Observation: Hebrews says that Jesus is our "high priest" representing the people before God and God before the people. Jesus is uniquely positioned to do this because he has "passed through the heavens" but also has "in every respect been tested as we are".
Application: I can't presume to know what God did and did not know before becoming flesh in Jesus. It's hard to say if God "knew" what it was like to be human before becoming one. Since God exists outside of time, even the idea of a distinct "before" or "after" doesn't quite make sense.
What I do know is that before God took on flesh in Jesus, we as flawed, fleeting, time-bound human beings didn't have a concept of God's closeness. We thought of God as far removed from our experience, with no way of knowing how hard it is to be bound in time, in a body, in pain, and tempted by those things which we know will hurt us. If God knew what it was like to be us, we certainly didn't know God knew.
That's the power of the incarnation: the historic moment when God showed up for us in the flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. Those who walked with him saw him get hungry and thirsty, saw him get mad and frustrated, saw him get his feelings hurt by careless people, saw him be tempted by all the things--all the things--which so often hold us captive. God may have felt our pain, before, but God needed to show us. If you need to know that God is with you in your weak moments, look no further than the wilderness of Judea. If you need to know that God rejoices with you, look no further than the wedding at Cana. If you need to know God weeps with you, look no further than the tomb of Lazarus. If you need to know God hurts with you, look no further than the cross.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that God did and still does, in fact, feel our pain in all its intensity, even without the incarnation. I can't point to a specific verse to tell me that, but I suspect so. The great thing is, though, that in Jesus, I don't have to guess.
Prayer: God, thanks for rejoicing with us, crying with us, being tested with us, hurting with us, dying with us. Amen.
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