"'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed.'"
1 PETER 2:24

I couldn't fall asleep one night because my body was so tired. You know that kind of tired, the one that's so beyond a normal level of tired that you just can't fall asleep. You become restless because you're so tired and desperate for sleep. Then this thought hit me: Jesus was a physical person like me. 

I bet he knew what it was like to feel this tired (and more so). I prayed softly in my mind "You know what it means to be frail," and suddenly that famous passage from Hebrews seemed to make more sense to me: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:15--16). 

I began to wonder a few silly things: Did Jesus ever get splinters (As a carpenter, I'm sure he did)? Did Jesus ever desperately need a nap? Did his feet hurt a lot when he walked from town to town? Did he ever want to roll his eyes when someone said something really bone-headed? 

But once I got past the silliness, I realized the deeper implications of a savior who understands my human weakness. Jesus can understand my humanity because he lived a human life. Not only can he understand weakness in body, he can understand the rejection of peers. He can understand mockery and loneliness. He can understand frustration and loss. And if anyone can understand the feeling that no one else truly understands them, Jesus surely knows this feeling the most. 

I immediately loved Jesus more in a way that I had not felt before. I have a savior who can truly empathize. He took on human form so that I could be fully his. I can fully trust him because he fully knows me and knows what it's like to be like me. I can run to him in confidence because no one understands me like he does. 

And not only this, but the wounds he chose to take on, that he chose to understand: these are the wounds that give me healing. I can be made whole from the wounds inflicted by the human existence, by the scourge of sin, because he chose to take them on.

Lyrics:
You know what it means to be frail
you know what it feels like to fall down
you know what it means to be rejected
you know what it feels like to be emptied out
you humbled yourself and took all of it on, failure and loss
so I could belong to You

You know what it means to be judged
you know what it feels like to be cast aside
you know what it means to be misunderstood
you know what it feels like to be hurt for doing right
you humbled yourself stepped onto that road, bearing my load
so I could belong to You

and you know what it means to be flesh and bone
and you know what it feels like to feel all alone
so I will turn to You, 'cause You know what I'm going through
'cause You are fully man and You are fully God

You know what it means to be loved
you know what it feels like to find a friend
you know what it means to be free
you know what it feels like to conquer death
and nobody else could do all that you've done, the victory is won
so I could belong to You, and nobody else could do
all that You've done, the victory is won, so I could belong to You