[8:00 a.m.] The Help of the Incarnation (Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-18)

Thank you for loving each other so well.

The 8:00 AM where we still do the greeting of peace, Right?

Let's dive into God's Word now together.

Our text this morning is Hebrews 2, starting in verse 5 and going

through verse 18. 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've 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 honour because of

the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might

taste death for everyone. 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. Friends, this is the word of the

Lord. Thanks be to God you may be

seated. Father, we thank you for your

precious word, and we thank you for Jesus, the Word made flesh.

And we pray, Holy Spirit, this morning that you might shine

your light on Jesus in this passage of your word and shine

your light in our hearts, that we might see the glory of God in

the face of Jesus Christ and be drawn to him.

We pray in his name, Amen. Christmas is polarizing.

Know if you feel that, but on one side we have people like

Charles Spurgeon who said, and I just saw this last night, my

wife showed it to me. Spurgeon said, I like Christmas.

I wish it came 6 * a year. I would not stop a smile.

And on the other side we have people like Billy.

You remember Billy the little child in The Polar Express.

He was one of the last to get on the train and he stayed to

himself and he was sad and he was cynical and Billy says

Christmas just doesn't work out for me.

It never has. A lot of people see Christmas

like Spurgeon, but I think a lot of people see Christmas like

Billy, too. They see the lights, hear the

songs, watch the celebrations. But Christmas just doesn't work

out for them. They don't see the point.

They don't think Christmas really helps.

Sure, you might say Christmas helps retailers or Christmas

helps families and friends come together.

And whether that's good or bad, maybe the jury's out, depending

on your family. But on the morning of December

26th, how many people will really say Christmas helped?

So during Advent, we focused on the incarnation.

We've talked about the fullness of the incarnation, the

preeminence of the incarnation, how Jesus is true God and true

man. Today I want to talk about the

help of the Incarnation. When we really understand

Christmas we see it's the greatest help because when God

became man he brought the help we need most.

So the first thing I want us to see is the incarnation means the

help of the last Adam. Hebrews is a great book for

Advent because the author's message is really simple.

It is this Jesus is better, better than all the angels and

the things of the Old Testament, the people who have come before,

better than all the institutions and all the symbols and all the

shadows. Jesus is better.

He is the substance. And so Hebrews, if you look at

chapter 1, it opens with the prologue that you could say it,

it rivals it's it's at least in the running with John 1 and

Colossians one, it opens long ago at many times and in many

ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last

days he's spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir

of all things, through whom also he created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of

his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his

power. So Hebrews 1 spotlights the

supremacy of Christ. Jesus came not as just a

reflection of God's light, but as the actual radiance of His

glory, the exact imprint of his nature.

And when you think about it and what that means about this baby

who was born, it takes your breath away.

So in chapter 1 Hebrews overwhelms us with pictures of

Jesus glory. And then in chapter 2, Hebrews

comforts us with pictures of his humanity and His humility.

So we see in chapter one that he's superior to the angels.

And yet we see in in chapter 2 he was willing to become man and

enter our world. And that brings us into our text

this morning. The author of Hebrews takes us

back to God's original intention at creation.

He says, for it was not to angels that God subjected the

world to come. And what he means is God didn't

intend for angels to rule the world one day.

It's an interesting thought. And then he quotes Psalm 8 to

reinforce his point. What is man that you're 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've crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in

subjection under his feet. So in this ancient Psalm, David

marvels at the beauty of creation, looks around and just,

it's breathtaking. He considers the glories of the

world and then he looks at himself and he's dumbfounded

that God would make man and give him such a noble task.

God made Adam and Eve to rule and reign over creation, to have

dominion. We see this at the end of

Genesis One. We were made a little lower than

the angels, but God crowned us with glory and honor and put

everything it says under our feet.

And we don't talk about this enough, but this was and is

God's plan. He desires for His image bearers

for people to rule and reign in His name.

So of course the question is, how's that going?

And the obvious answer is not very well.

Ever since our first parents sinned and turned away from God,

our relationship to our God-given task has been broken.

We fall short of God's beautiful vision for us to be fruitful and

multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, to have dominion.

And so instead we dominate and abuse, or we abdicate and

neglect. God created us to be Princess

and princesses of creation. But like most royal families,

there is great dysfunction and we feel it.

Whether it's at the individual level or at the family level or

at the geopolitical level, our relationship with the planet and

its animals and its people is broken.

It's like God gave us this huge ball to carry and we fumble it

at every turn. So when we read in verse 8, at

present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him.

To me, it sounds like a comical understatement.

God put us in charge of everything and we can't even

manage ourselves. So we don't see God's original

intention unfolding as He planned.

But what do we see? Look at verse 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. So we all share in the first

Adam's failure. But that's not the end of the

story. Our passage says we see Jesus,

the last Adam, come to win back what Adam lost.

So when God made humans a little lower than the angels, that was

our glory. It was an honor for us to be

made as men and women in his image.

But when Jesus put on flesh and became a little lower than the

angels, that was his humiliation.

We see it in Hebrews, and we see it in Philippians 2.

Jesus went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows to

dwell with us, to live with us, to die for us.

Jesus humbled himself and therefore God has exalted him to

the highest place and given him the name that is above every

name and says Jesus is now crowned with glory and honor.

Why? Because he was willing to suffer

and to die. He was willing to taste death

and to conquer it for all of his people.

So in Jesus life, death and resurrection, in his ascension,

reign and promise return, what do we see?

The renewal of humanity. The renewal of God's original

mission. Jesus is the image of the

invisible God. He came to usher in God's

Kingdom on earth. He came to renew God's people in

his image so that they might again rule and reign with him

now and forever. The incarnation means we have

the help of the last Adam. Jesus has come to conquer all of

our enemies and invite us back into the mission.

Now, until he returns, we'll continue to live with this

tension that Jesus has already conquered, but we do not yet see

everything in subjection to him. But one day we will.

And even now, he's winning the hearts of his people and he's

changing the world, one person, one family, one church at a

time. And by God's grace, we're

empowered to be part of this remarkable mission.

He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found.

So the last Adam came to help us get on board with his mission to

renew this world this Christmas. That's the kind of help we need,

someone who can come and rescue humanity and restore us to the

mission that God has for us. That's the first thing.

The second thing is the incarnation means the help of an

older brother. How do you respond when you read

in verse 11? He's not ashamed to call them

brothers. Jesus is not ashamed to call us

his siblings. Now, the family language in the

Scriptures is really astounding. In the Old Testament, and

particularly in the prophets, we hear a lot about God referring

to himself as a faithful husband to an unfaithful bride or wife.

And it's easy to see the brokenness in that relationship

between God and the people of Israel, how far God's people

wander from the love of their heavenly bridegroom.

And we can relate to that too. But don't miss it.

God actually calls himself a husband, for your maker is your

husband, he says in Isaiah. He loves his people with that,

never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever

love. Then we turn to the New

Testament and that picture is still here.

Jesus is the true bridegroom. He loved the church and gave

himself up for her. And what are we longing for?

The marriage supper of the Lamb one day.

But in addition to this marital picture, we get other family

language. Jesus addressed God as ABBA

Father and his contemporaries were shocked that Jesus would

call God his own father. But don't miss this.

Jesus invited us to do the same. Pray then like this, our Father

in heaven, hallowed be your name.

So we recently hosted a Christmas event at our home, was

during the day and then when my son Will came home from school I

was wearing a light up Christmas jacket, some of you have seen

it, and a cowboy hat. And when Will saw me he

immediately began to move in the opposite direction away from me.

So I thought I looked festive. Will disagreed and in that

moment he was ashamed to be called my son.

But the father is not ashamed to call us sons and daughters, and

Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.

Everyone doesn't have a biological older brother.

I have an older sister. But we can all imagine the

benefit of having a good older brother.

Who wouldn't want a brother who loves us, who's with us, and who

protects us? And then when our older brother

succeeds in school or sports or work or marriage, we're

encouraged and empowered to follow in his footsteps.

Jesus is the perfect older brother.

Not cold, distant, judgmental like the brother in Luke 15.

No, Jesus is warm and near and gracious.

He runs after us when we're wandering.

He embraces us when we're grieving.

He strengthens us when we're weak.

It's not surprising when we choose to use the word brother.

Athletes love to say that they played for their brothers, or

soldiers call themselves a band of brothers.

As pastors, we refer to one another as brothers because

life's hard and there's suffering and their battles to

fight. Proverbs 1717 says a friend

loves at all times and a brother is born.

For what? For adversity.

In moments of adversity, we need a brother, and brothers shine in

those moments. And no brother ever shined

brighter than Jesus when he suffered to bring his people to

glory. So people don't always like the

notion of God putting on skin and suffering and dying.

I think they don't like what it says about God, but maybe

without realizing it, they don't like what it says about them and

what they really needed. But Hebrews says this was

fitting. It was good.

It was God's plan. Jesus is our older brother, and

in that he is the pioneer or trailblazer of our salvation.

He goes before us. He was willing to die that we

might live. He was willing to experience our

shame so that we might enjoy his glory.

And by faith, we're united with Christ, our older brother.

He became like us so that we might become like Him.

And He united himself to us. We're united to Him by faith, by

faith united with Christ our older brother, as verse 11 says.

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one

source. Because we are in Him, He is in

US, and he's not ashamed to be our brother.

So, friends, the incarnation means we have the help of the

best older brother in Christ. We're welcomed into the most

amazing family. Do you know the joy of having

Jesus as your brother? The Third Point I want to make

is the incarnation means the help of a high priest.

In the Old Testament, you'll remember, priests served as

mediators between God and the people.

They would teach God's law to the people, and they'd offer

sacrifices on behalf of the people.

Priests could help. Because of their relationship

with God and the people. They could relate.

They knew God, but they also knew what it meant to be man.

So on Friday, my sister-in-law had a baby girl.

Very exciting. It's a great joy to our family.

But I also have to say, as a man, I am not helpful when it

comes to childbirth. I've witnessed it, but I haven't

done it. I've seen it, but I haven't felt

it. But my wife has a very different

perspective. And she was standing by all

week, ready to go at a moment's notice, ready to take pictures

in the delivery room. My wife's been pregnant.

She's delivered two boys. So Anne was a very helpful

resource to her sister this week.

I also read about soldiers who go through that most intense

training. Think about the Navy Seals and

others like them, and do you know who can help them the most?

It's the soldiers who have recently completed the very same

training because they've been there, they understand, and they

made it through. And this is really what Hebrews

is saying about Jesus. He's been where we are,

experienced what we experienced, felt what we feel.

Look at verse 14. Since therefore the children

share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the

same things. And then verse 17, He had to be

made like his brothers in every respect, in every respect, like

you and me. Why?

So that He might become a merciful and faithful high

priest. But Jesus is actually far

greater when it comes to being a high priest than the men who

served in the Old Testament. Think about it.

The Old Testament priest was a sinful man standing between God

and the people. Jesus is a sinless man standing

between his Father and his people.

And the Old Testament priest was an imperfect teacher, sharing

the Word with God's people. Jesus was the Word made flesh,

teaching the Word perfectly but also fulfilling it perfectly in

his own life. And the Old Testament priest

offered the blood of bulls and goats as a temporary sacrifice.

Jesus offered his own blood as the final sacrifice.

So as the great high priest, Jesus is perfectly positioned to

help us. We could talk for hours about

all the ways he's done this, but let's just consider what we find

in Hebrews 2. Our high priest came to destroy

death. Our passage says that Jesus

became like us so 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. Ever since the fall, the devil

has used death to terrorize people.

And people often ask, what's your greatest fear?

And what do we say? Spiders.

Snakes, sharks, sharing my feelings, etcetera.

But you know what our greatest fear really is?

It's the one thing we won't even talk about.

Our greatest fear is dying. We fear the pain, the

separation, the unknown. Will we cease to exist?

The judgement. Friends, Jesus knew the power of

death, and He knew our great fear of death.

And as our high priest, he came to destroy the devil and to

deliver us from all fear. In Christ, we can live with the

confidence that death has actually been defeated.

We can know that death is not some journey into the great

unknown, but a doorway into more abundant life.

With Jesus Christ. We can have peace that Jesus has

already paid for our sins. So death will not mean God's

rejection, but his embrace and his welcome.

Our high Priest also came to make propitiation for our sins.

A propitiation is an old word, but it has a deep meaning.

Some translations try to change it or remove it, but we're wise

to hold on to it because when you change the word, you lose

the point. Because propitiation refers to a

sacrifice that takes away or appeases wrath.

The Bible is clear from start to finish.

God is holy. We are opposed to God and our

sin, and God is opposed to us in His Holiness.

And as sinners we deserve God's displeasure and wrath.

No one will get to heaven without a perfect righteousness.

That is God's standard perfect holiness, conformity to His law.

Do you have a perfect righteousness?

I don't. The beauty of propitiation is

this. Jesus has offered himself as the

sacrifice to take away God's wrath.

He paid the price on the cross. He experienced the judgement

that we deserve. God's wrath is appeased so that

we can have peace with God. So when we look to Jesus by

faith and trust in His sacrifice on the cross, God actually looks

at us as if we had never sinned. He imputes to us the

righteousness of Christ. We have a new position, a new

status, and then that leads to a whole new life.

Have you accepted Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins?

Friends, this is the help that we most need, and He offers it

even today. Trust in Christ as your great

High Priest, receive his forgiveness, be filled with His

Spirit, and walk in His ways. Finally, our high priest can

help us when we're tempted. He's able.

It says in our text. Some people think Jesus can't

help us when we're tempted because he never sinned.

I want you to think about a bridge for a second.

Do you want the bridge that caves in as soon as a big truck

goes over it? Do you want the bridge that has

stood strong, had cars passing over it for years and years, and

it's still standing? The mistake to conclude that the

sinless person can't help us in temptation because the only the

sinless person knows the true strength of temptation.

When we give in to temptation, the struggle's over.

We've already lost. But the man who never gives in

faces greater and greater temptation.

So no human has endured more temptation than Jesus.

And think about what that means for us.

Whatever your temptation, think about what you're tempted with.

Even now, think about it. Jesus knows it.

He experienced it. He resisted it.

He took the devil's best shot and never gave it.

He's the last Adam who succeeded where we fail.

He's our older brother who won the war and now shares his

victory with us. And he's our high priest who

sympathizes with our weaknesses. So in all three of these roles,

we see the breathtaking humility of Jesus.

From the highest of highs. He came down, down, down from

heaven to the womb of a virgin, engaged to a Carpenter.

And then the humiliate humiliation continue.

Why would the second person of the Trinity voluntarily take

this journey? Listen to what CS Lewis writes

when they think of a diver first reducing himself to nakedness,

then glancing in mid air, then gone with a splash, vanished,

rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold

water, down through increasing pressure, into the death like

region of ooze and slime and old decay.

Then up again back to color and light.

His lungs almost bursting till suddenly He breaks the surface

again, holding in his hand the dripping precious thing that he

went down to recover. That's the wonder of the

incarnation. Jesus stole down into the depths

of our drowning and dying humanity, and he came back up

holding a rescued and renewed humanity in a nail pierced hand.

In Hebrews 725 we read He is able to save to the uttermost

those who draw near to God through Him, since He always

lives to make intercession for them.

And what's so beautiful about this is this first brings God's

help into the present tense. It's easy to look at it and say,

oh, Jesus is the last Adam. He won the victory 2000 years

ago. Jesus is my older brother.

He went ahead of me 2000 years ago.

But when you say he's the high priest who lives to make

intercession for me, that help is now December 21st, 2025.

So if Christmas has never worked out for you, I encourage you

today to turn to Jesus, consider the child in the Manger and

realize this is no ordinary baby.

This is the last Adam and he invites us into his mission.

This is our older brother and he welcomes us into his family.

And this is our High priest who sacrificed himself for us.

No one is more qualified to help that.

No one is more eager to help. Let's pray, Father, we're in awe

of Jesus coming. We're in awe of the help that he

brought. So we pray today that wherever

people are, whatever help they need, that they would have the

grace to turn to Jesus and find in him the help that we need in

our moment of need. Thank you for the glory of the

gospel. Thank you for this good news and

thank you for the sacrament which pictures these things and

makes them tangible for us. And so Lord, come and be with

us, we need you. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.