Jesus was fully human and fully divine. This has been a root
of much confusion which has caused countless heresies through the ages.
Sabellianism, Docetism, Adoptionism, Nestorianism, Apollinarianism, Socianism,
and Arianism are just a few of the heresies the early Church had to deal with
concerning the dual nature of Jesus Christ. These heresies come about from many
different beliefs but all wrestle with the belief that a person cannot have two
distinct natures at the same time.
Think of a nature as if it were water for a moment. If I
have a cup of red water and a cup of blue water and I try to pour them both
equally into a one cup glass the best I can do is 50%-50%. The water in the cup
would also become mixed to the point that you couldn’t tell them apart anymore. This
concept has lead people to believe that it is impossible for Jesus to have a
100% human nature and a 100% divine nature at the same time. That equals 200%
and isn’t possible.
Now imagine a room that has a red light in one corner and a
blue light in the other. If I turn on the red light the room is filled 100% of
the way with the red light. If I turn on the blue light the room is filled with
100% blue light. If I turn on both lights at the same time an interesting thing
happens. The room is filled 100% with the red light. It is also filled 100%
with the blue light. The red light does not displace the blue light and the
blue light does not displace the red. They coexist in harmony with one another.
Another interesting thing happens. If we place an object in
the center of the room, equally between the two lights, and look at that object
from the side with the red light the object will appear red. If we look at the
object from the side with the blue light the object will appear blue. If we
look at the object from any angle that both lights shine on it the object will appear
purple. We can see each light individually as well as both lights combined at
the same time.
No metaphor is perfect but this one can help us to better
understand the great mystery of how a divine nature and a human nature could
coexist in the man Jesus totally, equally, and without diminishing the other at
the same time. There are times in scripture where we see Jesus’ human nature
shining through, like during his agony in the garden. There are other times
when we can see his divine nature shining through, like when he is forgiving
sins and healing people. Through most of scripture Jesus is seen with the
perfect mix of the human and the divine.
