Jesus Christ Is Also True Man - F.E. Pasche
Whenever we direct our attention to Jesus, we behold a true, natural man. Prophets and apostles describe Him as a man. The Scriptures expressly call Him man. Eighty-four times He is called “the Son of Man” in the New Testament. The Son of God did not assume merely a human form, but a human nature. He does not only seem to be a man, He really is a man, like all other men. “He was in the likeness of men,” He was like unto us all; He was made our Brother. There was only one thing in which He was not like unto us all: He was without sin.
What humiliation of the eternal Son of God thus to descend to us sinners! What a humiliation of the great God in heaven to abstain from the use of His almighty power, to become man, and even to be a servant of sinful mankind! It was a most wonderful condescension on the part of the eternal Son of God that He should act the part of a man on this earth, that He who is the omnipotent Creator should become a creature and live as a creature!
But it was not for pastime that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world in the form of a servant and had Him be come man and humble Himself. There was a purpose to it, and that purpose was that He should show obedience to His heavenly Father, do His heavenly Father’s will with regard to everything for which He had sent Him into this world, and that He should lead a life of suffering, which was to terminate in the death on the cross, — and all this for our sakes. He kept for us the Law • of God, which we have not kept, and by His suffering and death on the cross He bore the punishment which we have deserved for our sins. He humbled Himself to redeem us sinful creatures and to rescue us from eternal’ perdition. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him!”
Prayer.
O Lord God, heavenly Father, we give Thee thanks that of Thy great goodness and mercy Thou didst suffer Thine only- begotten Son to become incarnate and to redeem us from sin and everlasting death, and we beseech Thee, enlighten our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit that we may evermore with a true heart thank Thee for this Thy grace and comfort ourselves with it in the hours of tribulation and temptation; through the same Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
