Jesus was like us in all things -- even toothaches

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed in anguish for the suffering He was about to undergo to be taken from Him. He finally surrendered to His Father's will, accepting the betrayal and death that awaited Him.

According to Rev. Roger Karban, a Scripture scholar and columnist for The Evangelist, what Jesus was basically praying for was "the strength not to run away.

"He certainly knew He was mortal, knew that He could die; otherwise, there wouldn't have been fear," Father Karban told The Evangelist. "He was not afraid to run away when people were out to get Him."

Small discomfort

The Agony in the Garden is an extreme example of Jesus' humanity. He was mortal; He knew that He could be tortured and put to death and feared it. But as Dr. David Matzko, a professor of religious studies at the College of St. Rose in Albany, pointed out: "If Jesus suffered the Crucifixion, He certainly suffered a toothache!"

Often, several scholars told The Evangelist, people ignore the small evidences of Jesus' humanity, forgetting that in addition to the Passion, Jesus also experienced the everyday discomforts that every human being does. "If He was like us in all things but sin, He experienced all of the pains, sufferings and disappointments inherent in humanity," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany pointed out.

Not a role

We may forget that Jesus chose to be fully human, said Dr. Matzko, but "Jesus was not a divine person wearing human clothes. He was both human and divine."

That means Jesus probably suffered from illnesses, toothaches, the desert heat and any other common ailment of His day, the scholars said.

In the days of Jesus, the Holy Land was not a hospitable place to live. Some debate exists over whether Jesus was protected by God to be sure that He did not become physically incapacitated before completing His mission: "I'd have to say yes -- but you might say the same thing about Socrates or Plato," argued Robert Sheard, author of "An Introduction to Christian Belief." "You could explain that as having something humans don't, or you could say there have been other humans in history who have said [God] led them."

Protection?

"Jesus' humanity wouldn't have held Him apart from pain and illness, but as far as being protected, I guess He'd have to be," Dr. Matzko stated. "He was chosen for a certain task."

However, even if Jesus' taking on human form did include the assurance that He would live to finish His work, Rev. Roger Karban, a Scripture scholar and columnist for The Evangelist, said that "I don't think He had any pre-knowledge of that."

If Jesus had known that He could not die until a specific time, Father Karban said, He would not have left town when He heard that officials were plotting to have Him put to death.

In all, stated Mr. Sheard, the most vital aspect of Jesus' humanity was that "Jesus is fully human and chooses to bend His will to His Father's will."

Tough act to follow

In ignoring that Jesus could be uncomfortable, ill or exhausted, "by making Him divine, you never have to emulate Him," Dr. Matzko said. "But a variety of things Jesus did during His ministry came from being human: His compassion, His care for the poor, His nonviolence, His dedication to God and the life of the kingdom, His forgiveness. And most of what He did, He asked others to do as well. He gave new possibilities for being human."

(03-27-97) [[In-content Ad]]