It seems inconceivable that the Master Yeshua, though sinless, could be truly tempted by sin. But what if Yeshua’s temptation was, in fact, not only legitimate, but meant for our benefit?

In Hebrews 4:14, the author—for the third time in his letter—speaks of Yeshua as our great High Priest. He became a merciful and faithful כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, Kohen Gadol with the express intent of making appeasement for our sins (Hebrews 2:17). So since we have the Son of God doing this heavenly, priestly work on our behalf, the author strongly admonishes us to “hold fast to the profession of faith” in Him. He gives us this exhortation so that we as disciples of Messiah will grip tenaciously to an astonishing, life-changing truth:

For we have a כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, Kohen Gadol not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one tempted in all things likewise as we are, yet remaining apart from sin. (Hebrews 4:15, mjlt)

Our difficulty envisioning Yeshua as able to be genuinely tempted to sin is wrapped up in our correct understanding that He is fully God in the flesh (John 1:1ff, Col. 2:9). Indeed, “God is not tempted by evil” (James 1:13). Yet in Yeshua’s equally real humanity, He was nevertheless well-acquainted with the full human experience. For the sake of both Yeshua’s sacrifice and His priesthood, “it was necessary for Him to be made like the brothers in all things” (Hebrews 2:17). It is because of this fully shared humanity, then, that Yeshua was able to “sympathize with our weaknesses,” and as such, able to serve as an authentic representative of humankind before God. Since, in our “blood and flesh, He Himself likewise shared of the same” (Hebrews 2:14), the Master Yeshua—the Son of God, our perfect and great High Priest—was also able to be “tempted in all things likewise as we are.”

Just think about the ramifications of this. Because Yeshua was tempted “in all things likewise as we are,” this means that for any and every sin that you have personally committed, witnessed, or imagined, Yeshua was also tempted in that very thing. There is no sin that you or anyone in the world has ever done—including those of today’s rampant degradation, perversion, and moral compromise—in which Yeshua was not also tempted. This is what the author says, is it not? Yeshua was tempted in “all” things. Difficult to fathom, yes; but nonetheless true.

And it is for this very reason that the author exhorts us to hold fast to the profession of our faith. Yeshua became our sympathetic, great High Priest, “Himself being tempted,” so that He would be “able to help those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18)—able to help us! Having shared in our humanity, Yeshua can understand the lure and power of the temptation that leads to sin, yet He is in the extraordinary position to help us find a way out of sin forever. Because despite being tempted in all things likewise as we are, He “yet remain[ed] apart from sin.”

This makes Yeshua unlike all other priests who ever lived, who carried the weight of their own sin while trying to unburden the people from theirs. Instead, Yeshua—while able to represent us as one of us, and to sympathize with our weaknesses—carried no such weight because He resisted all temptation and stayed sinless. By remaining undefiled by the guilt and misdeeds of the flesh, Yeshua stands innocent and unconvicted of the whole world’s sin. Then, with no personal burden of His own, He perfectly accomplishes His sacrificial purpose in our place.

The life-changing message of Yeshua is that, through His tempted yet sinless humanity, He has provided a model and example that we all can follow. He has not only paid for our sins so that we may be saved, but He also helps us by making our holiness achievable now. We should find a deep and abiding comfort knowing that our Master Yeshua faced every single kind of temptation that we have, yet resisted and overcame. “Let us come near, then—unhindered—to the throne of unmerited favor, so that we may receive loving-kindness and find unmerited favor—for timely help” (Hebrews 4:16).

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