Mensa Otabil - The Lord Knows
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Hebrews 4:15 — For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus is our high priest, but he is also a shepherd. The unique thing about Jesus as shepherd is that he is a shepherd who became like his sheep; he identified with us. He became a man. He didn’t just live as God, but he became God living with us. He put on flesh, and so when he became like us, he identified with us. Jesus lived a life like every ordinary human being; he grew up, he had friends, he played with people, he experienced every human emotion, he went through all the challenges humans go through, and yet the Bible says he did all of that and did not miss one point. He did not miss the mark; he didn’t sin.
So it’s important when we follow Jesus as a shepherd to know that he is a shepherd who understands us. He knows our feelings and appetites. The Lord Jesus Christ did not live on Earth in a bubble, isolated from all the hardships of human life. He didn’t live as a person without feelings and without emotions; he lived with the fullness of our humanity, and he understood the pressures on the human flesh and the human body, and yet without sin.
So when you’re going through temptations of the flesh, remember Jesus walked where we walked, and yet he was able to overcome, and he can help us overcome too. He didn’t just deal with the temptations of the flesh; Jesus also knew how people were. He lived with people; he didn’t live with angels. He lived with his friends and with people who didn’t like him. He lived with people who loved him. He lived with enemies; he lived with all kinds of people. The reality of life is that we don’t live with only one group of people; even in your own family, there may be people who like you and others who don’t really like you. Among your friends, there may be people who are loyal to you and those who are not loyal to you, and it’s normal in life.
We treat people probably similarly, and Jesus went through all of that. He knew what it is to be betrayed by friends, what it is to be denied, and he understood the human need for vengeance and for hitting back at people. Yet even when he was being crucified, he forgave people. Jesus experienced the extremes of human commitment: extreme devotion and extreme betrayal, and yet he remained the same. He can also help us to live with all the extremes of our human experiences. Not only that, Jesus understood the pressures of life we have here on Earth.
Every one of us faces the pressures of life. The pressures of life want you to take a shortcut, wanting you to do something very quickly without going through the process. If you follow Jesus, even his mother wanted him to do something that Jesus was not ready to do at a certain time. His friends wanted him to do things; his brothers, his neighbors-everybody was putting pressure on him. The devil also put pressure on him, tempting him to do things that were not in the will of God.
So we are going to face pressure to perform, pressure to impress, pressure to fit in with a group, pressure for people to accept you. Jesus went through all of that, and yet he didn’t fall for those pressures. That’s why he’s a good shepherd. That’s why we can trust him — he can help us to deal with the desires of the flesh. He can help us with all the challenges we have with relationships, and he can help us with all the challenges we have in fulfilling the expectations of people. May the Lord be your shepherd in all that you do.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, thank you for sharing in my experiences so I can share in your strength. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.