Unmanly · Part Three
Jesus, Paragon of Humanity
Jesus was male, and that is not trivial. But his boldness, authority, and self-giving belong to his identity as the obedient Son, not to his sex. These questions ask what men and women alike are imitating when they imitate Christ.
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Is Jesus the paragon of masculinity or of humanity?
Jesus is the paragon of humanity. His life, death, and resurrection reveal not what a male should look like but what a human being surrendered to God looks like.
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What does Jesus's maleness actually tell us about discipleship?
That the incarnation was particular. God became flesh not as a generic human but as a first-century Jewish man.
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Does Jesus exhibit masculine characteristics?
The characteristics of Jesus that some describe as masculine, such as a deep commitment to his mission, boldness, obedience to the point of death, fearlessness in proclaiming truth, sacrificial love, are not exclusively male virtues. They are human virtues on display in the life of a man.
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How does Jesus’s authority relate to his sex?
Jesus's authority was given to him by the Father and rooted in his identity as the Son of God, not in his biological sex. He taught with authority (Mark 1:27; Luke 4:36).