“1 For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying:

13 Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.

14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service[i] to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.”

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This is amazing and should not be read casually, even by someone who has believed for many, many years. This is no small thing that we see here, that the author reminds us of and instructs us in. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Trinue One, the Creator of the universe, calls us ‘brother?’ This is too much to bear! Too much to comprehend! Desiring to bear the wrath of God for us, He puts on our skin, so He would know our pains, sufferings and dilemmas. Not that He did not comprehend them before this, but that for our benefit, He would experience them in the same way we do. We should not presume that God is less than who He is, that He wouldn’t be able to comprehend our sufferings. That is a ridiculous notion. But that His love is so great that He would come here and experience everything we do, except for sin, in his own body, heart and mind the same way we do, is simply amazing.

And that through that experience, He would destroy death’s power and the power of sin over us, so that His reign as our great and merciful High Priest and King would be complete, even in our eyes. His temptation was overcome so that He may help us in our times of temptation. His pain was overcome so that we would know that He knows what we are experiencing in our own times of pain. His humiliation was just as deeply felt as ours is, so that we do not doubt His sincerity when He extends His hand to us in the midst of our lowest moments. Christ knows our hurts, our pain, our suffering. He knows what it is to be tempted. He knows what it feels like to lose friends and family members. He knows rejection, what it is to be despised. He knows what it is like to be ridiculed, spat upon and beaten. He knows the things we suffer, both physically and in our hearts.

It is this completion of suffering that makes this gift all the more rich. He could have simply served as the sacrifice that diverted the wrath of God in grace. But in grace, He experienced the fullness of what it means to walk in our skin so that mercy would be fully given, and fully received. His plan is perfect. His ways are pure. His holy love is truly awesome, and it is this wonderful message that we extend to others as we GoLove as He first loved us.

He knows. He provides. He loves us beyond our own understanding.
Praise the Father! Praise the Son! Praise the Holy Spirit!