Fully Jesus

Read Mark 6:1-6
¹ He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." ⁵ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus was fully God. Jesus was also fully man. It seems difficult to comprehend, but we know there are many things about God that go beyond the boundaries of our understanding. We can see Jesus is flesh and blood: he eats, sleeps, walks and breathes. But today’s reading gives us new insight into the depth of Jesus’ human nature.

“Now wait a minute, isn’t this Mary’s oldest son? Isn’t this the boy we watched grow up, the young man who made your door, fixed my shutters, built his plow, crafted that chair? You know his younger brothers don’t you: Jimmy, Joe Jr., Jude, and Simon (I guess they ran out of “J” names)? Aren’t those his sisters over there? Where is this wisdom coming from? How is he able to perform all these miracles?”

Such comments dispute apocryphal gospels that portray Jesus as a young boy doing kiddie versions of what we see in his three-year earthly ministry (such as healing birds and injured playmates). They dispute false gospels that show Jesus as fully God, but only giving the appearance of being man, or temporarily taking on the shell of a man. The people from Jesus’ hometown fully understood Jesus’ human nature, they had seen it for nearly 30 years. That isn’t what they took issue with. They rejected him and his teaching because it was just too difficult to reconcile that he could simultaneously have a fully divine nature.

Being fully man, Jesus was able to act in our place, perfectly fulfilling God’s law for us. He could also suffer and die for our guilt because we failed to keep God’s law. Being fully God, Jesus’ death was a sufficient ransom to save all people, and he was able to overcome death and the devil.