HE IS SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN
 
Taken from Dawning of Wisdom Part 2
(also available in booklet Daily Meditations of Jesus Christ)

Day 2   HE IS SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN
Jesus being both the Son of God and the Son of Man is beyond human comprehension, but we know it, believe it and rejoice in this truth. If Jesus had not been the Son of God, He could not have been sinless and able to pay for our sins, and if He had not been the Son of Man, He could not be our High Priest to make the perfect sacrifice for us unto God.  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--(Hebrews 2:14) For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (vs. 17-18)
He was both human and divine. He was incarnate, meaning that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ.
God came to earth to be a man, to walk among us, to identify with us and experience what we experience. We saw in yesterday’s message that He appeared to people in different ways on occasion before He became man, but to come to earth as a human being and live with man for approximately thirty-three years, He came as we came, through birth. He had a natural mother, Mary, who carried Him in her womb. He had two fathers, a heavenly Father, who brought about His conception supernaturally by the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary, and He had an earthly father, Joseph, who helped raise Him, but was not His biological father. We all love Christmas when we celebrate this miraculous happening of the incarnation, God coming into the world in human flesh as a helpless infant, a world that He created in the beginning. Christmas is about the Son of God, the Son of Man.
From His birth and dedication at the temple, the Bible does not give accounts of His childhood until we see Him at age twelve in the temple, engrossed in discussing the Scriptures with the teachers. Jesus spent His youth growing in wisdom and stature. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52) The next we see of Jesus is when He began His ministry at about age thirty. Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. (3:23a)
His earthly father, Joseph, was a carpenter and Jesus, in those years between twelve and thirty, was no doubt also busy working as a carpenter. He had brothers and sisters but they would be half-brothers and half-sisters, having the same biological mother but not the same biological father, as Jesus had no earthly biological father. Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:3)
Jesus frequently referred to Himself as Son of Man as He walked and identified with humanity, but man identifies Him as Son of God, as was revealed to Peter when he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). The centurion and those watching Jesus die on the cross exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" (27:54b)
Meditate on:
· the miracle of the incarnation
· Jesus as a son in the family of Mary and Joseph
· Jesus working in the carpenter shop
· Jesus growing into maturity as the Son of God at age twelve

Flossie Randels