2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 42

“You know that the Passover is two days from now. And the Human One will be handed over to be crucified.” Matthew 26:2 CEB

“By pouring this perfume over my body she’s prepared me to be buried.” Matthew 26:12 CEB

“The Human One goes to his death just as it is written about him. But how terrible it is for that person who betrays the Human One!” Matthew 26:24 CEB

I’ve said before that I love the Common English Bible. But I’ve wrestled with one phrase: The Human One.

For years, “Son of Man” carried weight for me—mystery, prophecy, even a subtle nod to divinity. And rightly so. As Nazarenes, we confess that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human (Article of Faith II). No compromise there.

But in Matthew 26, the translation unsettled me in a good way.

Because in this chapter, everything is getting real. The timeline is set. Two days. The cross isn’t an abstract teaching moment anymore. The religious leaders are plotting. A woman anoints Jesus for burial while others grumble about waste. Judas makes his move. Tension fills the room.

And in the middle of it all, Jesus calls Himself The Human One. Not detached. Not insulated. Not floating above the pain. Human. Fully stepping into betrayal. Fully stepping into suffering. Fully stepping into death.

And here’s what struck me: the crucifixion only works if He is truly one of us. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 that we have been crucified with Christ. That we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. The Human One died so that human ones could actually live.

This isn’t sentimental theology. It’s costly holiness.

In Wesleyan language, salvation isn’t just pardon. It’s transformation. The grace that forgives is the grace that forms. The cross doesn’t just rescue us from guilt; it reshapes our loves, our loyalties, our reactions.

So here’s the uncomfortable question Matthew 26 puts in front of us: What do we do with the gift?

Judas walked with Jesus and still betrayed Him. The religious leaders knew Scripture and still plotted. The disciples heard three clear predictions and still didn’t grasp the weight of it.

Proximity isn’t the same as surrender. When disagreement turns into disdain… When frustration turns into quiet resentment… When “I disagree with you” becomes “I don’t like you”… We drift closer to betrayal than we’d like to admit.

Jesus, the Human One, came saying (to paraphrase Gospel of Mark 10:45), It’s not about Me. He came to serve, to give His life as a ransom. The throne He ascends is occupied by a Lamb who was slain.

The Human One put us before Himself.

The question now is whether we will put Him before ourselves.

Holiness isn’t about appearing spiritual. It’s about dying to self so that Christ can actually live in us. That’s not dramatic language. That’s daily language.

Every time I choose preference over obedience, ego over unity, or comfort over calling, I step away from the shape of the cross. But every time I surrender—truly surrender—I participate in the life of the Human One. And that’s where freedom is found.

Sit with the title. Read Matthew 26 slowly and substitute “The Human One” intentionally. Let it remind you that Jesus didn’t save you from a distance.
Examine your betrayals. Where have irritation, political differences, or personal preferences hardened your heart toward someone made in God’s image? Name it honestly.
Practice cruciform living. Choose one concrete act of self-denial today. Apologize first. Serve quietly. Refuse to escalate. Absorb a small offense without retaliation.
Reaffirm your surrender. Pray Galatians 2:20 aloud. Not as poetry. As commitment.
Lord Jesus, Human One and Holy One, I have been crucified with You. Teach me to live by Your faithfulness. Kill what needs to die in me, so Your life can rise in its place. Amen.