Hank Smith: 00:02 Hello, my friends. Welcome to another followHIM Favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I’m here with the incredible John Bytheway. John, we are going to take on a single question from this week’s lesson. We’re in Hebrews 1-6, and our question this week is, “If Jesus Christ was perfect, how can he understand and help me who is very imperfect? How do I make that connection between him and me?”

John Bytheway: 00:27 Wow, such a good question. This is a good place to be for Hebrews for this because even though he was perfect, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t subject to living on an earth and everything that we go through and temptations. One of the verses that we look at in this one is such a good one. Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” That’s a lot of King James English there, but in other words, they had a high priest who would go to the temple for all of the people once a year. If we take out the negatives in there, we have not an high priest, which cannot, and put it positive, we have a high priest which can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

Hank Smith: 01:07 Very good.

John Bytheway: 01:09 Oh, okay. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And that kind of helps answer the question, don’t you think?

Hank Smith: 01:16 Absolutely, when I look at the three temptations of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews says he was tempted like we are. There’s temptations of turn the stones into bread or jump off the temple and everyone will follow you or take all this riches and give up on your mission. Those are similar temptations that you and I face. I think David O. McKay said, “Jesus is turning stones into bread.” That temptation for us would be the temptation of-

John Bytheway: 01:44 Our appetites.

Hank Smith: 01:45 Appetite, flesh or spirit, what my body wants or my spirit wants, and those two things hit against each other sometimes in temptation. Another is jump off the temple and you’ll have fame and fortune, and I think we hit those temptations every day. Am I going to be vain? Am I going to choose vanity or am I going to choose humility? And then the third temptation, give up your mission and take on the riches of the world. That temptation feels to me like consecration versus selfishness. Are you going to be consecrated to the Lord’s work or are you going to do what you want to do? So, sometimes we think of the Savior’s temptations as, “Well, I don’t face anything like that.” When actually you face very similar temptations to what-

John Bytheway: 02:26 They’re like categories that we all face, and that’s why I like this. The writer of the Hebrews is saying, “Actually, he was tempted in all ways just as we are, and that’s why he knows how to help us.” It’s kind of a reassuring verse, and of course, like verse 16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Wow, what an invitation.

Hank Smith: 02:48 He gets you. I say that to my students sometimes. The Lord understands you. He not only understands you, he understands why you do what you do.

John Bytheway: 02:57 Well put.

Hank Smith: 02:58 He doesn’t see you as a problem, doesn’t see you as disgusting. He gets you. He understands who you are and what your background has been, all of that.

John Bytheway: 03:07 And he doesn’t say, “Go away.” He invites us to come to the throne of grace, and that just tells us he’s going to take you where you’re at and he’s going to make you better, lift you higher.

Hank Smith: 03:16 And when we get to the throne of God, he’s going to say, “You belong here. Come in boldly. Don’t hide, you belong here.” I love that, John. We hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. We’re with Dr. Matt Grey in these chapters this week. You’ll love what he shows you here, and then come back next week and join us for another followHIM Favorites.