Jesus, the human side

Yesterday I was struck again with the thought of God, becoming man. He was in all ways, tempted like I am, weak like I am, and yet without sin. That God took on the form of a man.



God, Jesus is identified with our weaknesses. He know what it is like to go through the things we go through. He knows family dysfunction. He knows what it is like to be doubted, questioned and attacked by those who know you best. He know how reputation can hurt you, just because you belong to a certain family.



Mark 6:3 In Jesus hometown, the people rejected Him.

"'Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters among us?' And they took offense at Him and were hurt (that is, they disapproved of Him and it hindered them)...and they were caused to stumble and fall." AMP

vs. 4 Jesus was "not without honor except among His relatives and in His own house."



How did this affect Jesus? How did He feel? Can He sympathize with us when those closest to us dishonor us and trample our dreams? Trample our value.

I believe that Jesus was tempted even to doubt Himself at times.



His family was not perfect. It was large and loud. It was ordinary and normal. He was the son who didn't marry, who stayed home and remained with his family until He was 30. He became a carpenter like His earthly dad Joseph. Living normal, day to day life in community with others. His parents knew something of who He was, but not much, not how and not exactly. Although they knew He was divine, they lived life with Him. I'm sure in the everydayness of it all they sometimes and often forgot WHO HE IS. Life was busy. There were financial struggles. There was hardwork to be done. And overshadowing them all, the crual and taxing Romans consistantly made their worlds small and devalued. Jesus lived in a small world. A world where everbody knew everything about everyone else, small town stuff. Jesus was very human to them. The divine beginnings of Jesus life were sometimes forgotten in the day to day process of simply living. Jesus knew the divine. He remembered. Mary pondered it. Jesus lived it. He lived divinely human. He became in all ways like us so that we can truly become in all ways like Him.



Mark 6:6 "He marveled because of their unbelief."



Mark 6:11 "if any community will not receive and accept and welcome you, and they refuse to listen to you, when you depart shake off the dust."


Jesus didn't let the doubt, faithlessness and rejection of others get to Him - He shook off the dust. He departed and moved on. Their loss. No people pleasing for Him. He was looking for faith, for openness, for where He could work. When He couldn't work because of hostile hearts, He moved on. Internally and externally, He moved on. He didn't carry their rejection with Him in His heart because His identity and purpose were elsewhere. His identity was with His heavenly Father. He didn't allow His earthly family to define His purpose. He defined Himself in God and the purpose given to Him from His Father. We are to do the same.

Matthew 12:46-50
Jesus was speaking radically and offensivelly to the religious leaders and His family was seeking to speak with Him. We can only guess why, but given the context, it can be postulated that they weren't quite happy with Him. Probably they were disapproving of what and how He was speaking and they were trying to shut Him up. Here Jesus again gives us a clue to His identity when He calls those who do the will of God His true family.

Is. 53:2-5
2For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no form or comeliness [royal, kingly pomp], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.
3He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
4Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].(B)
5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.