Why Jesus Became a Man
Why Jesus Became a Man
Hebrews 2:5- 18 NIV
Thesis - Jesus became a man to save and succor us.
Evangelistic Objective - To cause people to receive the salvation and help of Jesus.
The construction of this epistle to the Hebrews is fascinating. The writer skillfully mixes exposition and exhortation. This alteration between teaching passages and application passages is unique to Hebrews.
In the first chapter of the epistle we are taught that there is One greater than the angels. The angels are sons (creations) of God, He is the Son of God. He is Jesus Christ. The whole first chapter is devoted to His superiority and greatness. Really the theme of chapter one is the deity of Jesus Christ.
After the exposition (teaching) of chapter one the writer moves into four verses of exhortation (application). He calls us to act on what he has taught by giving earnest heed to the great salvation which Christ has given us.
Then in the verses we've just read, the writer returns to exposition. He teaches in this passage that the One who is superior to angels, for a while, became lower than them and took the form of a man. He teaches that the Son of God became the Son of Man. The central theme of these verses is the humanity of Jesus Christ.
The first recipients of this letter had difficulty understanding why Jesus became a man. Perhaps you have a similar difficulty. The writer to the Hebrews anticipated this difficulty. He gives us four reasons why Jesus became a man. He tells us first of all that
I. He became a man so He could render the devil powerless (v. 14).
A. The devil's power is death.
1. This seems to be in direct contradiction to the Scriptures teaching that God alone controls the issues of life and death.
a) The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life. Job 2:6
b) But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Luke 12:5
2. "The sense in which Satan had the power of death is difficult to determine." -Richard S. Taylor
a) Perhaps as a prosecuting attorney, with an unbeatable case has power.
(1) Man's sin gave Satan a real advantage.
(2) The "advantage might have been a demand that a divinely threatened penalty of sin be exacted to the full."
(a) If God exacted the penalty to the full the whole human race would be a failure (Romans 3:23).
(b) If He didn't do it He would be a liar.
(1) But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. Genesis 2:17
(2) For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. Ezekiel 18:4
b) Perhaps as an executioner.
(1) He legally obtained the right to kill.
(2) He did this by getting man to sin.
B. The devil's power was destroyed.
1. The devil wasn't destroyed.
a) He is alive and well on planet earth.
b) He will never be destroyed but cast into Hell (Revelation 20:10).
2. In Christ his power was legally broken and canceled.
a) And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public sectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15
b) The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8c
3. The incarnation tricked Satan.
a) He couldn't conceive of this third action (between punishment and loss of integrity).
b) He used his own weapon of death to destroy the innocent Christ and thereby forfeited his power (legal right).
(1) "Christ turned Satan's own weapon against him." -H. Orton Wiley
(2) "The empty tomb [is] the symbol of Satan's downfall." -William Neil
There is another reason according to the writer of Hebrews why Jesus became a man.
II. He became a man so He could deliver His own from the fear of death (v. 15).
A. Only those He sanctifies experience this (v. 11; cf. 1 John 4:18).
B. By His triumph over death He eliminates the causes of fear.
1. The unknown is the cause.
a) Now we know there will be no judgment.
b) Now we know there will be a resurrection of/to life.
c) Now we know our days and times are in His hands.
2. "Death has never been the same since He died."
C. This doesn't mean the instinct of self-preservation is eliminated.
In verse 17 we are given yet a third reason why Jesus became a man.
III. He became a man to make propitiation for the sins of the people (v. 17).
A. He had to be such out of a sense of moral obligation (v. 17).
B. Only a second Adam could set the descendants of the first Adam free (1 Corinthians 15:21, 22 ).
C. The translations vary in what He was to make.
1. Reconciliation (KJV)
2. Atonement (NIV, AMP)
3. Propitiation (AMP, NAS)
4. The word includes all this.
D. The important thing is he did this for everyone (v. 9).
1. No limited atonement taught here.
2.. A complete substitutionary atonement is taught here.
3. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
The fourth and final reason our passage gives for Jesus becoming a man is to succor us.
IV. He became a man to help us (v. 18).
A. This is what succor means, to help those in great difficulty or distress; to comfort; to relieve.
B. He shared our sufferings so He could help us (v. 10).
C. He can help us in our battle with the devil because He went through it.
1. He faced inner temptations.
2. He faced outer persecutions.
To put it simply, Jesus became a man to save and succor us. Have you allowed Him to do for you what He became a man to do?
Has He delivered you from the devil's hold, from the fear and judgment of death? Is He helping you to be faithful to God? If not, it's not because He is unwilling to do so. Will you let Him do for you what he became a man to do?
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