Jesus' humanity

karl rahner:

suggested that genuine human consciousness of an unknown future is essential to human nature
likens human self-awareness to that of an onion » many layers
deep layers = ability of deep understanding > not always on the surface of our consciousness
Rahner claims that Jesus’ self-awareness was close to the surface, hence his emotions

gerald o’collins:

challenged Rahner’s idea
believed it was difficult to make sense of Jesus’ self-awareness as He left no writings of His oown
the understanding of knowledge, the way that we experience reality, memory, emotions, intuition, identity n instinct is v complex n knowing ourselves is easier said than done
Jesus knew that He was in a unique relationship w God and had a mission to save others

did Jesus know He was God in the flesh?

the bible doesn't specify when Jesus realised He was God in flesh (john 1:1, 14; colossians 2:9).
it's unclear if He always knew his divinity or realised it later, and both views have challenges.
Jesus was under the law (galatians 4:4) and accepted human limitations (philippians 2:5-8).
did his divine nature go "dormant" as a baby? if so, what does that mean?
though divine, jesus expressed surprise, like with the roman soldier’s faith (matthew 8:5-13).
Jesus cooperated with human limitations without losing His divine awareness.

does God have feelings that we as humans have n vice versa?

some argue God is beyond human experience, making shared emotions impossible.
others suggest that if humans are made in God's image, our emotions, like anger at injustice or love, may reflect God's emotions.
for Christians, Jesus' incarnation shows shared emotions and God's empathy for humanity.

human needs n emotions Jesus experienced:

how could Jesus be born without sin?

if God can do anything, He could have miraculously protected Jesus from sin in mary's womb.
romans 5:12 states sin entered the world through one man, adam, not through a woman.
sin was passed through adam, which is why genesis 3:15 speaks of a saviour from the seed of woman, not man.
bible scholars note that sin's impact occurred when adam sinned, not eve, implying some traits aren't passed through women

some traits and disorders are passed only by fathers or mothers; similarly, sin may be passed through the father, not the mother.
Jesus, conceived by the spirit, had God as His Father, making him sinless.
mary did not need to be sinless for Jesus to be born without sin.
the bible states all humans have sinned (romans 3:23), except Jesus (2 corinthians 5:21).
the belief in mary's sinlessness is a catholic doctrine considered heresy, as mary called God her Saviour.

Jesus’ miracles:

Matthew 11:
- gave sight to the blind
- allowed the lame to walk
- cured those with leprosy
- allowed the deaf to hear
- preached the Good News to the poor
Catholic Catechism:
- a miracle is “a sign or wonder such as healing, or control of nature, which can only be attributed to divine power”