Jesus Is Better - 3
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Is Better - 3
Introduction
On this Father’s Day we are going to address something maybe you never would have expected to be addressed on a Father’s Day. Brothers. Oddly enough, ironically enough, the passage we are looking at today in Hebrews speaks to a different family relationship than what our culture celebrates today. If you did not grow up with a brother, you have missed out…on some good and some not so good. If you did grow up with a brother, then you understand that they are a unique animal. If you are the brother…well, we know the role we play…for good and evil.
[Video] - Brothers at their best.
As we move forward in Hebrews, after having looked at a number of different aspects of Jesus’ character and identity, we are introduced to a new one…he is our brother. But before we move forward, let me remind you of where we’ve been.
presents to us this dramatic, glorious picture of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. He is the powerful Creator, the Sovereign Sustainer of Life, the mighty Victor over all his enemies, the Exalted Son, and Eternal God. At the beginning of chapter 2, the identity of Jesus challenges us.
- Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
As we looked at this text last week, we noted that “pay attention” means to anchor. Because of the identity of Jesus, we anchor our lives to him, lest we drift away. Sadly, it’s possible to do so, and since he is the only offer of this “great salvation” we will not escape if we neglect it. So we are challenged to drop our anchor with Jesus and firmly plant our lives with him. Now, for the rest of chapter 2, what we see is that the identity of Jesus Comforts us.
- 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 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. 9 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.
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. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
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, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
TS - There is much going on here in this text, much more than we could hope to deal with in one sermon. But what has really made an impact with me as I’ve read through this text are all the words of encouragement the author unpacks here. Let’s talk about a few.
- Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.
God has put all things under the control of Jesus. There is not a single thing that is outside of his control. There is nothing in all of creation that Jesus does not have power over. Some of you need to circle that phrase, “…nothing outside his control.” Because for some of you, what is going on in your life, what has happened in your home, all of seems to be spiraling out of control. There is uncertainty. Maybe even fear. There is anxiety. You’re not sure what is going on.
Here is the good news…Jesus knows exactly what is going on. And not only does he have knowledge of it, he has all power over it. Whatever you may face, Jesus is not surprised by it. He hasn’t bee caught off guard or blindsided like you. He knows, he controls everything. And that is comforting.
- That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers…
This may be my favorite sentence in the whole chapter. We have come back to it time and again over the last few weeks in studying it. It speaks to my heart, and I pray will speak to yours as well.
Listen…Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Jesus is not ashamed of us. He is not ashamed to identify himself with us. He’s not ashamed to call us his own. He is not ashamed to say that we belong to him.
I mean, we all have family members that we are a little embarrassed by, right? We try to avoid them. We don’t want to claim them. ILL - when we lived in the St. Louis area, around where I grew up, because I am clearly related to my dad’s side of the family, a frequent occurrence was that someone would walk up to me and say, “You are definitely a Stamps. I knew some Stamps growing up.” This always created an awkward moment. “Oh you know some Stamps. Uh…which ones?” Because there are some that I’d rather not be associated with. Maybe you’ve experienced that…”Oh, that’s just my crazy uncle. Sorry about him. Just ignore him like we do.”
While that can be an issue many of us deal with, it is not so with Jesus. He doesn’t hide his face when you walk in the room. He doesn’t avoid eye contact. He doesn’t tell people, “Oh yeah, that’s Frank. I really didn’t want to save him, but I kind of have to because I’m Jesus. Probably best to stay away from him.” When Jesus looks at you, he is not ashamed to shout to the heavens, “He is my brother. She is my sister. They’re with me.”
Jesus is not ashamed of you. Let that sink in to your soul. It will be impossible for you to find joy in the Gospel if you think Jesus is always disappointed in you. He isn’t. Your brother is not ashamed of you.
TS - let’s dwell on this truth that Jesus is our brother for a minute. The writer of Hebrews comes back here again in v. 17.
- Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect…
Jesus is our brother because he became just like us. sets our sights high. We see Jesus enthroned on high and seated at the right hand of God. tells us to lower our gaze and consider Jesus the man. Multiple times throughout Hebrews we are to consider Jesus’ divinity…and other times we are to consider his humanity. The One who is greater than the angels became one of us. He lowered himself and became our brother. Ironic truth...Looking at Jesus as a man doesn’t bring him lower or demote him. In fact, it elevates him all the more. Let’s spend our time together looking at three truths about Jesus’ identity that comfort us:
THE INFINITE PUT ON FLESH
The eternal, unfathomable God constrained himself to our skin and bones.
- Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things…
The writer of Hebrews argues through chapter 1 that Jesus is greater than angels and why that’s a big deal. He is higher, more exalted…yet, in one of the greatest mysteries of our faith, this One who is higher than angels chose to become lower than angels. He did that so he could become one of us.
I’m not sure we stop at this wonderful truth enough and ponder it like we should. We spend time celebrating the Incarnation at Christmas, but this isn’t just a seasonal truth. God wrapped himself in flesh. He put our clothes on. This God who for eternity past knew no constraint suddenly knows the limits of the human body he himself had created.
Max Lucado - “Angels watched as Mary changed God’s diaper. The universe watched with wonder as The Almighty learned to walk. …For thirty-three years He would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And His head ached… One thing’s for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human.”
That’s incredible right? If we think about it for too long, our heads start to ache. God put on a human body and walked the earth with us. But that isn’t even the best part. The best part is why he did that.
- 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.
Circle those three great words at the beginning of that verse…”He had to.” If God was going to save us, if Jesus was going to be able to represent humanity before God…he had to become human. This enabled Jesus to do two things…
—become a merciful and faithful high priest. Priests served as the mediator between God and people. They represented humanity before God. Jesus is our mediator. He is the one who represented collective humanity on the cross so he could…
—make propitiation for sin. This is a great theological word that other translations may say “atonement.” It means that he absorbed the wrath. Our sin has grievously offended God and we rightly stand under his wrath (talked about over and over again in the bible……we were by nature objects of wrath). So now when we say we are saved, part of what we mean when we say that is that we are saved by God…from God. Jesus becomes human, can now represent humanity at the cross, and fully take upon himself God’s wrath, poured out on him, for our sin. That’s the Gospel. That’s the beauty of what Jesus has done for us. He paid the penalty of death for sin, so that we wouldn’t have to. This leads to the second encouraging truth:
2. THE ETERNAL TASTED DEATH
- 9 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.
- …through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Jesus didn’t just come to earth and we then celebrate that cute little truth at Christmas with a baby in a manger. He went to the cross and into the grave. He became like us in every way, including in death. In so doing, he has freed us, says, from our slavery to the fear of death. Because Jesus died, we don’t have to be afraid to anymore.
In his book “The Art of Dying,” Robert Neale talks about what we actually fear when we talk about the fear of death.
—There’s the fear of helplessness. We can’t control death. We have no say in when or where it comes. This fear of not being able to control or bargain with death terrifies us.
—There’s the fear of incompleteness. When we die, we’ll leave unfinished things behind. Maybe we’ll die without finishing our work. Maybe we’ll die before we tell someone what they need to hear. Death will leave many things undone.
—There’s the fear of separation. We won’t just leave things behind. We’ll leave people behind. When death comes, it will separate us from our family, from our friends. It will rip us away from those we care about the most.
In Jesus, because he tasted death for us, because he rose from the grave, those fears can now be taken away. We know that death has been defeated. Listen to these incredibly hopeful, comforting words:
- 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
says the perfect love of God, shown to us in Jesus, casts out fear. So because of Jesus, we don’t fear death, we experience the death of fear. There is no fear of helplessness. While we still can’t control death, we know the One who does. In when the Apostle John saw Jesus, this is what happened: - 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Jesus holds all power and control, even over death.
We don’t have to fear what we leave behind unfinished. We have the hope of something eternal for us. We don’t have to fear separation from loved ones. Because of Jesus, heaven isn’t just a reunion with the God who saved us, but also with those loved ones in Christ who have gone before. Ultimately this comforting truth comes down to this: we don’t have to fear what is on the other side of death because we know who is one the other side of death.
3. THE OMNIPOTENT FACED SUFFERING
Jesus is all-powerful. Everything under his supreme rule and reign. Yet, he did not exempt himself from becoming like us in suffering.
- 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.
- 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus knows your suffering. He knows your pain. Remember that Jesus is a merciful high priest. He represents us and understands us out of that mercy. He’s Been There.
—Hurt by someone you love: He’s been there—every time we dishonor him.
—Someone betrayed your trust: He’s been there—he trusted his disciples, and look how many of his servants fall into disgrace. Even one of his original 12 turned on him in betrayal. The rest abandoned him at the cross.
—Temptation too much to bear: He’s been there—consider how he must have felt in the desert when the devil tempted him after fasting for 40 days with his power to turn stones into bread.
—Suffered physically: He’s been there—we won’t even go into the grisly details of his torture and crucifixion.
—Suffered emotionally: He’s been there—in the Garden of Gethsemane pleading with the Father to spare him the cross; crying out to God ‘Why have you forsaken me?’
—Worn out from life’s pressures: he’s been there—Scripture tells us several times that Jesus became exhausted and got away to be alone, away from the crowds and their expectations of him as Messiah.
Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus has already been through everything we go through today. That gives me confidence to go to Him with my troubles. Because Jesus came to become like us even in his suffering, as v. 18 says, “He is able to help.” He has been where we are. So we come running to him. Hebrews returns to this later in one of the more well known passages. [HAVE STAND]
- 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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