Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV)
14 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— 15 and free those who all their
lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not
angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 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. 18 Because he himself suffered when he
was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
On February 15, 1921, there was a doctor who performed an
appendectomy. The doctor performing the surgery was Dr. Evan Kane who over his
37-year medical career had performed nearly 4,000 appendectomies, so this
surgery was not at all unusual except for two things.
First of all, this was the first time that local
anesthesia had ever been used in major surgery. Dr. Kane believed that local
anesthesia was safer than putting a patient completely to sleep. Most of his
colleagues agreed with him in principle, but they wanted to see first if it
would actually work.
So Dr. Kane searched for a volunteer, a patient who would
be willing to undergo surgery while under local anesthesia. It wasn't easy to
find one. Most people are squeamish at the thought of being awake during their
own surgery. Others are fearful that the anesthesia might wear off too soon.
Finally, though, Dr. Kane found a volunteer, and on
Tuesday morning, February 15th, the operation began. The patient was prepped
and wheeled into the operating room. A local anesthetic was applied. And as Dr.
Kane had done thousands of times before, he cut open the tissues and removed
the appendix. The patient had only minor discomfort and recovered quickly,
dismissed two days later.
Dr. Kane had proven his theory. Thanks to the willingness
of a brave volunteer, Dr. Kane demonstrated that local anesthesia was an
alternative, even a preferred alternative.
But I said there were two facts that made this surgery
unusual. I've told you the first: the use of local anesthesia. The second
unusual thing was the patient -- the patient was Dr. Kane. You see, in order to
prove his point, Dr. Kane operated on himself. The doctor became a patient in
order to convince the patients to trust the doctor.
As unbelievable as that may seem, it is insignificant
compared with what Jesus Christ did for us. The Great Physician voluntarily
became one of us. He placed himself in our shoes. He left the glories of heaven
to live on this earth as one of us -- to suffer our pains and feel our fears.
Why? So that when you hurt, you will know that you have someone who understands
-- your Great Physician -- and you will have confidence to go to him for
healing.
Dear Lord, thank You for coming to Earth to become one of
us and walked in our shoes so that as we go through things we can look to you
and know You went through them also and understand. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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