A God Who Understands

I’ll admit that I don’t spend much time thinking about Jesus as a human. I think of him as a miraculous figure, a man who was fully God and able to endure anything in the world, but the truth is that he felt all the same things we do: hunger, pain, loneliness, etc. But the other day I read this verse from Hebrews that says the following:

“Consider him [Jesus] who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

It’s a reminder to face what is in front of you because Jesus himself faced opposition. By the time he left us, he had faced every kind of discouragement possible, and that should be encouraging to know that we’re not in it alone. It’s why earlier on in Hebrews, Jesus is described as a high priest who can understand what we’re going through:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with out weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Just like people who bond over shared experiences like divorce, miscarriages, depression or discouragement, Jesus feels our pain. In fact, he felt the full weight of it all at once. And not just our negative experiences, but all of our sins, mistakes, and pitfalls. In order to cleanse our sin against God, we needed God to step in and take our place. Jesus’ painful death at Cavalry prove that he is not just a glorious, holy God, but an empathetic, humble servant. With that in mind, do not lose heart, for we have God who has felt it all, seen it all, and saved us from it all.

*Scripture References: Hebrews 12:3, Brackets Added; Hebrews 4:15-16