As we continue in the second chapter of the Bible book of Hebrews, let’s ponder a “what if” question. While Jesus would have known the whole of history before time began, it might help us think about things in the temporal concepts that we know. Consider Jesus looking at the world, loving the whole world so much but seeing us on our way to eternal death. Then, let’s consider the next few verses in this chapter.
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human 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. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:16-18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.2.16-18.NIV
We needed help, but in order to help us as a High Priest specifically, we needed someone who could share in our experience. I think that…
- We needed someone who could understand temptation and still hold up under it
- We needed someone who could show that it was possible to live a perfectly righteous life, and show us what that looked like
- We needed someone who could experience the kind of death that we deserved
- We needed someone who could relate to us and relate to God, as a go-between for the two parties
Not to oversimplify this last one too much (more on Jesus’ role as a perfect High Priest, later in Hebrews), but we can read that Jesus was seated next to God the Father, so we can picture that, when we sin (and perhaps when the devil accuses us, like he did of Job), Jesus – as our High Priest – brings forth a sacrifice for our sins, only the sacrifice is the Himself, which He gave once for all time on the cross. See also Hebrews 9:26-28.
Can you imagine if Jesus had just showed up as a glowy figure and said, “OK, you’re all good now”? If so, I expect that a lot of people would still think of God as someone who was almost entirely separate from His creation, and didn’t “get” what we were going through. And, in that case, we might try to earn our way to God (hoping to meet Him after we die), or we might just do our own thing with a belief that He didn’t have anything to do with our daily lives. Commentators [Girdwood & Verkruyse, p.64] wrote that, “…we would not have understood that he understood”. Come to think of it, though, aren’t a lot of religions exactly like that?
From another perspective, while God cannot be unjust (so, He couldn’t just ignore our sins and still let us live forever with Him in our sinful state), can you imagine what it would have looked like if our salvation – and our Savior – remained purely spiritual?
- What would we connect to here in our walk on earth?
- How would we understand God except trying to imagine Him or trying to understand Him indirectly?
- What would people say about a god they had never seen?
- What would people say about a god who didn’t understand what they were going through?
- How could we know whether we had really experienced God’s presence and salvation?
I wonder if this scenario would look like many religions of the world: those whose god is not personal, and who never experienced humanity. Yes, there are religions who look to famous human leaders or prophets, but I can’t think of many whose god became like human beings to understand us, and who gave his life for us.
So, once you know the truth about Jesus (and the God who is personal, chose to be human for a time, and truly loves us), we must get the word out! Because salvation through Jesus is so important, we cannot afford to let anyone leave this earth without knowing it. This is not just spray-painting “Jesus Saves” on highway overpasses, but rather combining thoughtful and truthful words with Christ-like love and behavior. After all, Jesus didn’t just deliver teaching through words; He also backed them up (including testimony from God the Father). If we are Christians – “little Christs” – we should do the same.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for January 11, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 