not just a man

…the one who was declared the son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness from the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord… Romans 1:4

 

Thankfully, verse 3 does not have a period. I am grateful for the empathy and compassion that Jesus’ humanity demonstrated. Yet, while His humanity brings me comfort, it provides no power to overcome the daily struggles of life. A good friend can help you through difficult times, and Jesus’ humanity can do that. A good friend can help comfort and console, and Jesus’ humanity can do that. A good friend cannot, however, remove the ever present shadow of death that follows us all around. If Jesus were only human, He would be powerless over this as well. 

Verse 4, however, offers hope. Jesus was not just human. Paul says the resurrection separated Jesus from every other man. The resurrection testified and still testifies today that He is none other than who He said He was while He walked the earth: the son of God. 

Verse 4 does not answer all my questions about Jesus, but it sets up a dichotomy to verse three which encourages me. The resurrection of the dead showed that in at least His own life, Jesus did have power over the shadow of death that followed Him around. While it may have appeared briefly that death caught Him and claimed Him, the resurrection showed that a greater power was working. 

For this reason, Paul attributes two titles to Jesus: Christ and Lord. Christ, meaning anointed one, looks back to Psalm 2 and the promised son of David who would come and reign. Lord puts Jesus in His rightful place: not just a good friend, but one who has power and is in control. 

~ by Michael on May 8, 2008.