There is so much to know about Jesus, so much more than we could ever know. The scriptures, for all of their accounts and stories of Christ, only capture but a sliver of His Personhood.
He is infinite. He is immeasurable.
And yet, I so often wonder about Him, as a boy, as a young man, as the Lamb. I wonder about His humanity, instead of always trying to grapple with His divinity.
I imagine Him as a child hiding behind His mother’s skirt. I picture Him in fields, running alongside His brothers being soaked in the sunlight. I see Him laying down to bed, praying a prayer to His Father–a prayer filled with gratitude and intimacy.
Of course, while there is so much more to know of Him, we have to be content with the little details we hold now, knowing too that His work on the cross is neither tarnished nor undermined by our lack of details regarding His life.
Yet, still I wonder…
Was Jesus ever afraid as a boy? If perfect love casts out fear, did He ever find Himself afraid of the dark, or a spider, or the bully down the road?
If He was without sin, how did this show itself in His adolescence? Did He know He wasn’t suppose to act like His brothers and hit them, or punch, or yell? How much did He/could He give into His testosterone as a young boy without sinning?
Was He ever attracted to a woman? I mean, I don’t need my Jesus to be some kind of skirt-chasing womanizer. I certainly don’t hold to the theory that He married Mary Magdalene. But did He ever see a woman and recognize her physical beauty? Or was He all too aware, all too consumed, with her spiritual potential to notice?
What were His hobbies? Did He even have any? Did He have time for any?
When did He know who He was? Was He always aware, even as an infant, or did He grow into the knowledge of His purpose and calling?
What was His relationship with His siblings like? Was He close to each of them? Did they confide in their big brother Jesus? Were they only siblings, or did He also count them as friends?
What was Jesus like as a teenager. If He was sneaking away to the temple t age 12, how much more devoted to spending time with the Father must He have been at age 16, 17, or 18.
Did Jesus ever make jokes? I doubt He made many. Scripture describes Him as a man of sorrow. Carrying the burden of His calling–not to mention, eventually the sins of the world–that probably didn’t leave much room for comedy. My husband thinks, though, that He must have. He pictures Christ sitting around a fire with His disciples laughing. I like that image.
Did Jesus have any nicknames? Did His parents have a cute pet name for Him? I mean, what do you nickname the Messiah?
I suppose there is no real point in asking these questions. They do not change His love for me, or His purpose in coming, or in the glory that is to come. I suppose we could ask a million questions about Christ and never know.
Yet, I can’t help but wonder…
I wonder because, as I survey His humanity, it makes His love seem that much more tangible. I consider His time on earth as a man because it solidifies for me the depth of the sacrifice He made. When I think of Him pouring out His divine nature to be born of a virgin in humble beginnings, I am still overcome…still overwhelmed.
That He would do that for me. A man died on a cross, but oh, not just a man….
I love this post! I have often thought about these things myself and wondered.
Thanks Louise!
I read a book this week that had the statement “We all have questions we are saving for God.” These are some of those I think. I like the laughing, engaging Jesus your husband thinks of. I think He is clever and could turn a good pun, particularly if it ended in bringing someone closer to Himself.
True enough, the bible describes Him as a man of sorrow. His sorrow was based in His love and to see us smile I think makes Him happy. What a weight for a man: to be God.
Ken, I agree. I imagine Jesus was clever with His words, as evidenced by His parables. I’m sure He used that wit in normal conversation, as well.
But I think you are right too, He probably loved (and still does, of course) to see us smile.
..what a wonderful God.
I started asking questions like this about a year ago, then finally 6 months ago I began to flesh them out. I started exploring who Jesus was, and it led me down an interesting road as it transitioned into, “Who would Jesus be if he had come today.” By the time I finished (3 weeks ago), I had written a novel. The best part was imagining the behind-the-scenes stuff. Such as, like you pose here, did Jesus have a sense of humor? I think he did. I don’t know how he could have spent so much time with goofy Peter without laughing from time to time. Anyways, I love this post. I think we all need to stop and ponder these things from time to time. What I’ve learned through my own little project is that whether I ever publish this and anyone else reads it or not, I’ve discovered Jesus in a much more personal way. And, it’s been awesome.
It seems like in the Academy, all everyone wants to do is talk about the Historical Jesus, asking (much less reverently than you) what Jesus was like. I never really got why it was so important – I certainly had a sort of academic curiosity about the kinds of questions you pose above, but didn’t see how it was relevant.
Last year, after my trip to the Holy Land, though, that all changed. My friend Thomas and I walked from the Old City up the Mount of Olives – the same trip Jesus and his disciples would’ve taken twice a day when they visited Jerusalem. And I was struck by how much TIME Jesus and his circle had.
All the jokes they told. All the TIME they had to talk about… everything!
Then I reflected on how little we actually have in the Gospels, compared to three years of walking all over Israel.
Being in those places made everything so much more real. Standing on the shore of the sea of Galilee, I could feel what it was like for Peter to dive out of his boat and swim ashore.
Standing in the ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum (there’s only 1, after all), we read all the stories of the things Jesus did there – casting out demons, healing. And I was standing IN THAT VERY SPOT.
Anyway… it all connected me with the reality of Jesus in a way I didn’t even know I needed – both his humanity and his divinity.
Jr., Gosh I love this. I so envy your trip and hope to someday have a similar experience. I think I dwell on thoughts of Jesus as a man because it makes the God of the Universe seem so much more accessible to me.
I mean, isn’t that part of the reason Jesus came as a man? He could have saved us through other means, I suppose, but He chose to humble Himself–to literally walk among us.
When I stop to consider it, I am still dazzled and perplexed by His willingness to do so.
I’m thankful for the small moments in which Christ’s humanity has been made evident to me. Thank you for sharing some details of your trip here. It encourages me even more to do the same.
I blogged through my trip; I think you’d enjoy the posts (and pics). Here’s a link to the first:
http://jrforasteros.com/2010/11/08/bros-life-the-beard-goes-home-pt-1/
And on my FB there’re three or four albums of pics+captions. They’re all called “The Beard Goes Home” or some variation.
If you get time to look/read, let me know what you think!
Thanks for sharing those. I am so gonna check them out!
I also often wonder about these questions. You have to also consider that Jesus was the firstborn son and along with that came responsibility, rights, and social aspects. To walk away from the birthright was not a culturally acceptable thing to do. It was like social suicide, right? I wonder how that was perceived? Leaving the family line and forfeiting those rights was something that Jesus did – it wouldn’t have made sense to anyone around him but he was an altogether different type of “firstborn.”
I guess it’s a reversal of things. We traded in our birthright for something other than God, and Jesus trades all of his rights in to get us back.
Ryan, what an interesting question you pose. I had never considered Him walking away from His birth right, but yes, He did I suppose.
And this: “We traded in our birthright for something other than God, and Jesus trades all of his rights in to get us back.”
Yes. That’s it, right there. He purchased us back. Amazing…
Okay, so I guess I’ll be the first to say…I’ve never contemplated these questions. Except for “When did He know who He was? Was He always aware, even as an infant, or did He grow into the knowledge of His purpose and calling?” which I recently wrote about myself. I’ve never considered what He was like from a strictly human perspective.
Perhaps my religious background or method of study has never brought these questions to the surface for me because I’ve always seen Jesus as God…and just God, even though he was fully man. Thank you for sharing these thoughts because now I have a whole knew way to look at Him and explore. That is exciting!
Marell, that totally makes sense. I don’ think most people think about these questions. I think it is natural for us to think of Jesus as God, since He’s our Messiah. I have a difficult time reconciling the idea that He was both, and so the more I imagine Him as a man, the easier it is for me, if that makes sense.
Thanks for commenting and sharing.
I like this one. It is fun to think about the lives of the people in the Bible other than what we read. I have wondered often how Jesus grew up and how he dealt with issues like hormones and girls, bullies and work. I sometimes wonder how Mary dealt with other children or the other mothers. I wonder if there was ever discrepancies towards Jesus. Like the mothers who blame all the other kids other than their own. “My son would never do that, it must have been Jesus.” Would she have replied, “No that’s impossible. He is the Messiah.” I sometimes think about current times, like the mother’s who are have the bumper stickers “My son/daughter would kick you Honor Roll son/daughter’s butt” and Mary would reply, “Oh yeah? Well my son is the One and Only, Son of God, the Messiah.” I sometimes wonder how Mary did not brag about her son.
Hi Aimee! Good to hear from you here. I love your train of thought here too. I wonder when Mary knew who Jesus really was. I have always felt that she didn’t really understand, even as He was going to the cross. I mean, the disciples didn’t even get it.
I think not until He was raised again did she fully understand He was the Messiah. Although, she did obviously know He was from God, so maybe she was always a little more protective of Him or worried about Him. It’s interesting to think about. You got my wheels turning.
I hope you are doing well!
I’ve often thought of these questions too! I feel better knowing I’m not the only one! :) I imagine everything we experience, he experienced. I imagine how hard it must have been growing up, dealing with human feelings yet seeking out His Father for strength.
And then I imagine Jesus and the disciples walking around, teasing and pushing each others, like boys do, laughing over a fire, like your husband imagined. :)
I certainly don’t know any more than you, but I don’t believe he was all work and no play, just like we are created to delight in him and called to enjoy the things he has given us.
If God gave us these things — pleasures, laughter, humor, smiles, quirks, silliness, and delight, I like to imagine Jesus laughed with his boys, played with the children (maybe even played tag & grew weary when he couldn’t catch up with them), smiled at the sight of a lovely flower, savored a juicy piece of fruit (and found it was good!), shivered during a rainfall (yet danced in the rain) and laughed at jokes that Peter, John, or James came up with until his sides hurt, and he was out of breath. After all, those were his buds. But yes those were dark times, and no doubt he was a man of sorrow.
Friendship, laughter, fruit, rainfall, sunlight, a hug from his mother, wide-eyed admiration from his younger brothers — all the things we enjoy are from him, and I like to think that while he was here, even for a moment, he delighted himself in the those things too.
Amaka, your comment got me. Man, I got emotional just reading it. I love your imagination and beautiful descriptions of Jesus. Even in reading this, I could imagine Him doing those things and it makes Him come alive for me. It makes me better understand how He can plead before the Father on my behalf…because He was there too. He knows the difficulty of the flesh and the call to righteousness.
And I agree, He enjoyed life despite being a man of sorrow. I think His love was to great to live any kind of life not full of joy and gratitude.