The Biblical Model of Humanity: Jesus’ Life and Ministry

Esther Liu

To respond to the issues and their contributing factors discussed in the two previous articles, this article strives to establish a clear and biblical view about who we are (our common humanity) and who we are in Christ (the true humanity created by God). You might ask: but why? What’s that to do with the problems and issues in our churches? Well, first of all, it demonstrates that God’s Word is the center and final authority of any teaching. A well-established biblical model allows Chinese Christians to acknowledge their emotional needs, to seek help when needed, to speak up and speak out, and finally to be empowered to live an authentic Christian life fully and not be ashamed.

Secondly, a clear and biblical view of who we are and who we are in Christ serves as a crucial foundation for all church ministries. Ministry is about people. It is about a person’s entire being and how the Gospel speaks to and brings God’s saving grace to a whole person. Understanding “human nature” (that is, our humanity or who we are as humans) is an old topic. However, Chinese churches need to readdress this issue in its new context and with a new sense of urgency. God’s Word needs to be freed to teach, rebuke, correct, and train Christians in righteousness and to be ready for all good works (2 Tim 3:16-17). God’s children are longing to live the abundant lives promised by Jesus (John 10:10), and God’s churches are meant to be the light and salt of the world (Matt 5:13-14).

Allow me to begin the study of humanity with the study of one particular human being, Jesus, the Son of Man, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. As Miroslav Volf clearly observed in his book Exclusion and Embrace in the section about understanding our human gender identity:

We should not proceed “by analogy” from below and construct God in the image of human beings; we should proceed by “by analogy from above” and learn who human beings ought to be by considering who God is.

No one could show us who God is better than His self-revelation in Jesus Christ. In every sense, Jesus has modeled for us how we shall move and live and have our being in God (Acts 17:28).

In Hebrew 1:3 it is written that Jesus, the Son of God, is the “exact representation of God” and in John 1:14 that the Word, or Jesus, became flesh and dwelt among us. In his book “Jesus Christ Our Lord,” Norman Kraus points out the significance of these two passages:

This humanized Word is called God’s Son and image…but both of them are applied equally to humankind in the Bible. Humanity was created “in God’s image” and Adam (generic) is called “son of God.” In this Word that was fully humanized we see the true meaning and destiny of human existence.

Studying Jesus’ life and ministry enlightens us as to what the true humanity (the new Adam) is all about, and what God intended from the beginning of time for us to be in living, worshipping, relating to each other and God..

Analysis of Jesus’ Life and Ministry in Luke

I chose the Gospel of Luke as the main focus of this biblical study for its detailed portrait of Jesus’ humanity. With his medical training and background, Luke wrote in a way that allowed whoever read this Gospel to experience the perfect and wonderful humanity of Jesus. It is in this light that I approach the text.

Two short but significant passages in Luke 2 demonstrate the dynamic being Jesus was. The first passage talks about Jesus’ life from infancy up to twelve years of age (Luke 2: 39-40). Here, we can observe the four aspects of Jesus’ humanity and their integration with each other: physical (grew and became stronger), mind/heart (filled with wisdom), spiritual (the grace of God was upon him), and social/relational (in their own town Nazareth). The second passage is about Jesus’ life from the age of twelve to his adulthood as recorded in Luke 2:52. Again, the four aspects of Jesus’ humanity are clearly demonstrated here: physical wholeness (he grew in stature), mind/heart wholeness (he grew in wisdom), spiritual wholeness (he grew in favor with God), and social/relational wholeness (and in favor with men).

After Luke 3, when Jesus started his “public” ministry, his understanding of human nature – the idea that it consisted of many complex interactions between the body, mind, spirit, and social aspects and that each aspect was inseparable from the others – can be repeatedly observed.

Jesus at the Beginning of His Public Ministry

In Luke 4:1-13 and Luke 4:16-30 it is clear that Jesus’ encounters in the desert with Satan and in the synagogue was a foretaste of his entire ministry. Luke 4 is a significant “turning point” for Jesus; from the forty days spent with God alone, to the encounter with Satan, to his return filled with the power of the Spirit, to the public proclamation of the fulfillment of the prophecy. These two passages bring out the many aspects of human life and how they are directly influenced by both God and Satan.

It is important to note that the entire incident in Luke 4:1-13 occurred under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was led into isolation from the world (the social/communal aspect), and he stayed in a desert with nothing to eat for forty days (the physical aspect). Needless to say, as a human being, Jesus’ physical body and emotional status had been stretched to their limits, weakened even, by the end of the forty days. It is in this particular context that Satan came and tempted Jesus.

As the Scriptures show, the devil’s three tests involved all aspects of Jesus’ being: the physical needs (food and protection); the emotional need (power, fame, and glory), and the social need – the need to know who he truly was, that is, the Son of God. All fit under the overarching umbrella of a clear struggle of spiritual significance (Satan, Luke 4:3-9), and Jesus’ usage of Scriptures to answer all of Satan’s challenges. Both God and Satan seemed to have complete understanding of the interaction and of the integration of all four aspects of Jesus’ being!

After his desert experience, Jesus went to the town where he grew up (his communal/social context) and proclaimed the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Old Testament regarding salvation and freedom from all physical, emotional, social, political, economic, and relational oppressions (Luke 4:14-21). However, the people could not see beyond Jesus’ earthly self. They were deeply offended by the examples he used (1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 5), which were religious/spiritual examples, and tried to kill him. Thus the beginning of Jesus’ attempt to show Israel that God’s true salvation was for all people (Jews and Gentiles) in all aspects.

Jesus and His Healing Ministry

Luke 5:12-16 Healing of the Man with Leprosy

Here, Jesus encountered a leper. Leprosy was a physical sickness with a strong spiritual connotation; it was perceived as a curse or punishment from God, the result of one’s sins, being “unclean” religiously, which in turn brought total physical, social, and emotional isolation.

The posture and address the leper used when he encountered Jesus seemed to indicate that he knew about Jesus’ true identity. He apparently believed that Jesus had the ability and power to heal him. Three aspects of the leper’s mental and emotional status need to be pointed out here. First, being a leper means he was utterly rejected by family, friends, and society, if not rejected by God Himself. Second, he would be isolated, not only physically, but also socially and emotionally. Third, the leper’s statement: “If you are willing” indicated that he had no doubt that Jesus could, but he was not so sure if Jesus was willing to bother with such a sinful and worthless being as himself.

Jesus’ reaction can also be observed from several aspects. First, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched him.” Jesus knew that the leper’s needs were far greater than his physical needs. Jesus’ very act of touching him demonstrated his love and total acceptance for this leper in his physical, emotional, social, and spiritual entirety. Jesus’ touching was every bit as important as his willingness and ability to heal this man physically.

Secondly, to answer and assure the leper’s doubt about his willingness to heal him, Jesus affirmed him. Jesus’ verbal affirmation, along with his loving actions, brought true healing reaches into the leper’s body, soul, and spirit. It is interesting that Jesus did not indicate in any way that the leprosy was the result of sin.

Lastly, Jesus also ordered the healed leper to show himself to the priest and bring the proper sacrifice (Lev 14:1-32). Jesus advised the leper to follow the social and religious rules of that time so that he could re-enter the society completely. This truly demonstrated Jesus’ understanding of the social and relational need of our beings in addition to our physical and emotional needs. Without the proper reintroduction, the healed leper would be just like the group of healed lepers I met years ago, still rejected and shunned by the whole society in Taiwan and forced to live away from the society in an isolated leper community.

In this one seemingly simple physical healing of a leper, Jesus demonstrated that human beings were created in a complex, dynamic, and wholistic way. He touches, cares for, and embraces every aspect of our being.

Luke 5:17-26 Healing of the Paralytic

A paralytic suffers from a kind of physical illness different from leprosy. Not being able to move around without help and therefore totally dependent on the mercy of others around him brought with it significant social, emotional, and mental implications. In this particular case, the disease was obviously caused by the person’s sins (Luke 5:20), a clear example of the inter-relationship of the physical and spiritual aspects of our beings. The paralytic here, however, had some strong social and emotional support demonstrated by his four very good friends, and his faith in God which seemed to bring an immediate effect (Luke 5:24-25).

The four friends of the paralytic were determined that the paralytic would see Jesus that very day. They literally “went through the roof” to bring him before Jesus. Their actions and the action of the paralytic at the end of verse 25 demonstrated beautifully the powerful inter-relationship of love, commitment, will, determination, and faith!

In reacting, Jesus first addressed the underlying reason for the physical illness – the paralytic’s sins and his need to be forgiven by God. Second, Jesus responded to their corporate faith (the paralytic’s and his four friends’), and forgave his sins (Luke 5:20). Third, Jesus’ spiritual authority to forgive sins was demonstrated outwardly by his word and power to heal the paralytic physically. The paralytic was still lying on his mat, paralyzed, even after Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven (Luke 5:24), until Jesus told him to get up and go.

Jesus again showed his understanding of people, not as beings with separated and unrelated parts, but as wholistic beings with many aspects interwoven together. Many times, physical illness can be caused by sins (spiritual, physical, and moral aspects), but through the corporate willingness to come before God by faith (spiritual, physical, emotional, and social aspects) one can also be forgiven and be healed. The interrelated dependency of body, soul, spirit, and the social/relational aspects of our beings are clearly evidenced in this event.

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus and Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector

Here is a healing story of another kind. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and, therefore, a sinner among sinners, a materially rich but relationally poor and morally corrupted man. He must also have heard enough about Jesus and his ministry for him to be so anxious to see Jesus that he climbed a tree, a seemingly unfitting behavior for a person with his position. Something about Jesus must have drawn Zacchaeus to him, perhaps because of Zaccheus’ own inner struggles, or maybe even his desire to be right with God.

This is another one of the few incidents in the Gospel where Jesus actively sought certain people out in the midst of a large crowd. It was as if Jesus knew Zacchaeus’ moral corruption, his inner struggles, his longing for change, his social isolation, even his desires to meet and maybe be “healed” by Jesus. Jesus looked up and said: “I must stay at your house.” In Jewish culture, staying at someone’s house meant total acceptance and Jesus’ public announcement of staying at Zacchaeus’ house obviously causes an uproar among the bystanders. In one simple statement and action, Jesus communicated to Zacchaeus that Jesus indeed knew him by name and that he had been forgiven and accepted, healed in a very real way.

Zacchaeus’ reaction, when he realized Jesus’ total acceptance of him, was demonstrated in two ways. First, he welcomed Jesus gladly and addressed Jesus as Lord, showing his faith in Jesus. Second, his faith, repentance, and inner healing through Jesus’ total acceptance brought about immediate action changes involving his will and commitment (Luke 19:8), well above and beyond what the law required of him (Lev 6:1-5). He chose the much harder and fuller penalty (Exod 22:1). In turn, his actions brought healing to his broken relationships with people around him.

Here in this account is a powerful demonstration of the emptiness one must feel when some aspects of one’s being have been ignored, pushed away, and buried (Jesus used the word “lost” in verse 9) and the joy when one is made whole again through God’s salvation in Christ. This incident is also a perfect example of true salvation and a living faith bringing about immediate behavior changes and positive relational and social changes.

Jesus and Women

I chose the following incidents because they address the most fundamental human relationship: that between a man and a woman. In this part of the study, three questions need to be answered. First, in Genesis 3, the first clear result of sin was the broken relationship between man and woman. Therefore, how did Jesus, as a man and a wholistic being, relate to women?

Secondly, as a consequence and result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, men ruled over women in most societies in the world, including the Jewish (and Chinese) society. Women were not allowed to learn God’s Word, had little if any human rights, and were looked down as weak and evil. How did Jesus speak to women’s plight in his particular time and culture? Thirdly, because half of the human race is women, how could Jesus, as a man, possibly understand women’s needs and their “beings”?

Luke 7:11-17 Resurrection of the Widow’s Son

Death here was a physical death that carried with it some severe social implications as the one who had died was “the only son of his mother, and she was widowed.” Very similar to the old Chinese society, in the first century Jewish community, nothing was more disheartening than a widow who had lost her only son. We could only imagine the unspeakable agony that the mother felt as she walked in her son’s funeral procession.

This is one of those rare incidents in the Gospel in which Jesus healed without ever being asked. Jesus’ heart went out to this mother. He knew the aching and tearing pains in her heart, those of a mother losing her only child. He knew the cruel social implications. He knew the hopelessness and despair she must be feeling. He simply and gently said to the mother, “Don’t cry.” “Don’t cry. I understand how you feel.” “Don’t cry, I am here now.” “Don’t cry. I will take care of it.” And take care of it, he did. However, Jesus did not stop there. In Luke 7:15, “Jesus gave him back to his mother.” What a beautiful gesture. Like a doctor who had just delivered a brand new baby, Jesus proudly presented the son to his mother! Only Jesus and a mother could have known the indescribable joy of holding a newborn son for the son who was lost, but now found.

The crowd reacted as they saw a great miracle and its deeper spiritual meanings saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help his people” (Luke 7:16). It is so true that God is involved in every aspect of our lives and our beings.

Luke 8:1-3 Jesus with his Female Disciples

In this particular passage, one can observe a very diverse group of women from all walks of life. Jesus allowed these women to learn from him and follow him around, just like the twelve disciples, as he traveled about proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. It must have been quite a shocking sight, if not downright scandalous, in first century Jewish society!

Luke describes how women disciples were present at the crucifixion (Luke 23:49) and the burial of Jesus (Luke 23:55). Mary and Joanna’s names (which appeared here as two of Jesus’ followers) reappear at the account of Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:10). All these are evidences of the consistent involvement of women in Jesus’ life and ministry. These women, in Jesus’ eyes, were indeed his mothers and his sisters (Luke 8:19-21).

Most amazingly, this group of women supported Jesus and his companions out of their own means. As a man, a Jewish man, a teacher of God’s Word, and the Messiah, Jesus allowed women to be part of the kingdom, to learn, to grow, to be equal, and to be the financial muscle behind the movement! Jesus’ actions spoke loudly and clearly about his view of women and their beings! These women were very much loved, accepted, liberated, and honored as who they were, even within their own cultural context.

Luke 8:40-55 Jesus’ Healing of the Woman and the Girl

Luke 8:40 describes the day when two women met Jesus, one of them older and the other one just a young girl. One had a bleeding problem and had been dying slowly from the inside for twelve years. The other one, only twelve, was at death’s door. They came from two very different social circles: one was the only daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, and the other probably a “nobody” and considered “unclean” because of her bleeding problem.

The woman with the bleeding problem was so ashamed of herself, and perhaps afraid of the crowd who no doubt judged her unmercifully because of her “uncleanness,” that she did not even try to ask Jesus for help. However, in stark contrast to her shame and fear were her faith in Jesus’ healing power. She tried to pull a “hit and run” miracle, but Jesus knew better.

In the midst of pushing and shuffling and people crowding around him, Jesus insisted that someone had “touched him.” Interrupting a critically urgent trip to the dying but socially prominent girl, Jesus forced the bleeding woman to step up and tell what had happened to her in front of everyone around. She was freed from her physical illness the moment she touched Jesus’ cloak, but, now, by telling her story publicly, she was healed and freed from her emotional, mental, and social prison. Jesus said: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace” (Luke 8:48). By affirming her faith publicly, Jesus let her know that she was nothing less than God’s daughter, and she could now live in complete wellness and wholeness (peace/shalom). Reading this story, one can only conclude that Jesus knew and cared about women and their true beings much more than anyone else on earth!

By the time Jesus finished talking with the woman, though, the dying girl was reported dead. Imagine the fear and agony that the father must have felt. If only Jesus had not spent so much time with that woman. Again, Jesus knew and he responded to the father’s emotion and thoughts, saying: “Do not be afraid, just believe and she will be healed” (Luke 8:50).

There are only three resurrections, other than Jesus’ own resurrection, recorded in the four Gospels (Luke 7:11-17, Luke 8:40-56, John 11:1-44). However, what stands out in this incident of Jesus’ healing is not only that this young girl was raised from the dead, but Jesus’ tenderness toward her after she stood up. Jesus told the parents to give her something to eat! She must have been sick and, therefore, malnourished for a long time. Jesus even knew and cared about her physical needs and wanted her to be fed quickly. How wonderful, thoughtful, and understanding is Jesus about who we are!

There are many other important passages about Jesus and women, such as Luke 10: 38-42 (Jesus with Mary and Martha) and Luke 7:36-50 (Jesus with the “sinful” woman) that could not be included here due to limited time and space. However, the fascinating passage in Luke 13:10-17 (which only occurred in Luke) would be a fitting end to the study about Jesus and women.

Luke 13: 10-17 Jesus and the Woman Crippled by a Spirit, on the Sabbath

Here a woman had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years (a physical illness caused by a clear spiritual influence). Physically, she could not even stand straight. Curiously, her physical condition or the heavy influence of the evil spirit did not stop her from coming to synagogue on the Sabbath.

The incident happened in a synagogue where Jewish people gathered to worship; to listen to God’s Word taught (as Jesus was doing in this story); to socialize; and to form community. Indeed, for many Jews, the synagogue was the center of their spiritual and cultural identity. Sabbath was a time of rest, shalom, or peace, made for people (Mark 2:27), and a time to worship, honor, and remember God.

This is yet another one of the rare incidents in which Jesus was actively seeking out the hurt, the wounded, the sick, and, in this case, the oppressed. When Jesus saw the crippled woman, he called her forward, and set her free with his word and the laying on of his hand. She was freed instantly from the spiritual oppression and physically able to straighten up immediately and praise God! Caring for her after Satan had kept her bound for eighteen years (Luke 13:16), calling her forward and healing her in such a public manner just as in his encounter with the bleeding woman, shows that Jesus also understood and addressed the cultural and emotional needs of that woman.

However, the story did not stop there. The religious oppression raised its ugly head and barked at Jesus. Answering the strong objection from the synagogue ruler, Jesus not only taught everyone the true meaning of the Sabbath and humiliated all his opponents, but, most importantly, he freed this woman from hurtful religious oppression. Jesus put her squarely back into her rightful place in the kingdom of God as a daughter of Abraham. People were delighted! There is not a better ending for this part of the article!

The second part of the biblical model of Jesus’ humanity will be discussed in the next article. I pray and hope what presented here will give something for you to think about until we meet again in the next Kingdom Resources for Christ magazine!