Shame and Glory

Continuing our discussion of shame and whether Jesus ever experienced it, maybe we need to look at shame through a more biblical definition and to contrast it with guilt.

Here’s our history: When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, walking with God, and enjoying His full presence in the cool of the day, they were naked and unashamed.  There was nothing to hide.  Nothing to be embarrassed about in the presence of the God who created them and loves them.

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:25)

But then that fateful, life-altering choice to do what God had expressly commanded them not to do.  Blame it on the serpent, but the moral agency for behavior resided individually within Adam and Eve. 

Genesis 3: 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”  11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Now all of a sudden, they know they’re naked, and they’re ashamed and afraid.  Ashamed in front of God (obviously since there was no one else there).  And they were afraid of Him.  Afraid of His knowing.  Afraid of His reaction.  Afraid of what He meant when He said, “you will certainly die”.  What did that even mean?  So, they were afraid.

What about Jesus?
He is (and was) as Adam and Eve were before their failure.

Was Adam fully human back then?  Yup.  So, if Jesus is fully human and is (and was) as the original Adam was when the first man was created… (and as aside, Jesus being the Creator would know) …

then shame and fear are not part of the original human condition. 

Jesus was never afraid … and arguably never felt shame. He could recognize both of those consequences of separation from God when He saw them in us. I say “arguably” because it’s a bit more complicated as to how He could be without experiencing shame and still experience all that broken humanity suffers. There was no shame before sin entered the picture. And Jesus had no sin. He had glory before the Incarnation and has glory now. It is during the parenthesis of His 30-year ministry during the Incarnation that He did not have the same glory He once did.

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.  2 For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him.  3 Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.  4 I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do.  5 And now, Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.

Read John 17.  Jesus finished God’s work…perfectly.  He honored the Father in all things.  From before the world began until the moment called “Today”, Jesus remains unashamed in the Father’s presence, and in His presence, there was and is no separation and never will there be.