Hebrews 2:18—”For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
At a match in the stadium, on TV., or in a school field, what happens when a player in your team takes a tumble, gets scraped or falls down and is unable to get back up? Most probably the crowd will exclaim “ooooh” followed by “that must have hurt!” We might not have gone through the very same hurt but other similar kinds of hurt. Because of those experiences we are able to feel the hurt, we are able to empathize and (taking it further) we know how to help the injured person.
In the scripture, Jesus lowered himself to a level below angels as a human–to feel, to live and to die as a human. Jesus did this for us so that He could experience first hand what we would go through in life, how we could be tempted, how we would need to overcome. Why would He do this? Why do parents go through life with us? It is the same reason but on a much higher level. This higher exponential level of love caused God to send His Son for us. That level of love caused Jesus to experience life on earth as human so that He could guide us and go through life with us. He can now anticipate as a human where we can falter and bring us out. He can help us in everything prior to when we stand before God on our judgement day.
When on earth, Jesus was tempted and suffered so He understands how we feel when we are tempted. He can guide us to become overcomers of Satan’s wily ways. Jesus died as a human to crush the devil who teased us with death and to free those who were in the bondage of sin and fear – fear of death. This atonement made a way for our deliverance from Satan’s bondage and for the pardon of our sins through faith. So, if we seek pardon, peace and grace, by faith in Him who died and rose again, we can rise above the fear of death. Christ is ready and willing to help those who seek Him when they are tempted. When surprised by temptations, we are called to seek Jesus in faith and with expectation of relief. Our God-given wisdom tells us to do our duty – to stop its progress (temptation’s).
Many people say “you do not know how it feels” when they go through hardship, broken relationships, etc. We have also heard “unless you have a child you cannot know what it feels like, or give advice for the same”. And then there is this – Jesus knows every detail. Do you know of a greater love than One who took on your nature? Do you know of love greater than One who went through exactly what you go through (to comfort you, guide you and to hold your hand as you go through it) and who never leaves you on your own? This is He, our Jesus.
