A respected and beloved theologian shows how a renewed appreciation for the humanity of Jesus Christ can better our biblical understanding of the Savior, strengthen our faith, intensify our relationship with him, and give us hope in the darkest hours of our lives.
What do we make of passages like Luke 2 when Jesus befuddles the wise in the Temple but still is said to have "increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man"? The examples are many, but the point is simple: "The glory of God is a living man," said Irenaeus of Lyons, a Christian leader trained by the apostle John himself. The Word did not simply become "human." Rather, the Word became a specific human being, Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, he made himself just like us.
Jesus was a real man, of particular weight and height, eye-color, disposition, tempers, talents, ambition, etc. He had a mom and family. He got hungry. He got angry. He was moved to tears and compassion. He had limits.
While taking special care not to minimize the Godhood of Christ, Patrick Henry Reardon helps readers come to grips with his real flesh-and-blood humanity-the confession of the Christian church for 2,000 years. If we are to grow in our understanding of Christ, growing in appreciation of His humanity is key. In Christ, God stooped as low as man to bring us on high, back into the fellowship that Adam lost.
