If you watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday (as a Chiefs and NFL fan my eyes were glued), you may have noticed an ad for Jesus. The organization He Gets Us sponsored the commercial. A bit weird surrounded by commercials for snack foods and mobile phones? But when I remember that Jesus appeared at feasts, weddings, and holidays, it doesn’t seem a stretch to show up on the screen of the most watched television broadcast of the year.

Jesus indeed gets us. The writer of Hebrews laid out the biblical case:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of 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 this reason he had to be made like them, fully human 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.

Jesus became completely human in every way. He suffered pain and felt the angst of a broken heart. He laughed at jokes and celebrated wild kids running around. I’m sure he enjoyed a good meal, and would have been great fun at a Super Bowl party.

In so many ways Jesus is just like you and me. Of course, in other ways he’s not. Which makes following him gratifying. He understands where we are, feels our pain and frustrations, and can also do something about them. As you go through the day, think about how he gets us, and consider how Jesus might present in each situation.

Because if you open yourself to him, he just might show up.

Hebrews 2 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Sasha Freemind