I am writing a book dealing with the emotions and character of Jesus. Though we often do not think of Jesus Christ having emotions, He really did.
Many Christians are afraid of emotions. In fact, when I started researching this subject, I came to a screeching halt. Does Jesus have emotions? Can we think of Jesus and emotions? Is there something that sounds irreverent, and perhaps blasphemous about the words “Jesus and emotions”? And yet as we read the Scriptures, we find that emotions are an important aspect of Jesus’ character.
The Two Natures of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is one Person with two natures – Theanthropos – the God-man. He is fully both, not just a little mixture of both to make “an angel concoction.” The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) defined it this way: “The union [of the two natures] does not nullify the distinctiveness of each nature. Instead, the properties of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one person.”
Dr. Ron Rhodes in his book, What Did Jesus Mean?, explains it this way:
Though a bit of a complex concept, the eternal son of God was, prior to His incarnation one in person and nature (wholly divine). In the incarnation (when He was born of Mary), He became two in nature (divine and human) while remaining one person. In the incarnation, the person of Christ is the partaker of the attributes of both natures, so that whatever may be affirmed of either nature – human or divine – may be affirmed of the one person of Jesus Christ (p. 25).
Though both the humanity and eternal deity of the Son of God have been questioned by heretical groups down through the centuries, modern cults deny the deity of Jesus Christ. I believe the deity of Christ is clearly taught in Scripture and is an extremely important doctrine. Colossians 2:9 states: “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
However, there are a few verses that the cults use to deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Some believers are confused by these verses. So, let’s take a look.
In John 14:28 we read: “My Father is greater than I.” This is one of those demote-Jesus verses. We need to note that our Lord did not say “My Father is better than I.” That would imply a qualitative difference. Furthermore, we need to reckon with the fact that submission does not necessarily imply inferiority. Think about it. That a wife is to submit to her husband does not mean the wife is inferior to him. First Corinthians 11:3 says, “the head of the woman is the man.” It is not speaking of inferiority but rather of patterns of authority.
Equality of being and functional subordination are not contradictory. If a father and son go into business and the son becomes vice president, that does not necessarily mean that the son is inferior to the father.
The Triune nature of our God shows up in many different ways and in different places. Deuteronomy 6:4 is a good example: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” In Unger’s Commentary on The Old Testament, p. 242, we read: “Called the Shema, Deut. 6:4 supports the Trinitarian concept of deity. ‘The Lord [Jehovah] our God [Elohim] is one Lord,’ the one echad, expressing compound unity, not yachid, meaning a single one.” In English we have one word for “one.” “One apple” and “one bushel of apples.” But in Hebrew a bushel of apples is described with a different “one,” because it describes a compound unity.
A Full Array of Emotions
Jesus was not a “yes man” who went out of His way to avoid confrontation. At times He was angry (Mark 3:5) – some might want to call it “righteous indignation,” but the Bible does use the word “anger.” At times, He was “meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). His range of emotions was quite varied, but always just right. We can learn a lot for daily living from the emotions of Jesus. That is one of the practical applications of the book I am writing.
Jesus experienced a full array of emotions, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). “…and cast out them all that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers” (Matt.21:12). Jesus ran afoul of the religious establishment, but He was faithful to the Father and sought to free the oppressed from dead religion.
“And there came a leper to him… And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him” (Mark 1:40-41). Jesus showed love and compassion. His mercy toward the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21-28) always touches my heart.
He knew full well the agony that He would experience on the cross. Scripture records so much of it, and it is for our edification.
At Gethsemane Jesus “…saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death” (Mark 14:34). “And he said, Abba, Father…” (Mark 14:36). Abba was a household term expressing familiarity. It meant “daddy.” In His address to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is seeking comfort in addressing His Father, whom Jesus knew loved Him very much.
“And they laid their hands on him, and took him” (Mark 14:46). The Eternal God who said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58) did not resist evil men, though Jesus knew fully what would happen to Him (John 18:4). He was “brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7).
Yet, though in the depths of grief and dereliction, Jesus prayed for His tormentors, and gave excuse for their behavior: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The Lord Jesus showed amazing love (an emotion) even to those who did not deserve it. The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus, yet in Mark 10:21, Scripture says, “then Jesus beholding him loved him.”
Was Jesus Always Innocent in His Humanity?
There are some statements in the Bible that are troubling to those who honestly want to maintain Jesus’ sinlessness and moral rectitude. Hebrews 2:10 reads, God was pleased “to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Hebrews 5:8 is similar: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” In Hebrews 5:9, “And being made perfect…”
If Jesus became “perfect,” does that mean He was, at one point, imperfect, or less than perfect? If He learned obedience, should we infer that He was disobedient at some point in His life?
These verses are like some of the others that we see in Scripture that seem to teach, or at least imply, that Jesus was less than we thought He is, or should be, as the Son of God.
We will seek to peel back the layers of divine truth that will reveal much in connection with these and related issues. We will start with Luke 2:52: “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.” As Jesus grew, He learned something. He increased in wisdom.” But what He did not know earlier in His life did not make Him sinful or in some way negligent of a duty or responsibility. A junior high school student is not to be thought of as a bad or lazy student because he does not know advanced mathematics. A seed can be a perfect seed, even though it has not yet matured and produced fruit. Even at 12 years old, Jesus was subject to Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:51).
Perfect as a Sympathetic High Priest
“Perfect” in Hebrews 2:10 and 5:9 is a translation of teleios. The word does not speak about moral perfection, as if at one point Jesus was morally imperfect. Teleios refers to purpose or intended end. Jesus became teleios in the sense that He became perfect in His high-priestly role. Through suffering, Christ was qualified and fitted for the office of compassionate High Priest. Jesus was always innocent, but through suffering, He became virtuous. Virtue is innocence that has been tested and tried. That test has now produced a virtuous person. A young man or woman can be considered innocent but not yet virtuous until the test is passed. “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Heb. 2:18); and “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Thus, what He knew by divine omniscience, He now learned by experience.
My study of these very important issues concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ has certainly increased my love for my Lord and Savior. It is my heartfelt desire that this, too, will be your experience.
Prophecy, Character and Emotions of Jesus
Messianic prophecy does not promise a faceless, heartless Messiah. Some of the prophecies speak of His power and reveal that His coming will bring doom to the wicked. But there are also prophecies that speak of Messiah’s humility and mercy. There are, indeed, prophecies intended to strike fear in the hearts of oppressive tyrants – and there have been many of these pompous monsters who have caused grief to millions of people. But there are also prophecies that give hope to seeking and repentant sinners.
Herbert Lockyer, in his All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible, chapter 8, identifies 18 prophecies of Messiah’s character and the dynamics that describe His inner life: holiness, righteousness, goodness faithfulness, troth (fidelity to a solemn agreement), justice, guilelessness, spotlessness, innocence, obedience, zeal, meekness, mercy, forgiveness, patience, benevolence, self-denial and love.
In Matthew 21:4-5, we read, “All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass”(see Zech. 9:9). In Isaiah 53:11, Messiah is said to justify many through His suffering, “for he shall bear their iniquities.” Perhaps the most tender and heart-warming messianic prophecy is found in Isaiah 42:3, “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench…” This is marvelously fulfilled in Matthew 12:18-21.
Jesus’ character and emotions – a perfectly-designed fabric, a beautiful compounding of righteousness and a balanced mercy – are an example for all of us. And a Savior and Lord worthy of our worship.
