Hebrews 2:14-18

¹⁴Since 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— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

 Fully Human, Fully God

In order to free us, his children, from the power of death and the evil one, Jesus had to become fully man. Atoning for our sins by sacrificing his sinless self, a body of flesh, and becoming our high priest, he has liberated us from the slavery of sin and fear of death.

These statements of the author of Hebrews have been a key tenet of Christian orthodoxy since the beginning; however, there was a group within the early church that promoted a false teaching called docetism (derived from a Greek verb which means to appear). Denying that Christ had a natural body during his life on earth, the adherents of docetism asserted that the human form of Jesus was a mere illusion. That this heresy had the potential to lead many believers astray can be deduced from 2 John 1:7, where the apostle explicitly speaks out against those “who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh”. When bishops convened at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, docetism was rejected alongside other heresies spreading within the church of Christ.

While docetism as it was once advocated may not appear overtly popular in 2024 or has taken on other forms, misconceptions about the identity of Jesus can still occur among believers today. We might run the risk, for example, of overemphasizing Jesus’ divinity at the expense of his humanity or vice versa. As always, a thorough study of God’s Word is the best remedy against any false assumptions.

Whereas the Gospel of John or Philippians 2 could not be clearer in proclaiming that Jesus is the creator of all things and in his very nature God, Jesus in the Gospels is portrayed just like the writer of Hebrews puts it, as one who was made like us, fully human in every way; Jesus felt tired and hungry, he suffered, and he was tempted by the devil.

Indeed, it is the final verse of the passage above that offers us very practical encouragement for our lives as followers of Christ. He knows what we are going through when temptations come our way. Yet, Jesus has also shown us that it is possible to overcome them by being rooted and grounded in the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Christ is always there and able to help us. And when we do step into the traps and snares of the enemy, we are called to repent and find peace and assurance through the atoning sacrifice of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, fully human and fully God.