We See Jesus!

A grandmother grieves for her grandson who died of a drug overdose. A father and his children stare in disbelief at a note left by their wife and mother saying she was tired of them and she wanted to start a new life without them. An elderly couple lose their life savings at the hand of an unscrupulous “financial advisor.” A Puerto Rico family sifts through the ruins of their hurricane devastated home. A young husband and father dies at age 32, leaving a son and a wife pregnant with their second child.

All of these are examples of the evils of this present world that can come upon us suddenly. The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us that even if our life has been relatively happy and trouble free, the evil of this present age can suddenly overtake us without warning. He writes:

Ecclesiastes 9:11–12 ESV

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

The author of Hebrews uses the reality of evil in this life to remind his readers of how great a salvation we have in Christ Jesus. In the opening four verses of Hebrews 2, he urges his readers to “pay much closer attention” (Heb 2:1) to what Christ has said and to not “neglect such a great salvation.” (Heb 2:3) Then in Hebrews 2:5, he begins to demonstrate just how great our salvation is. We know this because Hebrews 2:5 begins with a connecting word translated as “for” or “now” in our English bibles. This word is telling us that Hebrews 2:5-9 is lending support to what the author has just taught us in Hebrews 2:1-4. Let us now read these verses:

Hebrews 2:5–9 ESV

For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8, to remind us that it is not angels, but Christ and all those who are united to Him in faith who will inherit and rule the world to come. You see, our salvation is much greater than most people realized. Our destiny is not to sit on clouds playing harps for all eternity, but to have dominion over a New Heavens and New Earth! Psalm 8 reminds us that this is what we were created for. However, when we look at this present world we don’t see humanity having dominion over the earth, rather...

We See Our Destiny Crushed

I used the word “destiny” because when Adam and Eve were created they only had dominion over a small area of this earth—the Garden of Eden. However, at their creation they received a mandate to have dominion over all the earth:

Genesis 1:28 ESV

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Moreover, in the midst of this garden was the Tree of Life and if Adam had obeyed God and had not eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would have been able to eat from the Tree of Life, with the result that he along with all his decedents would have enjoyed eternal life!

This is why in the heart of every person there is the desire for a perfect world. Our hearts long for more, because we were created for more!

Sadly, Adam failed his test and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As a result, he and all his descendants have become slaves to sin and Satan. The dominion that was once Adam’s became Satan’s. Jesus’ called Satan the “ruler of this world” (Jn 12:31, Jn 14:30, Jn 16:11) and at Jesus’ temptation, Satan clearly had dominion over the nations of this world, because he was able to offer them to Jesus. (Mt 4:8-9)

At the Fall, not only did we lose our dominion, we also lost our blessing. Rather than this world always being a blessing to us, when we look at this present world...

We See Our World Cursed

After his rebellion and fall into sin, God tells Adam what the terrible consequences of his actions would be for him and all his decedents:

Genesis 3:17–19 ESV

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

When we look at the world today, rather than seeing a world in subjection to humanity, we see a world out of control. By God’s grace there is still much good in this world, but when you step back and look at the bigger picture you see a world filled with frustration, pain and ultimately death. Decay and death are all around us. As the author of Ecclesiastes reminds us, no matter how good our life is going now, sooner or later “evil times” will catch us like a bird in a snare!

This is why it is so important to continue to diligently listen to the message of salvation Jesus brings. When our ears are attentive to the Gospel, our eyes are upon Jesus and when we look upon Jesus...

We See Our Savior Crowned

The focus of chapter one of Hebrews was upon Christ’s divine nature, but now in chapter two the focus is upon Christ’s human nature. The author of Hebrews is doing this for two reasons: First to remind us of how great our salvation is and second, to encourage us when we do find ourselves ensnared by evil. In Hebrews 2:9, the author of Hebrews reminds us, that in His human nature, Jesus “for a little while was made lower than the angels.” As we will learn in more detail in the coming weeks, Jesus was “made like us in every respect” (Heb 2:17), with the exception of a sinful nature. (Heb. 4:15) During He life upon this earth, Jesus suffered all the evils common to humanity. When we suffer those same evils, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. By doing this we are reminded that something strange is not happening to us. (1 Pet 4:12) Because Jesus suffered in this present world, we too will suffer. Moreover, it was BECAUSE He suffered that He is now crowned with glory and honor. Let’s read verse 9 again so we do not miss this important truth.

Hebrews 2:9 ESV

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Many Christians make the mistake in believing that just because they are Christians they will be spared from the evils of this world. In fact, some people become so disillusioned by suffering that they abandon the faith. When we look at Jesus however, we can see how wrong this type of thinking is. If Jesus suffered in this world, those who are united to Him must expect to share in the same types of sufferings. However, just as Christ’s suffering was not in vain, so too our suffering is not in vain. Just as Christ was crowned in glory and honor after His suffering, those too we will be crowned with glory and honor.

Let me briefly share with you some Scriptures that describe the glory and honor that will be ours in the “world to come.”

In the “world to come,” we will be coheirs with Jesus:

Romans 8:17 ESV

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

In the “world to come,” we will reign with Jesus:

2 Timothy 2:12 ESV

if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

In the “world to come,” we will no longer be “lower than the angels”!

1 Corinthians 6:2–3 ESV

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

Our salvation is great! No wonder the author of Hebrews warns us not to drift away and neglect it by not listening carefully to Jesus!

Conclusion: Look Up and Take Heart!

As I conclude this message, I want to move away from warning to encouragement. I know some of you who are listening to this message are experiencing the evil of this present evil age I spoke of earlier. I want to tell you—Look Up and Take Heart!

There was no greater evil suffered than the evil Jesus suffered on the cross, but when we see Jesus, we see the power of God to turn evil to good. God is able to take your sickness, your financial troubles, your broken marriage or whatever evil you suffer and turn them to good, just as He did for Jesus! Our glorified Savior is our proof of how great our salvation truly is! So Look Up and Take Heart, Our God Reigns!

Let us pray:

Lord God, thank you for this reminder of how great our salvation is. When we go through the dark and evil times in this life, remind us to look up and see Jesus. Amen.