God's Fullness
HIS HUMANITY AFTER THE INCARNATION

Part II – The Son As God
Introduction
We have stated that without Jesus' deity we would not have been created and without His humanity we could not be saved.

We have dwelt at considerable length on the deity of Jesus. This is as it should be. The need exists. Consider America, for example. A recent poll asked the question: "Is religion increasing or losing its influence in American life?" Of those who answered, 21 percent said that religion is increasing in influence; 65 percent said it is losing in influence. George Gallup, Jr., a leading national pollster, has said that America is "a nation of biblical illiterates. The stark fact is, most Americans don't know what they believe or why."¹ If that is true of many who profess "Christianity" as their faith, what of the billions of people alive today who make no claim to Christianity in any form? Yes, there is a need to present a convincing thesis that Jesus the Nazarene was as human as we are. How else could we have an understanding, forgiving Savior Who has truly suffered and withstood temptation? "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:17-18).

Some have taught that Jesus was only spirit – that God could not coexist with flesh. On the contrary, Jesus was flesh. He hungered (Matthew 4:2), He thirsted (John 19:28), and He became weary (John 4:6). His earthly body poured forth tears (John 11:35), sweat (Luke 22:44), and blood (John 19:34). Those who were with Jesus knew that He was an extraordinary man, but they had no doubt that He was a man.

His Humanity As Evidenced outside the Bible
We have dealt extensively with the deity of Jesus. When we speak of deity, we speak of God, a Supreme Being. When we wish to identify God in Person, we speak of God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit. We have seen that Jesus is God the Son. Jesus is God Incarnate, God-in-flesh. The Docetics rejected the humanity of Jesus because they believed God (pure spirit) could not identify Himself so intimately with impure matter (flesh). That was heresy; it still is. Why all the fuss? Isn't God the Savior? Why is it so important to understand that Jesus was human?

The humanity of Jesus brings us to the startling realization that God became flesh in order to save humanity. From early times man has been taught that life is in blood. Bloodshed was required in sacrifice for sins, yet the blood of animals could not remove sin (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 10:4). Therefore, in order to save us from our sinful state, from which we could not possibly save ourselves, God the Son offered a blood sacrifice of perfect, sinless merit, the efficacy of which is unlimited (Hebrews 9:11-14). Mark it down! The blood shed on the cross was not some sort of "divine" blood. The body was not a superhuman body. The death of Jesus on the cross was not the death of God. It was the death of a human being, a man. It was a necessary sacrifice. (Would the Father have subjected His Son to this if some less costly sacrifice had been sufficient?) Therefore, to deny the humanity of Jesus would, in effect, deny our own salvation. Having stressed the divinity of Jesus and the importance of His humanity, we now turn to records affirming His historicity and His humanity.²

We are primarily interested in what the Bible says about God the Son. However, during decades of preaching and teaching I have often been asked if there are any evidences for the existence of Jesus outside the Bible. The calendar year is one illustration that we are all influenced by Jesus' presence in the world!

Questioners want literary evidence. For the benefit of those who may have wondered about evidences "outside the Bible" concerning the life of Christ, let us mention briefly a few written sources that have survived the ravages of time. Please note that we are not interpreting or evaluating these documents. We are giving them simply as evidence that Jesus is mentioned by secular historians as well as by Bible writers.

Since Jesus was a Jew Who lived and worked almost exclusively among the Jews, it is interesting to note that no responsible Jewish source takes on the task of denying that Jesus ever lived. On the contrary, extra-biblical Jewish writers indicate that He did live. For example, Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century a.d., recorded the following in his Antiquities of the Jews:

"And there arose about this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed we should call him a man. For he was a doer of marvelous deeds (miracles), a teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure. He led away many Jews, and also many of the Greeks. This man was the Christ."³

Evidence from Roman writers also shows that Jesus was an actual historical person. Tacitus was a Roman historian who lived through the turn of the first century until about a.d. 120. When he wrote of the fire that had destroyed much of Rome in a.d. 64 he wrote of Nero's attempt to blame this tragedy on the Christians who lived in Rome:

"Consequently; to get rid of the report [which accused him of having set fire to Rome], Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus . . ."⁴

Although other evidence could be cited from Jewish and Roman sources, those given are enough to accomplish our purpose. Jesus was a man Who lived at a specific place and in a specific span of time in history, This is verified from the Bible and from literary sources outside the Bible that were written by men who were generally antagonistic to the early Christian movement. Even though some of the sources have been attacked by critics, the fact still remains that the historical Jesus was spoken of in extra-biblical sources. Why would writers like Josephus and Tacitus write about Jesus in relationship with other historical persons, such as Pilate and Tiberius, if Jesus never really existed?

Ancient creeds describe Jesus as "very God and very man." This is the basis and the essence of the Christian faith. This overarching truth upon which Christianity rests was derived from the early proclamation of the Gospel, which utilized much Old Testament material, and the study of the Scriptures, which continued to appear through the last half of the first century a.d.

The Baptism of the Son
Introduction
Baptism is strictly a New Testament practice.⁵ The baptism being administered by John was for the Jews and was a call to repent and accept the remission of sins. The baptism of Jesus, like His birth, was exceptional. It was different from the norm.

When He was thirty years of age (Luke 3:23),⁶ Jesus traveled maybe sixty miles (from Nazareth [Mark 1:9]) to Bethany (John 1:28)⁷ to be baptized by John.⁸ He joined the thousands who were coming out to hear John and to be baptized by him. Perhaps people were lined up, going out to John in the Jordan, to be baptized. John looked up, and the next one coming to him was Jesus. John was surprised and hesitant, but he baptized Him. The scene of His baptism illustrates the Godhead decisively: God spoke from heaven, Jesus was baptized, and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.

The Spirit gave us three accounts of Jesus' baptism, with Matthew's account being the fullest:

"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?' But Jesus answering said to him, 'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased'" (Matthew 3:13-17; cf. Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).

This baptism was the first of four momentous events that formed a beautiful prelude to the public work of Jesus. First, when Jesus was baptized, the eighteen years of almost total silence was broken. Second, the Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16). This was apparently the moment when Jesus received the Holy Spirit without measure (Luke 3:22, 4:1). Third, Jesus was acknowledged by His Father (Matthew 3:17). The Father said that Jesus was His Son and that He was well pleased with Him. Fourth, Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). McGarvey wrote: "It behoved him to be tempted, that thus sharing our nature with its weakness and temptation he might bring us to share his nature with its strength and sinlessness."⁹

John was the prophet of God sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. As the connecting link between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament He had a twofold mission:

1. to prepare the people (Jews) for the coming of the Christ and His kingdom and

2. to identify the Messiah (John 1:23, 31-34).

What Was the Baptism by John?
John's baptism was a baptism of expectation. It looked forward to the coming of Jesus (Acts 19:4). Those who were baptized by John pledged that they would receive the Christ when He came. John was not making disciples for himself but for the Messiah (Matthew 3:11) .

John's baptism was also a baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4). The general purpose of his baptism was to bring the people to repentance. John prepared the way for the Lord by turning the hearts of the people to righteousness. This was a new kind of repentance. Prior to this, repentance was motivated by earthly blessings; the repentance John preached called for people to repent in view of the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom.

Next, it was a baptism unto the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). This baptism – a water baptism unto the remission of sins – is the only kind of baptism commanded in the New Testament. The blood of Jesus reached backward as well as forward.

John's baptism was also a baptism of obedience (Luke 7:30).  When the baptism of John was rejected, the counsel of God was rejected. His baptism was part of the righteousness of God.

Why Was Jesus Baptized by John?
There is a negative view. As we explore the reasons why Jesus was baptized, let us look at the negative side. First, Jesus did not need repentance. He was sinless during His entire earthly life. Hebrews 4:15 says: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." He was perfectly righteous and could not have been more righteous.

Second, Jesus did not need the remission of sins. "Remission of sins" implies guilt of sin. Having never sinned, Jesus had no guilt to remove.

Third, He did not do it to be consecrated into the office of the priesthood. He was not a priest while on Earth. God made an exception in His case and made Him our high priest in heaven.

Fourth, He did not do it so that deity might come upon Him. He was divine from the beginning (Matthew 1:23). His baptism did not make Him divine.

There is a positive view. Let us now look at Jesus' baptism from a positive perspective. Jesus stated specifically why He was baptized by John. He was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). His baptism was a fulfillment. Being baptized by John would fulfill the righteousness of God. "Righteousness" should be equated with "walking according to all the commandments of God." We read: ". . . all Thy commandments are righteousness" (Psalm 119:172), and "They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord" (Luke 1:6). Jesus later asked, "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" (Matthew 21:25). It was the will of God for Him to be baptized by John (John 6:38). Therefore, in submitting to John's baptism He was submitting to God's will.

While the reason given by Jesus concerning His baptism is the only specific one to be found in the Gospels, His baptism has several significant implications. First, it implies endorsement. His baptism sanctioned the work and message of John, who was a prophet of God. Jesus' baptism of John said something about the origins of John's baptism. It was of God. It also said something about the purpose of John's baptism. His baptism was part of God's plan for the era that preceded the public ministry of Christ.

Second, Jesus' baptism implies commencement. At His baptism, Jesus was acknowledged as the Son of God. The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon Him following His baptism. From this time forward, John would single Him out as the Lamb of God (John 1:32-36). At His baptism, Jesus was confessed by His Father. His quiet life in Nazareth would now be left behind. From His baptism Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted, and from the temptations He went into His public ministry

What Lessons Do We Learn from the Baptism of Jesus?
Jesus' baptism does not teach us to be baptized by John. Many have said, "I'd like to be baptized just like Jesus was." Of course, it would be impossible to be baptized "just like Jesus was." John's baptism was for a particular period and a particular people. His baptism is no longer valid (Acts 19:1-5). Jesus, the sinless One, was baptized simply to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus obeyed the Law because He lived under it. To be obedient to God, Jesus had to obey the Law. However, it is not God's will for us to obey the Law today. We cannot be baptized of John today, but we can obey God for the same reasons Jesus did. We should ask, "What is the will of God for me today; that I may obey it just as Jesus obeyed His Father's will for Him?"

His baptism does teach us the lesson of obedience.¹⁰ It was His Father's will that He be baptized. Jesus gladly submitted to the baptism of John because it was the will of His Father. No one can claim that he is following the example of Jesus unless he has surrendered to the will of God. Sentimentalism is not always submission. If we have not submitted to the baptism of the Great Commission, we have not submitted to God (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus' baptism also teaches us the lesson of humility. The sinful baptized the sinless. The inferior baptized the superior (Matthew 3:13-17). Humility means "losing ourselves in something bigger than ourselves." Jesus was more concerned about the Father's will than His own image. Jesus learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8-9).

In addition, His baptism teaches us that obedience pleases our Father. After His baptism, God acknowledged Jesus as His unique Son in a public fashion. He not only said that he was pleased with Him, but He also said that He was well pleased with Him. How do we please our Father? The obvious answer is that we please Him through obedience. Three times the Holy Scriptures represent God as speaking out of heaven in testimony for Jesus Christ: at His baptism, on the occasion of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and in John 12:28-30.

What Does It Mean to Follow in the Steps of Jesus?
Jesus came to do the will of His Father. The will of God for Jesus meant baptism, temptation, and the cross. What does God's will mean for us? It means the baptism of the Great Commission, for one thing (Mark 16:15). Jesus invited us to do God's will and showed us how Following in the steps of Jesus means doing the will of God. If Jesus was so serious about John's baptism, how serious ought we to be about a greater baptism, the baptism of the Great Commission?¹¹

The Temptations of the Son
Introduction
The events following our Lord's baptism surprise us. We expect to read that He immediately entered His ministry of teaching, but this was not the case. Instead, He entered a privacy and solitude more complete than that which He had known in Nazareth. His home became the wilderness, and his companions became the wild beasts (Mark 1:12-13). Into this privacy came a fierce battle, a spiritual conflict, a collision of heaven and Earth, as Jesus was tempted by Satan.

Jesus' temptations are best referred to as "testings," because temptation includes a vicious desire from within that responds to the devil's invitation (James 1:10-12). Although Jesus did not exhibit such a desire, His temptations give us a sharp picture of His humanity. The Holy Spirit placed three accounts of the temptations in the Bible (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:2-13; Mark 1:12-13).¹² Mark's account is so brief that it is more of an allusion to the temptations than an account of them, but it was Mark who added that Jesus was among the wild beasts. Jesus was tempted many times during His life, but Satan must have made a very special effort to induce Jesus to sin at this point in His life. Perhaps the temptations involved all forty days of His fasting, with the strongest tests coming at the end of this period.¹³

This temptation experience occurred right after His baptism. Mark 1:12 says: "And immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness." The initiative to go into the wilderness¹⁴ was divine, not diabolical: "After the approval of heaven at Jordan came the assault of hell; after the dove, the devil."¹⁵ Likewise, the new Christian must be ready to face temptations right after his baptism into Christ. The Christian will face trials that the atheist will not experience.

Luke 4:13 says that following this series of temptations the devil "departed from Him until an opportune time." This implies that Jesus had a brief rest from the tempter following these temptations. It further implies that the devil came back to tempt Him at other times.

Why was Jesus tempted? It was the divine plan that Jesus should come into the world and be tempted as a man. The Scriptures give two basic reasons as to why Jesus was tempted.

First, He was tempted so that He could fully sympathize with our struggles (Hebrews 4:15, 2:15-18). Does this mean that Jesus knew every kind of temptation experienced by men and women of all ages? Obviously, He did not, but in principle He faced every trial we face. Temptation assailed Him in its full force along every avenue through which it can reach human nature. We have not felt the full force of temptation. When we were first tempted, we gave into it. Since Jesus had never given in to temptation, He felt its full force. Suppose you were a runner who had never lost a race. While running a close race, you would feel the full force of the test. One who loses all the time does not worry much about losing again. However, one who has never lost regards losing as unthinkable.

The surrounding circumstances and incidentals of the temptations may differ, but temptations are essentially the same for all men and all women of all ages. Temptation can come to man along only three avenues: appetite (lust of the flesh), avarice (lust of the eyes), and ambition (the pride of life). All other temptations are merely variants of these three. That means that Jesus was tempted in every part of His humanity; as are we.¹⁶

Also, He was tempted so that He would qualify as a perfect Savior (Hebrews 5:8-9, 2:10).¹⁷ He was tempted for His own sake, as a test of His character (Hebrews 5:7-9). He was tempted for our sakes, that He might become a sympathizing High Priest (Hebrews 4:15-16) and our example.

The temptations of Christ assume tremendous truths. First, they presuppose the reality of sin and the devil is Satan is not just a force. He is a spirit who seeks your soul. The Hebrew word for "Satan," used by Mark, is translated "devil" in Matthew and Luke. It means "slanderer or false accuser."¹⁸

Second, they imply that Jesus was fully human. Why did the devil test Him, if He could not sin? His temptations imply that He could have sinned.¹⁹

Third, they reveal that the temptation to sin is not sin. We cannot avoid temptation. Martin Luther said, "I cannot keep the birds from flying over my head, but I can keep them from building nests in my hair."

Winning by a Miracle versus Winning as a Man
Jesus was first tested in the area of physical appetite. "Appetite" is the desire to enjoy something.²⁰ John called it "the lust of the flesh" (1 John 2:16).

"And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. ' But He answered and said, 'It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:2-4).

What were the circumstances of the first temptation? Jesus was physically weak when Satan confronted Him with the first temptation. He had fasted forty days and nights. Satan often strikes in our weak moments.

What harm would there be in turning stones into bread? Satan was asking Jesus to fulfill a natural need in an unnatural way. He was asking Jesus to satisfy a legitimate hunger by illegitimate means. Jesus was in need of food. Satan suggested a way of getting food quickly.

We might say; "What harm was there in that suggestion?" Had Jesus satisfied His hunger in that fashion, He would have been guilty of satisfying a natural need in a miraculous manner. This was not the purpose of miraculous power (John 20:31). Paul did not use miraculous power to remove his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). Epaphroditus did not heal himself by miraculous power (Philippians 2:25-27). Trophimus did not use the miraculous to overcome the natural (2 Timothy 4:20). Jesus could not resort to His divine nature to overcome a human temptation and continue to be human. Jesus condescended and became man, truly and fully man (Philippians 2:5-7). He faced temptation on the same level that all men do. Upon the cross, He could only suffer for sin. He could not remove the pain by a miracle and still be a man. Had He worked a miracle to overcome His hunger pangs, He would have been a discouragement to all of His followers, who must handle their human problems without the aid of miracles. It is not hard to think of multitudes who have given birth to heartache and despair by attempting to satisfy legitimate needs in illegitimate ways.

The target of this temptation is the human body:

"In coming days Jesus was to make stringent demands upon his followers in terms of discipleship. Fundamental among those demands would be the insistence upon self-denial. The right to make such a requirement and the vigor of its statement come right out of the temptation experience. Jesus established a pattern that must be reproduced in those who seek to come after him. If our Lord had yielded to this temptation by providing himself with bread through means at his command, discipleship would have been out of the question for those who must earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow. Jesus could not say, 'Learn of me,' apart from giving a worthy demonstration of selflessness, one that would have meaning to his followers."²¹

How did Jesus overcome this temptation? Jesus fought the devil with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). Our Lord quoted to the devil Deuteronomy 8:3. This verse shows that "bread" is not the only consideration. If bread were the only concern, it would have been perfectly legitimate for Jesus to turn the stones into bread. Bread was not Jesus' only consideration. He was here to do the will of God. Doing His will involved living as a man and facing the devil.

Winning by Trusting God versus Winning by Tempting God
The second area in which Jesus was tempted was ambition.²² John called it "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16).

"Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge concerning You; and 'On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.' Jesus said to him, 'On the other hand, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test"' (Matthew 4:5-7).

What were the circumstances of the second temptation?²³ The setting was the pinnacle of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. The word pinnacle probably means "wing." This was probably the southern wing, which overlooked the Kidron Valley two hundred feet below. Satan was asking Jesus to leap into this abyss, to cast Himself down from the temple and claim His Father's promise. The devil argued that God would provide Jesus with a celestial parachute for protection, and he quoted Psalm 91:11 to back up his request.

This temptation held two important attractions for Jesus: the desire to prove His Father's promise and the desire to gain immediate popularity among the people. Jesus was being asked to create a spectacle that would overpower the nation and win its allegiance at one stroke. This was a mental and spiritual temptation.

What harm would there be in jumping from the temple? "Had Jesus cast himself down, he would have demanded of the Father a needless miracle to prove his Sonship, and would thereby have put the love of God to an unnecessary trial. All who jeopardize themselves without any command of God or call of duty, make trial of his love."²⁴

Satan quoted Scripture, but he did not make the proper use of it. He was making God's Word say something that God did not say. The devil has a head full of Scripture but a heart full of sin. The devil hates the Bible, but he can use it to accomplish his purposes. It is easy to quote Scripture; it is more difficult to find out what the Scriptures say and follow their teachings.

How did Jesus overcome this temptation? Jesus pointed to another Scripture, Deuteronomy 6:16. Jesus explained Scripture by Scripture. To get a complete understanding of the Scriptures, we must take all that the Bible says. Jesus saw the Old Testament as a unit: a passage in Psalms is qualified by a passage in Deuteronomy. It would be impossible to find a higher endorsement of the Old Testament than our Lord's clear use of it. The passage from which Jesus quoted is about Israel's tempting God. The people were putting the Lord to the test by doubting His presence and provision. Although Israel is said to have tempted God ten times during the forty years of wandering, the one incident that is reported in detail is the one referred to here by Moses and quoted by Jesus.

Jesus refused to tempt His Father. The passage quoted by the devil did not teach that God would protect His Son regardless of how reckless and careless He might be. Jesus made the proper application of the Scripture quoted by Satan by pointing out its qualification.

Winning by a Compromise versus Winning by a Cross
The third area of Jesus' temptation was avarice, the desire to obtain possessions.²⁵ John called it "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16).

"Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, 'All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Begone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only'" (Matthew 4:8-10).

What were the circumstances of this temptation? Jesus was taken to a high mountain. From this high point He was shown ("in a moment of time," according to Luke) all the kingdoms of the world. Satan said that all of these kingdoms would be given to Jesus if He would only fall down and worship him. The devil did not own all the kingdoms of the world, but they were under his control. It is not said that Jesus saw the kingdoms of the world. It is said that He was shown the kingdoms. The devil could have simply pointed out the directions of the kingdoms and described them; it could have been visionary. This temptation is similar to the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jesus saw the kingdoms of the world as Eve saw the desirability of the fruit.

What harm would there be? Satan was asking Jesus to do evil so that good might come. Satan was saying, "You have come to conquer the world. I will help you, if you will only worship me. Think how quickly you could conquer the world if you did not have me to fight." Jesus was invited to achieve His spiritual goals by compromise. J. Oswald Sanders said:

"Jesus had indeed come to obtain all the world of power and glory, but He was to receive it His Father's way in His Father's time. And His Father's way included death on a cross. . . . The devil focused his last temptation on the possibility of an evasion of the cross by a compromise with him."²⁶

How did Jesus overcome this temptation? Jesus reminded the devil that God is the object of our worship (Matthew 4:10). He again cited the Old Testament Scriptures, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. Satan's way to conquer the world was much different from God's. Before Jesus could have joined forces with the devil, He would have had to compromise all of the spiritual principles upon which His kingdom was to be founded. Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom, not a carnal one. He could have gained control of the kingdoms of the world quickly through the method suggested by Satan, but such control would have been gained at the expense of truth and righteousness. He chose to win the world by being loyal to His Father's will and by going the way of the cross.

In Jesus' victory over temptation we see the humanity of Jesus clearly and unmistakably. He truly became man.

The Miracles of Jesus' Ministry
Most Bible readers are aware of the tempestuous sea upon which the Gospels have been cast in the past. (See the "Excursus" at the end of this book.) However, under the "new quest" for the historical Jesus we now have even more reason for a deeper appreciation of Scripture. Unfortunately, it is still true that many who follow the higher critical methodologies of biblical studies continue to underestimate the historical value of the Gospels and discount the miraculous events found in them.

Let us continue with Jesus to observe His humanity and His humanitarianism. This is precisely what His early followers did. They saw His humanity and His humanitarianism; also, they eventually believed Him to be deity. Many things in the life of Jesus helped His followers to make that marvelous transition from sight to faith (Luke 24:7-8; John 2:22).

Let us take note of the miracles of Jesus. They were perceived to be the stupendous work of a man. The following examples illustrate this fact. When Jesus stilled the storm on Lake Galilee, His frightened disciples were reprimanded by Jesus for their "little faith." "The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him! '" (Matthew 8:27 [New International Version]; emphasis added). When He enabled the mute man to speak, "the crowd was amazed and said, 'Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.' But the Pharisees said, `It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons'" (Matthew 9:33b-34, [NIV]). The overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that the miracles performed by Jesus after His baptism until His death convinced the people not that He was God, but that He was an extraordinary man of God.

Thirty-five different miracles performed by Jesus between His baptism and His crucifixion are recorded in the four Gospels. There is no record that any of these miracles caused anybody to confess forthrightly that Jesus was God. In fact, Jesus' miraculous power caused the Pharisees to say He was a partner of Beelzebub worthy of death and a blasphemer (Matthew 12:14, 24; Mark 2:3-7).

However, many others did look to Jesus for help. They were aware of His reputation and power. They pleaded for healing: "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" (Matthew 9:27, 20:31, NIV). "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Matthew 15:22, NIV). "People . . . begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed" (Matthew 14:34-36, NIV). Others were astounded at His power just as they were astounded at His teaching (Matthew 7:28). "All the people were amazed and said to each other, 'What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!'" (Luke 4:36, NIV).

It is amazing that the accounts of so many of the miracles Jesus performed leave no recorded response of gratitude or praise by beneficiaries or observers. Note some examples. After Jesus healed the centurion's servant at Capernaum, the episode closes with the terse statement: "And his servant was healed at that very hour" (Matthew 8:5-13, NIV). When He cured Peter's mother-in-law of a fever, the record simply says: ". . . she got up and began to wait on him" (Matthew 8:15, NIV). On the same day of this cure, He exorcised many demons from people who were brought to Him and healed all the sick who were present. Nothing follows except Matthew's statement that this activity fulfilled a Messianic prophecy of Isaiah (Matthew 8:16-17). Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man who lived in Bethsaida. All that follows is Jesus' instruction to the man to go home (Mark 8:22-26). Jesus restored the shriveled hand of a man in a synagogue on a Sabbath day. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were so furious that they began to plot against Him (Luke 6:6-11). When Jesus healed a man in Jerusalem who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, he "went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well" (John 5:1-15).

What we have here is a litany of events that brings us to a startling realization. The people we have mentioned who received the healing benefits of Jesus' power offered no words of praise or thanksgiving. Neither did those who saw these miracles give any thanks or praise. Many actually became hostile and angry. What may we logically deduct from this response to the healing ministry of Jesus? These people who either saw the work of Jesus or were benefited by it believed He was a man.

Would it be possible to believe we were literally in the presence of God in person without being filled with awe and reverence? Is it conceivable to receive actual healing from God in person without expressing thanks, praise, gratitude, and adoration? No! Neither would we walk away silently, betray His trust, become angry and resentful, or ascribe His work to the devil if we were certain it was God with Whom we were dealing. The miracles we have been discussing were not proof beyond a reasonable doubt to the people who saw them performed, or benefited from them, that Jesus was God.

Many beneficiaries did have a very high opinion of Jesus as a man of God, a doer of wonderful deeds. Note, however, that their high estimation of Jesus often was expressed before they were healed. Examples of this may be found in their terms of address such as kurie ("Lord" or "Sir"). This was a common expression of respect (John 5:7). He was often called the Son of David (Luke 18:38-39). Jesus specifically commended some for their faith in coming to Him for healing (Luke 7:9; Mark 5:34; Matthew 15:28). In a few instances it is even recorded that the miracles observed, or the benefits received, did produce faith in Him (John 4:53, 11:45).

However, what that faith consisted of is at the heart of our inquiry. It is at this place in the investigation that we come face to face with a striking paradox. Jesus used the phrase Son of man, to speak not of His humanity but of His divinity; now, we see Jesus performing miracles that resulted in establishing not His divinity but a very high regard for His humanity! This explains why there were no shouts from the crowds: "Jesus is God!" This explains why; in many instances, there was no reaction whatsoever.

On the other hand, many people saw in Jesus' mighty works a reason for praising God. "This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" (Mark 2:12b). Many Jews believed Jesus to be Elijah (Mark 8:28) returned as a fulfillment of a prophecy found in Malachi 4:5. This put Jesus in the revered company of Israel's great oral prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Others were more specific: "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee" (Matthew 21:11). Apparently, some were even willing to identify Him as "the Prophet" like Moses (John 7:40; Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

Others were awed by Jesus' miraculous power and "praised God, who had given such authority to men" (Matthew 9:8, 15:31; emphasis added). The miraculous power of Jesus with which Nicodemus, a Sanhedrin Pharisee, was familiar, led him to say to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him" (John 3:1-2).

All of the admiration, adulation, awe, praise, and respect for Jesus noted in the preceding examples is nowhere more vividly seen than when Jesus demonstrated His power over death by bringing the widow of Nain's son back to life. The large crowd praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us, they said. God has come to help his people" (Luke 7:11-16). Since many of the Jews saw Jesus as Elijah, perhaps this spectacular revival of life reminded them of others who were called back to life by Elijah and Elisha.²⁷

This remarkably lofty view of Jesus as a man of God certainly had a legitimate base in His deeds of power. His works of ministry did not leave the impression that He was an ordinary man. On the contrary! He was addressed as Teacher, Lord (Sir), Master, Rabbi, Messiah, Son of David, King of the Jews, and even Son of God, the latter phrase also having been applied to another great king (2 Samuel 7:14).

In their totality, these exalted terms from the lips of Jesus' Jewish contemporaries place Him at the very pinnacle of Jewish expectations. How they yearned to crown Him king by force! (John 6:15). For many followers He was indeed the man of the hour. Even the children were echoing the sentiments of the crowd: "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:9, 15).

We have looked through the eyes of Jesus' contemporaries and have seen the humanity and the humanitarianism of Jesus. We have found that the miracles He performed convinced large numbers of people that He was a great man of God in the long history of God's kings and prophets. He was seen as God's king, prophet, and Messiah. He was the one chosen by God (anointed) to lead His people to freedom and glory. His miracles were evidence that He had the power to accomplish that for which they had yearned so long. Therefore, in the next segment of our study, we find what we expect to find.

Many Worshiped Jesus
In view of the high esteem in which Jesus was held by many, it is not surprising to find people "worshiping" Him. However, much caution must be exercised in evaluating this feature in the personal ministry of Jesus. When we read that many were "worshiping" Jesus, that does not necessarily indicate their conviction that He was God. As we shall see, their "worship" may indicate no more than their conception of Him as an extraordinary man of God.

There is a facet of "worship" that we need to explore in greater detail. The major effect of Jesus' miracles was the establishment of a high view of His humanity. The "worship" of Jesus, from the beginning of His ministry to His crucifixion, was an expression of the high honor and respect with which the people regarded Him.

A verb translated "worship" some sixty times in the KJV of the New Testament is proskuneo. This verb has a variety of meanings, such as "to kiss the hand toward, to do homage, to show reverence or respect by prostration, to adore, to worship, to bow down. "²⁸ These acts include those directed to one individual by another, or they may signify a human being's worship of Deity.

In this century, Bible translators have become more cautious in translating the various forms of proskuneo. This has helped the English-language reader to understand more clearly what the original language means in any given context. The following comparisons between the King James Version and the New International Version, showing how the verb proskuneo is translated, illustrate this point.

In these three examples of proskuneo we see a leper, ruler, and Canaanite woman coming to Jesus with petitions for help. We see two things as they prostrate themselves, or kneel, before Him. We see their desperation and their conviction that He can help them. We do not see any indication of their conviction that He is God. Therefore, we appreciate the NIV translators' caution in using those valid meanings of proskuneo that indicate actions in a specific way.

The behavior of the leper, ruler, and Canaanite woman was the usual way in Eastern culture for showing deference, respect, homage, etc. This is not to suggest that such actions were always examples of proskuneo. Once, Simon Peter "fell [prosepesen] down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'" (Luke 5:8). Although the word used to describe Peter's action was not proskuneo, he did show respect for and deference to Jesus.

The use of proskuneo as a synonym for closely related words is seen clearly when we examine some parallel passages in Matthew and Mark.

Note the three passages we have just examined from Matthew and compare the parallel passages from Mark.

Each passage from Matthew and Mark spoke of the same person and the same incident. However, Matthew used the common term for worship (proskuneo) while Mark used a variety of words to describe the actions, words, and attitudes of the leper, ruler, and Canaanite woman. Did Matthew disregard Mark's descriptions? Did Mark dismiss Matthew's use of proskuneo? Of course not! Matthew simply identified what these three individuals were doing; Mark described what they were doing. The synonyms show the harmony of the accounts. They are not contradictory. The examples we have in Scripture of various ones "worshiping" Jesus, from the time of His baptism until His crucifixion, are expressions of homage, respect, adoration, deference, etc., that one would naturally show to another person held in extremely high esteem.

Jesus taught that it was possible for one person to show deference, homage, submission, and respect to another person by his use of proskuneo. This was called worship in Matthew 18:26 (KJV). The NIV called it falling on one's knees and begging. By either translation, this example from Jesus showed proskuneo being used to describe one person's actions toward another person. Worship to God was not involved.

An examination of the miraculous work of Jesus has shown that this aspect of His personal ministry had the prime effect of convincing multitudes of people that He was truly a great man of God. The worshipers of Jesus were convinced of His God-assigned role as prophet, King of Israel, Master, Rabbi, Messiah, Son of God. Their worship expressed their high regard for this Great One Who had emerged in Israel. They believed He would restore them to their proper place. They could hardly have expressed a more exalted view of His humanity.²⁹

There is only one time between the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus that one finds homage paid to Him by some of His chosen disciples described as proskuneo (worship). The disciples were attempting to make a crossing of stormy Lake Galilee when they saw Jesus coming near them, walking on the water. They were terrified. They thought He was a ghost. When Jesus identified Himself, Peter wanted more assurance, saying, "Lord, if it's You, tell me to come to You on the water." Jesus said, "Come." Peter failed. Jesus rescued him. Mark recorded: "They were completely amazed,. . . their hearts were hardened." Matthew wrote: "Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'"³⁰

Their "hearts were hardened." They were "terrified" and "amazed." However, the circumstances led them to "worship" Him, confessing He was the Son of God. In the emotion of the moment, it seems they were "especially motivated by dawning recognition of the divine sonship."³¹ If so, it was embryonic and halting. It was never repeated before Jesus' death. Neither did any of them proclaim His deity until after His resurrection.

Jesus and Demons
We close with a word about an uncomfortable, embarrassing, and awesome dimension of Jesus' ministry. It is uncomfortable because it spoke forthrightly of the demon world. It is embarrassing because it showed that demons were fully aware of Jesus' power over them – even though, at the time, the human race was not aware of Jesus' omnipotence. It is awesome because it pulled the veil aside and showed us a rare peek at larger realms of reality, over which Jesus had unquestioned power and sovereignty.

Demons cried out to Jesus, "What do you want with us, Son of God? . . . Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29). "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" (Mark 5:7). "And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss" (Luke 8:31). "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24; emphasis mine).

The demons fully confessed Jesus' power to torture, banish, and destroy them. They also confessed that He was the Christ, the Holy One of God. This was exceptional. According to the Synoptic Gospel writers, the only time Jesus was ever called Holy during His personal ministry was by a demon. Holiness is the chief attribute of God! The demons knew that Jesus was not only the Son of God; they knew He was the Holy One of the Most High God.

What was Jesus' reaction to this "other-worldly" awareness? "He gave them strict orders not to tell who he was" (Mark 3:12). "Be quiet! said Jesus sternly" (Mark 1:25). "Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ" (Luke 4:41).

Footnotes:
¹ Jeffery L. Sheler, "Spiritual America," U.S. News and World Report, 4 April 1994, 48-59.
² Please read chapter 12, Excursus: Historical Backgrounds for Bible Study, at the end of this book.
³ Josephus Antiquities xviii, 3.3., quoted in Everett E. Harrison, A Short Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1968), 17.
⁴ Tacitus Annals XV44, quoted in Moses Hadas, ed., The Complete Works of Tacitus, trans. A.J. Church and W.J. Brodribb (New York: Random House, 1942), 380-81. See also C. Milo Connick, Jesus: The Man, the Mission, and the Message, 2d ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1974), 59.
⁵ "Proselyte baptism initiated those not Jews into Judaism, but had no connection with forgiveness of sins. John's baptism applied to those who were already Jews and did not initiate them into the faith. The proselyte immersed himself in the presence of witnesses; John's baptism required an administrator. Proselyte baptism is a practice unknown to the Old Testament. It may be-but it is not certain-that it was being practiced as early as John's day. Philo and Josephus are silent about the practice, and our earliest evidence for it is a controversy between the schools of Shammai and Hillel about the time of the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 (Passover 8:8). At that time it seems a standing practice, but the date of its origin is wrapped in obscurity" (Jack P Lewis, The Gospel according to Matthew, Part 1, ed. Everett Ferguson [Austin, TX: Sweet, 1976], 62.)
⁶ Surely a person should not conclude from this that one should wait until he is thirty to be baptized. Jesus was sensitive to the will of God at the age of twelve (Luke 2:41-49). If John had begun his work sooner, Jesus would have been baptized sooner.
⁷ The RSV has Bethany; and the KJV has Bethabara.
⁸ Seven baptisms are mentioned in the New Testament: (a) the baptism unto Moses (1 Corinthians 10:2); (b) the baptism of sufferings (Mark 10:38-39); (c) the baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29); (d) the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11); (e) the baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11); (f) the baptism of John (Acts 19:3); and (g) the baptism of the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:19-20).
⁹ J.W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, n.d.), 88.
¹⁰ One can draw a parallel between our baptism and Jesus' baptism: (a) He received the Spirit at His baptism and we do, too (Acts 2:38); (b) He prayed at His baptism, and we should be baptized prayerfully as well (Acts 22:16); (c) He was acknowledged as God's Son following baptism, and we are actually made sons of God at baptism (Galatians 3:26-27).
¹¹ The baptism of the Great Commission is greater than John's in its duration. John's was only for a brief period; the Great Commission baptism is for the Christian Age. The baptism of John was administered by John; the baptism of the Great Commission was administered in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). The baptism of the Great Commission is mentioned in the seven "ones" (Ephesians 4:4-6), and John's is not.
¹² Tradition locates the temptations on Quarantania, a mountain that rises out of the Judean plain, fifteen hundred feet above the Jordan Valley, It is six or eight miles from the traditional place of the baptism, to the west of the Jordan and Jericho, agreeing with Luke's expression, "returned from the Jordan. . . . The steep road leading up from Jericho to Jerusalem was called Ascent of Blood, because it was infested with robbers. Along this road Jesus would travel to reach the mountain, the heights of which commanded a vast prospect, reaching to Jerusalem on the West, to the Jordan Valley and the plains of Moab on the East, and to Hermon on the North. Highways also were visible, leading to `all the kingdoms of the world"' (J.W. Shepherd, The Christ of the Gospels [Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1939], 73.)
¹³ J. Oswald Sanders contended that these three temptations were only samples of the temptations that the devil made to Jesus' holy soul during the forty days. Sanders said that this seems to be inferred from the words: "And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry" (Matthew 4:2; emphasis added). "He was tempted during the whole forty days, but He was so preoccupied with His spiritual crisis that He forgot to eat. It was at the end of the forty days that He became hungry. Then followed the three representative tests." Sanders may not have proved this point. See The Incomparable Christ (Chicago: Moody, 1952), 58. Donald Guthrie wrote: "The three temptations mentioned by Matthew and Luke are to be regarded not as exhaustive but as exemplary: They are typical of the avenues along which testings continually come" (A Shorter Life of Christ [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970], 81).
¹⁴ The word desert or wilderness as used in the New Testament does not require us to think of a sandy waste but of a spot somewhat removed from ordinary habitation (Mark 1:35).
¹⁵ Sanders, The Incomparable Christ, 57.
¹⁶ Ibid., 58.
¹⁷ How grateful we should be that Jesus refused to sin!
¹⁸ The devil most likely did not come to Jesus in a red suit with pitchfork in hand. Jesus was probably tempted the same way we are tempted. This major battle was waged before His personal ministry was begun. It was a key time for the devil.
¹⁹ The record of these three temptations shows us that Jesus faced trials common to man and resisted them completely. An understanding of the temptations will be very meaningful to each Christian. It should increase our realization of the fact that Jesus was perfect and free from sin. It should deepen our appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ as manifested in His advent. In these temptations we are looking at the only One in the history of the world Who confronted Satan and completely defeated him.
²⁰ Sanders, The Incomparable Christ, 58.
²¹ Everett E. Harrison, A Short Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1968), 87.
²² Sanders, The Incomparable Christ, 59.
²³ It is the second temptation in Matthew's account; in Luke's account it is the third temptation.
²⁴ J.W. McGarvey and Philip Y Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, n.d.), 96.
²⁵ Sanders, The Incomparable Christ, 60.
²⁶ Ibid.
²⁷ 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37. C£ D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, A.M. Stebbs, and D.J. Wiseman, eds., The New Bible Commentary: Revised (London: Inter-Varsity, 1970; Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979), 900. Also, H. Leo Boles, A Commentary on the Gospel by Luke (Nashville: Gospel Advocate, 1940; reprint, 1959), who said: "God had visited his people again with a prophet" (151).
²⁸ Cf. Thomas Sheldon Green, A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament, 25th rev. ed. (New York: Harper and Brothers, n.d.), 159, or any standard Greek lexicon.
²⁹ It has been said that "in Mt. the use of proskunein shows that those who thus fall down already involuntarily and unconsciously declare by their attitude with whom they have to do." Cf. Heinrich Greeven, "proskuneo," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 6, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 763-64 (emphasis added). This may be partially true. However, it has no bearing on whether those who came before Jesus believed Him to be God. It seems incredible to affirm that they did believe Him to be God when there is no evidence to support that affirmation. It stretches the imagination too far to base that conviction upon what others involuntarily and unconsciously said or did!
³⁰ Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21. W. E. Albright and C. S. Mann, The Anchor Bible vol. 27: Matthew (Garden City, NY Doubleday, 1971): "Son of God. I.e., Messiah . . . The phrase is used in the Psalms to describe the anointed king (Cf. Ps. ii 7)" (181). In the ancient Near East the relationship between a ruling king and a subject king was expressed by such words as lord, servant, father, son, (2 Samuel 7:5, 14). See NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1985), note on Psalm 2:7, 788. Also, cf. R.E. Nixon, "Matthew," in The New Bible Commentary: Revised, ed. D. Guthrie; J.A. Motyer, A.M. Stibbs, D.J. Wiseman (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970): "You are the Son of God does not occur in Mark. It seems to be a groping after a title for One who can do such wonders . . ." (835).
³¹ Greeven, Theological Dictionary, p. 764