He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. John 11:51-52
For John, we are all the beloved children of God, whether the nation of Israel or the “scattered children of God”. The work of Jesus is to make all one, with one another and with God. But there is a third aspect to this divine work of making us one: the unity of each with himself or herself.
Our identity is that we are all beloved children of God. This is the reality of our being. This is who we all are, even if we do not know it and have no idea how to live in harmony with God. Our ignorance, that we do not know God or how to be his children, is why our condition or present state is that we are sinners. Our “way of being” is sinful though the essence of our being is that we bear the image of God. We are not one with God but we are not one in ourselves either, because the way of our being is not united to the truth of our being.
The way in which we are living is at odds with who we truly are, that is, who God knows us to be. Perhaps through the gospel, if it has been proclaimed well, we have begun to hear hints of a more glorious nature, that which God created in us in the beginning out of love. This is the genuinely human nature, not sinful, but united to our Creator, and which is on full display in Jesus. He is not genuinely human because he is God, but because he is God living as an authentic person. Jesus is the first true human to ever have lived, which is why we can refer to him as Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). No one before him lived in constant fellowship with the Father, who is our Source of all goodness. No one before Jesus was fully human according to the will of God.
This template and pattern of humanity that we see in Jesus is shocking if we have been taught and became convinced that we are disgusting and loathsome to God because of our sinfulness. God is repulsed by sin, though not by sinners, as Jesus clearly demonstrates. He is the divine Son, Light of true Light, and perfectly comfortable in the midst of fallen and sinful humanity. He is joyful to be with us despite our sinfulness. He likens himself to a doctor among the sick, who does not hate his patients but sets himself to eradicating their ailments (Luke 5:31).
Jesus withdraws from no one, though the religious elites of his day who want to maintain purity codes, often crafted around their own strengths, shun him for being too friendly with sinners. Jesus displayed too much fellowship and not enough condemnation for their liking. They certainly did not like that the condemnation he did offer was primarily directed toward them.
Who we are, and always have been in God’s eyes, will be revealed to us when, by grace, the way of our being becomes the expression of the reality of who we are. This is the meaning of redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. Our being reconciled to God is, in a certain respect, being reconciled to ourselves. We cannot be in harmony with God unless we are brought into unity with who God made us to be, our true humanity. There is no love of God in hating one’s brother, nor oneself. The way we treat all others, ourself included, is also how we treat God.
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