Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Where Did That Verse Come From?

Have you ever come across a verse in the Bible that, somehow in a way you cannot explain, you had never read before? It just sort of "pops up" and says, "I am here! Pay attention to what I have to share!" Well, I had that experience a few mornings ago while I was having my quiet time. I have been spending 2008 reading straight through the New Testament. I was reading from Hebrews 2 and I read verse 18: Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted. I had not ever remembered reading those words before. Where did that verse come from?

I remembered Hebrews 4:15 very well. You will remember that it says: 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. I have been eternally grateful that Jesus never sinned when He was tempted. He was victorious over those temptations. And yet the picture that came to my mind was of a strong-willed Jesus, who confronted temptation with nerves of steel. Who hit temptation head-on almost daring it to attack. I read Matthew 4 and my mind pictures a calm, quiet Jesus thwarting the attacks of Satan there in the wilderness.

Yet, this same writer to the Hebrews reassures me that Jesus truly suffered when He was tempted. I believe Jesus knew what it meant to be vulnerable to attack. Certainly, when a person has not eaten for a long period of time - to not eat for 40 days almost seems incomprehensible to me - the sight of food becomes a powerful temptation. There was that smell of freely baked bread wafting in the air. There was the rumblings from a stomach that had not been filled for nearly 6 weeks. Jesus' body knew suffering at that moment. And that is only one incident in His life.

What did God share with me from Hebrews 2:18? I believe God was saying to me, "Max, you don't have to be a macho-man all the time. It is okay to admit that you feel some pain, some heartache, some disappointment when testings come. It is also okay to even cry out, 'God, why have you forsaken me' as Jesus did upon the cross. I know the suffering of enduring temptation; but I also know the joys of being victorious over temptation."

Friends, when I read this verse, Jesus became more human to me. The only time I had ever considered that Jesus truly suffered was when He died. Yet I believe the writer to the Hebrews would have us to understand that Jesus knew the suffering of temptation, of trials, of disappointments throughout His life. Yet He was victorious. And so can you be. And so can I.

No comments: