TEN YEARS GONE: Just Like Us (Revised)

Why Christ's Humanity Matters

First Published February 2, 2016. Revised June 11, 2026. 

Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.

— Hebrews 2

This passage has always stopped me in my tracks because it makes such an astonishing claim.

Jesus became like us.

Not sort of like us.

Not appearing to be human.

Not pretending to share our experience.

He became like us in every respect: human.

That means He knew what it was like to be tired. To be hungry. To be misunderstood. To feel disappointment. To lose friends. To grieve. To be tempted. To live within the limitations of a human body and a human life.

The mystery of Christianity is not simply that God reached down toward humanity. It is that He sent His Beloved Son into our world, as one of us. 

That matters because it means we are not approaching a distant God who merely observes our struggles. We are approaching The Father through His Son, who understands our struggles from the inside.

The writer of Hebrews calls Him a “merciful and faithful high priest.” Mercy comes first.

I find that significant.

When I was younger, I often focused on the idea that Jesus overcame every temptation and therefore showed us that holiness was possible. I still believe there is truth in that. Prayer matters. Scripture matters. Worship matters. Fellowship matters. The habits of faith shape us over time.

But as I have grown older, I have become equally grateful for another truth: Jesus understands what it is like to struggle.

He understands weakness.

He understands sorrow.

He understands the feeling of carrying a burden that seems too heavy.

If Jesus had not fully shared our humanity, His example would inspire us but could never truly encourage us. But because He experienced hunger, fatigue, grief, temptation, loneliness, and suffering, we know that He understands the human condition from the inside. The Son of God did not remain distant from our struggles. He entered them.

That may be the greatest source of hope in this passage. Our Redeemer is not someone standing far away demanding perfection. He is One who walked among us, shared our humanity, and remains merciful toward those who are still learning how to walk faithfully.

If Jesus became like us, then we matter to Him more than we can imagine.

And if He understands us that completely, perhaps we can trust Him with every part of ourselves—even the parts that are still unfinished.