4 Ways Jesus Walked In Our Shoes

– Tim Keller

In Our Flesh

The Apostle John may give us the best glimpse of Jesus’ divinity, but he also gives us an explanation about Jesus being in the flesh, as he wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:11), so Jesus is clearly God and was with God before being born into human flesh, or as John write, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This means Jesus knows what it’s like, first hand, to get hungry, thirsty, and tired.

In Our Persecution

Another way that Jesus walked in our shoes, but before our shoes (or we) existed is that He was heavily persecuted. The Jews constantly sought for ways to kill Him, so Jesus reminded His followers that “A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). This should never surprise the Christian because “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2nd Tim 3:12). It’s not a matter of if, but of when and how often.

In Our Suffering

Jesus was called the Suffering Servant, and this comes partly from the reference from Isaiah the Prophet, who wrote that Jesus “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4a), and it was no accident, because “it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10a), so Jesus knows about suffering and feels what we have felt.

In Death and Life

We know that Christ has risen from the dead (1st Cor 15:20), and so will we someday, but everyone will be raised “in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1st Cor 15:23), so just as Jesus conquered the grave, those who believe in Him, even if they die, shall live yet again (John 11:25-26).

Conclusion

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our salvation. He has been the trailblazer of tasting death for everyone, but the grave couldn’t hold the sinless Jesus, because the wages of sin is death, and since Jesus never sinned, no grave could hold Him. He took upon Himself our sins, but He Himself never sinned. That’s the reason the spotless Lamb of God’s sacrifice could atone for our wretched lives, and it was fully acceptable to God which makes us fully acceptable to Him.