“Jesus Knows What Makes Us Tick”

Message Aim:   (Fourth Sunday of Lent) Jesus knows our need for prayer and our pain in suffering.

Sermon Title:     “Jesus knows what makes us tick”

 Scripture:    Hebrews 5:7-10 (NRSV)

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus^[a] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹ and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Synopsis:

 Getting inside of someone else’s mind is a really difficult thing.  What makes people think and act the way they do isn’t easy.  We hear of a gunman entering a school and randomly shoot a teacher and students.  We shake our heads because we can’t fathom what has happened in that person’s life or what is going on in their minds to bring them to that point. As much as we would have liked to get an insight into what this person was really thinking it was now impossible.

We might ask – how much does Jesus understand what is happening in our lives?  Our fast-paced world is so different from the dusty roads Jesus walked in first-century Palestine. Does he understand our needs and sufferings?  To be specific since Jesus experienced none of these while here on earth – does he know what it’s like to lie in a hospital bed; does he know what it’s like getting married, raising children, dealing with teenagers, changing jobs, planning for retirement and then choosing the right moment to go into an aged care facility? Does Jesus know and even care about these things?

We acknowledge that Jesus is God; that he was there at the creation of the world and that he now rules with all power and authority.  As Paul wrote, “Christ rules above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next” (Eph 2:21-22).  Jesus is so totally different to us – his ways, his wisdom, his knowledge, his decision are way beyond our comprehension.  Herein lies the question that is almost as old as Christianity itself – Was Jesus really human or was he God in human disguise – in other words, he didn’t really become one of us?

The answer we give is crucial.  God became a part of what it means to be human. He came right into the middle of all that causes suffering, sadness, depression, sin, rebellion and death. Because of Jesus, God can identify with us. He actually cares for us as one who personally knows us from the inside out and the outside in. He knows all this because he has lived here amongst it all and experienced it all himself.

We say that through Jesus God knows what it is like to be hungry or to have plenty, to toil and sweat. God comprehends what it is like to sleep peacefully or toss sleeplessly, to relax and enjoy a joke. Jesus experienced the aches and pains that wound made him cry out in agony. God understands what it’s like to feel affirmed and to feel betrayed, to be misunderstood. At the cross Jesus knows what it’s like to feel forsaken, even by God.

When the writer of Hebrews says, “In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God” he is reflecting on Jesus agony in the Garden of Gethsemane where he felt fear, dread, terror, and anxiety just as any of us would in the same circumstances.  He prayed and begged God to save him but still he had to suffer.  The letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus as the truly obedient son. Obedience led to suffering and even though he feared death as much as anyone else, he trusted God perfectly.  Through his obedience he gained forgiveness for all those who buckle under the weight of suffering and depression; for all those who doubt God’s love for them when life becomes more than can be endured.

It’s natural for us to shy away from suffering. Not surprisingly, we dislike hard discipline and pain. We would like a trouble free, painless existence. Yet we need to face the unpalatable truth that we often learn more through suffering than we often do through comfortable times. You may know of times in your life when some kind of trial or suffering has led you to grow in your understanding of God or developed your own perseverance, or strengthened your faith and trust, or increased your awareness of the suffering of others.  The path that Jesus was on included obedience and suffering and his life’s work brought about a cure for another sickness – the sickness of sin.

Even though Jesus never sinned he knows the shame and guilt that sin brings into our lives.  He was nailed to a cross but it was more than nails that held him there. In every way Jesus is one of us. He is as human as you and I.  He is born and dies.  He knows in a very real way what it means to suffer pain, and have needs, to feel vulnerable and helpless.  The man Jesus died the undignified death on a cross as a sinner giving his life to save all people.

The scriptures show us that Jesus is God.  He created the world and us and as our Creator knows his creation. He knows us more intimately than we can ever imagine.  He knew us before we were born – even before we were aware of ourselves.  He rose from dead and rules in heaven; he is our eternal high priest in heaven who presents our needs and prayers for us at the Father’s throne in a compassionate and understanding way (Hebrews 4:14-16).

At the beginning I talked about getting into the mind of someone else and understanding where that person is coming from and what makes him/her act in certain ways.  What makes us tick might be a bit of mystery to other people but it is no mystery to Jesus.  Approach God boldly and confidently, knowing with every human need that you suffer, Jesus is the High Priest who hears, knows and understands how you feel.