In the book, “Beautiful Outlaw”, John Eldredge expands not just on the personality and humor of Jesus, but on his inherent humanity as well. Christianity today has a tendency to put Jesus’ deity on a pedestal and somehow suggest that his humanity had little to no effect on his ministry and life. One aspect that John Eldredge wanted to focus on of Jesus’ character was his humility. He expounds on this in several ways using different passages and examples of his ministry.
Humility
One instance in which Jesus’ humility was in Daniel 7 when it refers to his coronation. The passage says, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” –Daniel 7:13-14. This was one of the most joyful, and certainly the most triumphant moment in history, second only to the resurrection. To get that throne Jesus had to take a very humbling path. No king had ever taken such a humble approach to being enthroned before. Jesus the Son of God becomes a son of man. Philippians 2:5-8 highlights this as it states that, “Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited. Even the word humble does not even cover the slightest essence of what it meant for Christ to go through the incarnation. John Eldredge says, “It boggles the mind. The eternal Son of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God… one substance with the Father, spent 9 months developing in Mary’s uterus. Jesus passed through her birth canal. He had to learn to walk. The Word of God had to learn to talk. He who calls the stars by name had to learn the names of everything, just as you did. The importations of this are staggering. Jesus is often depicted as the perfect infant who came down fully filled with the knowledge that he was the Son of God and came out with the perfect developed mind of an adult. “Jesus wasn’t acting when he took on his humanity. He, who never tires, never slumbers, accepted the need for sleep. Every night. Jesus ate, every day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner; he needed to. He had to trim his toenails. He who clothes the lilies of the field with greater glory than Solomon’s splendor had to do his laundry, squatting riverside, rinsing the dust from his worn garments like any other peasant.” John Eldredge makes this distinction to highlight the extremely important detail that Jesus’ humanity as just as prevalent as his deity.
The Revelation
As I was praying and reading about this new aspect of Jesus that was shown to me I really felt God telling me to write out a poem or way to express what he had been teaching me. What I wrote had nothing at all to do with me and all with the humor and reality of the realness of Jesus’ humanity.
It all started with a baby.
Yes, that’s right a baby
Now on the outside there was nothing extraordinary about him. He looked like all newborns did red, wrinkly, and cranky.
His “cradle” was nothing more than a manger designed to feed cows
Now this is the extraordinary part. That red-faced, wrinkly, squalling child was the savior of the universe.
It is easy for us to acknowledge and accept that fact.
Back then, heretical, 2000 years later, sure why not?
The thing we forget about this miraculous and scandalous transformation is how much it cost.
The Word of God became flesh and had to learn how to speak. The Designer and Creator of the stars had to learn how to be a carpenter.
The Messiah has to learn how to tie his shoes, he had to eat, breathe, and sleep.
But all too often we skip to his death and resurrection. We forget the intimacy we are allowed and lift him in an unreachable place.
But NO! The cry of our Savior’s heart is to know us! He willingly included us counting the cost more than worth it to bring us close.
The son of man didn’t come to force or coerce people to follow him. He came as an example of what our perfect intimacy with God looks like. He came not to be loved but to love.
Our king’s most vehement cry was that he was open to any and everyone.
This cry we acknowledge and accept was not just a passing thought. It was a deliberate and visible demonstration of His humanity as he stretched his arm to us.
Our Savior, King, Hero, Fighter, and Friend gave up the powers of heaven and his deserved status on earth to wrap himself in our sinful and impaired nature.
This Man, friend to gentiles, sinners, and tax-collectors. The man who walked thousands of miles to reach the broken, the fisher of men. The Son of God and the son of man.
This man.
His name is Jesus.
And it all started with a baby.
