For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
It’s one thing to feel sorry for a person going through difficulties. It is another when you have walked that same journey yourself.
Hebrews 2:17 says, “He [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest.” Notice the word become. God is merciful, and Christ is God, so already he is merciful by nature.
But because of the humanity of Christ, He knows what life in this world is like from the inside. He can say to you “I’ve been there.” This makes him the merciful high priest he is.
You might say, “Is that really true? Christ was without sin. How can He know what it is to live with guilt or the shame of your own failure?” Christ knows what it is to bear the guilt and shame of sin, not because of his own sins, because he had none, but because the guilt and shame of all his people’s sins were laid on him. He bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows. Our iniquity was laid on him. Christ felt the weight of its guilt and its shame. He tasted this bitter cup because the guilt and shame of our sins were laid on him.
Jesus knows what it’s like. So, when you feel completely wretched about yourself, you can come to Christ and he will receive you, not with anger, but with compassion and mercy.
Fix this in your mind: You have a great High Priest who has been there. That means you can come to him with your sins and weaknesses.
