Calendar

JESUS THE PERFECT MAN
FRIDAY, MAY 5
Philippians 2:6-7

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

 

“…and was made

in the likeness of men.”

 

JESUS THE PERFECT MAN
 
Imagine the son of the richest man in the world, with all the wealth and power of his father at his disposal. One day, he decides to seek out the poorest, most squalid slum in the world. It is filled with societies’ outcasts and rejects, with the most wicked and degenerate people. He gives up all the comforts and luxuries that he is used to and goes to live in their midst. He suffers together with them and endures the hardships of life in such a place. His purpose in doing so is to seek to help them change and improve their lives. As noble (and unlikely) as such a sacrifice in this imaginary scenario may be, it does not even begin to compare to the magnitude of sacrifice that Jesus made in coming to this earth in the likeness of men.
 
In terms of His humanity, Jesus was just like any other person who ever lived. He subjected Himself to all the limitations and difficulties of living in this human body. He had to eat, rest, and sleep. He grew tired and hungry. He also experienced the whole range of human emotions of joy, sorrow, love, and anger. He was never materially rich. In His public ministry, He never had a permanent place to call home. He was surrounded by sinful, faithless disciples who often failed to grasp His teachings, though He patiently and lovingly guided them. He was constantly challenged and ridiculed by the scribes and Pharisees and opposed by the religious rulers. All this was done willingly, that He might obtain righteousness for our sakes, that we might be justified.
 
Yet there was one key difference: He was perfect in all His ways. As Hebrews 4:15 explains, He experienced all the infirmities of what it means to be human, for He “was in all points tempted like as we are.” Despite that, He was completely “without sin.” Though Jesus faced many temptations, He never succumbed to them in the slightest. It was because of His perfect sinlessness that He was able to be sacrificed as the unblemished Lamb of God, attaining the righteousness for our justification.
 
THOUGHT: Is there anything in my life that I am unwilling to give up for the cause of Christ?
PRAYER: Oh, how I thank Thee, Father, for sending Thy Son, the perfect Lamb of God!

Search