A few more reflections on Jesus.

One of the early church fathers, Gregory of Nazianzen (380AD), pens a compelling reply to the docetic heresy. Advocates of this heresy claimed that Jesus was not really human and did not really have a human body or a human nature. In reply to this, Gregory says: “…that which he has not assumed, he has not healed; but that which is united to his Godhead, is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of Adam fell, he must be united to the whole nature of him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole.” Only as one of us can Jesus save us. ‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Hebrews 4:14-16)

His real humanity matters because we are saved by the humanity of Christ: ‘Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.’ (Romans 5:18-19)

As if this were not enough to rejoice in for one little blog post, Bonhoeffer’s two cents on this topic is breath-taking. On the sinlessness of Jesus, he says the following (it’s a long quote, I admit, but well worth reading at least twice):

“The question is: Has Jesus as the humiliated God-Man entered fully into human sin? Was he man without sin as we are? If not, has he then really become man? If not, can he then really help? And if he has, how can he help us out of our trouble, while he is set in the same trouble? Here it is necessary to understand what ‘the likeness of sinful flesh’ (Romans 8:3) can mean. His flesh is our flesh. It is the very nature of our flesh that we are tempted to sin and self-will. Christ has taken upon him all that flesh is heir to. He is man as we are, he is tempted in all points as we are, yet much more dangerously than we are. Also in his flesh was the law which is contrary to God’s will. He was not the perfect good. At all times he stood in conflict. He did things which, at least from outside, looked like sin. He became angry, he was harsh to his mother, he escaped from his enemies, he broke the Law of his people, he stirred up revolt against the rulers and religious men of his country. He must have appeared a sinner in the eyes of men. Beyond recognition, he stepped into man’s sinful way of existence.

But all depends on the fact that it was he who assumed to flesh with its tendency to sin and self-will. It was he who did the things that seemed to the onlooker to be sin and failure and must be evaluated such. But because it is he who does this, these statements appear in a different light. It is really human flesh which he carries – but because he carries it, the flesh is robbed of its rights. He pronounces the judgment on his doings. He has anguish as we do, but it is his anguish; he is tempted as we are, but it is his temptation; he is condemned as we are but because it is he who is condemned, we are saved through him. Because of this ‘he’, the hardest and most scandalous statements must be risked against this humiliated God-Man and be borne. He is really made sin for us and as the peccator pessimus he is crucified.”

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