For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17)
“He had to be made like His brothers in every way.” Those words struck me this morning. He had to. There was no other way. No other option. To be a merciful and faithful high priest and to make atonement for sins, Jesus had to become a man. He had to become like us. He had to experience life from our perspective. Otherwise, He could not identify with us and He could not save us from our sin.
It is somewhat interesting to use the terms “had to” with God. After all, our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3). God is free in the ultimate sense. He is obligated to no one. He owes no one anything. Yet Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus (God in the flesh) had to be made like His brothers. God had to become a man. Yes, God is free. Yes, God can do whatever He pleases. But, yes, God, out of His love and grace, has obligated Himself to man, to us.
Jesus Himself said, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The God of the universe humbled Himself and became a man. And not a powerful, prestigious, popular man…but rather a servant. He was born in a barn, lived among a people in bondage, served the needs of others, and died on a cross out of love. Whoa. God had to become a man. He had to out of love.
Because of God’s love, because Jesus became a man, we have two things:
1) A High Priest who can identify with everything we are going through. He knows what it is like to be hungry, be thirsty, be tired, be tempted, be rejected, be betrayed, be misunderstood, be misinterpreted, be mocked, be beaten, be discouraged, be depressed, be angry, be broken, be forgotten, be forsaken. He has been there. He has walked a mile in our shoes. Thus when we pray to Him, He can honestly say, “I know how you feel.”
2) A Savior who can save us. Jesus had to take on flesh so that He could represent us and so that He could die. He became our substitute. He took the death that we deserved so that He could give us the life that we don’t deserve. He took our spot on death row so that we could enjoy freedom and life.
And, because Jesus took on flesh, we not only have a merciful High Priest and a Savior but we also have a brother. Both the One who makes men holy (God) and those who are made holy (us) are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers (Hebrews 2:11). Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother. And I should not be ashamed to call Him mine.
Lord, thank You for taking on flesh so that You could love me and save me and call me brother.