The Chosen – Episode Three – Reflection

Did you ever read the verse in the Bible about Jesus building a campfire? Or the one about Jesus brushing his teeth? Or the where He makes a special toy for a child? No? Are you sure? Even though these moments make for great scenes in The Chosen, they are not in the gospels. Or are they? Read carefully: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Now, think about what that implies. Because Jesus dwelt among us, He did things that people do. He slept. He woke up. He cooked. He cleaned. He laughed and He cried. He worked and He played. And I have no doubt – from what I read in Matthew 18:1-6 and 19:13-15 – that he played with a lot of children! And as He did these things, He felt all the emotions we feel. And “because He himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). You see, because He fully identified with us, He now knows exactly how to help us. And, because He was fully human even while remaining fully God, He is able to save us! “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

We often emphasize the deity of Jesus, and understandably so. Jesus claimed to be God, did the works only God could do, and proved His deity once and for all in His resurrection (Romans 1:4). “Jesus is God” is what we confess by faith in order to be saved (John 20:28, Romans 10:9-10). But, there would be no saving at all if Jesus was not also man. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:4). We need a mediator, and that mediator must be like us in every way but one – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Are you hearing this? What does this mean for us? It means that we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). When we come to Jesus for help, we come to one who truly knows and understands us. In his humanity, he cares as a fellow sojourner and sufferer. And in his deity, is able to powerfully help and rescue us! So when you approach his throne, you can come with awe at his majesty, but you can also come and rest securely in his mercy. Come on – what God is this? There is truly no one like Him, and it’s not even close! He can create galaxies, or a special toy for a child. And his might and mercy met on the cross, where He offered the perfect gift for every man, woman, and child. Have you received it yet? “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

 

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, 

let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—

yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16