According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, Jesus has two separate natures, human and divine, united within His one Person. Therefore, He is both God and man at the same time. This is what enabled Him to die and atone for us - His dual nature. The other reason was that He was perfect, the most holy, perfect man that ever lived. He was sinless.
Although Jesus was perfect, Jesus was also human. He understood our faults, failings and saw them in others. Jesus was accustomed very much to life as we know it. While He may not have had cars and subways in his day, He was accustomed to manual labour and the sweaty smell of men (remember that He was a carpenter). He was also accustomed to intellectualism and both its merits and its many failings - remember that He debated with Israel's finest and sharpest lawyers in the temple.
Jesus also felt human emotion. When Lazarus, his friend, died Jesus wept. (John 11:35, the shortest single bible verse). Was Jesus scared before He died? I bet He was. Surely. He cried tears of blood! (Luke 22:39-46). Yet, obiediently, He modeled the way for us by obeying his heavenly father.
Our Christian culture sometimes, quite regrettably, porrays and overly stern and judgemental view of God. While this is true in the sense that God wishes us to turn from our sins and not willfully engage in sin, He loves us. Always. He said to the woman caught in adultery - in the very act - "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more." He forgave Peter, who became an apostate and denied Him thrice. He even made Peter the first Pope! He will always forgive us, as long as we are sincerely sorry and come to him with a humble heart.
Jesus is God, and God is love.
Recommended further reading/watching:
-The Passion of the Christ (movie) starring Jim Caviezel and directed by Mel Gibson
-A Life of Jesus by Shusaku Endo
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