Great if you could open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 2, page 1002 if you're using one of those black church Bibles.
I wonder what Christmas means to you.
I mean for many of us it means a time of busyness, a time of spending money, a time of remembering the last things we haven't done, a time of wishing we could get some rest when we can't.
And yet actually underneath all that there is something very very big going on isn't there?
We're not celebrating as the world celebrates, we're celebrating something deeper, something bigger than we could ever imagine.
There's a great line in the last battle, the last of the Narnia Chronicles, where Lisi the Valiant says that once on our earth a stable held something bigger than the whole world.
That's true isn't it?
And yet we can be so occupied with children's nativities and stables and donkeys and all that stuff, not to mind presents and turkeys,
that we actually forget what the incarnation is all about, what the Son of God taking on human flesh, what God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man, means for us.
That's why these two weeks we've been looking at Hebrews chapter 2, last week, and picking up again in verse 10 this week.
And these verses we get three pictures of what the Lord Jesus was able to do for us, what the Son of God incarnate in flesh was able to do for us.
Three pictures of his work on our behalf.
We're going to look at them briefly this morning.
He is the champion who rescues us, verse 10 and verses 14 to 16.
He is the brother who identifies with us, verses 11 to 13.
And he's the priest who represents us, verses 17 to 18.
So we can look at those briefly.
We see the idea of Jesus being our champion there in verse 10.
The word used actually is founder.
We'll see that in a second.
Verse 10.
It was fitting that he, that is God, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
That word founder is translated in many different ways in English versions of the Bible.
It can mean author.
It can mean founder, like the one who establishes a city or a school.
Leader.
Let's use that way in Acts chapter 5, 31.
Or pioneer.
Or captain.
But as we read through what Jesus does as our founder, we see he's really our champion.
The one who fights for us.
The one who swings into action to rescue us.
He does it in two ways.
He leads us to glory.
And he liberates us from slavery.
He leads us to glory.
That's actually what the writer has been talking about in the previous verses.
He talks about Jesus as the one who the father uses to bring many sons to glory.
First 10.
So Jesus is the one who leads us there.
Like the pioneer who establishes a way.
He goes first so that others can join him.
And where's he leading us to?
It's to the restored humanity.
It's been described in verses 5 to 9.
To the glory God originally intended.
But from which Adam and Eve fell by rebelling against God.
Jesus is already there.
He's now crowned with glory and honour.
He has risen again.
He is the beginning of the new creation.
And he's leading us there.
He's the one who leads us.
But as we look at verse 10, aren't there a couple of questions that come to our minds straight away?
How is it fitting that Jesus should be made perfect through suffering?
And hang on.
How can Jesus be made perfect?
Isn't that what the author is saying there?
It's fitting that he, God, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory,
should make the founder of their salvation, Jesus, perfect through suffering.
Now does that bring a question to you?
How can the eternal Son of God be made perfect?
There is no sin in him.
In fact, the writer will say later on over the page there, chapter 4, verse 15, that Jesus, as a man, had no sin.
Tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
He was perfect.
So what does this mean?
That Jesus was made perfect.
It cannot mean moral perfection.
So what does it mean?
I'm sure many of us have been to job interviews in our lives where, in a sense, we had perfect qualifications,
and yet didn't get the job.
Why?
Oh, you don't have the experience, they say.
Well, think of a young person applying to go to veterinary school for university.
They've got straight A's all the way through their school life, straight A's predicted for their A-levels,
really good report on the UCAS form from their teachers,
and yet they don't get the offer.
Why not?
They haven't got the experience, they haven't spent their holidays going lambing in the Easter holidays,
working in a vet practice during the summers,
looking after animals wherever they could.
They don't have the experience to be the complete candidate.
And that's the sense of the word perfect here, the sense of being complete.
That Jesus, through the physical experience of being a human being,
of obeying his Father in every situation,
becomes the complete saviour, the one who is equipped in every way,
who has the experience to come alongside us,
to rescue us, to liberate us.
If you look over to, just across the page there,
chapter 5, verses 8 and 9,
the writer says a similar thing there that helps us to understand,
I think.
Although he was a son, chapter 5, verse 8,
he learned obedience through what he suffered.
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation,
to all who obey him.
So Jesus had to learn obedience, not just as a theory,
but in practice, as a human being.
Of course, as the eternal son of God, he always obeyed his Father.
The very incarnation shows that.
His coming into the world was in obedience to the Father's plan.
But then as a man, he had to learn obedience too.
As a human being like you and I,
he had to learn obedience from the inside.
He had to learn it from the weakness of being human.
He had to learn to obey when it was costly,
even when it meant going to the cross.
He had to learn to obey when it required faith,
trusting that his Father would do what he had promised.
He had to learn to obey the same way you and I have to learn to obey.
In all the weakness of our flesh,
in tiredness,
in hunger,
with pressure on us.
He had to learn to obey when it was costly,
when it meant trusting.
And so he's the complete saviour,
the perfect saviour for us.
Because he's been a man like us.
So that's what it means when he was made perfect through suffering.
Of course, his obedience cost him his life.
So how is it fitting,
going back to chapter 2, verse 10 for a moment,
how is it fitting for God to make Jesus perfect,
complete through suffering?
See, some people will say it's not fitting, is it?
Some people will say,
I don't like the idea of a God,
who has to require someone else to die,
to forgive other people.
That's not very loving.
That's just cruel.
And even those who call themselves evangelical Christians,
will say that the idea of
the Son of God suffering in our place,
is nothing more than cosmic child abuse.
There's not a fitting way to talk of a God of love.
Well, that is not what the scriptures say.
The scriptures say it is fitting
that God our Father in heaven
should make his Son
obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
That was fitting to achieve our salvation.
Why?
Because it's fitting,
in keeping with the very character of God himself.
The God who revealed himself on Sinai
as being the one who keeps steadfast love for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and yet,
in Exodus 34, verse 5,
will by no means clear the guilty.
It is fitting for a God who is loving and will forgive,
and yet holy,
and will not just overlook sin.
The only fitting way to resolve that tension
was for the Son of God
to take on human flesh
and die to become the perfect rescuer for his people,
so that God's justice could be satisfied
and God's love gratified.
It was fitting for only death could bring forgiveness.
It's entirely in keeping with God's character.
So here is Jesus,
the champion of our salvation,
who leads us to glory,
because he has suffered for us,
because he was a human
and tasted death for us,
as verse 9 put it.
Yeah, that carol we sing every Christmas,
once in Royal David's City,
has it absolutely right, doesn't he?
And he leads his children on
to the place where he has gone.
Yes, that's right.
Jesus is our champion.
He leads us.
Not just to the place he's gone,
but to the state he has attained,
to the glory of restored humanity.
He's in glory kneels
to fix what is torn,
as we just sung in that last song.
So as our champion,
he leads us to glory.
But also as our champion,
he liberates us from slavery.
Look down to verse 14, will you?
Since then,
the children share in flesh and blood.
He, Jesus himself,
partook of the same things,
the same flesh and blood,
like you and I have,
that through death,
he might destroy the one
who has the power of death.
That is the devil.
Jesus took on flesh,
became a human being like us,
to die,
to destroy the one
who has the power of death.
Now, does that strike you
as a funny name for the devil,
a funny title for the devil?
The one who has the power of death.
Seems strange, doesn't it?
We need to understand
that the devil does not naturally
have the power of death.
It's not his by right.
It's not his inherent right.
Why does death come to the world?
Death comes as a result of our sin.
Death is God's judgment
on human sin.
So the devil does not naturally
have the power of death,
but the basis for his power over us
is not his natural authority,
but our sin,
our guilt.
It's like his weapon in blackmail.
How do people,
he gets gangs who extort money
from folk, don't they?
Blackmailing them.
How do they do it?
It's because they entice them
into some sort of misdemeanor,
or misdoing,
or get some photograph,
evidence of a politician
or a celebrity
doing something
they shouldn't be doing.
And then they exploit that
and blackmail them.
And so they have this power
over the person
they're exploiting,
not because it's naturally
held power,
but because of the guilt
of the other person.
Because they've enticed them
to do something
they shouldn't do.
And that's exactly
how the devil works,
doesn't it?
He seduces humanity
into revolt against God.
So death enters the world
as God's punishment
on our sin.
And the devil uses that,
he exploits it
to hold us as slaves.
Just as a criminal gang
will blackmail people.
So the devil exploits us,
but it's not his own
natural power.
He uses that fear then
to enslave us.
Look at verse 15.
Jesus comes to deliver
all those who through
fear of death
are subject to
lifelong slavery.
Now for the people
who read this letter first,
they really did live
in fear of death
for following Jesus.
In chapter 10
we discover that
many of them
had been arrested,
been thrown into prison,
had had their property
confiscated,
all for following
Jesus Christ.
And of course
they have brothers and
sisters around the world
for whom that is
a reality today.
So the fear of death
was a reason for them,
for thinking about
giving up on the
Christian faith
and just going back
to Judaism
which was so much
simpler as far
as they were concerned.
Now very few of us
in this room
experience the fear
of death like that,
do we?
And yet the devil
does use the fear
of death
to get us to do
things we shouldn't
be doing.
It's just a bit more
subtle, isn't it?
He makes us think,
he tempts us to believe
that actually we need
to live for now.
That actually all
there is is now.
So why hold on
to our money
and not invest
in kingdom work?
Well it's because
the devil is tempting
us to think that
actually this life
is all there is.
Why are we tempted
not to stand for Christ
now in our schools
or in our workplaces?
It's because we're
tempted to think
our reputation now,
our friendships now
are the most
important thing.
But actually that's
the fear of death,
the fear that there
is nothing beyond
this life.
So the devil uses
it to enslave us.
Well why give in
to sexual temptation
or seeking pleasure
through material gain
or just going
travelling for the
buzz it gives us?
It's because we think
that this life now
is all there is.
That's just the other
side of the coin
from the fear of death,
isn't it?
The fear there's
nothing beyond life now.
So the devil uses
these things to
enslave us.
So what do we need?
When people are
enslaved, what do
they need?
Those people held
hostage in the
cafe Lint last
Monday in Sydney,
what do they need?
They need someone
to come in to
disarm the terrorists
holding them captive
and to lead them
out into liberty
again.
And that's exactly
what Jesus does.
Look at verses
14 to 16
describe.
Verse 14
In his death
Jesus defeats
the devil.
Verse 14
He himself likewise
partook of the
same things that
through death
he might destroy
the one who has
the power of death.
Through Jesus'
death and
resurrection
Satan is defeated.
He no longer
has the power
of death over us.
And Jesus
delivers us
from slavery.
Delivers us
from the
disarms of the
devil.
Takes away that
fear of death
through his
resurrection.
We cannot be
enslaved to that
fear anymore.
And then he
leads us to
safety.
Verse 16
For surely
it is not
angels that he
helps
but he
helps
literally
takes hold
of to help
the offspring
of Abraham.
For that word
is used in the
Greek version
of the Old
Testament
in Isaiah
41.
It's for God
taking hold
of his people
who are in
exile around
the nations
taking hold
of them
to bring them
back into
liberty and
salvation.
And that's
what Jesus
does.
He takes hold
of us
to lead us
to liberty.
Like a
superhero
sweeping in
to get the
damsel in
distress.
Defeating
the baddie
leading her
out
taking hold
of her.
Superman
swinging
him
taking hold
of her
to fly
her away
to safety.
It's what
Jesus does
as our
champion
come to
liberate us.
He leads
us to
safety.
And who
are these
offspring of
Abraham?
That's not
the Israelites
not those
genetically
descended from
Abraham.
But it's
those who
share the
same faith
as Abraham.
That's what
Paul tells
us in
Galatians 3
verse 7.
It is those
of faith
who are the
sons of
Abraham.
If we
trust these
great promises
we're the
ones who
know Jesus
is our
champion.
The one
who leads
us to
glory and
who liberates
us from
slavery.
And that's
why he
became a
man.
So he
could do
that.
And isn't
glory what
everybody really
wants?
We don't use
those words.
But isn't
it the
ache of
every human
heart to
get rid of
the pain?
To live in
a world where
our teenage
sons don't
suffer sickle
cell and end
up in
hospital so
suddenly?
To live in a
world where
there is no
more death,
mourning,
crying or
pain?
Isn't that
the glory we
all want?
It will not
come through
politics.
It will not
come through
our hard work
as we
accumulate
enough money
to comfort
us and
to soften
the blows
of life.
It will
only come
through the
saviour who
leads us
to glory.
Isn't
freedom what
we all
want?
Isn't
freedom what
we all
want?
You may
not have a
six-year-old
daughter so
you may not
have watched
the film
Frozen.
Some of us
have done
many times.
But it's
actually a great
film in many
ways.
And yet the
big song,
the song that
is so popular
in that film,
Let It Go,
sings the
heroine Elsa.
And it
is this great
line,
no right,
no wrong,
no more
rules for me,
I'm free.
And that's
what people
want,
they want to
be free.
And people
think that
the way to
freedom is
no more
rules,
no more
responsibilities,
no more
right or
wrong.
And yet
that's not
true.
In fact
another song
in the film,
Elsa then
sings,
I'm such a
fool,
I cannot
be free.
And it's
true,
the only
one who
liberates
us is
Jesus,
who liberates
us from
the ultimate
slavery,
which is
not the
rules that
help us
to find
him,
but the
sin and
the devil
and death
which ensnare
us all.
So Jesus
is the
champion,
becomes a
man to
lead us
and to
liberate
us.
So that's
the first
picture we
get of
what he
does.
But there's
another
surprising
picture,
I think,
down in
verses 11
to 13.
What words
do we
normally use
to describe
Jesus?
We think
of him as
our saviour,
don't we?
Perhaps we
think of him as
our priest,
our shepherd,
our king,
our Lord.
He is all
those things.
How does
he speak of
us?
Look at the
end of
verse 11
there.
He who
sanctifies,
that is
Jesus,
who sets
us apart.
Those who
are sanctified,
that's us,
who have been
set apart for
God's purposes,
all have one
source,
God the
Father,
whose plan of
salvation,
all this is,
that the
Son executes,
and that
is why
he,
Jesus,
is not ashamed
to call them
brothers.
He calls us
brothers.
Isn't that
amazing?
I give
Jesus
countless
reasons
every day
to be ashamed
of me.
Don't you?
And yet
he is not
ashamed
to call us
brothers
to his
heavenly
Father and
to one
another.
Did you
ever have
an elder
brother at
school?
I don't
know if
you did.
I didn't.
My brothers
are so much
older,
they both
left school
by the time
I got
there.
So actually
all I
got was
the,
ah,
you're
John
Cashman's
brother,
and trouble
as a result.
But I
can imagine
it could be
either really
good or
really terrible
to have a
big brother
at school.
It could
be really
good if
he's the
sort of
big brother
who helps
you out
when you're
stuck,
who helps
you understand
how the
different
teachers
work,
and how
you can
learn well
from them.
The sort
of brother
who will
defend you
if others
want to
bully you,
and he's
so big
they wouldn't
dare to
do that.
It would
be great
to have a
big brother
who,
when you're
confused about
things,
can say,
don't worry,
I've been
there too,
let me show
you,
let me help
you.
That would
be a great
big brother
to have,
wouldn't it?
On the
other hand,
your school
life could
be miserable
if you had
this sort
of big
brother who
was just
too cool,
too trendy,
to want to
have a little
brother lower
down the
school who
would damage
his credibility
and his
reputation,
and who
therefore was
ashamed of
you.
You see
what sort
of big
brother Jesus
is?
He's not
the latter,
but the
former.
And that's
our big
brother,
what does
he do?
He sings
with us,
and he
stands with
us.
Look at
verse 12,
he sings
with us.
Paul mentioned
this a few
weeks ago in
our series on
worship.
This is
Jesus.
He is not
ashamed to
call them
brothers,
saying,
I will
tell of
your names,
my brothers,
and in
the congregation
I will
sing your
praise.
This is
taken from
Psalm 22,
the psalm
Jesus quoted
on the
cross.
The psalm
begins,
My God,
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
And that
psalm ends
in triumph.
So why
does Jesus
sing this
psalm with
us?
Because that
is a pattern
of the
Christian life.
He stands
with us,
singing this.
Jesus is not
only singing
to us,
he's sharing
his experience
with us,
if you like.
The first
line of
verse 12,
I will
tell your
name to
my brothers.
What is
the Lord's
name?
The name
in the
Bible is
the very
character of
God.
God's
name to
God.
It's as
if Jesus
is coming
alongside us
saying,
I know you
don't feel
like singing
this morning.
I know you
feel like God
doesn't care.
I know there
is sadness
in your life,
your dreams
are broken,
there are
things you
don't even
want to share
with people
around you.
You wonder
if God
still hears
and answers
prayers.
Let me
tell you
our
Father's
name.
Let me
share with
you my
experience.
I hung
on a
cross
forsaken
by the
Father
bearing
your sins
but my
Father,
our
Father
raised me
to life
again
because that
is what
he is
like.
He is
God who
is faithful
and just
and loves
his children
and he
loves you
too.
Just as
he raised
me up
through
suffering,
he is
merciful and
full of
steadfast love
and will
raise you
up as
well.
Come,
sing with
me as
I sing
his praises.
And Jesus'
perfect praise
covers over
and encourages
our faltering,
stumbling
praise.
He's a
brother who
sings with
us even
when we
do not
feel like
singing.
He shares
his experience.
Not only does
he sing with
us, he
stands with
us.
Look at
verse 13.
And again,
I will
put my
trust in
him.
And again,
behold I,
the children
God has
given me.
These are
words quoted
from Isaiah
chapter 8.
In the context
there was a
time of
darkness for
the people
of Judah.
The king
was useless.
Jerusalem
was surrounded
by the Syrian
army and the
Israelite army
come to
attack Jerusalem
to get rid
of the king
and put a
new king
in place.
And God
had promised
that that
attack would
not be
successful.
But most
people ignored
God's
promise.
They trusted
in human
schemes to
try and
help them
instead.
They feared
the invasion,
trusted in
human schemes,
they looked
for comfort
in bogus
spirituality,
consulting
necromancers
and stuff
like this.
But in the
midst of that
darkness,
there was this
small band
of faithful
people,
Isaiah and
his family
and those
who believed
Isaiah's
message.
And they
clung to
God's word,
they said,
I will trust
in him.
Behold,
says Isaiah,
I and the
children God
has given
me.
And we
live in
similar times,
don't we?
Days when
people will
go for any
kind of
bogus
spirituality.
Look at
the horoscopes,
look at the
spiritual churches
around.
Or many
will just
rely on human
schemes,
look for the
government to
get to start
the economy,
look to the
NHS to
solve all
our health
issues,
and not go
to the
living God.
It can be
easy to
feel that
we're in a
very small
minority as
those who
believe God's
promises,
can't it?
It can be
easy to
think,
is it really
worth it?
Yet in
that,
as we
struggle to
trust the
living God,
Jesus stands
with us,
says,
look,
I trusted
him.
Behold,
Heavenly
Father,
I and the
children you
have given
me,
we will
trust you.
He stands
with us,
he identifies
with us as
a small
minority who
still trust in
the living
God.
He is a
brother who
identifies with
us,
singing with
us in our
suffering,
standing with
us as a
faithful few.
This is
our
Saviour.
This is
why he took
on human
flesh,
so he can
be the
champion who
rescues us,
and the
brother who
stands with
us,
and thirdly,
and quite
briefly,
the priest
who represents
us.
Look at
verse 17.
Therefore,
he had to
be made
like his
brothers in
every respect,
so that he
might become
a faithful
and merciful
high priest
in the
service of
God.
He was
made like
us in
every respect,
in every
respect,
born of
a mother.
He had to
grow and
learn.
He had to
feed his
mother's
breast.
He had to
learn to
walk.
He had
to learn
to talk.
He had
to learn
to make
tables.
The second
person of
the Trinity
made tables
for a
living.
He got
tired.
He got
cold.
He got
hungry.
He got
ill, I
presume.
Why?
So that he
might become
a merciful and
faithful high
priest in
the service
of God.
What does
a high
priest do?
He
represents
people to
God,
doesn't he?
That was the
job of the
high priest in
the Old
Testament.
He does
it in two
particular ways
we see here
in verses
17 and
18.
Firstly,
to make
propitiation
for the
sins of
the people.
Then verse
18,
because he
himself has
suffered when
tempted,
he's able to
help those
who have
been tempted.
So the
high priest
first, he
makes
propitiation.
What does
that mean?
Well,
propitiation is
the sacrifice
that turns
away God's
just anger
at our sin.
It doesn't
just cover
over our sin,
but turns
the whole
anger away.
So that
God will
not be
angry at
your sin
or my
sin again,
because it
has already
been punished.
That punishment
has been
taken by
the Lord
Jesus.
This is
precisely why
he had to
become a
man,
because it
is human
sin that
incurs God's
wrath.
But it's
also why he
had to be
divine, he
had to be
the eternal
son of
God,
because he
had to be
big enough,
infinite,
eternal,
to pay
for all
our sin.
But that
is what
he's done.
Nothing
less than
one who
was fully
God and
fully man
could make
propitiation
for our
sin.
But Jesus
was fully
God, but
also fully
man, fully
flesh and
blood, so
that he
could make
propitiation,
take that
sin away
from us,
take God's
just punishment
for our sin
away from
us.
What's the
result now?
It means
that you
and I, as
we trust in
Jesus, are
perfectly
forgiven,
perfectly
loved,
perfectly
adopted as
children in
God's family.
Our sin will
not be punished
again, because
it has been
punished in
Jesus on the
cross.
So we are
safe.
Where do you
think your sins
are this morning?
We all come
here aware of
our sin,
don't we?
Yet we
confess it and
it is done as
we have heard
gloriously in
those words from
1 John earlier.
Jesus has
offered the
perfect sacrifice
to pay for
them.
Do you think
you've done
something that
is unforgivable?
What could
you possibly
have done that
is so big that
the eternal
Son of God
could not have
paid for it?
He has made
propitiation for
us.
As our high
priest, he
helps us in
temptation.
Look at verse
18.
Because he
himself has
suffered when
tempted, he's
able to help
those who are
being tempted.
It's worth
thinking about,
isn't it?
Part of
temptation is
always the
false hope of
release from
suffering, isn't
there?
it?
Why do we get
angry?
Because we
think we'll
feel better
when we've
just let it
all go.
Let's go back
to the frozen
thief for a
moment.
Why do we
give in to
those temptations?
We think we'll
be happy.
Why do we
go to the
temptation of
just spending
money on
ourselves,
buying something
ridiculous in
the sales?
It's sort of
comfort shopping,
isn't it?
It'll make me
feel better.
Jesus resisted
temptation, he
suffered temptation.
Temptation is
like a kind of
bungee rope,
isn't it?
The harder you
run from it,
the more it
will pull you
back.
Yet Jesus
resisted to
the uttermost,
even going to
the point of
death on a
cross.
He knows what
it is to
suffer when
tempted, and
so he's able
to help us in
that temptation.
Isn't that
amazing?
He doesn't
sit there and
go, you know
what, I've
done it, you
should do the
same.
Follow my
example.
Get over your
problems.
Rather, he
sympathises, he
helps us.
Years ago, I
used to go
climbing with a
friend of mine,
Billy, and I
don't have a
great head for
heights, and I'm
a bit of a
muppet when it
comes to
climbing, to be
honest.
I could never
see the hand
holds or the
footholds.
Billy was an
excellent natural
climber, but he
was incredibly
patient.
He'd show me the
way up, he'd
point out where
the footholds
were, he'd
point out where
the hand
holds are.
As he was
waiting on the
top with the
rope pulling me
up, he wouldn't
kind of go,
come on, can
she get a
move on, I'm
getting cold up
here.
He'd encourage
me.
And when, on
one particular
occasion in the
Lake District, I
was just tired and
exhausted, went
for a hand
hold and missed
and slipped and
fell, he still
had the rope.
And so he
pulled me up.
He didn't
lecture me.
He's pulled me
up, made sure I
was safe, gave
me a drink.
That's the kind
of high priest
Jesus is.
He knows our
weaknesses.
He knows what
it is to be
tired and yet
to remain
patient.
He knows what
it is to be
under pressure
from work.
After all, his
work was to be
the saviour of
the world.
None of us do
that as a day
job, do we?
And yet he
doesn't say, get
on with it.
He is faithful
to help us.
So when we're
tempted, we can
lean on him.
We can lean
on him because
he is merciful and
understands.
So what do we
celebrate at
Christmas?
Why is Christmas
good?
It's because the
Son of God took
on our flesh to
be our champion,
to liberate us,
to lead us to
glory, to be
our brother who
stands with us,
not ashamed of
us, sings with
us in our
suffering.
stands with
us as a
minority,
encouraging us
to be faithful
to our
heavenly father
and to be our
high priest,
to make
propitiation for
us, to help
us when tempted.
As Athanasius
put it back in
the fourth
century, Christ
became what we
are, that he
might make us
what he is.
That is the
good news of
Christmas.
The Son of God
took on flesh
to be our
complete
saviour.
So let us
lean on him
throughout our
lives, knowing
that one day
we will become
what he is, in
the glory he is
leading us to.
Let's pray.