“For verily He took not on Himself the nature of angels; but He took on Himself the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people—for in that He, Himself, has suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
Hebrews 2:14-16
As someone once said, “He became one of us so we could become one of His.”
While that’s a somewhat loose rendering of II Cor. 5:21, which says “For He (God) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” in essence that’s exactly what happened. And, how we should rejoice because of it!! Glory!!
Jesus could have chosen to be born anytime and anyplace He wanted. He could have chosen to born to anyone of any educational and financial level He desired.
But, He purposely/intentionally chose to “make of Himself no reputation and took upon Himself the form of a slave” (Phil. 2:7) by being born to a poor peasant family and laid in a cattle’s trough.
Why did He do it?
Simply because He knew the down-and-outs of this world couldn’t relate to Him if He’d been born in the home of the rich-and-famous or world’s V.I.P. However, by being born in abject poverty. . .and even being “despised and rejected” at birth (Is. 53:3a). . .He can identify with the poorest of the poor and those who are “made as the filth (Grk. ‘perikatharma’—‘something cleaned off, refuse, garbage, that which is unclean, etc.’) of the world and offscouring (Grk. ‘peripsema’—‘crumbs, table scraps, scum, etc.’) of all things” (I Cor. 4:13).
Think of it:
As the King of kings and Lord of lords—Who’d become our “greater than High Priest” (Heb. 6:20)—He could have stayed secluded or cloistered in an ivory palace somewhere; instead, He chose to become “one of the common folks,” Who worked by the sweat of His brow and grew fatigued and thirsty after a long, hot hike in the sun (Jn. 4:6).
That’s why He became (and still is) a “merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God.” As someone said, “He’s been there, done that.” He knows what it feels like to have hunger pangs (Mt. 12:1). . .to be homeless (Mt. 8:20). . .and to feel despair (Mt. 27:46).
Aren’t you glad the Savior allowed Himself to “suffer being tempted (Grk. ‘peirazo’—‘to test, scrutinize, examine, try, etc.’) so He could succor (Grk. ‘boetheo’—‘relieve, give aid to, help, run to the aid of, etc.’) those who are tempted”? Truly, He is the “Sympathetic Savior” and “Suffering Servant” Who knows full-well what we’re going through and what we need (Is. 53:3b). Even now, at this very minute, He’s praying for us in Heaven (Heb. 7:24-25) even as His Holy Spirit comes to our aid (Rom. 8:15, 26-27). Why not spend a few minutes right now thanking Him for loving you enough to become just like us?
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated January 12, 2011
