.
Jesus Christ today is a high priest patterned after a high priest in the Old
Testament named Melchizedek (Ps 110:1-4, Heb 5:1-7:28). In order for him
to be effective, one of the qualifications of a high priest is that they have to
be able to relate to their constituents. So; in order for Jesus to satisfy that
requirement, he had to be a genuine h.sapiens; which entails having a
genuine h.sapiens' body.
● Heb 2:13-18 . . Here am I, and the children God has given me.
. . . Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death
that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's
descendants.
. . . For this reason he had to be made like his brothers 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. Because
he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are
being tempted.
Christ lived on this earth for about 30 years prior to his public appearances;
and during those years, he did not lead a sheltered life; in point of fact, he
underwent a sort of boot camp.
● Heb 5:7-9 . . During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers
and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from
death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he
was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made
perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
The Greek word translate "source" refers to that which is causative, i.e. a
motive force that gets the ball rolling and makes thing happen, so to speak.
It's a piece of cake for the Word of John 1:1 to comply with God's wishes
because the Word himself is God too. But when the Word took on the nature
of a human being; that's when he found out just how difficult it is for flesh
and blood to comply with God's wishes; hence the prayers and loud cries
and tears. But his experiences as a human being forged him into the kind of
high priest that God deems suitable to hold the office.
● Heb 2:10 . . For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are
all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings.
● Heb 4:15-16 . . We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help
us in our time of need.
The Greek words for "confidence" indicate that when speaking to Christ, it's
okay to just be yourself; viz: to be out-spoken, i.e. frank and candid: which
has been made possible by a priesthood in Heaven chaired by a fellow man
who lived down here on the Earth as an h.sapiens long enough to know what
it's like to be one.
_
