Jesus, Our Heavenly Hero

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In a time when just about everyone needs a hero, Jesus delivers everything we need.

When Jesus left heaven and came to earth, He descended past the angels and came to a fallen planet. He took on Him the seed of Abraham. He came in the line of Abraham. God began the preparation at the very beginning with Adam and Eve. At that time God said there would come the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). Jesus would come through the line of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, of the nation Israel. He was to be born of a virgin. The Lord put up enough highway markers so that everybody—not just the wise men—should have found their way to Bethlehem to see Jesus, God’s Messiah.

The Lord Jesus came down to earth in human form and left everything rightfully His in His heavenly realm in order to take the form of a servant and to follow God’s plan to redeem the world through His death on the cross (Philippians 2).

When Christ came to earth, He experienced poverty, physical suffering, pain, emotional stress, sadness, exhaustion, and everything else that you experience. The Lord Jesus deeply sympathizes with you and your struggles. He knows. He cares. He has felt the same burdens you feel. He has experienced the limitations of the human body, like fatigue and aching muscles, and physical pain. He knows you and He understands you—not just because He is God, but because He became human. He knows exactly what you are going through at this moment.

Because of all that and so much more, Jesus can be a merciful and faithful High Priest.

Jesus never once sinned. He never gave in to human temptation. But that fact does not lessen the significance of what He endured. He faced the brunt, the fullest extent of human temptation, and successfully resisted it every time without sin.

That alone proved He was God in the flesh.

Because of all of that and so much more, Jesus can be a merciful and faithful High Priest.

In His life, His terrible suffering, and through His sacrificial death, Jesus established a place—a mercy seat—to which you can come in prayer and find what you need from Him. At any moment, for any reason. And God has in reserve an endless supply of mercy for those who trust Him. What a thought! Who doesn’t need endless mercy today?

Don’t forget Jesus is alive at this moment. He is at God’s right hand and stands ready and able to assist you whenever you need Him. He is available to you and to your family. When you wake up in the dark watches of the night tossing and turning from anxiety or fear, Jesus is there ready to hear your voice and come to your aid. He promises His presence and His peace in those moments when you need Him the most (Philippians 4:7). And He promises to be your personal source of comfort when you feel the heaviest burden of grief (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

The mercy and help you need to face each day with genuine hope and joy comes through Jesus Christ. He not only created a place of mercy where you can find the help you need, but He is more than able to carry your burden for you if you will let Him. When that dark moment comes and you find yourself alone and battling thoughts of despair or discouragement or fear, He is there. No matter what happens, no matter what the test, He can help you. There is no reason to go it alone. He is available. He wants you to come to Him.

1. Why did Jesus have to taste death for everyone, including you?

2. It’s easy to want to avoid suffering, but what can we learn from the life of Jesus that we can copy when it comes to encountering suffering?

3. Jesus left His rightful place in heaven to come to earth and die for us. When He did that, even though He was 100% God, He left behind some of His rights and privileges as God. What do you think might have been the most difficult part about God taking on human flesh?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's teachings of Hebrews 1:8-2:4, Hebrews 2:5-10, Hebrews 2:10-17, Hebrews 2:9-18.