A flesh and
blood Jesus is hard for us to imagine. We have wrapped him up in divinity and
tied him up with a bow of respectability for so long we cannot fathom his
humanity. We have espoused belief in his humanity, but I am not sure we fully
understand what we are claiming. Too often we limit our faith-claim of his
humanity by saying he needed to identify with us. Such is indeed true, but the
writer of Hebrews uses that as a starting point for some further extraordinary
claims about Jesus being flesh and blood.
Not only does Jesus identify with
our humanity, but it was necessary for Jesus to be wrapped in flesh so that he
might destroy the power of the devil.
The writer of Hebrews is clear about this. The devil has the power of
death. But because Jesus was raised from the dead, he no longer has the final
say.
Not only does Jesus identify with
our humanity, but he delivered those who were in life-long bondage to the fear
of death. A non-Christian lives with a life-long bondage of the fear of death.
Since perfect love casts out fear, we know that the love of Jesus has freed us
from the bondage of death.
Not only does Jesus identify with
our humanity, but he had to be human in order to be involved in his high
priestly service toward God. Christ was made like us in every respect. His
humanity was the incarnational context of his faithful service as a high
priest. He has given us the power to embody our faithful service also.
Not only does Jesus identify with our
humanity, but he suffered so that he is able to help those who are tempted. Suffering
and temptation grate on the soul. The potential of defection and despair lurk
at our heels in the midst of living out our humanity in this world. Jesus is
able to help us in those situations when we come to the end of our rope.
We thank our God that Jesus shares
in flesh and blood!
For Christian leaders, think of what this means: we do not
fear the power of the devil, nor do we fear death. Additionally, our own flawed
humanity provides the context for faithful service as we embody the life of
Jesus through the power of God’s Spirit. And finally, we do not have to give in
to the temptations of leadership identified by Richard Foster and others as:
money, sex and power. That unholy trinity is defeated by the resurrected Lord.
We who are Christian leaders need Jesus who shares in our flesh and blood. We
could wish for nothing more wonderful!
In Christian
love, Curtis
