
- The disciples misunderstood Jesus (Mark 8:21)
- The disciples were surprised to see Jesus resurrected (Luke 24:13-32; John 20:25)
If Jesus told them that he was God, or they somehow figured out themselves that he was God, these incident would most likely not have happened.
Jesus could not have been God
- If Jesus was God Almighty who limited Himself to take on a human form, then there would have been no god to maintain the universe while Jesus was in his limited human.
- If Jesus was partially God and partially human, then he would not have been able to die, and he would have had to fake his death which disqualifies his sacrifice.
- If Jesus was God's avatar, then he would not have really suffered anything and God would not have given up anything which means nothing was sacrificed.
- If Jesus was a divine being separate from God who reincarnated to become a human, then we would have had two competing gods which contradicts many scriptures.
In response to these arguments are that the Godhead has 3 members which each fulfill a different function. But what are those members of God?.
Critique
This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” -- Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV)
Yet, we need to trust Jesus.
However, the argument fail, because the bible does not prevent us to trust in a man, instead Jeremiah was concerned about those "whose heart turns away from the LORD" and therefore instead trust in a man. For example:
- The Israelites had to trust Moses (Exodus 14:31)
- Husbands should trust their wives (Proverbs 31:11)
If you trust Jesus, your heart is not "turned away from the Lord" (John 5:23).