What is the main point of this passage? This passage is full of some rich theological imagery, that is important for us to understand in the big scheme of God's love and dealings with human kind. Because humanity is made of flesh and blood, Jesus had to become fully human - fully flesh and blood to become the necessary sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Animals did not work, because though they are flesh and blood, they are not human. Humans destroyed the world through sinful rebellion, and the only just payment for their folly can be paid through human sacrifice (Ex. It is not justice for another person to die in the place of a mass murderer - the offender has to pay the price to bring about justice). So God, in His infinite love left the glory of heaven behind and became a man...a fully flesh and blood...Jesus Christ. He became flesh so that he could die on the cross to free us of the slavery of the devil...to free us from the grip of sin and death. And though he was wholly human (And still God at the same time - don't ask me how...that is a God question!)...and though he faced every temptation that you and I have faced in our lives...he remained pure and never sinned. So you and I can know fully that we have a God who loves us that deeply...we have a God who knows what we are going through...we have a God who intimately understands how brutal this can be...we have a God who showed us how to live in the midst of a fallen world...and we have a God who died to pay the price for our sins. If that doesn't give you hope for the future and an understanding of how valuable you are to God...I can't help you!
What spoke to you most deeply about this passage? Verse 18 just jumps off the pages of my bible and burns itself into my soul. He himself has suffered...God, the perfect creator of the world...left perfection to get Himself dirty in the muck and mire of the world His people perverted...and allowed Himself to be mocked, tortured, and crucified by people who exist only through His power. He was tempted...we think that we are going through things that nobody else understands...we think that the struggles we have are more difficult than others...we think that people cannot understand what we are going through...but God knows exactly what we are feeling. He experienced it...He was tempted in every way that we are...He was infinitely powerful and refused to use that power to save Himself from humiliation at the hands of created beings because of His great love for us. He understands. We you are hurting, when you are lost, when you are tempted, when you are confused...He understands! Have you ever been loved like that by another person...let me answer that for you...no you have not! Let the love of God fill you. Let God's love be the driving force behind the life you live. Do everything you can on a daily basis to enter into the presence of the one and only God who wanted so badly to be in a relationship with you that He suffered and died to pay your debt.
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