For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.
In college I worked with one student who had struggled with an eating disorder for 7 years. She shared with me that her first counselor had been an overweight woman who sat eating before her during their sessions and asked her “why don’t you just eat? You look fine.” For anyone who has any background in working with this disorder, or any common sense in general, you would recognize that the great solution is not to “just eat”-oh, right! I knew there was something I was forgetting to do the last 2 months! Thanks for your advice!…
Beyond the absurd and trivial advice that this counselor gave, the fact that she herself did not care for her own body only furthered the distance between patient and client. She’s eating…I never want to look like her! She has no clue… A truly good counselor cannot always empathize with their client (having actually experienced the pain / struggle themselves), but can to an extent sympathize with their client (attempt to understand exactly how one would feel in the situation, placing yourself in their shoes). And what we have in Christ is far superior to the best counselor–He knows the intimate details of your heart, He knows your fears and struggles, He has experienced and overcome. And more than simply understanding, He also intercedes on our behalf.
knowing
The Bible shows throughout history God’s understanding of His creation, how intimately He knows each one of us, from the moment of sin in the garden when He questions ‘why are you hiding?’ knowing they have fallen, to Christ knowing Peter’s great love for Him following his denial and asking ‘do you love me?’. He meets us where we are, He convicts us in our sin, He challenges us to again take up His cross. He knows us well. David most eloquently depicts this knowing in Psalm 139.
You know when I sit and when I rise, You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord. (v.2-4)
Throughout this Psalm there is movement from grasping the depth of His knowledge of us, to almost a fear, a desire to run, to grasping both His knowledge AND His deep love for us, to desiring to be known by Him. It is both wonderful and terrifying to be known intimately, freeing and humbling–for he knows both the good and the bad. And in the end, peace, for His love is steadfast.
understanding
The book of Hebrews has one consistent theme: the superiority of Christ. One major aspect depicts Christ as a superior priest, which covers many aspects-superior in his sacrifice, in his ability to reconcile us to God, in his understanding. Hebrews 4:15 emphasizes that He was tempted in every way, but remained pure. Because of this there is great understanding when we struggle. He knows how our heart is being attacked, because he was attacked. He was tempted with comfort and power in the desert, with choosing the painless route rather than the Lord’s will (Matthew 16:21-23). The religious leaders set traps for him seeking to find fault throughout his ministry on earth. And as for suffering, he was abandoned by his friends, falsely accused, condemned, beaten, mocked, tortured and slowly killed while his mom wept before him and his Father turned His face away. And yet His love for us is so great, none of this is held over our heads to condemn but rather there is great empathy. There is no suffering he cannot understand, no temptation he has not already endured. He gets it.
interceding
And yet understanding in and of itself can only go so far. It is a comfort when a friend knows the depth of your hurt, but they are unable to actually remove the pain or cause you to heal, to be anything but understanding. As mentioned the day before, the position of priest primarily dealt with representing the people before God, and maintaining this relationship. Part of that included intercession. Intercession simply is intervening on someone’s behalf-in this case, there is a coming before and intervening for us before the Lord. Isaiah 53 prophecies Christ’s death, the last sentence reading “for he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (v.12b). His first and greatest act of intercession restored us to relationship as he bore our sin and punishment.
While on earth, Christ made intercession for both his disciples and for us in John 17. He asks that we might know the Father, that we might be protected while in this world, that we might be sanctified, that we might be one, and in this glorify him. Paul writes of God’s love, justice, and plan to reconcile, including Christ’s role, in Romans 8, “Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (v.34). Even now, he is interceding for us. He knows what we are experiencing, knows our struggles, and knows what we need. This he comes to the Father for on our behalf. And in this He is the great high priest.
prayer
Father, thank you for knowing each of us intimately. I praise you that we can come before you without fear, not needing and not able to hide anything from you, and know that you love us deeply. It’s comforting to know that you understand our hurts and fears, that you can empathize with pain, and that you have faced our same temptations and overcome. Give us the strength to overcome, give us your wisdom and your heart to walk uprightly. I pray that our lives would truly glorify you. Thank you for longing for that even more than we do. Thank you for loving us so deeply, for interceding for us, that we might live a life worthy of your call.