Been There, Crashed That
On a warm summer day, a man named Dave Smith strapped himself into his race-prepped Factory Five Roadster, fired it up, and tore out of the paddock at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis. Then he wrecked it.
Rolled it, actually, which is scary enough in a road car traveling at the posted speed limit, but in an open-top kit car at triple-digit speeds, it’s utterly petrifying. Nevertheless, Smith crawled out, helped right the car, took stock of the damage, brushed a clod of dirt off of the roll bar, applied duct tape all over the body, strapped himself in again, and completed the track day – winning the event, no less.
Smith had faith in the Factory Five Roadster. As he should; he owns Factory Five.
In any engineering meeting since then, do you think Smith suggested skimping on safety components to save a buck? Or do you think a potential customer has ever inquired about the rigidity of the roll cage without Smith giving a wry smile and personally assuring how safe the car is?
Smith has been there. He knows what a crash feels like, and he isn’t afraid to talk about it. He may or may not know it, but he’s reading straight from Jesus’ play book. All four Gospels recount the tempting or testing of Jesus. The three recorded temptations were nasty tests that were personalized for Jesus, yet he was faithful, and relied on passages from Scripture to guide his answers. Jesus persevered; he didn’t slip up.
This may not surprise you. After all, he is Jesus. Yet have you ever wondered how Matthew and Luke heard about this story? They weren’t there. No one was there. Jesus had to tell them about those specific temptations. He bore that vulnerability and embarrassment because he knew the experience would inspire, teach, and encourage countless believers for years to come.
The writer of Hebrews stressed that Jesus’ vulnerability is part of what makes him the perfect High Priest. Speaking to these same Hebrews, or Jews, who misunderstood and rejected Jesus, the writer builds an argument that only Jesus can be the intercessor or liaison between us and God. “For 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.” (Hebrews 4:15) Or, earlier: “Jesus 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… because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17).
That relationship is clarified and repeated in the first 10 chapters, which are then followed by a chapter brimming with examples of faithfulness to that relationship, which is then followed by an extremely important word: “Therefore.”
Therefore, knowing Jesus’ suffering through temptation, and knowing how the Old Testament heroes’ greatest works were not the works themselves but the faith motivating them, therefore, considering all of that, we read a couple of chapters on what in the world we’re supposed to do about it. Some Christ-followers, acting with the best of intentions, start here. They are, essentially, taking ownership of their new Factory Five car and saying “Tell me how to drive this perfectly so I don’t mess anything up, ever.” And Jesus hears them and has that same wry smile. He knows where, when, and to what extent we will wreck. More importantly, he knows how badly it stings when we do. Not because he did wreck, but because he felt the potential to wreck, and he also bore the punishment of all our wrecks.
Start again with Hebrews 4:15, then read the following verse: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.” There’s Jesus, on his eternal throne. He’s reaching out to you not to point fingers and laugh at your mistakes, and not to merely brush the dirt off of you and make all the appropriate repairs, but to make you whole and send you off in a new direction.
