Receiving mercy and grace in time of need
In the Letter to the Hebrews we read, 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. (Hebrews 4:15)
What a comfort it is to us that Jesus understands us thoroughly – through and through – because he shared in our human condition. The divine Son of God took on human flesh when he was born to Mary, and nothing in the human condition was foreign to him, except sin.
In his human nature, Jesus knew the full range of human experiences. He felt hungry and thirsty. He got tired and weary, exhausted after a long day of teaching and preaching. He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, and he endured tremendous physical pain and suffering in his crucifixion.
Jesus intercedes for us before God’s throne
And since Jesus so fully knows and understands our weaknesses and suffering, we can turn to him with confidence in his mercy and compassion. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews assures us, Jesus is our perfect high priest, one who is continually interceding for us before the throne of God (Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34), bringing to our heavenly Father all our needs, our pains, joys, cries, and longings.
So thank Jesus now that he has shared your human condition and he knows and sympathizes with you in whatever you’re going through and feeling at this moment in your life.
Top image credit: abstract background texture artwork from Bigstock.com, © by NejroN Photo, stock photo ID:13219406. Scripture verse added. Used with permission.
Jeanne Kun is a noted author, and a member of Bethany Association, an international, ecumenical association of women living single for the Lord in various communities of The Sword of the Spirit, and a senior woman leader in the Word of Life Community, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.