Is it possible to understand the Godhead? Part 02

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Is it possible to understand the Godhead?
PART TWO
He was earnest, Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground." Jesus knew what it was to have degrees of
earnestness. Sometimes we pray and we are intensely earnest. Other
times we pray and we are earnest, but not so much as before. That is
because we are human. It is quite impossible for us to live in the same
elevated emotional plane all the time. We experience fluctuating
degrees of earnestness. Jesus was the same because He was human,
Hebrews 5:7 "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up
prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared."
Critics find fault with this phrase "and his sweat was as it were great
drops of blood falling down to the ground." It is further evidence of
His humanity. Gill’s commentary states: "This might be occasioned by
his vehement striving and wrestling with God in prayer, since the
account follows immediately upon that; and might be owing to his strong
cries, to the intenseness and fervour of his mind.
"Thuanus a very grave and credible historian, reports of a governor of
a certain garrison, who being, by a stratagem, decoyed from thence, and
taken captive, and threatened with an ignominious death, was so
affected with it, that he sweat a "bloody sweat" all over his body. And
the same author also relates of a young man of Florence, who being, by
the order of Pope Sixtus the Fifth, condemned, as he was led along to
be executed, through the vehemence of his grief discharged blood
instead of sweat, all over his body: and Maldonate, upon this passage,
reports, that he had heard it from some who saw, or knew it, that at
Paris, a man, robust, and in good health, hearing that a capital
sentence was pronounced upon him, was, at once, all over in a bloody
sweat: which instances show, that grief, surprise, and fear, have
sometimes had such an effect on men;
"This agony, and bloody sweat of Christ, prove the truth of his human
nature; the sweat shows that he had a true and real body, a other men;
the anxiety of his mind, that he had a reasonable soul capable of grief
and sorrow, as human souls are; and they also prove his being made sin
and a curse for us, and his sustaining our sins, and the wrath of God:
nor could it be at all unsuitable to him, and unworthy of him, to sweat
in this manner, whose blood was to be shed for the sins of his people,
and who came by blood and water, and from whom both were to flow;
signifying, that both sanctification and justification are from him.
That, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly."
Matthew Henry states: "That, in this agony, his sweat was as it were
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Sweat came in with
sin, and was a branch of the curse, <Gen. 3:19>. And therefore, when
Christ was made sin and a curse for us, he underwent a grievous sweat,
that in the sweat of his face we might eat bread, and that he might
sanctify and sweeten all our trials to us. There is some dispute among
the critics whether this sweat is only compared to drops of blood,
being much thicker than drops of sweat commonly are, the pores of the
body being more than ordinarily opened, or whether real blood out of
the capillary veins mingled with it, so that it was in colour like
blood, and might truly be called a bloody sweat; the matter is not
great. Some reckon this one of the times when Christ shed his blood for
us, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Every pore
was as it were a bleeding wound, and his blood stained all his raiment.
This showed the travail of his soul. He was now abroad in the open air,
in a cool season, upon the cold ground, far in the night, which, one
would think, had been enough to strike in a sweat; yet now he breaks
out into a sweat, which bespeaks the extremity of the agony he was in."
(from Matthew Henry’s Commentary)
We can never know the agony of His prayers in the garden. Rather than
being problematic this is further proof of His humanity. Long after His
Ascension the writer of Hebrews 7:26 states, "For such an high priest
became us, [who is] holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens." He was a perfect man offering up His
life to Redeem Israel and become the Saviour of the world.
The greatest proof of His humanity is found in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature." "Jesus increased in ... stature"
means that He was subject to the same physical laws of growth and
development as we are. "Jesus increased in wisdom" means that He was
learning, acquiring knowledge and wisdom. He was not only subject to
the same laws of physical growth and development as we are but also to
the same laws of mental development as all human beings are. Jesus was
absolutely and genuinely human. Paul tells us that He died, 1
Corinthians I5:3 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I
also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures." He grew, lived and died, and was therefore human. God
cannot die! We are told that He had to suffer and no exception was made
for Him in Hebrews 5:8, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience
by the things which he suffered."
Jesus Was a Man
When the apostles preached about Jesus they proclaimed that He was a
man, Acts 2:22 "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know."
When Jesus spoke of Himself He declared that He was a man. Unlike
Abraham who looked forward to His day, the Jews purported to murder
Him, John 8:40 "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you
the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham." This is
John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it],
and was glad."
We can therefore have no doubts concerning the humanity of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is plainly taught in the New Testament. Yet there is
an important difference.
This Man Was Also God.
It is not sufficient to say that Jesus was a man. It is a dangerous
half truth. This man was different from any other man because He was
God. In fact He was at all times from His birth perfect man and perfect
deity. Prior to His birth He was Perfect Deity.
After visiting Jerusalem, on their way back home his parents discovered
that Jesus was not with them. They doubled back and went to the temple,
seeking the missing twelve-year-old Jesus. This is described by Luke in
Luke 2:46, "And it came to pass, that after three days they found him
in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them,
and asking them questions."
His parents should have known where He was, but we are told they did
not understand. Luke 2:46-51, "And it came to pass, that after three
days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,
both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him
were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw
him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou
thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee
sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye
not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not
the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and
came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all
these sayings in her heart."
The NIV renders Luke 2:46-51 "After three days they found him in the
temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding
and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His
mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your
father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you
searching for me?" he asked. "Didn’t you know I had to be in my
Father’s house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to
them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.
But his mother
If later we had questioned Luke and asked what they found, Luke would
have said simply that they found the twelve year old boy Jesus. He
expected His parents to understand why He was in His Father’s House. He
may have explained this to His mother when they got home. The change in
translation from "wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s
business?" to "Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?" is
significant because He was fulfilling Scripture
The last voice of the Old Testament spoke about this event. Malachi has
identified the boy who was found in the temple on that day. He writes
in Malachi 3:I "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in:
behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
Malachi is telling us here that the twelve year old growing boy found
in the temple was none other than Jehovah or YHWH Himself. This is a
wonderful thought! That ornate temple, made beautiful and magnificent
by King Herod, actually belonged to a twelve year old boy sitting in
the midst of those learned doctors, hearing them and asking them
questions. Great is the mystery of godliness! How could this boy be
YHWH or Jehovah? No one can fully understand it, but we believe it
because the Scriptures declare it to be so. END OF PART TWO

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