I've Been There

We need a leader who can do what we cannot do and who knows the way home

Our goal today is to take Jesus out of the book and put Him into our hearts.

We want to take everything we’ve ever learned about Jesus

And maybe for the first time ever, make Jesus real.

Let’s get after it.

Children, you listen closely today, ok?

Your three words are Jesus, One, and Death.

Our text is Hebrews 2:10-18. Hebrews is in the New Testament.

Remember, to find it you go past the five T’s - 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.

You pass the tiny book of Philemon

And there is the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews was written to people who knew of Jesus but were questioning if He was really who people said He was.

Hebrews was written for those who doubt.

Hear now the Word of the Lord from Hebrews 2:10-18

Hebrews 2:10–18 ESV

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.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Let’s pray:

Dear heavenly Father,

I want to do your job today so watch me closely.

I know I can’t.

I know only the Holy Spirit can speak Jesus into a person’s heart.

Keep me from distraction so that Your people might hear.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jesus suffered so He would be perfect for us

Hebrews 2:10 “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.”

The more I read this scripture, the more fire burned in my heart.

Jesus is real in this scripture.

There is a word about Jesus for each of us in this scripture.

I ask you to consider that Hebrews was written just so you - yourself - and us - as the Church

So we could see Jesus like never before.

“For it was fitting that he...”

Fitting - sounds like a good southern doesn’t it?

Fitting means it is entirely appropriate - it was the absolutely right thing to do.

“For it was fitting that he...”

Who is he?

He is God the Father - see the next phrase.

“For whom and by whom all things exist?”

Paul uses that in one of his benedictions.

Romans 11:36 ESV

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

What’s the point?

The one who decided to create everything - from Him

The one who created everything - through Him

The one to whom all things belong - to him

The writer to the Hebrews wants make absolute certain that we are talking about the one sovereign, supreme creator and ruler of the universe.

It was created for Him

It was created by Him

No other entity in all of creation has a claim on creation.

Do you understand the groundwork being laid here?

No other entity.

No one - no thing - only Yahweh.

It was fitting that Yahweh - the only one with the power to decide the fate of all of creation

Your fate and my fate

Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory...

Listen closely to what he is saying

The Creator God, from whom and by whom - the only Person in all of creation who has the power to decide

This Yahweh decided to bring many sons and daughters to glory.

“I know this Pastor.”

Yeah, but no.

Realize the depth of this - once sin entered the world, there was nothing fitting on this earth for Yahweh to touch.

Nothing.

All sinned, all of creation groans

And yet, Yahweh chose to bring some - not all - not everyone - but some

By His own choosing, through His own criteria

He chose to bring some to glory.

And it is fitting that He did so by “[making] the founder of their salvation

The one who will make their salvation happen

The one who will come to people who aren’t even aware yet that they are in danger of eternal continual extinction

It is fitting that the man who will lead them out of destruction and into their promised land

That that One - that Jesus - would be perfected through suffering.

Now listen - “would be perfected” doesn’t mean Jesus was short one fry on His happy meal

That God had to do something to make Jesus complete.

Let’s amplify that verse a bit - “For it was entirely appropriate that Yahweh, whose right it was to save some of the sinful creation

It was entirely appropriate that He chose to save them by sending them a Deliver that was perfect for them

Because He suffered like them

And they could relate to that - He was perfect for us.

Let’s skip way ahead.

Jesus knows how enticing temptation is

Hebrews 2:14 “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,”

Now let’s think about what he just said.

“That through death, he [Jesus] might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Now let me ask you a question: Who decides the day of your death?

Psalm 139:16 ESV

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

The Lord decides the day of your death, right?

Those folks that were killed in that plane crash in Washington, D.C. the other week.

They were anticipating landing in just minutes - almost home - collecting their belongings.

And in an instant, they died.

It was a horrible surprise to everyone who loved them

The Lord knew from the beginning of time that that moment would come exactly as it did.

So what does this mean, “who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Let me take you to my favorite place in all of Israel - the desert.

Jesus was driven into the desert to be alone.

Jesus didn’t eat or drink for 40 days - for a very long time

When Jesus was at His weakest - Hungry, Lonely, Tired - that’s when the devil came.

That’s when the devil comes to you.

“You can turn these stones into bread.”

No.

“You can be the most famous man in all of history.”

No.

“You can be the richest man of all time

“You can own anything and basically anybody

No.

Would you have resisted?

Have you ever found yourself so physically needy for something that you couldn’t resist?

Could be food

Could be sex.

Could be physical pain relief

Could be emotional pain relief

Temptations you knew in your heart you should never ever give in to - and yet you craved the release.

So did Jesus.

You are good people, I know you.

But have you ever done something or said something so people would like you.

You know, like glowing Facebook posts when actually the house is a wreck and for the last 24 hours you’d just as soon live in another state than with the people you live with

Have you ever bought something that you absolutely knew you shouldn’t

That you could really afford

And you knew if would affect your ability to tithe and Lord knows you wouldn’t be able to help someone that might need it.

But you wanted it so badly you could taste it and you bought it.

Why were those passions so hard to resist?

Because the evil one wants you to die - they want you separated from God.

He and his minions know your weak spots

And they exploit them until they get you so accustomed to doing them

That they don’t have to do a thing anymore - you sin all on your own.

Every single human who ever walked the earth sinned. But along came Jesus, enduring 40 days in the desert, hungry and suffering, and he succeeded where every other human had failed. For the first time ever, Satan was defeated.

Satan was consistently defeated throughout Jesus life.

No matter the situation.

No matter the temptation.

That’s why Jesus is the perfect deliverer for us.

He did what we have never been able to do - He resisted temptation every time.

Skip on down

Hebrews 2:18 “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Michael Krueger said this too:

[Have you] Ever felt abandoned or lonely? Jesus can relate: he is the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3), rejected and put to death by his own people.

[Have you] Ever felt the grief of losing someone you love? Jesus can relate: he wept at the death of Lazarus (John 11:35).

[Have you] ever been lied about? Jesus can relate: he was betrayed by a close friend, falsely accused by the priests, and ridiculed by the soldiers.

[Have you] Ever had money problems? Jesus was poor and had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

[Have you] Ever felt misunderstood by a family member? Jesus’ own family thought he had lost his mind (Mark 3:21).

[Have you] Ever felt highly stressed? Jesus was so stressed in the Garden of Gethsemane that his sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

There is no way you could ever go to Jesus and say, “You don’t understand.”

This is how Jesus was perfected for us.

Not so He could be better

But so we could see and know, there is no other god in all of history would can say, “I’ve been there” like Jesus.

Skip back up

Jesus was the only priest to do it right

Hebrews 2:17 “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.”

The high priest is the one who stands between the people and God - he is their protector.

He prayed for forgiveness.

He made sure the sacrificial lamb was perfect.

He made the sacrifice just as God prescribed.

And there were good high priests

And bad high priests

And not a single one of them ever resisted all sin.

Some of them were not merciful.

Some of them were not faithful.

But Jesus is.

He’s the only person who never gave in to temptation.

So He is the perfect person to protect us from the wrath of God.

He is the perfect person to go between us and God.

And like the high priest, He made an unblemished, perfect sacrifice.

Instead of laying an animal on an altar and killing it

He laid Himself on an altar of Roman construction so that He would be pierced as an animal is

So His blood would pump out like the animals does

Until He was dead.

See the word “propitiation”

No one uses that word much anymore so let’s make it modern

Jesus made peace with God for the sins of God’s people.

If you are not a Christ follower, if you have no part with Jesus’ blood, you live under the wrath of God.

And deservedly so - because God created it all and He has the rules for right living

And only one has ever lived perfectly within those rules and it isn’t you.

And it wasn’t the Christ follower either until our Brother Jesus fixed it for us.

Jesus had to become one of us, so He could die like one of us, so He could show us that He can conquer death

Something not one of us could do.

So Jesus changes our timeline

Hebrews 2:15 “and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

We are believers in Jesus, but often we live like practical atheists.

We live like we’ve got to cram everything into this life.

One day we’re going to be old

One day we’re going to die.

So we’ve got to grab for all of the gusto we can get.

We have this idea that once this life is over, the fun stops.

It’s going to be church all day every day for eternity.

And while I can get into hearing good preaching all day long

I recognize that I’m the exception and not the rule.

But brothers and sisters, do we not recognize that Jesus delivers us from death to life

And if we are enjoying this world of death so much

How much better will the world of life be?

Satan and sin work to convince us that all of the fun we’ll ever have is to be had right now.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

That’s a lie straight from the pits of hell and it smells like smoke.

Jesus delivers us into a life we don’t even know how to dream about.

Dr. Charles Solomon published a poem in his workbook titled, “For Me to Live is Christ.”

This is how the poem reads:

When we get to the place of full retreat

And our heart cries out for God

The only person whose heart ours can meet

Is the one who had likewise trod

Others may offer a word of cheer

To lift us from despair

But above the rest, the one we hear

Is the whisper, “I’ve been there.”

Listen to me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that Jesus won’t say, “I’ve been there.”

He knows the way out.

He knows the way home.

He is your deliverer.

Let’s wrap this up and put a bow on it.

We are correct when we say that Jesus is our Savior

And our deliverer.

We are correct when we say that Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection saved us from our sin

We are correct when we say that those who follow Jesus will live forever with Him in the new heaven and the new earth.

All of that is right.

But what is missing is - having Jesus be real in our hearts and minds?

Sure we can define Him

But do we see who He is?

Do we understand that Jesus is exactly the man that Yahweh created you and me to be?

He’s the only one who did it right.

And He’s the only one who can make us right.

He did what we cannot do and He knows how to lead us home.

Listen, I don’t take financial advice from a poor man

I don’t take health advice from a sick man

And I’m sure not going to take life advice from an addict

I want, I need a leader.

I need someone who knows the way.

John Maxwell once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

That’s Jesus.

That’s why I follow Him.

That’s why you should too.