chapter 2. If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, it's found on page 1002.
We're doing a series in the book of Hebrews this fall. This morning's passage is really the gateway
into the next several chapters of Hebrews. It introduces several themes which will be developed
in more depth as we continue on. So let me say from the start, I won't be able to cover
every important concept in this passage in the depth that it really deserves.
But if you keep coming, we will dig into these things more. And it's like mining in the ground.
I have no experience doing that. That was just a random analogy that came to mind. But I'm sure
if you dig deeper and deeper, you see more and more of what's there and get more and more of that out
of it. That'll be the idea. All right. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 10 through 18. Let's read together.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory,
should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those
who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation, I will sing your
praise. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children God has given
me. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same
things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is
not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his
brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of
God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted,
he is able to help those who are being tempted. On several occasions, people have asked me the
following question. If God is really there, why doesn't he make it more obvious? Why doesn't God
write a message in the sky for all to see God exists or I'm here? Why doesn't God come and appear to us
in person, sort of like Morgan Freeman and Bruce Almighty? It would remove doubt and uncertainty.
It would put an end to inconclusive philosophical arguments. It would establish a common understanding
for all people on earth, not just for the followers of one particular religion. Well, of course,
Christianity does say that God did come to earth as a man 2,000 years ago, and this man, Jesus,
died on a cross so our sins could be forgiven. But you might say, well, how can I base my faith
on something that happened so long ago? If God is God, why can't he just wave his hand and say,
I know you're not perfect, but it's okay. You're all cool. Why does the Christian faith need to be so
complicated and historical and bloody? A man crucified? Why isn't it more obvious?
Now, you know, it's not only skeptics who ask this question. Sometimes Christians ask a very similar
question. The book of Hebrews was written to Christians facing suffering who were tempted to give up,
and they were asking something like, if God is really there, if Jesus is Lord, why isn't it more
obvious? Why can't I feel God's presence? Why don't I see him changing our situation?
I constantly feel pain, exhaustion, maybe even guilt for not being a good enough Christian.
Maybe when you look at your neighbors who aren't religious, you think, well, maybe they're not quite
as introspective, but at least they seem happy, able to enjoy life most of the time. Is it really
worth it to follow Jesus when he seems so far away, when it doesn't seem obvious? Well, whether you're
skeptical or whether you're suffering or both, the passage that we're looking at this morning
addresses this question. And what it says is that what God has done in sending his son Jesus to live
as a human being and suffer and die is not what we would have expected or imagined. In that sense,
it's not obvious. And in fact, Christianity is the only religion in the world that makes this claim.
No other religion says that the one God who made the world became a human being and suffered and died.
on behalf of his creatures. It's a uniquely Christian belief. But strange and unexpected as it may be,
the writer of Hebrews wants us to see that what God has done in Jesus Christ is both fitting
and necessary. Verse 10, he says it was fitting that God would make Jesus perfect through suffering.
Now, there's a very interesting word, fitting. He's saying it's not arbitrary. It's not some bizarre,
random story. But rather, it's appropriate, given the nature of God. It's the missing piece that makes
the rest of the Bible fit together. It's profoundly beautiful in a way that nothing else that we can
imagine is. You know, mathematicians talk about elegance. Say that a proof or a theorem is elegant
rather than clumsy or deep rather than trivial. It's a similar idea here that he's saying this is
fitting what Jesus has done. Now, but he also says in verse 17, he says it's necessary. He says Jesus had
to be made like us in every respect. That this is exactly what we desperately need as human beings.
So if you're skeptical, I especially want you to see that the work of Jesus is fitting.
And if you're suffering, I especially want you to see that the work of Jesus is necessary. That it's
exactly what you and I need as we face the trials of our lives. Now, we've been in the book of Hebrews
for a month now. And so far, Hebrews has emphasized Jesus' divine nature. In chapter 1 and the first
half of chapter 2, chapter 1 verses 1 through 4, says Jesus is the one through whom the world was
created, the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. Verse 5 through 14,
he continues, Jesus is greater than the angels because he's God's one and only son who will reign
forever, whose ears will have no end. And chapter 2 verse 3, he says Jesus is the Lord God himself.
But then beginning at chapter 2 verse 9, the writer of Hebrews makes a shift to emphasize Jesus' human
nature. Verse 9, if you look back at the page before, he says, we see him. We see Jesus, greater than the
angels, who for a little while, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. And then he
says, the one through whom the world was brought to life tasted death. So the question follows naturally.
Why would the eternal Son of God become human even to the point of suffering and death? Why would he
lower himself in that way? Now the answer is throughout this passage, but especially in verse 10, he says Jesus
did this in order to bring many people, many sons and daughters to glory. So first we'll look at why this is
fitting in verse 10 through 13, and then we'll look at why this is necessary in verse 14 through 18. So first, why was
this fitting what God did? And we can see three reasons. First, it was fitting with God's original
intent for human beings. We saw last week in verse 5 through 9 that God made us to rule the world
gloriously, to take care of the world under God's authority. The problem was we didn't want to be under
God's authority. And so as a result, we don't rule the world very well. Our bodies are constantly afflicted
by sickness and suffering and ultimately death. We don't ultimately control our bodies. Nations are
troubled by corruption and fear and government shutdowns. We struggle to rule one another well.
And even deep in our own souls, we feel shame and fear. But you see, from the very beginning, God intended
for human beings to reflect his glory, to rule and care for the world as his representatives.
He said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the world with life. And God's committed to achieving
that original purpose. You might say, well, what did God, how could God do that? That's his purpose,
but then we refuse to be under his authority, so we mess everything up. Well, he could have just
scrapped the whole thing and started fresh. But he didn't decide to do that. He sent his son
to become one of us, to join himself to us in order to restore us to right relationship with God,
to bear the image of God as we had always been intended to be. Verse 10 says, Jesus is the founder
of our salvation. It's a fascinating word if you look into it. In some contexts, that word simply refers
to a leader or ruler. So sometimes it's translated ruler or prince. But it can also refer to the initiator,
the initiator of a movement, such as the founder of a kingdom or the originator of an art form,
whose example is imitated by all who follow. And in this context, it means both of those.
Jesus is the champion, the founder, the pioneer of our salvation. He blazes a trail where no one had
gone before. But he doesn't just blaze a trail and leave us in the dust. He brings us along with him.
He leads us so that we might share one day in his glory, the glory that God had always designed for
human beings to display. So you see, God's plan was fitting with his original intent for human beings.
And second, it was fitting with God's prior revelation in the Old Testament. The author of
Hebrews quotes two Old Testament passages in verse 12 and 13. And in verse 12, he quotes from Psalm 22.
Now, Psalm 22 is divided into two halves. And the first half is the cry of a man suffering terribly.
It begins by saying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And it goes on. I am a worm and not a man,
scorned and despised. All who see me mock me. My bones are out of joint. My tongue sticks to my jaws.
They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. And yet, despite his suffering,
this man in the psalm entrusts himself to God. Jesus himself quoted this psalm when he hung on the
cross. Now, as a side note, if you read Psalm 22 today, and if you had no idea where it came from
or who wrote it, you might think that it was written by a Christian, reflecting poetically
on the meaning of Jesus' death, looking back at it. But actually, it was written 900 years before
Jesus existed by King David. Centuries before the practice of crucifixion was invented,
which it seems to vividly describe. My hands and feet pierced. I can count all my bones.
It's striking how vividly it describes what Jesus endured, even though it was written hundreds of
years beforehand. But then it's even more striking if you read the second half of the psalm, because
the second half of the psalm is a confident proclamation of victory. And it begins with these
words that Hebrews quotes right here. I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the
congregation, I will praise you. And he goes on to say, for God has not despised the suffering of
the afflicted, but has heard when he cried out to him. And then it ends by saying, this shall be told
to the coming generation. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has
done it. Accomplished. Finished. Again, it perfectly describes what Jesus did on the cross,
what he achieved in his resurrection. But the point of Hebrews quoting it here is he's saying,
Jesus did all that for you and me, for his brothers and sisters, because he claims us. He says,
I will tell of your name to my brothers, my brothers and sisters. That all that Jesus did and all that
he went through was for us. Through his faithfulness, even to death, Jesus has made a way for us to enter
into the presence of God with him. That's also the point of the two quotations in verse 13.
Those two quotations are from the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah. And there's an interesting background. If you look at Isaiah chapter 8, I don't have time
to explain it all now. What I'm going to do is I'm going to write a blog post. I don't have a blog,
but I'm going to send it out with the church email this week. So if you're on the email list,
you'll get my explanation of verse 13 and how he's quoting Isaiah and why it fits. If you're not on the
email list, fill out one of those welcome cards and check, put my name on the email list and we'll take
care of it. But the first one, the first one of these quotations, Jesus is saying that Jesus trusted
God completely. He was faithful even unto death. And then the second one means that Jesus did that
for us, to bring us into God's presence with him. Now, Pastor Nick will go into these themes more next
week about Jesus' faithfulness. That's the theme of the passage next week. So again, these themes will
be developed as we go further. But we see this was fitting. What God did in Jesus, it was fitting
with his original purpose for human beings. It was fitting with his prior revelation in the Old
Testament. And finally, it was fitting with God's intent to establish a lasting bond with his people.
You know, suffering together creates a bond between people, unlike almost anything else.
I've never served in the military, but people who have tell me that the experience of being in combat
binds you to your fellow soldiers like almost nothing else. You're facing all kinds of dangers
and discomforts beyond what you would ever normally experience, but you don't turn tail and run.
And you don't give up because you're a unit. You're in it together.
You have a mission. You live and maybe even die to accomplish that mission together.
Or if you're a mother, the experience of nurturing a child inside your very own body
for nine whole months through sleepless nights, morning sickness, afternoon deliriousness,
finally going through labor and giving birth, it establishes a bond between you and that child
like nothing else. Or if you want to take an analogy, an engineering analogy, think of the steel girders
that hold up the new Q bridge on I-95 that many of you drove across to get here this morning.
Each section is made of multiple steel plates that have been welded together under an extremely hot flame,
3,100 degrees Celsius. That means 5,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
That heat would normally obliterate you right away. Right? Under that intense heat.
They're welded together so that they can withstand 50 to 100 years worth of hurricanes,
blizzards, blazing hot sun, and 150,000 vehicles driving over you every single day.
And they're not going to break. Because they've been through the most intense fire possible.
They've been welded together so that nothing can ever tear them apart.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he faced the most intense fire imaginable.
And he did not break.
He joined himself to us.
And he has united himself to us.
And established an unbreakable bond through his suffering and death.
That's why it says in verse 10, Jesus was made perfect through suffering.
It doesn't mean he was morally imperfect and needed purification.
It means that Jesus completed his purpose.
To be made perfect.
It can mean to be made complete.
Or to reach your goal.
The whole reason Jesus came to earth.
The thing that all four Gospels lead up to and climax in.
Is his suffering, death, and resurrection.
You see, it wasn't just being born as a baby that made Jesus our brother.
It was in his faithfulness to the point of death that he sealed the deal.
And now nothing can tear us apart from him.
No suffering that we face can compare with the suffering that he endured.
Our bond with Jesus is secure.
Whatever runs over us, he will hold on to us.
Do you see how fitting it is that Jesus became human?
He and suffered and died.
Do you see how much more profound and life-changing that is than spray-painting a message in the sky?
Or showing up on the front doorstep just to say,
Hey, by the way, I really do exist, just in case you wondered.
Now you might say, but that was 2,000 years ago.
It seems so far away.
We can never really be sure what happened back then.
Why couldn't Jesus come to earth now, in our lifetime?
So I could see him personally, or at least see him on TV.
But if that's your question, let me ask you.
Do you see how self-centered that request is?
Part of the very nature of being human is living in a physical body.
Which means being restricted in time and space.
Restricted to one lifetime.
In one part of world history.
If Jesus appeared in every generation, on every continent, he would not have become human.
We would have only seen temporary manifestations.
Each one of them incomplete.
If he became human, he must have lived only once on this earth.
Like all the rest of us.
And experienced, like all the rest of us, that finite limitation.
Of only living once in this world.
And yet in Jesus' one single life, 2,000 years ago,
he forever altered the relationship between human beings and God.
He took on all that was ours.
Our finiteness, our suffering, and even our death.
So that we might have all that was his.
His glory.
His life.
Everlasting.
One writer put it this way.
He said, when the creator visited his creation to dwell in it,
it was not as a star that he came, nor as a lightning bolt, nor as a white whale, or a holy book, or spirit only, but as a man.
And not as many people, not a series of prophets or divine manifestations, but as one individual, the Messiah, the Holy One of God.
Could the Lord ever be said to have been truly human if he had not restricted himself to one single lifetime,
just as he restricted the rest of us?
Yet in that one unique life, in Jesus, the centerpiece of the human race,
the wild tangent of all the frayed and decrepit flesh of this fallen old world,
touches perfectly the circle of eternity,
and is gathered with amazing mercy into it.
Jesus became,
united himself with us,
and suffered
that we might be brought
into his glory.
So it's fitting
that he did so.
That's the first thing that we see.
But it's not only fitting, it's also necessary.
It's exactly
what we, as human beings,
really need.
In verse 14 through 18,
it shows us three things that Jesus did
that we really need.
First,
in verse 14 and 15,
it says that he defeated
the devil.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same things,
that through death he might destroy
or make powerless
the one who has the power of death.
death.
That is the devil.
Now you might ask,
how does the devil
have the power of death?
There's no other passage in the Bible
that describes it
quite like that.
But the devil is described elsewhere
in the Bible
as the accuser.
In fact,
that's exactly what the Hebrew word
Satan means.
Accuser.
Adversary.
He's like a prosecutor
in the heavenly court,
constantly bringing charges
against people
and trying to get them punished.
One picture of this
is in Zechariah 3,
if you want to see a picture of this.
Now his motives,
Satan's motives,
are not righteous.
He's also described
as a deceiver
and a liar.
He's sort of like
a shady drug dealer
who entices people
with promises of easy money
and then a few months later
turns them into the police
when he has no more use for them.
You see,
the problem is
even though his motives
are twisted,
many,
though not all,
of the devil's accusations
against us
are true.
Because we have
all
broken God's law.
We have all
participated
in the system
of evil.
When you and I
stand before the judgment
seat of God,
we are guilty
of sin.
And the wages of sin
is death.
So in that sense,
the devil has the power of death
because he's the accuser.
And when we stand before God,
we are not righteous.
But it says that Jesus,
through his death on the cross,
has become
our great advocate,
our defense lawyer.
Verse 17 says,
he's a merciful
and faithful
high priest
who made propitiation
for our sins.
That word means
he made an atoning
sacrifice.
to cleanse us
and take
the judgment
that we deserved.
And so for all
who turn to Jesus
and take refuge in him,
the devil
is rendered powerless.
The accuser
is silenced.
So let me urge you,
if you haven't turned
to Jesus in faith,
turn to him today.
The accuser loves
to steal
and kill
and destroy.
But Jesus loves
to redeem
and restore
and bring abundant,
overflowing life.
You know,
maybe you
are keenly aware
of your sin.
Maybe you don't need
the devil to remind you of it.
You know it deep
in your own heart.
And because of that,
you live
in shame
and in hiding
or even with thoughts
of despair.
But in the atoning death
of Jesus Christ,
the accuser
has been rendered
powerless.
you may think
in your mind
over and over
all the reasons
that God shouldn't
love you
and shouldn't
do good to you
and why you don't
deserve it.
But that is not
the last word.
Jesus Christ
stands
as your advocate
before God the Father.
And he has never
lost a case.
He's the best
defense lawyer
in the world.
And he's come
not just
to acquit us,
but to bring us
fullness of life.
And so when our sin
is exposed,
when we see
the reality
of our sin,
God is not
driving us
to despair
or to run away
and hide
or to make excuses
and try to justify
ourselves,
but to turn to him.
To turn to the one
who bore the penalty
for us
and to receive again
his word.
of pardon
and his strength
to live
in righteousness
and walk in the light.
So first we see
that Jesus has
defeated the devil,
the accuser.
And second,
we see that he
delivered us
from enslaving
fear,
the fear of death.
Verse 15.
Jesus came to
deliver all those
who through fear
of death
were subject
to lifelong slavery.
In the Old Testament,
in the book of Exodus,
God defeated
the Pharaoh
in Egypt
who hated
the people of Israel
and wanted to kill them.
And he delivered
them
from lifelong
slavery.
And in Jesus Christ,
God has defeated
Satan
and he has delivered us
from the enslaving
fear
of death.
death.
You know,
we live in a society
that increasingly
has no idea
what to do
with death.
For the most part,
our response is
run away from it.
Avoid it
as long as you can.
We bury
our fear of death
under career ambitions
or extreme sports
or bucket lists
or living vicariously
through children
and grandchildren.
We try to suck
as much as we can
out of this life
because it's all
we've got.
You only live once.
But don't you see?
That's just another
form of slavery.
We're restless,
addicted to the
present moment
because we can't face
the inevitable
future.
And even in the church,
we rarely talk about
preparing to die.
In centuries past,
it was common
to hear whole sermons
about how to prepare
to die.
Now,
I've spent my whole life
going to church
every Sunday,
almost every Sunday.
I don't think
I've ever heard a sermon
where that was
the primary application.
Now,
I haven't preached
one either,
so I guess I have
some work cut out.
The point is,
we struggle
to deal with death.
And in some sense,
rightfully so
because death
is not pretty.
The Bible says
that death is an enemy
of God's good creation.
Jesus didn't simply
come to earth
to teach us
to make our peace
with death
and simply accept it
as part of
God's good
and natural process.
Jesus came
and he tasted death
in all its bitterness
and fully experienced it
and overcame it
and conquered it
in his resurrection.
That's what he came
to do
to liberate us
from its clutches.
Yes,
we all will
physically die.
But in Jesus Christ,
we have a brother
who has gone
through death
and come out
the other side.
so we need not
live in fear
of death.
We need not
run away from it
frantically.
We need not
cringe
before it
because Jesus
has delivered us
from its grasp.
Jesus has defeated
the accuser.
He's delivered us
from enslaving fear
of death.
Finally,
it says he helps us
when we're tempted.
Verse 16 says,
Surely it's not angels
that he helps,
but he helps
the offspring
of Abraham.
Now,
sometimes when we
think of help,
we think of a weaker
or more limited person
offering assistance
to a stronger,
more powerful person.
But that's not
what this word
means at all.
It's a strong word.
It means to take
hold of someone
or even to take
up their cause.
To be a strong
helper.
And Jesus has come
alongside us
and he has taken
hold of us
and he will not
let us go.
He has taken up
our cause
and he will not
fail.
You see,
that's why we can
hear the words
that were read
earlier in the service
from Isaiah 41,
which I think
the writer of Hebrews
is referencing here.
But you,
the offspring
of Abraham,
my friend,
fear not,
for I am with you.
Be not dismayed,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
I will help you.
I will uphold you
with my righteous
right hand.
Jesus has taken
hold of us
and so he's able
to help us
whenever we are
tempted,
whenever we are
tried,
whenever we're
going through the
fire.
Because he's not
only won the
decisive victory
in the past,
he is constantly
available in the
present.
So if you're
tempted to become
bitter,
look to the one
who tasted
death itself
in all its
bitterness.
If you're
tempted to despair,
look to the one
who has conquered
death and the
grave.
If you're
tempted to envy
others who
seem more
successful,
remember all
the blessings
that you have
in Jesus Christ,
the high priest,
the founder
of our salvation.
temptation.
You see,
Jesus knows what
it's like to
face temptation.
He's faced a
hotter fire than
any of us will
have to go through
on our own.
And you know,
we all give in to
temptation.
And so because we
give in to temptation,
we don't even know
how strong it is.
Sort of like a
runner who starts
out running a
marathon and then
he gives up after
five miles.
He says,
boy, I'm
exhausted.
I'm so out of
shape.
I could only
run.
That was awful.
You know the
people who really
know how hard it
is to run a
marathon?
It's people who
started by running
five miles and
then they've kept
on training and
training and
training until
they run all
26.
Only they know
how hard it
really is.
You see, we
all give in when
we face temptation
at some point.
Jesus never gave
in.
He ran the race
to the end.
He was made
perfect.
He achieved his
goal through his
suffering so that
we too might be
made mature and
complete through the
sufferings that we
face.
And to know that
we're not alone when
we face them.
So let me
conclude with
some words from
later on in
Hebrews where it
says, let us lay
aside every weight
and the sin which
clings so closely
and let us run
with endurance the
race that is set
before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and
perfecter of our
faith, who for the
joy that was set
before him endured
the cross,
despising the shame
and is seated at
the right hand of
the throne of God.
Consider him so
that you may not
grow weary or
faint hearted.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank
you that as the
eternal, glorious
Son of God, the
King over all that
you created, that
you did not shy
away, that you did
not hold back from
from identifying
with us, but that
you were made like
us in every respect
so that you might
call us brothers and
sisters in your
family.
Lord, that we might
have a faithful and
merciful high priest,
a companion in our
sufferings, and a
perfect advocate before
the throne of God.
Lord, we pray that
we would look to
him.
Lord, would you
strengthen us to
face whatever
adversity that we
might, that might
come, knowing that
you are the founder
and perfecter of our
faith, that you have
taken hold of us,
that you have welded
yourself to us in an
unbreakable bond.
We thank you.
Amen.
This morning we come
to the Lord's table
where we look back
and remember what
Jesus did to
establish this
unbreakable bond.
As we'll read in a
minute, Jesus said,
this is the new
covenant in my blood.
This is the bond that
I'm establishing with
you through my death.
So we look back to
what Jesus has done.
We look forward to
the day that he'll
come again in glory.
And in the meantime,
he is able to help
us in our weakness,
in our temptation,
in our trial.
So as we share in the
bread and cup today,
let's look back and
praise him.
for his achievement
on the cross.
And let's come and
receive his help.
As we take the bread
and the cup,
we're invited to
cling to him.
Amen.