Did Jesus Get Sick Like Other Humans?

By Albert Wagner @albertwagner4

This is a question that comes up every now and then by people who read and study the Bible.

It has to do with the hard to understand idea that Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% human.

If Jesus was 100% human, people ask, then did he go through things like other humans?

Things like sickness, broken bones, accidents, etc? The Bible seems to be silent on the issue.

The Gospels talk about miracles and parables and lessons, but they don't say much about the human side of Jesus.

There are a few mentions of it, like when Jesus felt forsaken or when it says Jesus wept. But what about the rest of the times?

Well, to begin with, the idea of being 100% God and 100% human at the same time is likely something humans will never fully comprehend. Maybe not even in heaven.

As these posts have discussed, part of Christianity is accepting the Bible without over-analyzing it or forming your own opinions.

The Bible says that Jesus was human in many places. For the salvation of humankind there had to be a human in that role.

Secondly, the reason for the Bible is to give humans a path to eternal salvation. What this means is that things that don't specifically pertain to that end are not necessary to include.

For example, God thinks it is enough that you know that between the ages of 12 and 30 Jesus was a carpenter. The idea that certain details were not included in this period does not take away from the authenticity of Scripture.

God does not think the other details are important for your salvation. If a reader dwelled on how amazing it was that Jesus got sick like other humans it might detract from the central message. The idea that he was a carpenter helps show he was not working as, say an executive. It was to show how he relates to the human condition.

It is the author's opinion that Jesus likely got sick during that time. After all, it is widely accepted that one of the things Jesus overcame on the Cross was sickness.

While sickness could be translated as something like transgression, there seems to be an example in the Bible of Jesus and sickness.

In the Gospel Of Luke 7:3-9 a centurion said his servant was sick and asked Jesus to heal him. He asserted that Jesus had authority over sickness, which is true. Jesus responded by saying he " had not witnessed such faith, not in Israel." (Luke 7:9)

And, while other translations of sickness might be closer to transgression, as Luke was a physician, this might have referred to physical sickness in this case.

In the shortest verse of the Bible, John 11:35, it states " Jesus wept."

This statement implies that Jesus felt emotion like that of other humans. So, he not only had authority over sickness, but had experienced it.

Clergy also state that when nails were driven into the hands of Jesus at the crucifixion it was the same as if that happened to any other human. The pain and emotions are the same.

Who else, other than someone who had experienced human emotions, could deliver all humankind?

Yes, Jesus most likely got sick.