[213]The Scriptures answer, as we have heretofore seen, that prior to his coming to earth he was the Logos, a spirit being; that his life was transferred to the human plane and he was born a human being. He was rich and for our sakes became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9); that is to say, he was rich in heavenly glory and power possessed by him as the great active agent of Jehovah in the creation of all things, and he became poor by becoming a man. It was absolutely necessary for him to be a perfect man; hence he must be born holy, harmless, separate from sinners and without sin; and he met this requirement. (Hebrews 7:26) Furthermore, he met the requirements because he was made flesh and dwelt amongst men. (John 1:14) He partook of flesh and blood, became a human being for the very purpose of destroying him that has the power of death, that is the devil; and to deliver mankind. (Hebrews 2:14,15) He took upon himself the form of a servant or bondsman and was made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:7) He was the only perfect man that has ever lived on earth, except Adam. He was not part human and part spirit being, because "he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death". Angels are spirit beings, and thus creatures that are lower than angels are human beings. He was human. Had he been part God and part man he would have been higher than the angels instead of lower, for the reason that angels are the lowest order of spirit beings.

[214]Being a perfect man, he had the power to produce a perfect race of people and with these populate the earth; therefore in every respect exactly corresponding to the perfect man Adam in the condition he was in while in Eden. He was perfect in every respect, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) When he stood before Pilate, silent as a sheep is dumb before its shearers, when the mob incited by the Jewish clergy of that time were demanding his life blood, Pilate, in order that he might shame the Jews for such action, cried out unto them: "Behold the man". The emphasis here is on the word the. We might paraphrase Pilate's words thus: 'The man whom you are asking me to put to death is not only the greatest man among you, but he is the man above all other men on earth'. The people there had seen a perfect man. None of us have seen a perfect man. He was the only One who has ever lived on earth qualified to become the redeemer of mankind. He was sent to earth by Jehovah for that v qualify as a priest.

[215]We note that Jesus grew from boyhood's estate to manhood's estate and when he was thirty years of age he presented himself to John at Jordan to be baptized. At the age of thirty, then, he was perfect in body, perfect in mind, perfect under the law, in every respect an absolutely perfect human being; hence qualified to be the ransomer or redeemer of Adam, the perfect man, and of all Adam's offspring.

[216]Why did God send his beloved Son, this great Man, to earth? When a great man of the world comes into prominence he expects others to minister unto him, and they do minister unto him. But Jesus, the greatest man who has ever lived on earth, and the only perfect One aside from Adam, came to earth and became the servant of others, that he might render the greatest good to mankind. True greatness consists in doing good unto others. True greatness is magnified in Jesus. He was the truest friend of the human race. He said: "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many". (Matthew 20:28) And again he said: "Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister [servant]; and whosoever will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all".—Mark 10:43,44.

[217]The perfect man Jesus became the servant of all. The importance of Jesus and his work is magnified when we consider that he in heaven and in earth was the dearest treasure to Jehovah's heart. He was God's dearly beloved Son. He was the most precious thing possessed by the great Creator, Jehovah. It was the supreme sacrifice on behalf of Jehovah to use him to redeem the human race. It was God's great love for fallen humanity that prompted him to do this; hence we read: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."—John 3:16,17.

[218]It was this truly good and truly great Man who for three and a half years went about in the earth and taught and ministered unto the people and did good unto every one and evil unto none. All the time he was thus ministering and doing good, the scribes, Pharisees, doctors of the law and other dupes engaged in misrepresenting and persecuting the Lord, sought to kill him. Why did they do this? Because they were instruments of Satan, the devil.—John 8:44.

[219]Jesus, the devil knew, was and is the great Seed of promise which God had promised to Abraham should be the redeemer and blesser of mankind. Jesus Christ is the Seed of the woman foreshadowed in God's statement made to mother Eve and Satan. (Genesis 3:15) Satan sought, therefore, in every way to destroy him. Jesus was teaching the Jews the message of God to lead them in the right way, and to open unto them the way of life. These scribes and Pharisees were opposing him and therefore were the enemies of the people. Jesus said of them: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat" (Matthew 23:2); meaning that they had assumed the position of leaders of the people. Because of their blinding the people he said to them: 'You are hypocrites, blind guides, fools; you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; you devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayers; you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of gehenna than yourselves. You are guilty of fraud and deceit, and you are like unto whited sepulchres, which are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness; you are serpents, a generation of vipers. You do not understand my speech because you cannot hear and understand my word. You are of your father the devil.'—Matthew 23:13-33; John 8:43,44.

[220]Jesus knew that he was to be crucified and he told his disciples of his coming death. The last night he was on earth with them he spent teaching them great lessons and truths which were not only a blessing to them, but have been a great blessing to every one from then until now who has loved the Lord and sought to know and do his will. While he was thus doing, the enemy was preparing to take his life. The Sanhedrin was a high tribunal or court composed of seventy-three men, made up of priests, elders, and doctors of the law, Pharisaical hypocrites, the seed of the serpent, blinded to God's purposes. That body was the highest court of Israel and it was the duty of this court to protect the innocent as well as to punish the guilty. They beheld Jesus doing good and the people flocking to him.

[221]"Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council

[222]In other words, this supreme tribunal secretly met, indicted Jesus, prejudged his case, and agreed to put him to death, only waiting for an opportunity. They acted as grand jury, prosecutor, and trial court. They entered into a wicked conspiracy, which was formulated by Satan, their father, for the destruction of the Son of God. They conspired with Judas and hired him, for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, to betray the Lord into their hands. Satan himself entered into Judas as the latter executed the betrayal. Then they organized a mob, sent it out after the Master, arrested him, and brought him before this supreme court for trial at night, which was contrary to their own laws. "They that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled," in furtherance of the wicked conspiracy.—Matthew 26:57.