You may think that the humanity of the Son of God is a truth you know well. Here’s a test to help you see how well you grasp this great truth: Do you pray? And when you pray, do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ knows what your life is like? Do you think He understands you? Does He get it?
When you are tempted, do you feel like you could come to Jesus and say, “You know what this is like!” When you are afraid, do you feel you could say to Jesus, “You’ve been here too.” When we face trouble, we turn away from people who have not been there, and we turn toward those who know what its like. Do you turn to Jesus?
Have you ever felt exhausted?
Jesus fell asleep in a boat (Luke 8:23). When the demands on you are great—you can come to Him. When you feel you need some space, you need to get alone, Jesus has been there. Surrounded by crowds, He needed to withdraw and rest for a while.
Do you have loved ones who are deeply resistant to Christ?
Jesus has been there. His own brothers said He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21).
Do you live with the tension of disloyalty?
Jesus has been there. Judas was one of the twelve, but he was not with Jesus. Jesus knew what it was to be betrayed by a man who was close to Him (Luke 22:47-48).
Have you been moved by the plight of people living without hope in the world?
Jesus has been there. He saw crowds of people like sheep without a shepherd and He had compassion on them (Matthew 9:36).
Have you felt angry about injustice and abuse in this world?
Jesus was filled with anger over the temple rulers, who had turned one area of the temple that was designed by God as a place where Gentiles could seek Him in prayer, into a marketplace that made seeking and finding God almost impossible (John 2:13-16).
Do you grieve the loss of someone you love?
Jesus has been there. One day Jesus received news that one of His closest friends had died. He went to visit and when He saw Mary weeping, He was deeply moved to the point of tears. People said, “You can see how much he loved Lazarus (John 11:36).
Have you felt that the future was so dark you could hardly bear to think about it?
Jesus has been there. When He came to the Garden of Gethsemane, He was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matthew 26:38).
Have you suffered unjustly at the hands of others?
They spit in Jesus’ face and struck him with their fists. He was flogged. A crown of thorns was set on his head. Then Jesus was led away to be crucified. (Matthew 27:31).
Have you ever felt without hope, without help, without comfort, without God?
Jesus has been there. He was nailed to a cross. He was loaded down with the guilt of the world. The land was plunged into darkness. At the moment He needed it most, all sense of the peace, the presence and the blessing of God was taken from Him. The love and approval of His Father that He had known and enjoyed was gone. And He cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
Don’t ever say, “God doesn’t understand.” When you see the humanity of Jesus, it won’t be long before you find yourself saying, “This Savior has something for me after all. He knows my life. He knows me.”
This week's Scripture: As to his human nature, he descended from David. Romans 1:3
This LifeKey is based on the message “His Human Nature,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on March 28, 2010, from the series “Regarding God’s Son.” Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
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