When religion elevated Yeshua to the status of God, it did a disservice to him.
It robbed Yeshua of the awe of what he did from a human perspective, because the common attitude is of course he did what he did, he was God in the flesh living among us.
It also deprived us, because if he accomplished those spiritual feats as a human, then, it lets us know that it is possible for us to follow his example and do the same things.
Yeshua taught that a disciple will not be above his master, but that everyone who is perfect shall be just like his master.
I discussed the humanness of Christ in a previous post, entitled, Is Jesus God’s Biological son?
In that post I listed several scriptures from the Hebrew Bible that clearly foretell of the coming of a human Messiah and Christ fits the exact description.
Yeshua was the man who the prophets spoke about who would become the forever king from the very offspring of David, the chosen one, the servant who God would put his spirit upon, the man that would be so close to God that God would call him a son.
So, for the purposes of this post, I want to exam Yeshua as a human who is to be honored highly for the incredibly difficult feats that he accomplished in the face of extreme physical and emotional suffering.
Let’s start on the day that Yeshua had John perform the mikvah or baptism for him. It was a beautiful event.
If Yeshua had any self doubt concerning his role as the chosen one, his position was certainly confirmed in the Jordan River.
John knew who he was, the one spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, the one crying in the wilderness to make straight the pathway for the Messiah.
And, John had heard from God that the one who you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon is him.
The prophesy was fulfilled on the day that Yeshua came to do the mikvah and John saw the spirit as a dove descend and land on Christ.
Then, it is recorded that God’s voice sounded like thunder as he spoke, “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
It must have been beyond exhilarating for both John and Yeshua to see this prophesy fulfilled in such a powerful way.
Then, right afterwards, Christ still reveling in the miracle that had just occurred, was led into the wilderness to fast for 40 days.
What was happening to Christ during this time is relatable to anyone who has experienced a true outpouring of the spirit of God.
Yeshua’s wilderness experience is a great example of how the enemy comes immediately to try to destroy the works of God.
The book of Matthew records that after Christ had accomplished the 40-day fast, he was tempted of the devil.
Now, I have never done a 40-day fast, but my husband has, and he says that it was not a walk in the park.
While fasting for that long, the angels did not come to visit him like he had hoped, there were no visions of heaven like he had read in books, the presence of God was not so thick that you could cut it with a knife. The majority of the time, he was thinking about food.
So, when the devil tempted Christ to turn the stones into bread, my husband said, “I don’t think people realize unless they’ve done a long fast about how great of a temptation that truly was.”
However, Christ was unmoved and replied, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
Then, the second challenge followed, “if you are really the son of God, why don’t you throw yourself off the pinnacle of the temple. It is written that God shall give his angels charge concerning you, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.”
Yeshua did not entertain the idea of casting himself off the temple to invoke the miraculous rescue of himself by angels to prove to all in Jerusalem that he was indeed the Messiah. What a grand entrance that would have been.
But rather, Christ responded, “it is also written, that you shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
And finally, Christ was shown a vision of all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory and the devil said, “all these things I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me.”
Christ responded firmly, “get out of here, Satan, for it is written that you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”
In his final temptation, Yeshua did not succumb to the lust for power and wealth like most humans would have done.
Yeshua demonstrated that if it was God’s will for him to be the chosen one, he would trust God to establish it. He did not need to turn stones into bread or jump off pinnacles to prove who he was, and he certainly was not going to sell out for promises of wealth and power.
What Yeshua did was extremely difficult. During the wilderness experience, Christ became a role model for all of humanity, a man who displayed the highest degree of honor and integrity.
By his actions, Yeshua proved that he was the chosen one of the Most High God, the one determined to do the will of his Father.