Jesus Understands
Reflecting on the significance of Hebrews 4:14-16
The Book of Hebrews can be somewhat intimidating. There are many references to the Old Testament that, if we haven’t read, might not make much sense to the untrained eye. In many cases, we try reading and come away discouraged, confused, and frustrated. However, let’s be clear: the author of Hebrews wrote a masterpiece of a letter, and Hebrews 4:14-16 is a prime example of that:
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV).
There’s no need to be afraid of Hebrews. When you have questions about something, pray for wisdom, ask your pastor(s), and do your research. But this above passage is absolutely beautiful. If we could sum up these three verses in two words: Jesus understands.
Jesus being our great high priest gets overlooked. It would do us well to ponder the implications of this doctrine. And I want to do that by doing a brief exposition of each verse in this section of Scripture.
Jesus, our High Priest
Jesus stands out from all other high priests for one spectacular reason: He only had to make one sacrifice. High priests in the Old Testament made continual sacrifices not only for the people, but for themselves, as well. Jesus, of course, didn’t need to make sacrifices for Himself since He was sinless.
He made a sacrifice “once and for all” (Heb. 9:12). There wasn’t a need to continue making atonement, as He cried out “it is finished” on the cross (Jn. 19:30). This truth of Jesus being our great high priest goes all the way back to the first chapter of Hebrews, which focuses on the supremacy of Jesus over all things. Friends, our great high priest—Jesus Christ—made a definitive atonement for our sins. Our sins are officially paid for because of Jesus’ priestly sacrifice. Praise God!
Sympathizing with our Weaknesses
Jesus understands us. He understands his friends (Jn. 15:15). This is a great comfort, a balm to our weary souls when life burdens us. When we are stricken with temptation and are growing weak from our troubles, we can look to Jesus knowing He sympathizes with us.
The line we must not cross, however, is the next part of this verse. Many interpret this passage to mean Jesus was tempted in every type of way we are today. The phrase “in every respect” doesn’t refer to Jesus experiencing every type of temptation we experience—it’s a mistake to make “in every respect” be all-encompassing because it opens the door to Jesus sinning (which He did not).
John Piper explains:
“Without sin” means, no, he does not and cannot join us in our indwelling sin, so anything he said in that verse can’t be taken to mean that he does, which means that we should not absolutize the word “every” and the word “as” when it says “who in every respect has been tempted as we are.”
Piper goes on to give a wonderful answer to this difficult topic, but I won’t put it all here. When we take “in every respect” too far, we are at risk of Jesus sinning just like us. I think, like Piper mentions, Hebrews 4:15 refers to Jesus being able to sympathize with us because He was human just like us. It doesn’t mean He experienced every temptation we have, but it means He understands what we went through.
That’s the academic debate, but let’s address the practically of this verse. It’s beautiful. It’s meant to offer solace to the broken saint. Christian: are you distraught over your battle with temptation? Are you sick of the constant fight? Are you weary over the continual beat down? Jesus is with you. He understands you. He knows you. Jesus never says, “I can’t relate.” Take heart.
Draw Near with Confidence
And because Jesus relates to us, we can draw near to God’s throne with confidence. Not arrogance; not cockiness. We don’t approach God out of entitlement, thinking we did all the work and we got the credit. We walk—run!—up to God’s throne with confidence in the finished work of Christ, the great high priestly work of Jesus.
This is the greatest news of all time! It reminds me of a quote from the late Tim Keller: “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access” (emphasis mine). We don’t have to be skittish with the Lord. God doesn’t want us to be scared of approaching Him—for anything. We are His children, He is our Father; He wants us to come to Him. And we get to come to Him freely—without guilt!—because of the perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ.
Christian, let me reiterate this precious truth to you: Jesus understands you. He gets you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He is an understanding Savior. May we never raise our fists at Him, claiming, “You’ll never understand what I’m going through!”
He understands. He went through it all for you. Trust that He understands you, and let that reality push you forward in your walk with Him.