When Jesus Becomes "Just Like Us"

In most modern media that portrays Jesus, He is shown as someone to whom everyone can relate: He is unassuming, fun-loving, and tolerant of those around Him. You do not have to look far to find television shows and ad campaigns that exalt these values to extreme degrees. In fact, you almost get the impression that nothing else Jesus said or did mattered to the creators of these programs. The challenging statements of Jesus are cleverly omitted, His harsh words for evil people are ignored, and His emphasis on repentance and self-denial are set aside in favor of other, more appealing values.

These portrayals take their cue from modern culture rather than the Bible. It is part of a drawn-out effort to strip Jesus of His holy identity so He is more “approachable” for modern people. Americans in particular cannot stomach the thought of a Jesus who is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” despite the fact that it is an inspired utterance concerning Him (Hebrews 7:26). No, we cannot accept a Jesus like this because then we can no longer lay claim to Him and His benefits while living in ways contrary to His demands. If we can bring Jesus down to our level, though, then we can feel comfortable living however we choose. After all, Jesus is no different than we are, right? He sinned and fell short of God’s glory, too! The Bible rebukes this blasphemous thinking and presents a Jesus who embraced the power of a righteous, sinless life despite the difficulties He faced.
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We first need to be clear that Jesus lived as a human being. As such, He understands the issues that arise in life, specifically with respect to temptation. Satan grievously tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). If Jesus had no choice but to withstand temptation, then could we say He was tempted? And if these temptations had no genuine power behind them, then would it have mattered for Jesus to face them? The whole point of this account is to teach us that Jesus did face legitimate temptations, yet He did not fail. Jesus instead chose to resist Satan and to send Him packing with the word of God.

That is why Hebrews testifies that Jesus can aid those who are tempted because He knows what it is like to suffer from it (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16). Who better to help us amid trial than someone who has been through the same? At the same time, Jesus did not fail amid temptation like we do. Frankly, no one reading this article can claim he has never sinned when he faced temptation. That is what makes Jesus stand out so much: He overcame genuine trials without failure. While Jesus is like us because He lived in the flesh, He is different from us because of His sinless character. He succeeded where we so often fail.

The reality of Jesus’ success in the face of temptation naturally challenges us to do better. If Jesus suffered genuine temptations and lived in the flesh yet remained free from sin, then what is our excuse? The Hebrews writer will make that point in different terms to encourage his readers to remain faithful (Hebrews 12:1-3). Here these Christians floundered in their faith despite not even suffering to the point of bloodshed (Hebrews 12:4). They had no excuse, and we do not have one, either. Jesus’ success gives us an example that shows us how we ought to navigate the challenges of life. Yet the belief that Jesus is on our level undermines the power of His example. It basically changes it into something you can take or leave whenever you want. Where is the transformative power of Jesus in that line of thought? It is completely dried up. In Scripture, Jesus’ example is uniformly presented as that to which we conform our lives. It is never presented as optional.

 While Jesus is like us because He lived in the flesh and faced legitimate trials, He is unlike us in so many other respects. His success amid difficulty and His righteous example show how different Jesus is from how we typically live. That is why we want to maintain a perspective that sees Jesus as “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” lest we drift into false and blasphemous beliefs about Him. Instead, we want to strive to reach for the holiness, innocence, and purity that Jesus teaches us to have. Are we willing to rise to the challenge of Jesus’ righteous life?