How Human Was Jesus?

Psalm 28

Cultures today often look at the trials Jesus faced through the lens of that culture. As an amateur photographer I have photographed a very few weddings, was videographer for a couple of weddings, highschool sports events, and some theatrical performances. Most of my photography was family, landscapes, and nature. Looking through that lens composing the shot focuses on what you want to see in the resultant image or video production. But it also eliminates everything that would be a distraction to what you desire to portray.

When I went off to learn electronics in college all I had was a basic knowledge from a highschool electronics class and what I had studied of amateur radio. After I graduated, much like growing up learning the Bible, in my first electronics job I learned terminology, tools, and to think differently then just the basic principles of all the classes I had taken. Learning to troubleshoot and repair brand new elctronics boards taught me that things aren't always as they appear. My very first repair was an electrical component marked backwards. It worked just fine, but the outward indication caused it to be inserted backwards causing the entire product to fail.

Growing up familiar with the Word of God our focus so often becomes the familiar stories and familiar lessons and more importantly the truths we were taught. Just as often we miss out on things that had been "eliminated" so what was taught would be clearly seen, very visible and memorable. So many different directions could be pursued in examining Scripture. Even later in Bible college I eventually came to realize that the Bible is the true standard. Like what I knew from photography, learned in electronics school and from what actually exist because of human limitations and failures are two very different levels of understanding. That also is true of what we learn of the what we have been typically taught from the Bible. College education only prepares you to begin to think for yourself. That is a lot of what has brought me to ask this question, What did Jesus do? And as I read Psalm 28 asking if Jesus would have prayed this and also explore the fully human part of who Jesus is.

Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity: which speak friendly to their neighbours, when malice is in their hearts.

Psalms 28:3 GNV

Asking if Jesus would pray this part of this psalm we are faced with trying to understand again what being fully human meant of Jesus dwelling among us. And if Jesus as a man was tempted to a point He felt He was faced with the struggle to be drawn away we must ask, was it the fully God part of Him that overrode the fully man part of Him? Did He fully face the struggle of temptations that we do? We readily may jump to His temptations directly by Satan in the wilderness and say, see there. He faced Satan directly and prevailed. There He faced hunger as a man, glory as a man not stubbing His toe jumping off the temple, and then the power He could have ruling just the nations under Satan's control on this earth. Yes, in His depleted human state of hunger, and do I dare presume exhaustion, He was powerfully tempted. He responded with the Word of God, Himself actually because the Word was God. We rarely ask ourselves did Jesus respond as fully man, or did He respond as fully God? Or partly one and partly the other? Forty days in the wilderness fasting is a long time. After that time of temptation we're told that Satan left Him for awhile. That brings up something Jesus said later after coming down from the mountain where He was transfigured. The disciples couldn't cast a demon out of a boy. Jesus told them later that this kind of demon doesn't get cast out except by prayer and fasting. With that in mind the forty days fasting certainly prepared Him in facing the temptations that would come immediately after those forty days. But like us Jesus didn't maintain forty days of fasting each day before His daily trials and temptations He faced. And to think Jesus being focused only on ministry once the forty days in the wilderness was complete was a great change of life from the business world to constantly moving in ministry.

David struggled different times being tempted, being drawn away as king. For Jesus to be tempted, to be tried with the possibility of being drawn away, would that be human? Certainly dealing with family could have been a challenge like that.

Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

Matthew 12:47 GNV

Jesus response was a spiritual definition of His family.

But he answered, and said to him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do my Fathers will which is in heauen, the same is my brother and sister and mother.

Matthew 12:48‭-‬50 GNV

It might have seemed at the time His difficulty making a choice of family from twenty, twenty-five years with Joseph and Mary, in fact even including the death of Joseph. Thinking of this one verse of Psalm 28 there have been family who have drawn people away from doing right. But this psalm speaks of wicked men with malice in their hearts Could that refer to the Pharisee that invited Him to dinner? This woman showed up, washed His feet with her tears and anointed His feet with very expensive oil, and kissed His feet. The Pharisee wanted her thrown out, even the disciples were taken back that a woman would do such a thing and waste the expensive contents of her bottle of oil and ointment. Jesus pointed out His hosts failures and corrupt nature in things he had omitted doing for Him as his guest. Was Jesus tempted to be drawn away by that Pharisee’s cordial invitation?

Or when Jesus yielded Himself to the culture of the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders and council, certainly there He could have been tempted to be drawn away. All we need is to remember His apparent earlier conflict as He prsyed in the garden. It wasn't many words of prayer as recorded, but it literally covered more than the high priestly prayer less than an hour before.

Earlier the question was raised, Did the fully God part of Jesus, God dwelling with us (John 1:14), ever override to stop Jesus from being drawn away, Jesus fully man being kept back when He faced temptations that we as men face daily? Please consider two places in the Scripture that reflect Jesus living out temptations. First that came to me was Jesus in the garden when Peter sliced off the man's ear, Don't you know I could call a legion of angels to come deliver me? Then later recorded in Philippians 2, that He took on a servant and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross. Frame that inside what Jesus taught, He that is faithful in little will be faithful in much. Therefore I submit my thought that it was the constant communion with His Father as fully man that He chose not to be drawn away, not to sin. And within that view Jesus could pray Psalm 28 as making it a prayer of His own.

Praised be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my petitions. The Lord is my strength and my shield: mine heart trusted in him, and I was helped: therfore mine heart shall rejoice, and with my song will I praise him.

Psalms 28:6 - 7 GNV