Every morning, Alex passed the same old man sitting on a weathered bench in the park, feeding peanuts to the squirrels. The man always looked nice in a buttoned-down shirt and coat. But he also always had a lonely look in his eyes. Alex was too busy to slow down to say "hello," and certainly too busy to stop and have a conversation.

One day, as Alex rushed through the park, he noticed the old man on his hands and knees picking up the peanuts that had spilled from his broken bag. Alex stopped to help. They put the peanuts in Alex's backpack. They sat down together on the weathered bench and introduced themselves. The man said his name was Tom. He used to come to the park every day with his wife to feed the squirrels. But she had recently passed away. For the first time, Alex truly saw the old man, not just as a passerby, but as a person carrying deep pain.

The next day, Alex left his house earlier so he could spend time sitting next to Tom, hopefully to help heal the loneliness. They talked about the weather, Alex's work, Tom's retirement, Alex's girlfriend, and Tom's memories of his wife. Over the following weeks, Alex made it a habit to visit, bringing coffee and listening as Tom shared stories of his past, his dreams, and the weight of his loss. In turn, Alex shared his own struggles, finding comfort in the shared silence. Though Alex couldn't erase Tom's grief, he realized that sometimes the most meaningful connection comes from simply sympathizing with someone.

The writer to the Hebrews gives us this encouragement, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus purposely spends his time with us. You can talk to him about the weather, your work, your retirement, your children, your losses and gains, your joys and pains. He will sit with you on the park bench or the church pew or at the dining room table. He is always available for you to converse with. You talk to him in your prayers. He talks to you in your Bible.

What a blessing to know that when you talk to your Savior, he's not at the edge of some distant galaxy in deep thought. Because of his divinity, he is at God's right hand in heaven and at the same time right here with you. Because of his humanity, he has been right here in this world to know exactly what you're going through.

Poverty? He knew it. Pain. He suffered it. Rejection? He endured it. Temptation? He felt it. Betrayal? He lived it. Loneliness? He experienced it. God's wrath? He tasted it. Death? He let it touch him. Innocent suffering? He could write the book on it. Loving the unlovable? He did write the book on that.

But remember: Jesus did this not only so he could feel what we feel. He did it to be our perfect Substitute. He willingly took the punishment for our failures and paid for them completely at the cross.

God had been teaching his people about the need for substitution even before he started anointing men like Saul and David as king. Several centuries earlier, he anointed men like Aaron to serve as high priests. The high priest was selected from among the people to represent them before God. He was able to sympathize with the people he represented because he knew temptation like they did.

The writer encourages us to approach God's throne. It is a heavenly throne of infinite majesty and divine justice. As sinners, we should approach God's throne with terror and remain mute with guilt. But Jesus turns us from sinners into saints. As our Greater High Priest, Jesus turns the throne of justice into a throne of grace. Instead of being mute with guilt, we can approach with shouts of praise with forgiven hearts and lips. The writer encourages us, "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" (Hebrews 4:16).

Now we can approach God's throne of grace in our congregational prayers or in our personal prayer life. In the nick of time, right when we need it, when temptations come and troubles abound, we can approach our Greater Sympathizer who knows exactly what we need and knows just how to give it.

We approach this throne to give God our sins and receive back his forgiveness. We pour out our sorrow and receive resurrection comfort. We lay down our weakness and receive strength from the Almighty. We tell God our needs and he gives us what we need at the right time.

I've been told in my ministry that I'm not always very sympathetic. And that's probably true. First, I'm a guy. And guys may often not be very sympathetic. Second, out of the 34 strengths on my StrengthsFinder test, empathy is number 28 -- way at the bottom. Third, I married a woman whose number one strength is empathy. Her strengths cover many of my weaknesses. Pastors, teachers, parents, friends, counselors, can all give you advice or counsel, but none of them have experienced what you are going through. They don't know what you know. But there is One who does. He understands. Jesus knows. He is the Better Sympathizer. He felt repeated and very real temptations, so he understands what it's all about. Jesus experienced what we experience, so he can sympathize with us.

Jesus had this in common with the Old Testament high priests. He had been tempted in every way, just as we are. The battles he experienced against the great enemy of the Devil are not all that different than the ones we experience. He knows what it's like to face the temptations we face, like every high priest before him.

That's part of what makes Jesus so much better. In his life on earth, when he took on our human nature and became true man, Jesus was also "tempted in every way just as we are." From the beginning to the end of that earthly stay, Jesus faced temptations more severe than we will ever know. He felt the full force as hell's barracks emptied as demons stormed against him. He felt Satan's temptations even more than we do because while we so often fall under temptation's first round, he remained standing to the final bell to receive every assault.

He willingly underwent hunger, thirst, cold, heat, exhaustion, ridicule, persecution, sorrow, poverty, scourging, the piercing of thorns, and even a cursed death on a cross. How wondrous is this kind of love that plunged our Savior willingly into a sea of that kind of suffering for miserable and ungrateful slaves such as us. We committed the crime. He underwent the punishment. We plundered. He made amends. We caused the debt. He paid that debt.

Because of everything we have done, because of everything we have left undone, because of who we are, and what we have become, we rightfully deserve to be assigned to the unceasing, scorching flames of hell. But our Better Sympathizer boiled with the fire of love on the altar of the cross, setting us free from those hellish flames. We should be cast away from God's presence forever. But our Great High Priest chose to be abandoned by his heavenly Father as he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" We deserve to be taunted daily by the Devil and tormented eternally by demons. But with immeasurable love, Jesus cried out that all of that is finished!

Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet he remained without sin. Have you ever wondered about some of those temptations? As Jesus lay down on a hard mat in Peter's guest room, because he had no place of his own, do you think Jesus was ever tempted to reclaim the majesty of his heavenly mansion? In the middle of a long trip, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he give thought to popping over to the Caribbean for some refreshment?

If ever Jesus entertained such thoughts, he never gave in to them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. With one word he could have transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn't. With a wave of his hand, he could have boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces, but he didn't. With an arch of his brow, he could have paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. With a single word, he could have called down a legion of angels to wipe out his enemies. With the breath of his mouth, he could have wiped out this whole earth and started over. But he didn't do any of that.

Why is all of this so important? How is Jesus' coming so vital for us to understand? What is the coolest thing about everything Jesus did do and didn't do leading up to his death on Good Friday?

It's not that in a few moments of time, Jesus went from needing nothing to needing air, food, and water. He needed a diaper change and to take a bath. It's not that he kept his cool while his twelve best friends felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. It's not that he gave no command to the angels who begged, "Just give the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs."

It is not that he literally turned the other cheek so the high priest could strike another blow. It is not that he prayed for his disciples before they fled or that he reached out to Judas before his betrayal. It is not that he declined the tears of the women but told them to weep for Jerusalem. It is not that the Palm Sunday King was crucified as a criminal on Good Friday. It is not that a crowd cheered for him on a bright Sunday morning, while a mob jeered him on a gloomy Friday morning.

It is not...

A Better Sympathizer