the human jesus

I wonder about the thought of Jesus' humanity as portrayed in the gospel writings. So often we talk about Jesus being a man, a person, a human just like we are today, but when we talk about him that all goes away. We become these people who can never measure up to the person we are supposed to be following … the person we are to be like. There was a Rabbi named Hillel who lived a few hundred years before Jesus. Jesus in his teachings often parallels Hillel closely. Hillel said this, “Never teach a disciple to believe in God without teaching the disciple God believes in him.” If this is the case then can we assume that Jesus believes in us?

When he asked Peter after Peter was sinking in the waves, “You of little faith why did you doubt?” What was Peter doubting? That he could walk on water? Why did he want to walk on the water in the first place? Maybe so he could be like his Rabbi … Jesus? If this is the case then was Jesus really asking, “Why did you doubt you could be like me?” Jesus could say this, because while he was the Son of God, he was also a man who could be imitated. This so often is the piece we throw away … he was a man.

Maybe it is that when we read the bible, talk about the bible, and preach about the bible we act as though it were something that happened "long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away." Jesus is some mystic who always walked slowly like he was hovering a few inches of the ground. He always spoke in riddles, with depth and a furrowed brow. The disciples were a bunch of yes men who were insiders copying his every move.

I mean did Jesus ever say "Hey Thaddeus, could you pass the salt please?" Did Jesus ever stumble over a rock in Israel (he knows there are enough of them). Did he ever yawn in the middle of a family talk, stand up and say, "Good night everyone, I’m hitting the hay."

I think rather than the humanity being absent, it is assumed and intrinsic to everything that is written about him. Remember, the guys writing the gospels either knew Jesus, or spoke to those close to him. They knew his humanity. They saw it.

So maybe it is there ... maybe we have just missed it.