This Week In Recovery Lesson
Understanding the Sympathetic Savior
- Why is Jesus the remedy for our problem of lingering and deepening dissatisfaction?
- Besides being the plan of God, why is Jesus uniquely “qualified” as the acceptable sacrifice for our selfish sin?
- How can it be said that Jesus can honestly and completely sympathize with your plight in this life?
The objective here is to really get to know Jesus Christ as the person who knows you intimately, and has experienced personally—physically, emotionally and spiritually—all that you have experienced in our lifetime. He knows the emotional spectrum from human triumph and elation to deep sorrow, paranoia, fear and devastation.
Somehow God, in the person of Jesus Christ, humbled himself to the point that he became human, born from a young virgin woman. I cannot explain this. Just like I cannot explain where God came from, except that he has always been. I can describe for you the holy trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) but I cannot fully comprehend it or explain it in a way that makes much sense. Jesus was chosen as the one sacrifice for my sin and yours. I can explain, according to Scripture, why it was necessary for there to be a sacrifice for sin but I don’t fully comprehend how God became human for the specific purpose of dying for my sin for the possibility of forgiveness.
From the beginning Jesus was the sacrifice intended to restore mankind into relationship with God. Because we are not and never were God, we were by our nature prone to choose independently from the perfect will of God. God, knowing this, had already prepared a way for mercy for the imperfect choices and behavior of mankind.
The Bible says that God gave us his only begotten Son. But, the word ‘begotten’ used to describe how God gave us Jesus means, ‘brought forth’, ‘produced’, or ‘created’. Jesus has always been, from the beginning, God, as the Bible tells us he has. So perhaps he was identified by God as his Son for the first time when he was conceived inside the womb of his earthly mother Mary. While the person of Jesus always existed as God, his humanity was “created” or made for Jesus, becoming the begotten Son of God as conceived by a human being to be born human. What killed the body, mind, and human heart of our Lord Jesus was the sin of mankind that, not only killed Jesus on the cross, but also was responsible for Jesus being exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and able to experience pain, sickness, fear, discouragement and even despair.
This is important to better comprehend and appreciate the degree to which Jesus was actually human as he demonstrated his dependence on God the Father to live out his life of humanity—what the Bible refers to as “flesh”—without sin. Jesus modeled for us the perfect example of recovery from flesh as he would admit powerlessness, believe that his Father, God, would empower him with authority over his mortal body and mind of flesh, and commit to depend on God the Father for everything. The approach of Jesus to his own recovery from humanity was as though his life depended on it. Jesus learned to recognize that his very breath was dependent on God to survive his life as a human being.
We may not be able to understand how Jesus, as God, made himself to become this “creation” of human flesh by the reproductive processes created by God, but the Bible explains why Jesus became flesh.
That being said, God somehow caused a virgin to conceive and the humanity of Jesus began. The human life of Jesus began when the egg of the virgin Mary became fertile and formed into an embryo, which grew into a fetus with the exchange of human blood and DNA from his mother.
He had his Heavenly Father’s Spirit, but the Bible tells us he was fully human. Jesus had the full deity of who he was as God but somehow laid it down in order to fully experience humanity in order to better relate by identification with you and me.
The Word (the person of God) became flesh and dwelt among us… John 1:14
- What does it mean that Jesus was in the flesh?
Does it merely mean that Jesus was God manifest in human form by means of flesh and bones, or was Jesus born in the flesh as it speaks to the whole person – body, heart, mind and soul (the character, or spirit of a person)?
- Was Jesus fully God and fully man?
Could Jesus be tempted to sin in all aspects as we are if he was fully God in his “human” experience? It is important to understand the human condition of Jesus to appreciate the scope of his sacrifice, mandated by God in order for us to have a restored relationship with God. Jesus, was made to live the full human experience, the Bible says.
Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death. Philippians 2:6-8 (NKJV)
This is a revelation given to us by the Apostle Paul, to describe for us the nature of the man, Jesus. Observe the pattern of submission within this verse. While being in “the form” of God, meaning before becoming human, Jesus placed himself under the authority of God the Father. Jesus never ceased to be God. So, in being God, he would not consider it robbery to be equal with God. The Bible in this passage tells us that in his humanity Jesus gave up the function of being God by the laying down of his deity and divine nature so as to have no advantage in his human experience. He humbled himself to be a man of no reputation to the point that, in his humanity, he was subject to the law of sin that leads to the decay and death of his human flesh—body, mind, heart and soul. He also did not consider himself to be equal with God, in terms of function (power and authority) while in human flesh. This fact came from the lips of Jesus himself, delineating between God’s perfect goodness and his own humanness.
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God.”Luke 18:18-19 (NKJV)
The relationship of God the Father and God the Son had been established. Exactly when this relationship between God the Father and Jesus, the Son of God, was established is hard to say. The prophets were given revelation of the father-son relationship between God and Jesus way back in the Old Testament (Psalm 2:16). The prophet Isaiah referred to Jesus as God’s beloved Servant (Isaiah 42:1, 53:10). Revelation tells us Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. As stated previously, I believe that Jesus became God’s begotten (remember that ‘begotten’ means ‘made’ and ‘created’) Son at the point he became flesh in Mary’s womb even though it was planned from the beginning.
What is remarkable, in close examination of this relationship, is that it appears that Jesus, as God, humbled himself out of necessity to fulfill his purpose of becoming a submissive servant. While still being God, according to these verses in Philippians, Jesus chose to lay down his divine nature and authority. Then, after Jesus lowers himself, as if to initiate a divine hierarchy, he offers himself in submission to God as his servant, as a son under the authority of his father, and lowers himself from who he is as God to the form of a human being. Paul writes in Philippians that Jesus emptied himself of being God for it to be even possible to become authentically human.
John wrote, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What does scripture say about the flesh? The flesh is imperfect. It is by nature unclean because of sin, and it is decaying to death because of the law of sin. Remember that the law of sin dictates that what is made alive on this earth must die. The Bible tells us that Jesus humbled himself and became obedient unto death, meaning he was subject to the law of sin. His body would eventually get worn out, grow old and die.
What is so interesting in determining to what extent the Jesus the Son became flesh is that the original Greek word for flesh in the Bible is the word ‘Sarx’.
The meaning for ‘Sarx’ is as follows:
§ the soft substance of the living body covering the bones and permeated with blood
§ the sensuous nature of man
§ the physical man subject to suffering
§ human nature apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin
A root word for ‘Sarx’ is ‘Sarkinos’, which means:
§ consisting and composed of perishable flesh
§ wholly given up to the flesh, or rooted in the flesh
What makes this necessary for our discussion is that the original meaning of the word flesh in Scripture could mean flesh in appearance, or completely flesh all the way into the soul of a person. I contend that for Jesus to be tempted to sin (Hebrews 4:15) there needed to be human desire that is prone to independence by nature from God. I will also contend that for Jesus to genuinely sympathize with the human experience he needed to be genuinely and completely “given up to the flesh – rooted in the flesh”. Only then could He be subject to the laws of the flesh, that being the law of sin.
Was Jesus subject to the law of sin in his soul? I believe that we learn that Jesus, a man of flesh, was vulnerable, and even “obedient” to the reality of sin in the world as a person of human flesh. I will not pretend to comprehend this; however, this point needs to be made for Jesus to be authentically human, having the will of the flesh, meaning human desire. It is important, then, that we accept that God the Son essentially emptied himself of beingGod in order to become flesh.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV)
Here lies the irony. We observed in Genesis that our sin is predicated on our desire for control in order to minimize our discomfort. The Bible communicates that we have the desire to be our own god. We sin in our ambition to have god-like control. Yet Jesus, who in actuality is God, relinquishes his control as God, and by choice maximizes his discomfort in order to know us and sincerely understand our weakness. This would suggest that Jesus the man experienced human dissatisfaction. This is astounding to me. We strive to be more our own god in our pursuit for control, which we eventually learn by experience is impossible to attain, and Jesus who is God, completely lets go of the control and authority that is his, to become flesh as Jesus the Son, and must totally trust in the control and power of God.
The revelation for us in Scripture is that Jesus, for thirty-three years, was in a position of need and was dependent on God for help, ranging from self-preservation to maximizing human performance, so we must learn from his example.
Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5 (NKJV)
- Could Jesus Sin?
Now there’s a question. Jesus had his mother Mary’s DNA in him. Unless you believe in the deity of Mary, then you recognize that the mother of Jesus inherited the flesh nature of Adam, which was human in nature. I believe it is safe to presume, therefore, that Jesus, God made flesh, was born with a human nature, since he inherited the nature of his mother.
For what the law could not do in what was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.Romans 8:3 (NKJV)
Being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, is not about flesh and bone, but is about the flesh between the ears of a person. The flesh, then, involves the mind, the body, the behavior that emanates from the heart, and most importantly, the soul of a person.
In laying down his God nature, to by experience know the nature of man, Jesus became human. The nature of human flesh was created intentionally by God to be independent from his will. God already had the universe and everything in it as a means to express and receive glory. But nothing else in the universe was independent and able to choose on its own. God gave us free will—the independent spirit to make up our own mind. God desires that we choose to love him, to worship him, and to serve him. We know by our experience that independence from God means that we are prone to make mistakes by choice since we are not God. Jesus left heaven and the glory that was his as God, and was made in our likeness with the independence from God to choose. As a human man of flesh, even Jesus was prone to make mistakes by choice. Therefore he had to choose daily, moment by moment, to fully depend on his Father God.
Another problem with Jesus being fully man and fully God simultaneously lies in the fact that God absolutely cannot sin. How could Jesus the man be tempted to sin if he was at the same time divine and not capable of sin? It does not make sense to me that God would become flesh in the form of man, but still be all God. It doesn’t make sense to me that Jesus could be tempted to sin if it was impossible to sin if he was in fact divine.
Do me a favor. Set this book down and go out and lift your automobile over your head with your own two hands. You can start by lifting up the front end so you can get under the vehicle until you are able to get enough leverage, and with a little more effort, lift with everything you’ve got to get your car over your head. Aren’t you going to set the book down and at least try to lift your vehicle over your head?
Someone might say that my challenge tempted you to lift your car over your head. But, at any point were you actually tempted to lift your automobile over your head? Of course not, it’s ridiculous. It is impossible. You are not tempted to do something that is impossible. I can offer you the world and the moon and you still would not be tempted to lift your car over your head because it is impossible. Therefore, you will not even try.
If it was not possible for Jesus to commit sin, how and why would he be tempted to sin? Do the math. It doesn’t add up that Jesus could be tempted to sin if in his deity it was not possible for him to do so. But, if Jesus laid down his deity, denying his divine power and authority, he could then give in to temptation, therefore, actually be tempted in weakness to sin as a man. Central to his position as a spotless lamb to be sacrificed, Jesus did not yield to temptation. Jesus did not sin. While flawed by his flesh, he remained innocent of sin.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast ourconfession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted aswe are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV)
Please allow me to paraphrase so that Paul’s double negative in his original translation is in the singular positive translation: “Seeing then that we have an advocate in Jesus Christ in His heavenly position as God, let us be free to come to Him as we are with our confession. For in Christ we have an advocate who understands us—even sympathizes with our weakness since He was in His human experience vulnerable to weakness and susceptible to the draw of temptation in every way we are. The difference is that He did not sin. Now let us with full confidence come to His throne where grace abounds so that we may obtain mercy and experience His grace in our time of need.”
Jesus Christ understands the human experience but make no mistake; he is no longer in human form. He is all God with full authority. He loves you like crazy. Jesus is your Sympathetic Savior.
“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”John 5:30 (NLT)
Please allow me to interpret this passage in my words what I believe Jesus is saying: “I ADMIT I have no authority in my flesh to sufficiently do what I have been called to do. I BELIEVE my authority comes from God the Father. Since it is in His authority that I am righteous and just, I seek not my own will—insufficient in the flesh that it is—but COMMIT to submit daily to the will of Him I serve under His authority.” Even Jesus—God made flesh—laid the burden of human weakness at the feet of The Father. Wow! If Jesus applied this strategy to His own recovery from the human plight, why would I live out my recovery any differently than He did?
- What does it mean that Jesus was God in the flesh?
- Does it merely mean that Jesus was God manifest in human form by means of flesh and bones, or was Jesus born in the flesh as it speaks to the whole person—body, heart, mind and soul (the character, or spirit of a person)?
- Was Jesus fully God and fully man? Could Jesus be tempted to sin in all aspects as we are if he was fully God in his “human” experience?
- Could Jesus sin according to his human desire?
- Was Jesus’ desire selfish?
- Does indications of Jesus’ desires as selfish suggest that he is guilty of sin, according to his selfish desires?
- Could Jesus be tempted to sin if he was not able to sin?
- Could Jesus be tempted to sin if he did not have the desire for that which is sinful?
- Could Jesus be tempted to sin if he did not have desire that was selfish?
- Are you tempted to do anything you absolutely cannot do—lift your car or truck over head by yourself without assistance?
- Are you tempted to do anything that you do not want to do? Explain.
- Think of an activity or a food item that you absolutely cannot stand. Unless you were offered a reward for indulging in that food or activity, would you be tempted to indulge?
- Would it be any different for Jesus? Explain.
The point this week is to recognize that the experience of Jesus Christ at the cross, while divine in purpose and execution, was altogether human in terms of physical, emotional, and even spiritual pain and suffering. The objective of this lesson is to help you to recognize the extent to which Jesus, today, can identify with and relate on every level to your pain and suffering.
Please proceed to this week’s recovery application by clicking on TWRAC 031.
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