People tell me that I look a lot like the actor, William Hirt. In fact, in a restaurant in Orlando once, a lady thought I was William Hirt and asked me for my autograph. Can you beat that!
In Philippians 2:7, it says that Jesus humbled Himself by being made “in the likeness of men.” When we talk about having a likeness to someone, we don’t necessarily mean that it is exactly the same—right? My likeness to William Hirt is only partial. I have a mustache—he doesn’t.
The word used here, however, has more of the idea of sameness. It’s the Greek word hamoioma, from which we get our English word “homogenize”—to reduce the particles in milk or paint to uniform size, and distribute them evenly throughout the liquid. Or the word, “homogeneous” – to be similar in kind or uniform in structure. It’s the idea of sameness.
You see, this verse is saying that Jesus, although He was in the form of God, also took upon Him the form of man. And when He did that, He became like we are. He then had a likeness to us. He became hungry and tired; He knew sadness and joy; He experienced pain, and He knew the reality of temptation. Everything we experience as humans, He also experienced because He now had a likeness to us. He was made in the likeness of man.
Say—that’s why it is so comforting to come to Jesus with our problems. Because He knows exactly how we feel.