FOR WE DO NOT HAVE A HIGH PRIEST WHO CANNOT SYMPATHIZE WITH OUR WEAKNESSES: ou gar echomen (1PPAI) archierea me dunamenon (PPPMSA) sumpathesai (AAN) tais astheneiais hemon:  (Hebrews 5:2; Exodus 23:9; Isaiah 53:4,5; Hosea 11:8; Matthew 8:16,17; 12:20; Philippians 2:7,8) (Hebrews 2:17,18; Luke 4:2; 22:28) (Hebrews 7:26; Isaiah 53:9; John 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5)

For - He explains why we can and should hold fast to our confession of Jesus as our Messiah and Redeemer.

Do not have - He is saying in fact that despite His exalted (heavenly) position and despite the fact that we don't see Him (as the reader could see the High Priest most likely at the time of this writing) does not (Greek word for "not" is ou = absolute negation) negate His ability to function as a priest today on our behalf, a theme begun in chapter 2...

Therefore, He (Jesus) had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid (picture of one in need crying out for help) of those who are tempted (present tense = continually, passive voice = from without, source of temptation could be the world, the fallen flesh or the devil) . (see notes Hebrews 2:17; 2:18).

In chapter 5 he writes that our High Priest Jesus...

can deal gently (metriopatheo from the adverb métrios = moderately, and páthos = passion - literally moderate in one's passions toward another) with the ignorant and misguided, since He Himself also is beset with weakness (see note Hebrews 5:2)

Cannot (1410) (dunamai) speaks of one who has power by virtue of His inherent ability and resources. Thus He is able. The present tense describes His continually available power and ability!

Sympathize with our weaknesses - The Exalted One suffers together with the weakness of the one tempted.

Jesus understands temptation as Luke reminds us recording that...

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry. (Luke 4:2)

Jesus addressing His disciples who had been with Him for 3 years declaring...

And you are those who have stood by Me in My trials (temptations - the word describes a test to learn the nature or character of something) (Luke 22:28)

Sympathize (4834) (sumpathéo from sun = with pictures an intimate connection with + páscho = = suffer; English = "sympathy") is the a feeling for or capacity for sharing in the interests of another - an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other; unity or harmony in action or effect.

Jesus is able to experience pain jointly with us. The exalted High Priest suffers together with the weakness of the one who is tested and brings active help!

This word group often suggests a tender concern can also imply a power to enter into another’s emotional experience of any sort.

It expresses the feeling of what others feel so that one can respond with sensitivity to the need.  People who have true "sympathy" generally do not say, "I know how you feel." Because since they know how you feel, they also know how unhelpful it is to hear someone say, "I know how you feel." True sympathy is a fairly quiet, time-intensive, presence-intensive way of being.

Weaknesses (769) (astheneia from a = without + sthénos  = strength, bodily vigor) means without strength and figuratively describes a state of incapacity to do or experience something.

Illustration of the great truth that our Jesus our Great High Priest  is can sympathize with our weaknesses - Bob Weber, past president of Kiwanis International, told this story. He had spoken to a club in a small town and was spending the night with a farmer on the outskirts of the community. He had just relaxed on the front porch when a newsboy delivered the evening paper. The boy noted the sign Puppies for Sale. The boy got off his bike and said to the farmer, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?" "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir, could I at least see them anyway?" The farmer whistled, and in a moment the mother dog came bounding around the corner of the house tagged by four of the cute puppies, wagging their tails and yipping happily. At last, another pup came straggling around the house, dragging one hind leg. "What's the matter with that puppy, mister?" the boy asked. "Well, Son, that puppy is crippled. We took her to the vet and the doctor took an X ray. The pup doesn't have a hip joint and that leg will never be right." To the amazement of both men, the boy dropped the bike, reached for his collection bag and took out a fifty-cent piece. "Please, mister," the boy pleaded, "I want to buy that pup. I'll pay you fifty cents every week until the twenty-five dollars is paid. Honest I will, mister." The farmer replied, "But, Son, you don't seem to understand. That pup will never, never be able to run or jump. That pup is going to be a cripple forever. Why in the world would you want such a useless pup as that?"

The boy paused for a moment, then reached down and pulled up his pant leg, exposing that all too familiar iron brace and leather knee-strap holding a poor twisted leg. The boy answered, "Mister, that pup is going to need someone who understands him to help him in life!"

Crippled and disfigured by sin, the risen, living Christ has given us hope. He understands us--our temptations, our discouragements, and even our thoughts concerning death. By His resurrection we have help in this life and hope for the life to come. (Brian Bell, Calvary Chapel, Murrieta)

BUT ONE WHO HAS BEEN TEMPTED IN ALL THINGS AS WE ARE, YET WITHOUT SIN: pepeirasmenon (RPPMSA) de kata panta kath homoioteta choris hamartias:

But - sets up the contrast. Yes He is the perfect High Priest, but He is also the High Priest who is able to understand.

Tempted (3985) (peirazo from the noun peira = test from peíro = perforate, pierce through to test durability of things) (Click  word study on peirazo) is a morally neutral word simply meaning “to test”. Whether the test is for a good (as it proved to be in Heb 11:17) or evil (Mt 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil") depends on the intent of the one giving the test and also on the response of the one tested. (See study of similar word dokimazo)

Tempted is in the perfect tense signifying a past completed action with continuing results or effects - believers continue to be the beneficiaries of the truth that He experienced all that we would be faced with and thus He can understand our plight and He can come alongside with aid in our time of need.

Jesus has gone before us and has run the race and finished the course. And as the One Who is fully also fully Man, He felt every pressure, experienced every pull and suffered every allurement men face. And yet as the perfect Man Jesus did so without failure and without sinning in thought, word or deed! Never once did he stumble. Not even for a moment.

Regarding the phrase "in all things" Ryrie comments that...

Not that Christ experienced every temptation man does, but rather that He was tempted in all areas in which man is tempted (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 1 John 2:16), and with particular temptations specially suited to Him. This testing was possible only because He took the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3), for had there not been an incarnation, Jesus could not have been tempted (cf. James 1:13). Yet our Lord was distinct from all other men in that He was without sin; i.e., He possessed no sin nature as we do. Because He endured and successfully passed His tests, He can now offer us mercy and grace to help in time of need, for He knows what we are going through. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)

As we are - As speaks of likeness and emphasizes correspondence but not identity. Yes, Jesus was fully Man, but He was fully God, something believers will never be.

Without sin - This quality is the outstanding difference that must never be overlooked in considering the actual humanity of Jesus. He did not yield to sin. But more than this is true. There was no latent sin in Jesus to be stirred by temptation and no habits of sin to be overcome.

Sin (266) (hamartia) originally conveyed the idea of missing the mark as when hunting with a bow and arrow and then missing or falling short of any goal, standard, or purpose. See literal use of the similar Hebrew word (see note Judges 20:16).

However, Jesus did have "weaknesses" common to our human nature (hunger, thirst, weariness, etc.). In fact, Satan used his strongest weapons against these weakness, but utterly failed in every attempt to stumble our Savior. Jesus remained lived and walked about in a world of sin and yet remained undefiled which enabled Peter to write that we were redeemed...

with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (See note 1 Peter 1:19)

These grand truths regarding Jesus' sinlessness even though sorely tempted are the ground of our hope and His ever ready sympathy regarding our weaknesses.

Later the author reiterates that Jesus...

is able (has the inherent power) to save forever those who draw near to God through (this preposition pictures the entree provided by Jesus as High Priest) Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (what an encouraging truth that He is continually interceding for us - see note on same truth in Romans 8:34). For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. (See notes Hebrews 7:25; 7:26)

Jesus knew no sin...

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Cor 5:21)

Jesus committed no sin...

WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH (see note 1 Peter 2:22)

There is no sin in Jesus...

And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. (1Jn 3:5)

John Calvin said that...

Christ was both a Sacrifice and a Priest. No other satisfaction for sin could be found, and no one else was worthy to offer the only-begotten Son of God. Christ now fills the office of Priest so the Father will look favorably upon us and welcome us into His family.

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Since World War II, the name John W. Peterson has become synonymous with fine gospel music. Over 1,000 gospel songs and hymns, as well as many other musical works such as cantatas, anthems, choral arrangements, and gospel film musicales, have been written by this gifted and dedicated composer. Mr. Peterson gave this account of “No One Understands Like Jesus,” written during the early years of his ministry:

At one time I had a fairly responsible position with a well-known gospel ministry. One day a supervisory position opened up in my department. I was led to believe that I was to be promoted to this position. I was thrilled and challenged by the prospect of a new job. But I was by-passed, and a man from the outside was brought in to fill the position. There followed days of agonizing heart searching. It was all I could do to keep from becoming bitter. One night I had occasion to spend an evening with the man who was brought in for “my” position. For some reason or other, though otherwise a very pleasant fellow, that night he became quite caustic in some of his remarks to me, and I was deeply hurt. Later that evening, after returning home, I was sitting in our living room thinking about the events of the past days and about the bitter experiences of that evening. I began to feel very alone and forsaken. Suddenly, I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation—in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as did He. Before long, the idea for the song came and I began to write—

NO ONE UNDERSTANDS LIKE JESUS
John W. Peterson
No one understands like Jesus.
He’s a friend beyond compare;
Meet Him at the throne of mercy;
He is waiting for you there.

No one understands like Jesus;
Ev’ry woe He sees and feels;
Tenderly He whispers comfort,
And the broken heart He heals.

No one understands like Jesus
When the foes of life assail;
You should never be discouraged;
Jesus cares and will not fail.

No one understands like Jesus
When you falter on the way;
Tho you fail Him, sadly fail Him,
He will pardon you today.

Refrain:
No one understands like Jesus
When the days are dark and grim;
No one is so near, so dear as Jesus—
Cast your ev’ry care on Him.

Monday, April 9, 2001
Read: Hebrews 4:14-16

[Christ] has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. - Hebrews 4:15

TODAY IN THE WORD - C. S. Lewis had this insight into temtation: “You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in . . . Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means.”

Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are” (v. 15). Yet unlike us, He remained perfect and never once gave in to any temptation. As a human being, He experienced the full force of temptation, and this makes Him uniquely qualified to sympathize with and intercede for us in our struggle against sin (cf. Heb. 2:18).

Verse 14 contains both a command and the means to fulfill it. We are to hold firmly to our faith. How? The means is Christ. He is our “great high priest” who offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin. He accomplished His mission, and is now back in heaven.

What specifically about Jesus should give us confidence and inspire faith? The fact that He was tempted. From this, we know that He can understand when we’re tempted. And from His sinlessness, we also know that He can help us resist.

Jesus, the Son of Man, has exhaustive, experiential knowledge of what it’s like to be a tempted human being. Every temptation we face has already been defeated by Him!

Because of Christ’s brotherhood with us, we can pray and worship God with total confidence. We’re not asking a distant God for help with troubles He can’t relate to, but rather, we know with certainty that Christ understands and sympathizes with our weaknesses (v. 15).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY - As you struggle daily with various temptations, today’s Scripture verses should be a great encouragement. As a human being, Jesus knew what temptation was, He has already faced every temptation and is ready to help us.

This truth is so essential to spiritual warfare that we’d like you to write out a prayer about it today. Let your prayer be a heartfelt request for Christ to strengthen you to resist temptations specific to your life, based on the fact that He understands through His personal experience what you’re going through. (See Moody Bible Institute's Today in the Word)

Somewhere in the history of organized sports, a coaching staff tried out a new theory. These coaches reasoned that taking their teams away the night before a big game and putting the athletes up in a hotel gave them a competitive advantage. They felt that this cloistering would remove the athletes from the distractions of everyday life and allow the team to focus more thoroughly on the game ahead. For decades, this has been a common practice among both college and professional teams.

Jesus knew the value of concentrating on the task at hand, and He prepared for His contest with Satan as no person has ever prepared before or since. Forty days alone in the desert not only removed Jesus from every human contact or since. Forty days alone in the desert not only removed Jesus from every human contact that would demand His attention; by fasting, Jesus even said “no” to normal human needs in order to prepare Himself for the devil’s looming temptations.

The temptation of our Lord allows us a glimpse at a level of spiritual warfare we would otherwise know nothing about. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in the same ways we are tempted (Heb. 4:15), but we will never experience the intensity of the trial Jesus faced.  (See Moody Bible Institute's Today in the Word)