Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.
Hebrews 5:1.2[1]
Living in a family with two boys, I was always in the shadow of my older brother. And being seven years older, that was some shadow. He was bigger and stronger. He was smarter. He was better at sports. And as Tommy Smothers always said to his brother, mom liked you best[2].
But there was another area of life that he was king over. A part of life where I just couldn’t compete. I was just not able to stand against his powerful and overwhelming influence in my life. What he did just rolled over me like giant boulders coming down in an avalanche.
I was always expected to wear his old clothes. You see, when Don outgrew his clothes, they weren’t thrown or given away. Oh no. They were carefully packed and put away until the day that I finally grew into his size.
It didn’t matter that they didn’t fit right. We were shaped differently, so they always just sort of hung on me like an oversized sox on an infant’s leg.
It didn’t matter that they had out-of-date labels on them. There was no way to hide the fact that they were old and not cool any longer.
It didn’t matter that they still smelled like mothballs. I went to school with this chemical cloud around me, like some toxic chemical factory accident.
Then, without any warning, all these clothes would magically appear in my closet and drawers. Without saying a word, the message was clear: I was expected to start wearing them right away. If I came down without one of Don’s shirts or pants on, I got the third-degree.
“Where’s that nice shirt of Don’s that I put in your closet?” It didn’t matter that Don had muscles and they were only a passing dream to my skinny body. “Why aren’t you wearing Don’s pants? They’re practically brand new.” It didn’t matter that Don was way taller than me, so I had to roll up the pant legs about five times just so I didn’t trip over them.
You see, the idea of one-size-fits-all wasn’t true for my clothes. And it wasn’t true for the Hebrews. They were expecting a great military and political leader. That’s how they were going to be saved from the Romans. That’s how they were going to be set free.
But God had a really different plan. Before restoring the earth and his rule, God had to restore us. And the right person to do that wasn’t some great warrior on a white horse. To be made right with God, they needed a great high priest who’d make the one-time sacrifice for all sin.
And this great high priest wouldn’t be stuffy and short-tempered. God knew that we needed someone who would deal gently with us. Someone who’d have compassion on us and our weakness. Someone who wouldn’t lash out. Someone who’d control his emotions and power when dealing with us.
He didn’t live a life in some kind of spiritual bubble. Oh no. He experienced all the same kinds of temptations and sins as we do. And if you think about it, because Jesus was God and perfect, his temptations were even worse. Just read the stories about Jesus and you see this kind of man. He didn’t throw his power or authority around. He could have used his Godly powers to show off. To draw big crowds. To bump up the number of his social media followers. To get millions of “likes.”
But Jesus did something that none of us would do. He came as a lowly servant. Someone who had no political power. Who only had the clothes on his back. Who looked and sounded just like one of us. And if that wasn’t enough, he let people arrest him. Beat him. Mock him. Strip him. Crucify him.[3]
Now no one in their right mind would do this. No one would die for someone who’d hurt them. Rarely would anyone die for a good person. But not Jesus. He shows us his great and unending love by dying for us just the way we are. Broken. All jacked up. Sinners[4].
It’s sometimes easy to think that no one understands what we’re going through. That no one feels the pains and frustrations of life like we do. That’s why we’re all alone with no one who gets what our lonely and desperate life is like.
But that’s totally wrong. Jesus lived a real life. He experienced all the same kinds of things we do in this crazy, mixed-up life. He knows that we’re weak. That like dust, we’re worthless and get pushed around. But his great love for you and me is what personally called him to this planet. To pay our debt. And to set us free. Now that’s not a one-size-fits-all God!
Noodling Questions
How does it make you feel when you’re lumped together with others? Describe.
Where have you seen God restore you? Where do you still need more restoring?
Describe how God’s treating you individually makes you feel?
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[3] Philippians 2:6
[4] Romans 5:7,8
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