The Great Champion

Happy New Year! I am so glad that we can be here together to worship this morning on the first day of 2023. It is the start of a new year and I am so excited on what it can bring.

Have you ever thought about Great champions?

Now I should clarify I am not referencing great champions of sports. I am talking about heros, or leaders who have inspired people to do amazing things and have also done great things themselves.

Think about it for a moment we often celebrate men and women like this.

I couldn’t help but think about a couple of examples from Movies that came to mind.

The first was Aragorn From the Lord of the Rings. I couldn’t help but think of the final movie in the Lord of the Ring Trilogy and think of his speech before the black gates.

My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day!

This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!

than they charge at the larger army and fight in what seems like a hopeless moment.

Aragorn inspired the men to do the impossible to fight even in the face of despair

A second little more modern vibe movie was Independence day. I remember watching this movie when it came out in the theaters. It was face paced and full of actions and aliens and I still remember watching this scene multiple times later when it came out on video because it was such an “inspiring” speech.

And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

It was like yeah we are going to fight and win this day. Nothing stands a chance against us because our hero just said so.

These were moments of inspiration in movies. Movies do a good job with speeches. In real life though more times than not Action is what inspires us. It is often only in hindsight that we recognize the actions of hero’s as being Heroic.

These men were Champions though and they led the way. Similarly we serve a champion and I want to share with you a passage that helps us see that this morning. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2

Hebrews 2:10–18 NIV

10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus our Champion

One of the interesting things I found when i was studying this passage was a study of a Greek word. Now I am of the opinion that Greek study is important for me to do when preparing the sermon but I try not to bring it in too much because well frankly it can be boring at times understanding how and why Greek is translated the way it is. I couldn’t ignore this word though because it was so important.

Hebrews 2:10 (NIV)

10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.

This one word is a word that is translated in a variety of ways across different translations. It has been translated as Author, leader, Captain, originator, and Prince.

This is important because it helps us understand what is happening in this passage. When the study of the language comes in you also need to understand the culture at the time. One of the aspects of the Greek culture that came into play was this word had a literary aspect to it. It was a word that was used to draw people’s minds and attention to the Hero’s or leaders of old. These would often be the founders of a city or those who lead the way or the Champions if you will. So when you look at what ever translation you may be reading. The idea behind Pioneer, Captain, or Author should spark images of a leader who is stepping out and leading the way for his people. A Champion not that different than the ones a shared about earlier.

Jesus is our champion of our salvation and it was made perfect because he suffered.

Why though did our champion have to suffer?

Jesus suffered so that...

The two examples of champions i shared early were both great leaders but they led and they found victory but it never cost them their own lives.

Jesus is our champion and it cost him his life. Jesus led and Suffered.

Jesus came to this earth as a child and lived a life on this world. He experienced everything that we go through. Sometimes I think that is hard for us to fully grasp. We often think of Jesus as perfect and perfection in our minds must mean he was never tempted. I mean if he was perfect he wouldn’t struggle with the same things that we did. That is where we are often mistaken. Jesus faced the challenges we do. He experienced humanity. That is essential in our growth of understanding who Jesus was and is.

Jesus is our brother and we are his siblings because of What God did through him on that cross. He boldly claims us as his own.

Hebrews 2:11–13 NIV

11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Jesus suffered for us and we became his family and we share now in the inheritance that is in him. That is truly a blessing. Yet, why did he have to suffer. The scriptures here present us with 2 answers.

Free us from Death

I faced the reality of death a lot this week. The beginning of the week we had spent some time with Angie’s family and her brother has been struggling with the accident he was in because of the loss of life. Similarly I also performed a funeral Friday night for a family from our old church. Greg was only a few years older than me and his life was ended suddenly. It presents the mortality and the fleeting nature of our lives. We fear death because the great manipulator uses it as his tool to hold over us.

Hebrews 2:14 NIV

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

The Devil doesn’t actually have the power of death in the sense he can control who lives and who dies but he uses his favorite tools of manipulation and deception to lead us to lives of sin and the wages of sin is death. He instills in us a fear of death that we struggle to escape.

Philosophers will try to explain why we need not fear death but often their motives are self focused. They would tell us that we need not fear death so we can truly live not hindered by the thoughts of death but to embrace life and live it to the fullest. To encourage us to enjoy our lives because we only get one.

Christianity does something similar. We are called not to fear death because the truth for us is that death is just the end of this life and the beginning of something far greater. Death is the freedom from the pains of this world. Does that mean we look to die. Of course not. We are called to live our lives as a Holy People. To recognize that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could be changed. TO live our lives for Christ knowing that the end is our gain. We no longer fear death because we know the reward that awaits those who follow and believe in Him. This is a reminder of the second reason that Jesus died.

The Glory of God

He died so that we could be made holy. He suffered and died so that we could see the his life and live a life that is pursuant of him. WE can be encouraged because we know he faced the temptations of this human body and he won. He stayed faithful to the will of God. He followed and never gave up on what God had called him to do. We are called to do the same. To do our best to live a life that glorifies God. This doesn’t mean we are going to be perfect at all times but we are to be working diligently to glorify his name. To honor him. To praise God.

Jesus our Champion

This morning we take hope in the fact that Jesus is our champion, our pioneer, the author of our salvation. To free us of the fear of death and to bring us to Glorify God. I am so thankful that we can take joy in that this morning and that we no longer need to fear death and we can be encouraged by him as we walk this life and do our best to live for God.

Let us Pray