Jesus came from a humble background and lacked the Pharisees’ formal religious education. That made it difficult for such proud men to acknowledge Jesus, a village carpenter, as the Messiah. It is a struggle for us today to understand that Jesus was born a human, but was also God. Jesus freely chose to become human and He was like us in every way—except without sin. Why is His humanity so important? The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are. As such, He can sympathize with our weakness as humans. When He stooped to our level by becoming a man, He made it possible for us to relate to Him, and for God to relate to us through Him.