Jesus, Son of God and Man – Part III

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;”
Isaiah 42:6

In this prophecy of Isaiah, God the Father was foretelling the life and mission of Jesus, His Son. Certainly Jesus is our righteousness: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  (2 Cor. 5:21) Further, the Father declares that He would hold Jesus’ hand and keep him, which is a declaration of His personal care, instruction and oversight of His ever-obedient Son. This truth was demonstrated when God revealed Himself after Jesus, as the Son of man, was baptized in the Jordan as an example to all men. God later spoke  at the mount of transformation. We also find God’s presence in giving Jesus His angels watch over Him and ministering to Him. Angels were present at the time of His birth, and later, one heralded an empty tomb. Others ministered to Him following His temptation in the desert and later still on the mount of Olives before He was taken into custody and faced a Judas kiss. As the Son of God, Jesus could have called down a legion of angels, but as the Son of man, He could not have done so; not without failing as the second Adam. Surely, Jesus was most beloved by His Father as both the Son of God and Son of man.

As the Son of God and of man, Jesus was ever attentive to His Father’s will and eternal power, “…he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” (John 4:32) However, as the Son of man, one must ask: ‘Was there ever a time during Jesus’ life that He acted unilaterally; that is, without His Father’s full direction?’ No, even as Jesus appeared to disobey Mary and Joseph when he remained behind in the synagogue as a boy; what was it He said to them? “…wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” What does this teach us? It teaches that we do not sin when we obey God and disobey men; even our parents. While we may face an earthly consequence and discipline, we do not face it alone. Nonetheless….

No, I couldn’t imagine one micro-second of His thirty-three years; except for when the Father Himself withdrew; turned away, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Truly, this is the moment when Jesus, the Son of man, bore the full weight of God’s wrath for the sins and transgressions of those whom He came to die for in such a terrible but profitable end for His Father’s glory. I don’t know how close you are to your loved ones… but a child to a parent? This child absolutely adored, worshipped His father; not only during his formative years but adolescence and adulthood. I must tell you, I hardly knew my father; let alone can I say that I loved him. However, I do remember a time or two when I was separated from him in a store or shop, and Oh, what a sense of loss I felt in that moment! I can not begin to imagine what our Lord Jesus Christ felt in that moment. Yet, I do wonder: what was the greatest wrath? Was it the weight of the sin that Jesus bore or was it the sense of abandonment that He experienced when His Father had to turn away? I think it was the latter, even as it will be for the sinner, who must face judgment without an advocate. They will stand and be judged on their own merit. Already told that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, what then? Sadly; no horrifically, they will find what Jesus found in His moment: how terrible will be the denial of God’s presence for an eternity, while carrying the burden of their sins.