The Humanity of Jesus
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our series called “Incarnation.” It’s called Incarnation, and it’s all about why God with us, is better than God above us. It’s about how Jesus wasn’t just some transcendent God who wants nothing to do with us, he’s our immanent savior who wants everything to do with us. The beauty of the Incarnation is that Jesus is God who put on flesh to live, die, and rise again for our sins. He’s not just some transcendent advice giver who wants nothing to do with us, he’s our immanent savior who wants everything to do with us, and regardless of whether you believe that or not. Regardless of whether you believe the incarnation or not, here’s something I think we can all agree on. It’s that everybody struggles...It’s that everybody struggles...It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, black, white, male, female, young, old, atheist, Christian, non-Christian, sooner or later everybody faces struggles in life. Everybody struggles. I also think we can agree that when facing struggles, we’d much rather have someone in our lives who can empathize, than sympathize. When facing struggles we’d much rather have someone in our lives who can empathize, than sympathize and there’s a difference between the two. Empathy’s where you connect with someone in such a way that you can feel their pain, you can relate with their struggles. Sympathy’s where you feel bad for a person, but you can’t relate with their struggles. Empathy’s where you put yourself in the other person’s shoes, sympathy’s where you remain in the comfort of your own shoes...and in times of struggle we’d much rather have someone who can empathize, than sympathize. We’d much rather have someone who can relate with our struggles, than someone who can’t.
So what’s your struggles?...What’s your struggles?...What are some of the things you’re struggling with in life right here, right now?..Jesus is a God who can empathize...Jesus is a God who can both sympathize and empathize...He has sympathy for us, but he can also empathize with us. He can empathize with our hurts, our pains, our struggles, and our shoes because he’s walked in our shoes. He’s fully human and fully divine, he’s God who put on flesh and walked in our shoes which means he knows what it’s like to experience the pains and struggles of life, and that’s what we’re gonna talk about today. Today we’re gonna talk about how because of his humanity, Jesus can empathize with our struggles. So let’s turn our bibles to Matthew 2:1-12 and get into it. The title of today’s message is, “The Humanity of Jesus.” Jesus was fully human, which means he can empathize with our struggles. He had every reason to say forget you but instead he says I get you. Because of his divinity he had every reason to say forget you, but because of his humanity he instead says I get you. He can empathize.
Context:
Here’s your context. Matthew’s the author of this book in the bible and he was a tax collector, he was a bookkeeper. He was a bookkeeper hired by the Roman government, and what we hold in our hands is his bookkeeping record of the life, death, and resurrection. It’s his bookkeeping record of Jesus, and today we’re gonna study the part where Jesus is already born. He’s already born, and some wise men come from the East to worship him. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Matthew 2:1-12 states this, “Now after Jesus was born...” Historical. Jesus was born. It’s historical. I’ve said it all throughout this entire series that Matthew’s bookkeeping record of Jesus is deeply rooted in history. I mean right in the beginning, right in ch. 1 he starts things off with historical facts, with the genealogy of Jesus. It’s real people, with real names, who lived during a real period of time. He doesn’t start things off like a fairytale or a myth, he starts things off like a bookkeeper, he starts things off with historical facts, and once again he says Jesus was born. We’re barely out of ch.1 and he’s already said 4 times that Jesus was born.
Ch. 1:16, “Jesus was born.”
Ch. 1:18, “The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”
Ch. 1:25, “She had given birth to a son, and he (Joseph) called him Jesus.”
Ch. 2:1, “Jesus was born.”
We’re barely out of ch. 1 and already bookkeeper Matthew says Jesus was born 4 times. Over and over again he’s saying, “Jesus was born, he was born, he was born, he was born.” Jesus was born, which means he was human. He was fully divine, but he was also fully human. The fact that he was born means he was fully human. He had flesh, he had bones, he had a heartbeat. ...he had little hands, little fingers, little feet, little toes, little booties to put on his feet...he had eyes that would stare back into his mother’s eyes like we heard sung earlier...he’d giggle when he was happy, and cry when he was sad...Jesus was fully human. He was fully human, and so he can empathize. He can empathize with our struggles, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. He can empathize...because he was born.
Again vs. 1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea...” City Awakening does it exist, does Bethlehem exist? It exists. It exists right? Again it’s historical. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. “But if that’s the case, then why do people say he’s from Nazareth?” It’s because he was born in Bethlehem but his family later moved to Nazareth. Just like our families sometimes move, Jesus’ family sometimes moved, which means he would’ve seen his parents packing up their things and loading up their donkey rental...he would’ve seen them tearing up as they said goodbye to friends and family...and he would’ve seen them getting acclimated to a new town, a new city, and making new friends. Jesus knows what it’s like to move. In fact he moved around so much that at one point he said, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to rest his head,” meaning he moved so much, much that he literally had no place to call home. So if you’re from a military family and had to move a lot, Jesus can empathize. If you’re a business person who travels a lot and you hate being away from your friends and family, he can empathize. If you’ve had to move recently and you’re struggling with missing your family, friends, and home town, Jesus knows what it’s like. He can empathize. He was fully human, which means he can empathize, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. He can empathize. He was born in Bethlehem, but his family moved to Nazareth.
Again vs. 1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king…” Again historical. There was a man named King Herod who was also known as Herod the Great, and here’s what we know about him. Historically we know he was appointed by Rome to be king over both Israel and Judah. He wasn’t 100% Jewish, but they appointed him over Israel and Judah anyways, and despite the fact he was part Jewish, he showed absolutely no favoritism to the Jews nor did he practice the Jewish faith. (Don’t say he didn’t believe). Although he did help to rebuild the Jewish temple, it wasn’t because he was faithful, it was because he wanted notoriety and support from the Jews. But he was a masterful builder. King Herod was a masterful builder, and archaeologists have discovered many theaters, cities, and palaces that were built under his leadership. They also discovered he learned how to preserve dates and figs, and in the 1940’s a group of archaeologists found some of his storerooms, decided to eat some of his 2,000 year old figs, and their next archaeological find was Herod’s bathrooms. It’s all historical.
But listen, Herod was vicious. He was an extremely vicious and ruthless king. It’s hard to equate him with somebody today. I mean at one point he wanted more money, so he killed 45 of his wealthiest citizens and then took all their assets for himself. Just like that he snuffed them, and took their wealth. He was extremely vicious, and he’d kill anyone who was a threat to his throne. In fact he was so paranoid over losing his throne, that at one point he killed every male child under the age of two in the Bethlehem region, he killed his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, his uncle, his wife, and even three of his own sons. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine being so vicious that you’re willing to kill children, your family, and even your own sons? As men we’re supposed to be willing to die for our families, not murder them. But King Herod was a murderer, and nobody was safe around him. Nobody...and that’s King Herod. That’s what we know historically about King Herod, and this is the setting Jesus was being born in. He’s not being born in a place of comfort, he’s being born in a place of discomfort. Some of us think because we’re Christians we should have it easy, we should have a life of comfort, a life free from hurt, pains, and struggles, but that’s not the setting Jesus was born in. He wasn’t born in a setting of comfort, he was born in a setting of discomfort. He was born in a setting, in a city, in a country that was full of evil, violence, hurt, pain, and death. Jesus knows what it’s like to live in a sinful, fallen, and destructive world. He can empathize. Jesus was fully human, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. He can empathize.
Again vs. 1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2 saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” Alright let’s have a little fun. Let’s have a little Christmas quiz. I’m gonna ask you 5 questions, 5 true or false questions and I want you to shout out the answers okay. Don’t be shy, just shout it out. See if you can beat your neighbor. Here’s Question #1: There were 3 wise men, is that true or false, and everybody said?...False. It’s false. The truth is we don’t know. We don’t know how many wise men there were. We say 3 because of the 3 gifts and because of the song, but the bible doesn’t say how many. It just tells us there were wise men. So it’s false. Question #2: The wise men saw Jesus in a manger, true or false, and everybody said?...False. It’s false. Vs. 11 tells us they saw Jesus in his house. Not in a manger, in his house. Our nativity sets are wrong, they’re not heretical, they’re just wrong. The wise men belong on the back porch by the smoker and the stars, not in the living room by the Christmas tree. Question #3: It was a silent night, all was calm, all was bright. True or false, everybody said?...False. It’s totally false. Man you ever seen a baby being born? It’s not silent! It’s not calm. You can hear women screaming in other rooms. There’s nothing silent and calm about it. So no it wasn’t a silent night, it wasn’t calm. It’s false. Question #4: The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. True or false, everybody said?...False. It’s false. I mean first of all baby’s cry. They cry a lot. They cry when they’re thirsty, hungry, dirty, tired, and even scared which is another reason why the songs wrong. I mean the song says the baby wakes up because the cattle are lowing, and I’m pretty sure if a baby wakes up with a cow mooing in their face they’re gonna cry. I’m just saying. It’s false. We can still sing the songs, but it’s totally false. Baby Jesus cried. Okay last question. Question #5: Jesus was born, true or false, everybody said?...True. It’s true. Jesus was born. Four times Matthew says he was born, and the wise men traveled from the East to see him.
But who were they? Who were the wise men? Historically we don’t know much, but what we do know is they’re most likely astrologers. Why? Because the Greek word for “wise men” is “magi” or “magos” which means magician or astrologer. It means magician or astrologer and most scholars believe they’re astrologers because they’re studying the stars when Jesus is born. The text doesn’t say magic led them to Jesus, it says a star led them to Jesus. So it’s most likely they’re astrologers, and it’s most likely there’s more than 2-3 because the text says “wise men” not “wise man,” meaning it’s plural not singular. So we know there’s at least 2-3, and the reason we think there’s even more than that, is because vs. 3 tells us Herod and the entire city are “troubled” by the wise men. If these were just a couple of guys riding on camels that’s not gonna get the attention of Herod and the entire city, but a caravan of astrologers, that’ll get people’s attention. So most likely there’s more than 2-3, and they must have been important men for Herod to have taken time to meet with them. But what’s most interesting about these wise men is they’re from the East. They came from the east, they came from another country, meaning when Jesus was born God arranges the entire cosmos in such a way that it draws these astrologers to leave their country in search of Jesus. God arranges the entire cosmos to lead these men from another country to Jesus, which tells us Jesus didn’t just come to save the Jews, he came to save people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. He came to save people from all over the world including me and you. The story of the wise men is so significant because it marks the beginning of the gospel spreading to the nations. It’s the first place in the New Testament where the gospel starts spreading to the nations which tells us Jesus loves them. He loves the wise men, he loves people from every nation, tribe, and tongue, and he can empathize with them. He’s fully human, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. He can empathize.
Again vs. 1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2 saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” Man I love this part. I love it because King Herod’s actually going to the bible. King Herod’s actually going to the bible, he’s going the Old Testament books in our bible to find answers. He summons all the chief priests and Jewish historians to “inquire of them” what the bible says about Jesus. Why?...Why would he do that?...Why would he care to consult the bible?...I mean he’s King Herod. He’s Herod the Great, he snuffs people just for looking at him wrong...So why would he care about what the bible says?...He cares because he knows it’s true...He care’s because he knows it’s true, he knows the bible’s true, he knows that Jesus is a king and he sees Jesus as an immediate threat to his throne. As evil as King Herod was, he can’t deny the truthfulness of the bible which is why he consults it. He believes Jesus is King, but he’s not willing to submit to Jesus as king. It’s all historical. King Herod consults the Bible.
Again vs. 4, “...assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” This is a reference to the prophet Micah. Micah was a man who lived over 700 years before Jesus was born, and in Micah 5:2 he writes exactly what Matthew quotes here. He writes that the Messiah, the savior will be born in Bethlehem, and in Micah 5:4 he states the Messiah’s name will be great to the ends of the earth. It’s exactly what we see happening in the text. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and his name’s already being made great in other parts of the world with the wise men. All of this was predicted by Micah over 700 years before Jesus was even born. As I said last week the bible’s full of prophecies like this. We have what’s said, when it was said, and when it was fulfilled in history. It’s all true and it can be trusted. Jesus is our savior, he was born in Bethlehem, and his name’s being made great throughout the nations. He’s fully human, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. He can empathize.
Vs. 7, “Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.’” He doesn’t want to worship him, he wants to kill him. He puts Jesus on a hit list.
Vs. 9, “After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Notice they do three things. They fell down, they worshiped, and they offered. They fell down, meaning their knees bent. Philippians 2:10 says every knee will bow before King Jesus. Their knees bent, they fell down, they worshiped, and they gave an offering to him. Who’d they give the offering to? They gave it to “him,” to Jesus. They didn’t give it to Joseph and Mary, they gave it to Jesus, and when you give to the church that’s what you’re doing. You’re not giving it to us, you’re giving it to him, you’re giving it to Jesus. You’re giving to advance his name and his kingdom, not our name and our kingdom. Unlike Herod who was focused on advancing his name and his kingdom, as Christians we’re to focus on advancing Jesus’ name and his kingdom. Herod, like much of the world, wanted to hold onto his crown and his kingdom, but as Christians we’re to lay down our proverbial crowns so we can offer our entire lives and everything we own up to Jesus. The response of the wise men, should be our response. We bend our knees, worship, and give an offering to Jesus so we can advance his name and his kingdom, not our own.
Vs. 12, “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” They departed to their own country, they headed back East, and took the gospel to their country. They took the gospel back to their own country, and shortly after King Herod dies. Shortly after Jesus was born, King Herod dies, and he dies a very slow and painful death. It’s too graphic for me to share in church, but he was a vicious man who died a vicious death. It all took place shortly after Jesus was born. So while Jesus’ physical kingship on earth was beginning, Herod’s kingship on earth was coming to an end, and it’s a foreshadow of what’s yet to come. This entire text is a foreshadow of what’s yet to come when Jesus returns. Just like Jesus entered into this world as a king, he’s gonna return as a king. Just like the gospel spread to wise men from another nation, the gospel’s gonna spread to all nations. Just like Herod was dethroned and had to give up his crown to King Jesus, Satan will be dethroned and will have to give up his crown to King Jesus. It’s all a foreshadow of what’s to come when Jesus returns. It’ll be a time when we won’t need his empathy, because we’ll be consumed by his glory.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea of the message. It’s that Jesus was fully human, and he had every reason to say forget, but instead he says I get you...He was fully human and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you...He can empathize. We have a God who can empathize. Listen! How infinitely powerful Jesus is to have arranged the entire cosmos for the wise men, yet how infinitely gentle and loving he is to empathize with us, and be born a baby...How infinitely powerful Jesus is to have arranged the entire cosmos for the wise men, yet how infinitely gentle and loving he is to empathize with us, and be born a baby... We have a God who can not only handle our struggles, we have a God who can also empathize with our struggles, because he knows what it’s like to be fully human. He knows what it’s like to walk in our shoes, and if you’d seen him walking the streets back then he wouldn’t have been wearing a Batman costume, he would’ve been wearing normal clothes, brown bagging his lunch, and going to work as a carpenter. You’d see him eating, drinking, sleeping, fishing, and boating with his buddies. It’s all normal things we do. Jesus did those things too, because he was fully human.
He was born = Matthew 1-2
He had flesh and bones = Luke 24:39
He had a family with brothers and sisters = Matthew 13:54-58
He had to grow up as a boy = Luke 2:52
He had to work as a man = Mark 6:3
He got hungry = Matthew 4:2
He got thirsty = John 4:7
He went to parties = Matthew 11:19
He celebrated holidays = Luke 2:41
Sometimes he was stressed out = John 13:21
Sometimes he was burnt out = John 4:6
Sometimes he was tempted = Matthew 4
Sometimes he was hurt emotionally = Luke 22:44
Sometimes he was hurt physically = Matthew 27
Sometimes he was happy = Luke 10:21-24
Sometimes he was sad and cried = John 11:35
Sometimes he was sad and cried. Think about that, seriously think about that. Jesus was sad and cried...He actually cried...Have you ever cried?...Have you ever cried before?...Sure you have, because everybody struggles...Everybody struggles and I want you to know we have a God who can empathize with whatever it is you’ve gone through, going through, and will go through in the future because he’s God who put on flesh to live, die, and rise again for your sins and if you’re not a Christian receive that message today. Repent of your sins, believe that Jesus is God who put on flesh to die for your sins, and receive that message. Receive what the wise men were willing to leave their country for which is the gift of a savior, the gift of King Jesus, the gift of a King who won’t ever abuse you like Herod, instead he dies for you, he empathizes with you, and he’ll always love you. He’ll always love you.
Now if you’re already a Christian, then live differently and pray differently...Live differently and pray differently, meaning extend the same empathy you’ve received from Jesus, to others. Instead of adding to the world’s struggles like Herod, help relieve the world’s struggles like Jesus. Don’t just have sympathy on people, have empathy for them. Put yourself in their shoes, and do what you can to help them. Live differently. But also pray differently. Let’s pray differently this week. I mean when you pray instead of just focusing on the divinity of Jesus and what he can do for you, also focus on the humanity of Jesus and how he can relate with you. When you pray, instead of just focusing on the divinity of Jesus and what He can do for you, also focus on the humanity of Jesus and how he can relate with you. Don’t just live differently pray differently, because Jesus didn’t just die FOR you, he also died to be WITH you...Jesus didn’t just die FOR you, he also died to be WITH you, and he had every reason to say forget you, but instead he says I get you. Let’s pray to our God of empathy..pray struggles, and Jesus’ empathy..
Ch. 1:16, “Jesus was born.”
Ch. 1:18, “The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”
Ch. 1:25, “She had given birth to a son, and he (Joseph) called him Jesus.”
Ch. 2:1, “Jesus was born.”
Question #1: There were 3 wise men, is that true or false, and everybody said?
Question #2: The wise men saw Jesus in a manger, true or false, and everybody said?
Question #3: It was a silent night, all was calm, all was bright. True or false, everybody said?
Question #4: The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. True or false, everybody said?
Question #5: Jesus was born, true or false, everybody said?..
He was born = Matthew 1-2 He had flesh and bones = Luke 24:39
He had a family with brothers and sisters = Matthew 13:54-58
He had to grow up as a boy = Luke 2:52
He had to work as a man = Mark 6:3
He got hungry = Matthew 4:2
He got thirsty = John 4:7
He went to parties = Matthew 11:19
He celebrated holidays = Luke 2:41
Sometimes he was stressed out = John 13:21
Sometimes he was burnt out = John 4:6
Sometimes he was tempted = Matthew 4
Sometimes he was hurt emotionally = Luke 22:44
Sometimes he was hurt physically = Matthew 27
Sometimes he was happy = Luke 10:21-24
Sometimes he was sad and cried = John 11:35