BIBLE TIMES TABLE TALK: HE WAS ONE OF US

HEBREWS 2: 5-18

2:17 FOR THIS REASON HE HAD TO BE MADE LIKE HIS BROTHERS IN EVERY WAY.

ne way to approach this marvelous text is by opening a book on baby and child care and reading the index. Try reading the list of childhood diseases and behavior issues…prefacing each reference with something like, "Jesus was susceptible to…" and read whooping cough, colic, measles, mumps, colds; or, "Jesus may very well have…" sucked his thumb, been anxious when separated from his mother at eighteen months, or contrary when two years old. The purpose of this suggestion is not to be irreverent but to open up the rich meaning in the phrase. "He had to be made like his brothers in every way" (2:17). True, the writer is speaking of much more than childhood issues. He has in mind the whole range of things that make up what it means to be human being. Jesus was one of us.

The point is, if we find it difficult to pray because of shame or fear of judgment, this passage is good news for us. Jesus is our brother. He knows what it means to be a human being (see verse 14). He knows what it’s like to be afraid and tempted and weak. Because he was made like us in every way, he is inclined toward mercy, not censure.

Jesus is also our high priest. In Old Testament times, the high priest was the one who went into the Most Holy Place, stood before God on behalf of the people, and interceded for them. As a priest, Jesus was divinely sanctioned for the purpose: as a human he was emotionally suited for the purpose, for he was one of the people he represented. Jesus was, quite literally a "bridge" between the people and God, one who could pray for humanity with great sympathy.

This is Jesus, but there’s more! As God’s Son, he is divinely sanctioned to speak to God on our behalf as no earthly high priest could ever be. As a human, he understands our humanity as one who was human, from the inside out.