Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. – Hebrews 2:17-18

In our last two visits to Hebrews, we looked at HOW Jesus lived a life here on the planet “Like us…in all things.” Today, we’ll take up the “WHY.”

We know from the end of the book, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He steps into the role of Captain of the Lord’s army. He reveals Himself as healer, miracle worker, storyteller, prophet, and weatherman.

But there is one office He could not hold until He became like us, High Priest.

I suppose He could have done it like the self-righteous men who held the office before Him, but that’s not how God intended the priesthood to work. He never set up a priesthood of elites, who would condescend to the common man, and use their power to persecute the poor and curry favor with the rich. It was never intended to be a position of power but of service.

So rather than come with all the baggage of diety–you know–holiness and all that, He came as a common man. His identification with our flesh gave Him a compassion and understanding only attainable through the trials of the flesh. Rather than hold onto His untouchable nature and character, He became, well, touchable.

He shared our pains.
He knows our passions.
He withstood the persecution that comes on all who walk in favor.
He bore the discipline and punishment, the chastisement of a son.
He learned the sting of hunger.
He experienced thirst, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
He felt what it was like to not know, to be unsure, and to learn.
Finally, He felt the onslaught of temptation in every area of life.

All this fitted Him to wear the robes of our Great High Priest.

He became one of us so He could represent us to the Father. He would pay the price for our sin with a full and experiential understanding of how we ended up in this mess.

Thanks for stopping in.

Walk in the light.

Ben