Question 15 – Is Jesus God or human?

Par Educate Magis
Juil 19th, 2020

Continuing with the exploration and reflection through a series of articles written in a conversational language about Catholicism, about God, about Jesus, about the Church and many other faith related topics. Here we present:

Question 15 – Is Jesus God or human?  

Christians believe that Jesus* is all God* and at the same time all human. Not a kind of mixture with part divine and part human qualities. Jesus is one hundred per cent human and one hundred per cent God. Not two personalities in one body, but a unique person who has both a divine and a human nature. Both natures are equally important. In Jesus, God is humanised and humanity is deified. This is so difficult to understand with the mind that it took more than 400 years for Christians to be able to put it into words somewhat well.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This means that he is so similar to God, that he himself is also God. By his birth from Mary* Jesus has not ceased to be God. From his conception he was God, and he has remained so to this day.

When you see old paintings of the baby Jesus in a museum, it is striking that his private parts are often depicted in detail. In other paintings you can see how the child Jesus eagerly sucks on the breast of Mary, his mother. This is no coincidence. This was done deliberately to make it clear that Jesus was not just pretending to be human, but that he really was. With all that this means, with our normal human needs. In Jesus God became human and lived completely as a human person.
Jesus shows that being human and being God can go together. Through him, being human has been given a divine rank. This means that you in turn can become like God, when you live like Jesus. Does that sound unbelievable? Yet it belongs to the core of Christianity*.

– Do you see something divine in the person, the life and the message of Jesus?
– By living like Jesus, people can in turn become like God. Does this call something to you?

Feel free to leave your thoughts, reflections or comments below.


Watch this space! Coming up: Question 16 – Is Mary a virgin?   
 

Follow these links to go back to Question 1 – Is believing exceptional? , Question 2 – Is Faith for simple souls? , Question 3 – Can you be a Christian and yet doubt your faith? , Question 4 – Can a believer be critical? , Question 5 – Can faith and science get along? , Question 6 – Are you born a Christian?Question 7 – Can a human being meet God?, Question 8 – Did God create the world in seven days?, Question 9 – What did God do before he created the world?, Question 10 – Is God a man or a woman? , Question 11 – Can you be a Christian without believing in Jesus?, Question 12 – Did Jesus really exist?, Question 13 – What is the importance of the hidden life of Jesus?, and Question 14 – What is the message of Jesus?

If you wish to learn more about this resource follow this link  “52 Questions and Answers about faith

 

About the author:

Nikolaas Sintobin, SJ, joined the Society of Jesus in 1989, following a short career as a lawyer. He was trained as a Jesuit in Brussels, Paris, and Santiago de Chile. Today he is a spiritual director who is keenly interested in online ministry and discovering new ways to help people find God.

This text is republished with the permission of Messenger Publications, Ireland. To buy a hard copy of the book click here.