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Did Jesus Stop Being Human After the Ascension? - Looking at the Incarnation, pt. 3

I remember a couple of years ago seeing a post on Facebook where a young mother was explaining to her child what happened to Jesus after he went back to heaven. The long and short of it is that the mother explained that Jesus transformed from being a human being back to being God. It's a common enough error that I see all over the place that is related to our discussion from last week.

If you assume that whilst on Earth Jesus stopped being God in order to be a human being, it only follows that when he returned to heaven the reverse happened. However, many that would deny that Jesus' lost any divinity on Earth would also maintain that he ceased to be human following the Ascension. In essence, they make the Incarnation a thirty year or so stint as a human being.

The truth is far more impactful. The Incarnation wasn't a short term role played by God for only thirty years. It was a permanent addition to the Son's nature and identity. Just as he never ceased to be God during the Incarnation, so too has Jesus never ceased being human after it.

The Bible never says that Jesus stopped being human after the Ascension. That is an assumption we make based on a faulty, dualistic worldview. Scripture actually mentions multiple times that Jesus is still a man. In 1 Timothy 2:5 it says, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." This is present tense, right now. The man Jesus Christ stands as our mediator right now.

In the book of Hebrews it talks a lot about how Jesus is our High Priest. It makes it clear in Hebrews 5:1 that a high priest is always chosen from among the people to serve as their representative. Jesus, our great High Priest, was chosen from among us as a man. He serves in that role now, our representative and mediator.

The book of Revelation makes it clear that Jesus is still the "root of David" and the heir to that promise. That doesn't make sense unless Jesus is still human, a descendent of King David and rightful ruler of God's chosen people. It also helps makes sense of plenty of other passages where Jesus is exalted by God, given the keys to Death and Hades, or when he says that all authority has been given to him. The significance isn't that God has all authority (of course he does!) but that all authority has been handed over to a human being.

As I mentioned last week, none of this diminishes Christ's divinity. In fact, it is because he is truly human both now and forever that the character and nature of God is revealed. It is because Jesus stands as our High Priest and mediator that we can enter the life and presence of God almighty. 

Jesus being fully human is also a source of great hope for us. In 1 Corinthians 15 it is stated in no uncertain terms that his Resurrection is a the precursor to our resurrection at his return. Jesus is the living proof that God will keep his promise and redeem all creation. As it says in 1 John 3:2 "we shall be like him, because we will see him as he is."

We should rejoice that one of us stands at the right hand of the Father, ruling the cosmos with grace and justice. We have a wonderful mediator and High Priest who stands as our representative and advocate. We have a marvelous hope that because Jesus is alive and truly human so we too will one day experience that fullness of life in the presence of God.

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