Daily Devotional For Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Good morning or afternoon or evening, whichever it is for you. It’s Wonderful Wednesday. You are almost half way through this week. The Apostle John writes this in John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (ESV). “The Word” is John’s metaphor for Jesus Christ. For centuries, scholars debated if Jesus was really all human and really all God. There were some who claimed Jesus was not human. They were called Docetists and founded Docetism. They argued Jesus only “appeared” to look human.
There was another group who argued that Jesus was not divine or God in human flesh. They were called Deists and founded Deism. They believed in the moral teachings of Jesus, but not the divinity of Jesus. The Bible affirms both about Jesus. Jesus was all God and all human. Jesus was human. If He was not, then how can Hebrews 4:14-16 help us. It says this about Jesus:
“Since then we have a great high Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a high Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (ESV).
The reason Jesus is such a comfort to us and can help us, is His human side was just as vulnerable as ours. When Jesus hit his bare toe or foot on a rock, it hurt and bled just like ours will when we do that. When Jesus was in his father’s carpenter shop and hit His finger or thumb with a hammer, it hurt just a hammer hurts our when we do it. When Jesus died on the cross, the Roman soldiers were skeptical that He had actually died — did you read that? — Jesus’ physical body died just like ours will. To make sure He was dead, the Bible says this in John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (ESV).
I love what pastor and author John MacArthur writes on Hebrews 4:14-16:
“Most people seem to think of God as being far removed from human life and concerns. Jesus was the very Son of God, yet His divinity did not prevent Him from experiencing our feelings, our emotions, our temptations, our pain. God became man, He became Jesus, to share triumphantly the temptation and the testing and the suffering of men, in order that He might be a sympathetic and understanding High Priest. When we are troubled or hurt or despondent or strongly tempted, we want to share our feelings and needs with someone who understands. Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses.”
Our great High Priest not only is perfectly merciful and faithful but also perfectly understanding. He has an unequaled capacity for sympathizing with us in every danger, in every trial, in every situation that comes our way, because He has been through it all Himself. At the tomb of Lazarus Jesus’ body shook in grief. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just before His arrest, He sweat drops of blood. He experienced every kind of temptation and testing, every kind of vicissitude, every kind of circumstance that any person will ever face. And He is at the right hand of the Father right now interceding for us.
Jesus not only had all the feelings of love, concern, disappointment, grief, and frustration that we have, but He had much greater love, infinitely more sensitive concerns, infinitely higher standards of righteousness, and perfect awareness of the evil and dangers of sin. Contrary, therefore, to what we are inclined to think, His divinity made His temptations and trials immeasurably harder for Him to endure than ours are for us.(Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Hebrews,” p. 111-112).
How Jesus was both divine and human simultaneously is a mystery we will never understand. We shouldn’t try to have a logical explanation because this is a statement of faith. Please don’t misunderstand me. I do believe with non-believers when they ask this question, we must do everything we can to rationally explain this to the best of our ability. But which human being has ever had the ability to even come close to understanding God fully? Not one. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes this:
“Because of His genuine experiences as a real human, Jesus “can sympathize with our weaknesses” (4:15). Christ has been tested as we are tested. He has been weak as we are weak. He has suffered as we suffer. And He has come through it victoriously. As such, He is able to offer us grace—if we draw near to Him (4:16). As the perfect man who has identified with humans fully, He is a sympathetic High Priest for us. As the perfect God who knows our weaknesses completely, He is an able Healer. As the incarnate God-man, Jesus is both willing and able to give us mercy “in time of need” (4:16)” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, The Swindoll Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Hebrew,” p. 73).
The good news is: God understands us because He made us and became one of us. In that, we have hope and confidence He is always there for us, to listen to us with a sympathetic ear. This is why we can do what James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (ESV).
Questions To Consider
- Have you ever wondered how could Jesus be both God and human at the same time? If so, what caused you to think this?
- Does it mean anything to you that Jesus was human? If so, what?
- The writer of Hebrews is obviously familiar with the Old Testament discussion of priests and says that Jesus is our ultimate High Priest. What does that mean to you and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 2:6-8, “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. (7) Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, (8) He humbled hHimself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, thank You for being my Priest and loving me so much that You came and lived as a human. I know You understand what it means that we are human. You understand my struggles, my fears, my concerns, my pains, my hurts and etc. You truly do understand what it means to live as a human being. Thank You for doing that. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly