Jesus is one of us.
“Therefore he (Jesus) had to become like his brothers and sisters[f] in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
We often need to remember that there is more to God than meets the eye. God is amazing beyond our imagination. God is capable beyond our wildest dreams. God is wise beyond our ability to discern wisdom. In fact, that is one of the reasons that there are so many religions, images of God, understandings of God, etc. Much about God is intuited but not known. We can only wonder.
But the author of Hebrews wants readers to know that something amazing has happened in Christ. When God came to us in Jesus, God came to us and became like us “in every respect.” There is nothing about us and our flesh and blood that is not also true for Jesus. Jesus knows what it is to be one of us because Jesus is one of us.
For the author of Hebrews, this is important because it means that Jesus’ work is offered up as one of us. What Jesus does, he does as a person, and fulfills all that God can ask of people. As the great high priest, Christ’s offering also shows us what life is for all of us who are God’s people. As he offers himself, we see life lived sacrificially and we see God receive that gift fully. Life is restored. We join in that work and live sacrificially as well.
