How Jesus identifies with man

 

1)      “I know how you feel” – these are the words we sometimes hear from someone we know.

2)      These words are used every single day and in a wide variety of circumstances.

3)      A person is usually trying to convey sympathy or help and say they know what something is like.

4)      In many cases that is not true.

a)      Imagine a person who is thinking about ending their own life.

b)      They tell someone about how they are thinking and a person responds, “I know how you feel.”

c)      Chances are the person making that statement does not really know how the other person feels.

d)     Another individual may be struggling with deep depression.

e)      A friend with good intentions says, “I know how that kind of thing is.”

f)       In many instances that is also not true.

 

5)      We can really identify with some people, but not all that well with others.

6)      This is one of the things that makes Jesus a very special person.

7)      He can fully and literally identify with every single person.

8)      Prophecy hinted at this in places like Isa. 7:14.

a)      700 years before the first century Isaiah said a “virgin would conceive.”

b)      She would bring forth a child; He would be named “Immanuel.”

c)      This prophecy was fulfilled by the one we call Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

d)     Jesus became a member of the human race and He was fully human.

 

9)      He also faced the widest possible range of experiences and temptations.

10)  He knew what it was like to be poor, and He knew what it was like to be king.

11)  He was a teacher, a healer, a man exposed to building trades, and even the work of a salesmen.

12)  Jesus was in the business of convincing people to look forward to and accept the coming kingdom.

13)  Jesus had a group of men around Him for about 4 years; it was like His own family.

14)  In many instances His disciple acted like children.

15)  Tonight we want to examine several ways in which Jesus was able to identify with man.

a)      The first way is physical growth.

b)      Heaven could have sent Jesus into the world as a full grown man, but this was not its choice.

c)      Jesus came as a baby.

d)     There have been science fiction shows about babies.

e)      Jesus did not come in some type of alien form; He came as a regular child.

f)       His coming into the world was not extraordinary.

g)      Not only did Jesus arrive as we did, He grew.

h)      Lk. 2:40 says Jesus was a “child” and He “grew.”

i)        Verse 52 uses a different word for His growth:  “advanced.”

 

16)  Think of all things associated with childhood.

a)      Children learn how to clean themselves, how to cloth themselves, and take care of themselves.

b)      They learn to stand up, crawl, walk, and run.

c)      Some form of education is usually given to children.

d)     They get hurt, quickly learn what it means to be hungry, and they also get sick.

e)      They learn how to make friends.  They come to realize not all other children like them.

f)       A time comes when they learn about having disagreements with other people.

g)      They learn love, joy, peace, and see the bad parts of life as well.

 

17)  If childhood lasts for 18 years, think about all that happens during that span of time.

18)  18 years times 365 days in a year comes to a total of 6,570 days.

19)  6,570 days multiplied by 24 hours comes to 157,680 hours.

20)  That is enough time for a lot of experiences.

a)      Jesus went through childhood.

b)      Our world often likes to look at Him as a baby.

c)      Others concentrate on His adult years, and that is certainly an important aspect of His life.

d)     Let’s not forget that Jesus also went through life just as we have or are doing now.

 

21)  This is very helpful for people.  A teenager can look at Jesus and think, “How can He help me”?

22)  How can the Lord possibly understand the problems and issues in a young person’s life?

23)  The answer is that Jesus has already walked in the footsteps of young people.

24)  He was faced with the pressures of youth, the temptations, and the challenges of the early years.

25)  Jesus is an “example” (1 Pet. 2:21).  His example is for still growing and the mature.

a)      His example is especially relevant concerning faithfulness in growing up.

b)      We can see that as a young person Jesus chose and did what was right time and time again.

c)      Today young people can follow the Lord’s example.  It is still possible to do what is right.

 

26)  After maturing from childhood to manhood, Jesus continued to be an example.

27)  In Jn. 8:40 Jesus said He was a “man.”

28)  Not only did He claim to be an adult, He claimed to “tell people the truth.”

a)      Jesus often dealt with some people who were not very nice.

b)      It would have been tempting to not just keep silent and not say what needed to be said.

c)      If He had changed subjects or kept silent His life would have been a lot easier.

d)     Jesus did what heaven wanted Him to do; He lived as a godly man in every possible way.

 

29)  This is useful for us in our day and time.

30)  Men (and women) can look at their lives and think, “It is so hard to live as a Christian.”

31)  Our world is always offering temptation; it is on every corner outside our homes.

32)  Society also does a good job at making it available in every home.

a)      In our world there are temptations to cheat and lie.

b)      Others might be tempted to be involved with theft or deception.

c)      Basic honesty is often not found in the masses.

d)     How can a Christian possibly live a righteous life in a cesspool of sin?

e)      The answer is found in Jesus.  He too was in a very hostile environment.

f)       Yet, He maintained His honesty and integrity time after time and we can too.

g)      Doing this is not always easy, but it is possible.

 

33)  Another aspect of Jesus’ humanity is that He got hungry.

34)  Jesus had “fasted for 40 days and 40 nights” (Mt. 4:2).

a)      Having been without food for an extended period of times makes people hungry.

b)      Skip one meal, and people are ready to wolf down all they can the next.

c)      Miss two meals and a person may not care about taste—all they want is food.

d)     Miss three meals and some will take about whatever they can find.

e)      Junk food, snack food…whatever can help fill the belly begins to look very appetizing.

f)       40 days without food is a long, long time.

g)      Satan came along and said Jesus could and should turn some stones to bread.

 

35)  A temptation was put before the Lord.  His human side had to be tempted so He could identify with us.

36)  This temptation is about as strong as any temptation can be.

a)      This temptation has some parallels in our world.

b)      It is something that the alcoholic can identify with.

c)      A person may find their thoughts always go back to getting another drink.

d)     They want liquor so badly it is almost too much to stand.

e)      Jesus’ time in the wilderness is parallel to a person addicted to drugs or something else.

f)       When someone is battling temptation they may think Jesus cannot understand.

g)      If Jesus never struggled with intoxication, how can He understand alcoholics?

h)      If he never used an illegal drug like Cocaine, how can He identify with drug users?

i)        The answer is found in His life—places like Mt. 4:2.

j)        The circumstances were different and the object was different, but the basics are exactly the same.

 

37)  Jesus was exposed to some very powerful temptations and He can identify with all people.

 

38)  Aside from temptations, Jesus can identify with us from the standpoint of weariness.

39)  In Jn. 4:6 we are told Jesus was tired.

a)      This verse also says Jesus “sat” by a well.

b)      It seems He not so exhausted He was ready to collapse.

c)      There are people who have hard, dirty jobs that leave them with absolutely no energy.

d)     As a sponge might be wrung out, so many feel absolutely exhausted by their employment.

e)      Or, it may be bad health.  Due to health issues a person feels like they are a living dead person.

 

40)  Jesus even knows what that type of feeling is like.  He can fully identify with mankind.

41)  While others work their fingers to the bone, others may struggle with being homeless.

42)  There are those who have poor economic circumstances (they are destitute).

43)  In many parts of the world people did not go home to a place that we would call a house.
Most of us probably had at least one meal today, some went the whole day without food.

44)  How can Jesus possible understand people who do not have sufficient food, clothing and shelter?

45)  Jesus was poor.

46)  In Lk. 9:58 Jesus said He had no place to lay His head.

a)      Imagine walking down the city street and seeing a homeless person with a shopping cart.

b)      They have no home, there is no bed where they will spend tonight or any other night.

c)      Everything they have is sitting in a shopping cart.

d)     Can we as people really identify with such a person?  No, but Jesus can.

e)      He knew what it was like to be completely poor.

f)       Paul once said Jesus became “poor” so that we might become rich.

 

47)  Another way Jesus can identify with us is through sorrow.

a)      At funerals many have been offended by someone saying, “I know how you feel.”

b)      I remember a fine Christian lady from nearly two decades ago.  She lost her husband.

c)      Well meaning people tried to console her; they said, “We know how you feel.”

d)     This lady later told me in the strongest possible term, “No one knows how I feel.”

e)      “After more than 50 years of marriage, they cannot understand.”

f)       This lady had a point.

g)      If a person has had an identical type of loss, there are probably some similarities.

h)      There are also cases where someone says these words but they don’t have a clue about death.

 

48)  Jesus knows.  In Jn. 11:35 we are told the Lord wept.

49)  Before Jesus died He may have dealt with the loss of Joseph.

50)  He lost people close to Him like Lazarus.  He lost Judas, Jn. 17:12.

51)  It is so tragic to lose a mate after 50 or more years of marriage.

52)  What must have been in Jesus’ mind when it came to losing one of His apostles?

53)  Judas was a man who was going to take his own life.

54)  His eternal fate is also spoke of in an unfavorable way.  Jesus understands deep, deep loss.

55)  Jesus felt a full range of emotions in His life.

56)  According to Mt. 21:12-13, Jesus felt the emotion of anger.

57)  He saw money changers in the temple and sent them packing.

a)      A person who has an anger problem may feel like no one can understand.

b)      They can see an anger management therapist, but no one knows how they feel.

c)      Other deep emotions may leave people feeling like no one can know what they feel.

d)     Jesus does and He does every single time. 

e)      He knew the feelings that can well up inside of a person.  He has felt their power.

f)       Time and time again we can show that Jesus really understands mankind.

g)      What we experience and face has already been endured by the Lord.

 

58)  This is why the Hebrew writer (4:15) says Jesus is our “high priest.”

59)  He was “tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.”

60)  This is also why Jesus is our perfect intercessor, 1 Tim. 2:5.

61)  Do we know the one who can identify in every single way with our lives?