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The not-human-enough Jesus
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If one pitfall is to drive a wedge between who Jesus is and who God is, another is to drive too deep a wedge between who Jesus is and what humanity is. We see this diversion in two ways. First, sometimes Christians have seen Jesus as so divine that he is hardly human. Second, we sometimes see our humanity as so unhuman that it is hardly Jesus.
The early church wrestled long and hard in the first few centuries to make sure that our Christian understanding of Jesus’ humanity and divinity were properly balanced. Several of the early misdirections so emphasized Jesus’ divinity that his humanity hardly counted. Even in 1 John we see traces of “Docetism,” a heresy that thought Jesus didn’t really have a body.
Early Christian Mistakes about Jesus
Adoptionism – the idea that Jesus only became the Messiah at his baptism or resurrection.
Docetism – the idea that Jesus only seemed to be human. He was really spirit.
Arianism – the idea that Jesus wasn’t quite the same as God, only similar.
Nestorianism – the idea that Jesus was almost two persons, one human and one divine.
Apollinarianism – the idea that Jesus was a divine soul in a human body.
Eutychianism – the idea that Jesus’ divinity was so great that his humanity doesn’t count.
In the 300s and 400s, Apollinaris thought that Jesus was a divine soul in a human body. In other words, everything that really mattered about him was divine. Similarly, Eutychus suggested that Jesus’ humanity was like a drop of water next to the ocean – it really didn’t matter. The church soundly rejected all of these options.
The bottom line is that the New Testament and early Christianity strongly teach that Jesus’ humanity mattered. He was made just like us (Heb. 2:11-14). He was tempted, just like us (Heb. 4:15). He went to the bathroom, slept, had upset stomachs, laughed, cried, and got angry. It’s even possible that he occasionally forgot where he parked his donkey.