Hebrews: He was Made Like His Brethren in All Things and Knows our Temptations
Hebrews 2:17-18; Matthew 4:1-11 - He lived as a human and is our High Priest of atonement and mercy.
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so 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 of those who are tempted.”
Hebrews 2:17-18 NASB1995
To forgive humans for their sins, Jesus must be both God (have the power) and Man (have the understanding and mercy by having lived as a human). He came down and dwelt among us and was like His brethren in all things, except in their sin. He knows the temptations that humans suffer because He was also tempted but never gave in to that temptation. Think of the strength that takes! Let’s remember the scripture from Matthew:
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”
Matthew 4:1-11 NASB1995
We frail and fallen humans throw up our hands sometimes at the first tiny sign of temptation and say, “Oh, what the heck, only this once and then I’ll promise to be good”. We know that we are being tempted and we cave in as easily as Peter did during his three denials of Jesus. And the bad thing is, we do this again and again and again! Our friends influence us or the culture makes it look “ok” to sin and sin again. Some advertisers are relying on a gut reaction to their temptation that leads to sin (lust, envy, greed, gluttony, pride). According to gotquestions.org temptations usually come from three things:
Jesus’ temptations follow three patterns that are common to all men. The first temptation concerns the lust of the flesh (Matthew 4:3–4). Our Lord is hungry, and the devil tempts Him to convert stones into bread, but He replies with Scripture, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. The second temptation concerns the pride of life (Matthew 4:5–7), and here the devil uses a verse of Scripture (Psalm 91:11–12), but the Lord replies again with Scripture to the contrary (Deuteronomy 6:16), stating that it is wrong for Him to abuse His own powers. The third temptation concerns the lust of the eyes (Matthew 4:8–10), and if any quick route to the Messiahship could be attained, bypassing the passion and crucifixion for which He had originally come, this was the way. The devil already had control over the kingdoms of the world (Ephesians 2:2) but was now ready to give everything to Christ in return for His allegiance. But the mere thought almost causes the Lord’s divine nature to shudder at such a concept and He replies sharply, “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
There are many temptations that we sadly fall into because our flesh is naturally weak, but we have a God who will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear; He will provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can therefore be victorious and then will thank the Lord for deliverance from temptation. Jesus’ experience in the desert helps us to see these common temptations that keep us from serving God effectively. Furthermore, we learn from Jesus’ response to the temptations exactly how we are to respond—with Scripture. The forces of evil come to us with a myriad of temptations, but all have the same three things at their core: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. We can only recognize and combat these temptations by saturating our hearts and minds with the Truth. The armor of a Christian solider in the spiritual battle of life includes only one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Knowing the Bible intimately will put the Sword in our hands and enable us to be victorious over temptations.
Pride of life, lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes - these temptations are EVERYWHERE!
The experience of Jesus appoints Him as our faithful High Priest. He makes propitiation for the sins of the people. Let’s do a word study!
Propitiation comes from the Greek verb ἱλάσκομαι or hiláskomai (Strong’s G2433) with the following Biblical usages:
to render one’s self, to appease, conciliate to one’s self
to become propitious, be placated or appeased
to be propitious, be gracious, be merciful
to expiate, make propitiation for
He is our appeaser before a just and wrathful God! He makes atonement for those who repent and believe.
I like this commentary today from Enduring Word:
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Made like His brethren: If Jesus were not like us He could not be our High Priest, representing us before the Father and making atonement (propitiation) for our sins.
Neither the Deity nor the Humanity of Jesus is negotiable. If we diminish either then He is unable to save us.
Propitiation: “The true idea seems to be…that God offers to Himself the sacrifice of Christ, so that He is at once the One who propitiates and the One who is propitiated.” (Griffith Thomas)
That He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest: The High Priest wore a breastplate with stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel on both his chest and his shoulders. The High Priest was therefore in constant sympathy with the people of God, carrying them on his heart and on his shoulders.
Jesus did not wear the High Priest’s breastplate. But the wound in His chest and the cross on His shoulders are even more eloquent testimony to His heart for us and work on our behalf – to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
He Himself has suffered, being tempted: Some wonder if Jesus was really tempted. After all, since He was God (they reason), He could not sin – so His temptation could not be real. The writer to the Hebrews insists that not only was Jesus’ temptation real, but it was so real that He suffered under it.
We can even say that Jesus’ temptation was more real and difficult than any we could face. When the pressure of temptation builds, some only find relief by giving into the temptation – but Jesus never did this. The pressure of temptation only built and built upon Him.
Jesus knew the temptations of power and the temptations of pain. He knew the temptations of riches and the temptations of poverty. He knew the temptations of popularity and the temptations of rejection. He knew the temptations of the boy and the temptations of the man. He knew temptation from His friends and temptation from His enemies. He knew temptation from His family and temptation from strangers.
“Many persons are tempted, but do not suffer in being tempted. When ungodly men are tempted, the bait is to their taste, and they swallow it greedily. Temptation is a pleasure to them; indeed, they sometimes tempt the devil to tempt them… But good men suffer when they are tempted, and the better they are the more they suffer.” (Charles Spurgeon)
He is able to aid those who are being tempted: Because Jesus added humanity to His deity and experienced human suffering, He is able to help us in temptation. He knows what we are going through.
We have two advantages – knowing the example of Jesus in temptation, but also having His active assistance from heaven, providing strength and a way of escape. With these we can find victory in the midst of temptation and come out better from being tempted. Jesus did not lose anything from being tempted – He only gained in glory and sympathy and ability to help His people. In the same way, we do not have to lose anything when we are tempted.
“This is the most powerful preservative against despair, and the firmest ground of hope and comfort, that ever believing, penitent sinners could desire or have.” (Matthew Poole) “Were the rest of the Scripture silent on this subject, this verse might be an ample support for every tempted soul.” (Adam Clarke)
“Moreover, do not make it any cause of complaint that you are tempted. If your Lord was tempted, shall the disciple be above his Master, or the servant above his Lord? If the Perfect One must endure temptation, why not you? Accept it, therefore, at the Lord’s hands, and do not think it to be a disgrace or a dishonor. It did not disgrace or dishonor your Lord, and temptation will not disgrace or dishonor you. The Lord, who sends it, sends also with it a way of escape, and it will be to your honor and profit to escape by that way.” (Charles Spurgeon)
There are some insights in this commentary that are worth repeating. First, Guzik compares Jesus to the High Priest, with his breastplate that went over his shoulders that had the jewels representing the tribes (and people) of Israel. Jesus bore the cross through His shoulders and had a wound to his chest, bearing, through His blood and suffering, our sins.
Second, we have two advantages in temptation:
We have the example of Jesus and His temptations. Besides the ones noted in Matthew, Jesus probably saw temptation every day of His earthly life. He was probably tempted to delay His ministry, the disciples probably tempted Him to relax rather than work so hard, there were temptations of material comforts. He was tempted on the Cross to listen to the mockers and to accept the bitter wine.
We have our Lord to actively give us strength and a way out of temptation, as He knows what humans go through every single day of their lives.
Third, we should not complain about temptations, but understand them and endure them (and not give in to them) through His mercy (the last quote from Spurgeon).
My next devotional jumps into Hebrews 3 and examines the first four verses - The builder of the house has more honor than the house.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I ask You, as my merciful and atoning High Priest, to forgive my inabilities to not succumb to temptation and to help me use Your strength when I cam tempted by pride, envy and lust of the eyes. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 10/24/2025 to answer the question, What was the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ temptations? COPYRIGHT 2002-2025 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 10/24/2025 to review the lexicon for propitiation.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made to improve readability.