John 1:1-18
The Word Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Mark 2:13-17
Jesus Tells Us He Came for Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus Did Not Sin
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 12:9-11
For in Weakness We Can Find Strength
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Acts 4:12
There is No Salvation in Any Other Man
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
St. John writes that the Word became flesh...Jesus became human and dwelt among us...And those around Him, including His Disciples got to see His glory...The glory of being around Him, being acquainted with Him, being His friend, and just watching Him go about His daily work in His ministry...
There is this phrase that I have heard over the years, and even used myself...I have spoken it to myself more than once...The phrase is "I'm only human."...I think many have thought this phrase, and maybe many have spoken this phrase...It is a phrase that I might say when I have made a mistake...It is a phrase of human weakness, especially using the word "only" in the middle of the phrase...I'm only human is a phrase that is true...We are only human and we act and do things in our human nature...Being only human is a condition, that we are in at the present time...
While I think this phrase applies to each and every human, I do not think it applies to Jesus...I do not think He had any particular weakness...I also am not sure it is fair to call Him a Man...Because He is much, much, more than a Man...Man has this way of putting limits on what he can do...These limits limit us...Jesus was not limited by being human and being born of flesh...He had no limits...He is what man and being human can reach...He is our potential...Without Him, how would we even know our potential?...He showed us the way to go beyond our limits...The way He led His life is mysterious to us, yet it meets the needs of man in how He led His life...He somehow shows us purpose, as we read the four gospels...And as I read the gospels I see more than its Leading Character being human...He is much more in both what He says and in what He does...And somehow we can relate to this Mysterious Man, this Mysterious Human...
A great example of Him speaking beyond man's potential is when the Pharisees asked why Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners...He said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick...I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”...When I read this, I believe He is telling us He is more than Human, He is more than a Man, and that He does not and did not sin...This is why He comes for us, He comes for sinners...Jesus came for humans who are only human and who have sinned...A sinning man helping others is good and nice, but One who has never sinned, makes all the difference...A sinful man understands He needs this help...He sees his faults and errors of his ways...The sinful man sees and knows he needs something, even if he cannot put his finger on it...And Jesus does go around, as a matter of fact, forgiving others...He goes around healing others quite naturally, and quite commonplace -like this is what I AM supposed to do, and this is what I can do...
Being only human is not only about being one of weakness...The believer believes that life has hope in this weakness...There is this strength in our weaknesses...Because there is great hope in this One who did not sin...The sinful man sees that in his hope, there is salvation...And in salvation there is this Man, this One Man...So salvation is found in a person...Salvation is found in a Man...Salvation is found in this One Human...Being human we can find salvation...Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved...