Christians believe that Jesus is both God and man. To understand who Jesus is and what he’s done, it helps to think about who Jesus is NOT.
Jesus Is Not Superman
Superman is an alien who comes to earth with superpowers, pretends to be a human, and saves people. But Jesus is a real human. Because he is fully human, his death on the cross is able to save us because he represents us. When we stress Jesus’ deity at the expense of his humanity, it creates a barrier because don’t feel like we can relate to him. And if Jesus was just God and not truly one of us, we don’t think we really need to become like him.
Jesus Is Not Spiderman
Spiderman is not a human, but also not a spider. He is a being with human-like qualities and spider-like qualities. By comparison, Jesus is not somewhat human and somewhat God or something in-between. To think of Jesus this way creates the same problems as if Jesus is not fully human. And if he is not fully God, he doesn’t have the power to save us.
Jesus Is Not the Hulk
The Hulk is two divided natures in one person. The Hulk cannot or would not do the things Dr. Bruce Banner would do, and the doctor cannot or would not do the things that the Hulk would do. By contrast, Jesus did not do some human things and some divine things. Everything Jesus did was human and divine in perfect unity.
Jesus Is Not Batman
Batman is a very gifted human who tries to set the world right. This represents the most common belief of non-Christians, that Jesus wasn’t divine, but only a great human. He may have been a wise man or teacher, but he wasn’t uniquely God. But if Jesus is not God, we have no hope for ultimate salvation.
Jesus Is the God-Man
In 451 A.D., Christians articulated a definition of who Jesus is based on the Bible. That definition is still held today: Jesus is fully God and fully man. He has two natures that are united, never confused, and never divided. Thus Jesus is the Christians’ hope, who died on the cross in our place. This is certainly a great mystery, but God has graciously revealed enough that we can understand the essence of who Jesus is.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Which superhero’s powers would you most like to have, and why?
- Have you thought of Jesus like the superheroes described in this video? Explain.
- Which erroneous view of Jesus do you think is most common in the church, and why? Outside the church?
- What are some problems that arise from failing to recognize the full humanity of Jesus?
- What are some problems that arise from failing to recognize the full deity of Jesus?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
