By David ReayThursday 29 Mar 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Hebrews 2:16-18
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. (NLT)
The early church encountered all sorts of problems trying to grasp the fact that Jesus was fully divine and at the same time fully human. Words and phrases were stretched and tweaked so as to express this paradox. Inevitably, the balance was occasionally lost as Jesus was seen to be only a pretend human or not really divine at all.
Those of us who reckon the divinity of Jesus is a non-negotiable of faith must never lose balance and downplay his humanity. During his ministry, he was surprised at times, amazed at other times. In other words, he didn’t have perfect insight or knowledge of what people were going to do.
Somehow, these ‘human’ limitations didn’t affect his ability to follow his ‘divine’ instincts. He both knew what was in people and yet did not know everything. We don’t need to sort out such mysteries. Faith can coexist with mystery.
And of course, he got tired and frustrated. He could only be in one place at a time. He endured real temptation and real pain. His suffering was not some sort of play-acting, not some token identification with the human race. As a human, he copped a lot.
And so as our text reminds us, he is well able to help those of us who find life hard. His divinity assures he is able to help. His humanity assures us he understands how much help we need.
Blessings
David Reay