Hebrews 2:10-18

chapter 2. If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, it's found on page 1002.

We're doing a series in the book of Hebrews this fall. This morning's passage is really the gateway

into the next several chapters of Hebrews. It introduces several themes which will be developed

in more depth as we continue on. So let me say from the start, I won't be able to cover

every important concept in this passage in the depth that it really deserves.

But if you keep coming, we will dig into these things more. And it's like mining in the ground.

I have no experience doing that. That was just a random analogy that came to mind. But I'm sure

if you dig deeper and deeper, you see more and more of what's there and get more and more of that out

of it. That'll be the idea. All right. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 10 through 18. Let's read together.

Hebrews 2:10–18

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. On several occasions, people have asked me the

following question. If God is really there, why doesn't he make it more obvious? Why doesn't God

write a message in the sky for all to see God exists or I'm here? Why doesn't God come and appear to us

in person, sort of like Morgan Freeman and Bruce Almighty? It would remove doubt and uncertainty.

It would put an end to inconclusive philosophical arguments. It would establish a common understanding

for all people on earth, not just for the followers of one particular religion. Well, of course,

Christianity does say that God did come to earth as a man 2,000 years ago, and this man, Jesus,

died on a cross so our sins could be forgiven. But you might say, well, how can I base my faith

on something that happened so long ago? If God is God, why can't he just wave his hand and say,

I know you're not perfect, but it's okay. You're all cool. Why does the Christian faith need to be so

complicated and historical and bloody? A man crucified? Why isn't it more obvious?

Now, you know, it's not only skeptics who ask this question. Sometimes Christians ask a very similar

question. The book of Hebrews was written to Christians facing suffering who were tempted to give up,

and they were asking something like, if God is really there, if Jesus is Lord, why isn't it more

obvious? Why can't I feel God's presence? Why don't I see him changing our situation?

I constantly feel pain, exhaustion, maybe even guilt for not being a good enough Christian.

Maybe when you look at your neighbors who aren't religious, you think, well, maybe they're not quite

as introspective, but at least they seem happy, able to enjoy life most of the time. Is it really

worth it to follow Jesus when he seems so far away, when it doesn't seem obvious? Well, whether you're

skeptical or whether you're suffering or both, the passage that we're looking at this morning

addresses this question. And what it says is that what God has done in sending his son Jesus to live

as a human being and suffer and die is not what we would have expected or imagined. In that sense,

it's not obvious. And in fact, Christianity is the only religion in the world that makes this claim.

No other religion says that the one God who made the world became a human being and suffered and died.

on behalf of his creatures. It's a uniquely Christian belief. But strange and unexpected as it may be,

the writer of Hebrews wants us to see that what God has done in Jesus Christ is both fitting

and necessary. Verse 10, he says it was fitting that God would make Jesus perfect through suffering.

Now, there's a very interesting word, fitting. He's saying it's not arbitrary. It's not some bizarre,

random story. But rather, it's appropriate, given the nature of God. It's the missing piece that makes

the rest of the Bible fit together. It's profoundly beautiful in a way that nothing else that we can

imagine is. You know, mathematicians talk about elegance. Say that a proof or a theorem is elegant

rather than clumsy or deep rather than trivial. It's a similar idea here that he's saying this is

fitting what Jesus has done. Now, but he also says in verse 17, he says it's necessary. He says Jesus had

to be made like us in every respect. That this is exactly what we desperately need as human beings.

So if you're skeptical, I especially want you to see that the work of Jesus is fitting.

And if you're suffering, I especially want you to see that the work of Jesus is necessary. That it's

exactly what you and I need as we face the trials of our lives. Now, we've been in the book of Hebrews

for a month now. And so far, Hebrews has emphasized Jesus' divine nature. In chapter 1 and the first

half of chapter 2, chapter 1 verses 1 through 4, says Jesus is the one through whom the world was

created, the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. Verse 5 through 14,

he continues, Jesus is greater than the angels because he's God's one and only son who will reign

forever, whose ears will have no end. And chapter 2 verse 3, he says Jesus is the Lord God himself.

But then beginning at chapter 2 verse 9, the writer of Hebrews makes a shift to emphasize Jesus' human

nature. Verse 9, if you look back at the page before, he says, we see him. We see Jesus, greater than the

angels, who for a little while, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. And then he

says, the one through whom the world was brought to life tasted death. So the question follows naturally.

Why would the eternal Son of God become human even to the point of suffering and death? Why would he

lower himself in that way? Now the answer is throughout this passage, but especially in verse 10, he says Jesus

did this in order to bring many people, many sons and daughters to glory. So first we'll look at why this is

fitting in verse 10 through 13, and then we'll look at why this is necessary in verse 14 through 18. So first, why was

this fitting what God did? And we can see three reasons. First, it was fitting with God's original

intent for human beings. We saw last week in verse 5 through 9 that God made us to rule the world

gloriously, to take care of the world under God's authority. The problem was we didn't want to be under

God's authority. And so as a result, we don't rule the world very well. Our bodies are constantly afflicted

by sickness and suffering and ultimately death. We don't ultimately control our bodies. Nations are

troubled by corruption and fear and government shutdowns. We struggle to rule one another well.

And even deep in our own souls, we feel shame and fear. But you see, from the very beginning, God intended

for human beings to reflect his glory, to rule and care for the world as his representatives.

He said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the world with life. And God's committed to achieving

that original purpose. You might say, well, what did God, how could God do that? That's his purpose,

but then we refuse to be under his authority, so we mess everything up. Well, he could have just

scrapped the whole thing and started fresh. But he didn't decide to do that. He sent his son

to become one of us, to join himself to us in order to restore us to right relationship with God,

to bear the image of God as we had always been intended to be. Verse 10 says, Jesus is the founder

of our salvation. It's a fascinating word if you look into it. In some contexts, that word simply refers

to a leader or ruler. So sometimes it's translated ruler or prince. But it can also refer to the initiator,

the initiator of a movement, such as the founder of a kingdom or the originator of an art form,

whose example is imitated by all who follow. And in this context, it means both of those.

Jesus is the champion, the founder, the pioneer of our salvation. He blazes a trail where no one had

gone before. But he doesn't just blaze a trail and leave us in the dust. He brings us along with him.

He leads us so that we might share one day in his glory, the glory that God had always designed for

human beings to display. So you see, God's plan was fitting with his original intent for human beings.

And second, it was fitting with God's prior revelation in the Old Testament. The author of

Hebrews quotes two Old Testament passages in verse 12 and 13. And in verse 12, he quotes from Psalm 22.

Now, Psalm 22 is divided into two halves. And the first half is the cry of a man suffering terribly.

It begins by saying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And it goes on. I am a worm and not a man,

scorned and despised. All who see me mock me. My bones are out of joint. My tongue sticks to my jaws.

They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. And yet, despite his suffering,

this man in the psalm entrusts himself to God. Jesus himself quoted this psalm when he hung on the

cross. Now, as a side note, if you read Psalm 22 today, and if you had no idea where it came from

or who wrote it, you might think that it was written by a Christian, reflecting poetically

on the meaning of Jesus' death, looking back at it. But actually, it was written 900 years before

Jesus existed by King David. Centuries before the practice of crucifixion was invented,

which it seems to vividly describe. My hands and feet pierced. I can count all my bones.

It's striking how vividly it describes what Jesus endured, even though it was written hundreds of

years beforehand. But then it's even more striking if you read the second half of the psalm, because

the second half of the psalm is a confident proclamation of victory. And it begins with these

words that Hebrews quotes right here. I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the

congregation, I will praise you. And he goes on to say, for God has not despised the suffering of

the afflicted, but has heard when he cried out to him. And then it ends by saying, this shall be told

to the coming generation. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has

done it. Accomplished. Finished. Again, it perfectly describes what Jesus did on the cross,

what he achieved in his resurrection. But the point of Hebrews quoting it here is he's saying,

Jesus did all that for you and me, for his brothers and sisters, because he claims us. He says,

I will tell of your name to my brothers, my brothers and sisters. That all that Jesus did and all that

he went through was for us. Through his faithfulness, even to death, Jesus has made a way for us to enter

into the presence of God with him. That's also the point of the two quotations in verse 13.

Those two quotations are from the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah. And there's an interesting background. If you look at Isaiah chapter 8, I don't have time

Isaiah 8 · chapter mention

to explain it all now. What I'm going to do is I'm going to write a blog post. I don't have a blog,

but I'm going to send it out with the church email this week. So if you're on the email list,

you'll get my explanation of verse 13 and how he's quoting Isaiah and why it fits. If you're not on the

email list, fill out one of those welcome cards and check, put my name on the email list and we'll take

care of it. But the first one, the first one of these quotations, Jesus is saying that Jesus trusted

God completely. He was faithful even unto death. And then the second one means that Jesus did that

for us, to bring us into God's presence with him. Now, Pastor Nick will go into these themes more next

week about Jesus' faithfulness. That's the theme of the passage next week. So again, these themes will

be developed as we go further. But we see this was fitting. What God did in Jesus, it was fitting

with his original purpose for human beings. It was fitting with his prior revelation in the Old

Testament. And finally, it was fitting with God's intent to establish a lasting bond with his people.

You know, suffering together creates a bond between people, unlike almost anything else.

I've never served in the military, but people who have tell me that the experience of being in combat

binds you to your fellow soldiers like almost nothing else. You're facing all kinds of dangers

and discomforts beyond what you would ever normally experience, but you don't turn tail and run.

And you don't give up because you're a unit. You're in it together.

You have a mission. You live and maybe even die to accomplish that mission together.

Or if you're a mother, the experience of nurturing a child inside your very own body

for nine whole months through sleepless nights, morning sickness, afternoon deliriousness,

finally going through labor and giving birth, it establishes a bond between you and that child

like nothing else. Or if you want to take an analogy, an engineering analogy, think of the steel girders

that hold up the new Q bridge on I-95 that many of you drove across to get here this morning.

Each section is made of multiple steel plates that have been welded together under an extremely hot flame,

3,100 degrees Celsius. That means 5,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

That heat would normally obliterate you right away. Right? Under that intense heat.

They're welded together so that they can withstand 50 to 100 years worth of hurricanes,

blizzards, blazing hot sun, and 150,000 vehicles driving over you every single day.

And they're not going to break. Because they've been through the most intense fire possible.

They've been welded together so that nothing can ever tear them apart.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he faced the most intense fire imaginable.

And he did not break.

He joined himself to us.

And he has united himself to us.

And established an unbreakable bond through his suffering and death.

That's why it says in verse 10, Jesus was made perfect through suffering.

It doesn't mean he was morally imperfect and needed purification.

It means that Jesus completed his purpose.

To be made perfect.

It can mean to be made complete.

Or to reach your goal.

The whole reason Jesus came to earth.

The thing that all four Gospels lead up to and climax in.

Is his suffering, death, and resurrection.

You see, it wasn't just being born as a baby that made Jesus our brother.

It was in his faithfulness to the point of death that he sealed the deal.

And now nothing can tear us apart from him.

No suffering that we face can compare with the suffering that he endured.

Our bond with Jesus is secure.

Whatever runs over us, he will hold on to us.

Do you see how fitting it is that Jesus became human?

He and suffered and died.

Do you see how much more profound and life-changing that is than spray-painting a message in the sky?

Or showing up on the front doorstep just to say,

Hey, by the way, I really do exist, just in case you wondered.

Now you might say, but that was 2,000 years ago.

It seems so far away.

We can never really be sure what happened back then.

Why couldn't Jesus come to earth now, in our lifetime?

So I could see him personally, or at least see him on TV.

But if that's your question, let me ask you.

Do you see how self-centered that request is?

Part of the very nature of being human is living in a physical body.

Which means being restricted in time and space.

Restricted to one lifetime.

In one part of world history.

If Jesus appeared in every generation, on every continent, he would not have become human.

We would have only seen temporary manifestations.

Each one of them incomplete.

If he became human, he must have lived only once on this earth.

Like all the rest of us.

And experienced, like all the rest of us, that finite limitation.

Of only living once in this world.

And yet in Jesus' one single life, 2,000 years ago,

he forever altered the relationship between human beings and God.

He took on all that was ours.

Our finiteness, our suffering, and even our death.

So that we might have all that was his.

His glory.

His life.

Everlasting.

One writer put it this way.

He said, when the creator visited his creation to dwell in it,

it was not as a star that he came, nor as a lightning bolt, nor as a white whale, or a holy book, or spirit only, but as a man.

And not as many people, not a series of prophets or divine manifestations, but as one individual, the Messiah, the Holy One of God.

Could the Lord ever be said to have been truly human if he had not restricted himself to one single lifetime,

just as he restricted the rest of us?

Yet in that one unique life, in Jesus, the centerpiece of the human race,

the wild tangent of all the frayed and decrepit flesh of this fallen old world,

touches perfectly the circle of eternity,

and is gathered with amazing mercy into it.

Jesus became,

united himself with us,

and suffered

that we might be brought

into his glory.

So it's fitting

that he did so.

That's the first thing that we see.

But it's not only fitting, it's also necessary.

It's exactly

what we, as human beings,

really need.

In verse 14 through 18,

it shows us three things that Jesus did

that we really need.

First,

in verse 14 and 15,

it says that he defeated

the devil.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,

he himself likewise partook of the same things,

that through death he might destroy

or make powerless

the one who has the power of death.

death.

That is the devil.

Now you might ask,

how does the devil

have the power of death?

There's no other passage in the Bible

that describes it

quite like that.

But the devil is described elsewhere

in the Bible

as the accuser.

In fact,

that's exactly what the Hebrew word

Satan means.

Accuser.

Adversary.

He's like a prosecutor

in the heavenly court,

constantly bringing charges

against people

and trying to get them punished.

One picture of this

is in Zechariah 3,

if you want to see a picture of this.

Now his motives,

Satan's motives,

are not righteous.

He's also described

as a deceiver

and a liar.

He's sort of like

a shady drug dealer

who entices people

with promises of easy money

and then a few months later

turns them into the police

when he has no more use for them.

You see,

the problem is

even though his motives

are twisted,

many,

though not all,

of the devil's accusations

against us

are true.

Because we have

all

broken God's law.

We have all

participated

in the system

of evil.

When you and I

stand before the judgment

seat of God,

we are guilty

of sin.

And the wages of sin

is death.

So in that sense,

the devil has the power of death

because he's the accuser.

And when we stand before God,

we are not righteous.

But it says that Jesus,

through his death on the cross,

has become

our great advocate,

our defense lawyer.

Verse 17 says,

he's a merciful

and faithful

high priest

who made propitiation

for our sins.

That word means

he made an atoning

sacrifice.

to cleanse us

and take

the judgment

that we deserved.

And so for all

who turn to Jesus

and take refuge in him,

the devil

is rendered powerless.

The accuser

is silenced.

So let me urge you,

if you haven't turned

to Jesus in faith,

turn to him today.

The accuser loves

to steal

and kill

and destroy.

But Jesus loves

to redeem

and restore

and bring abundant,

overflowing life.

You know,

maybe you

are keenly aware

of your sin.

Maybe you don't need

the devil to remind you of it.

You know it deep

in your own heart.

And because of that,

you live

in shame

and in hiding

or even with thoughts

of despair.

But in the atoning death

of Jesus Christ,

the accuser

has been rendered

powerless.

you may think

in your mind

over and over

all the reasons

that God shouldn't

love you

and shouldn't

do good to you

and why you don't

deserve it.

But that is not

the last word.

Jesus Christ

stands

as your advocate

before God the Father.

And he has never

lost a case.

He's the best

defense lawyer

in the world.

And he's come

not just

to acquit us,

but to bring us

fullness of life.

And so when our sin

is exposed,

when we see

the reality

of our sin,

God is not

driving us

to despair

or to run away

and hide

or to make excuses

and try to justify

ourselves,

but to turn to him.

To turn to the one

who bore the penalty

for us

and to receive again

his word.

of pardon

and his strength

to live

in righteousness

and walk in the light.

So first we see

that Jesus has

defeated the devil,

the accuser.

And second,

we see that he

delivered us

from enslaving

fear,

the fear of death.

Verse 15.

Jesus came to

deliver all those

who through fear

of death

were subject

to lifelong slavery.

In the Old Testament,

in the book of Exodus,

God defeated

the Pharaoh

in Egypt

who hated

the people of Israel

and wanted to kill them.

And he delivered

them

from lifelong

slavery.

And in Jesus Christ,

God has defeated

Satan

and he has delivered us

from the enslaving

fear

of death.

death.

You know,

we live in a society

that increasingly

has no idea

what to do

with death.

For the most part,

our response is

run away from it.

Avoid it

as long as you can.

We bury

our fear of death

under career ambitions

or extreme sports

or bucket lists

or living vicariously

through children

and grandchildren.

We try to suck

as much as we can

out of this life

because it's all

we've got.

You only live once.

But don't you see?

That's just another

form of slavery.

We're restless,

addicted to the

present moment

because we can't face

the inevitable

future.

And even in the church,

we rarely talk about

preparing to die.

In centuries past,

it was common

to hear whole sermons

about how to prepare

to die.

Now,

I've spent my whole life

going to church

every Sunday,

almost every Sunday.

I don't think

I've ever heard a sermon

where that was

the primary application.

Now,

I haven't preached

one either,

so I guess I have

some work cut out.

The point is,

we struggle

to deal with death.

And in some sense,

rightfully so

because death

is not pretty.

The Bible says

that death is an enemy

of God's good creation.

Jesus didn't simply

come to earth

to teach us

to make our peace

with death

and simply accept it

as part of

God's good

and natural process.

Jesus came

and he tasted death

in all its bitterness

and fully experienced it

and overcame it

and conquered it

in his resurrection.

That's what he came

to do

to liberate us

from its clutches.

Yes,

we all will

physically die.

But in Jesus Christ,

we have a brother

who has gone

through death

and come out

the other side.

so we need not

live in fear

of death.

We need not

run away from it

frantically.

We need not

cringe

before it

because Jesus

has delivered us

from its grasp.

Jesus has defeated

the accuser.

He's delivered us

from enslaving fear

of death.

Finally,

it says he helps us

when we're tempted.

Verse 16 says,

Surely it's not angels

that he helps,

but he helps

the offspring

of Abraham.

Now,

sometimes when we

think of help,

we think of a weaker

or more limited person

offering assistance

to a stronger,

more powerful person.

But that's not

what this word

means at all.

It's a strong word.

It means to take

hold of someone

or even to take

up their cause.

To be a strong

helper.

And Jesus has come

alongside us

and he has taken

hold of us

and he will not

let us go.

He has taken up

our cause

and he will not

fail.

You see,

that's why we can

hear the words

that were read

earlier in the service

from Isaiah 41,

which I think

the writer of Hebrews

is referencing here.

But you,

the offspring

of Abraham,

my friend,

fear not,

for I am with you.

Be not dismayed,

for I am your God.

I will strengthen you.

I will help you.

I will uphold you

with my righteous

right hand.

Jesus has taken

hold of us

and so he's able

to help us

whenever we are

tempted,

whenever we are

tried,

whenever we're

going through the

fire.

Because he's not

only won the

decisive victory

in the past,

he is constantly

available in the

present.

So if you're

tempted to become

bitter,

look to the one

who tasted

death itself

in all its

bitterness.

If you're

tempted to despair,

look to the one

who has conquered

death and the

grave.

If you're

tempted to envy

others who

seem more

successful,

remember all

the blessings

that you have

in Jesus Christ,

the high priest,

the founder

of our salvation.

temptation.

You see,

Jesus knows what

it's like to

face temptation.

He's faced a

hotter fire than

any of us will

have to go through

on our own.

And you know,

we all give in to

temptation.

And so because we

give in to temptation,

we don't even know

how strong it is.

Sort of like a

runner who starts

out running a

marathon and then

he gives up after

five miles.

He says,

boy, I'm

exhausted.

I'm so out of

shape.

I could only

run.

That was awful.

You know the

people who really

know how hard it

is to run a

marathon?

It's people who

started by running

five miles and

then they've kept

on training and

training and

training and

training until

they run all

26.

Only they know

how hard it

really is.

You see, we

all give in when

we face temptation

at some point.

Jesus never gave

in.

He ran the race

to the end.

He was made

perfect.

He achieved his

goal through his

suffering so that

we too might be

made mature and

complete through the

sufferings that we

face.

And to know that

we're not alone when

we face them.

So let me

conclude with

some words from

later on in

Hebrews where it

says, let us lay

aside every weight

and the sin which

clings so closely

and let us run

with endurance the

race that is set

before us,

looking to Jesus,

the founder and

perfecter of our

faith, who for the

joy that was set

before him endured

the cross,

despising the shame

and is seated at

the right hand of

the throne of God.

Consider him so

that you may not

grow weary or

faint hearted.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank

you that as the

eternal, glorious

Son of God, the

King over all that

you created, that

you did not shy

away, that you did

not hold back from

from identifying

with us, but that

you were made like

us in every respect

so that you might

call us brothers and

sisters in your

family.

Lord, that we might

have a faithful and

merciful high priest,

a companion in our

sufferings, and a

perfect advocate before

the throne of God.

Lord, we pray that

we would look to

him.

Lord, would you

strengthen us to

face whatever

adversity that we

might, that might

come, knowing that

you are the founder

and perfecter of our

faith, that you have

taken hold of us,

that you have welded

yourself to us in an

unbreakable bond.

We thank you.

Amen.

This morning we come

to the Lord's table

where we look back

and remember what

Jesus did to

establish this

unbreakable bond.

As we'll read in a

minute, Jesus said,

this is the new

covenant in my blood.

This is the bond that

I'm establishing with

you through my death.

So we look back to

what Jesus has done.

We look forward to

the day that he'll

come again in glory.

And in the meantime,

he is able to help

us in our weakness,

in our temptation,

in our trial.

So as we share in the

bread and cup today,

let's look back and

praise him.

for his achievement

on the cross.

And let's come and

receive his help.

As we take the bread

and the cup,

we're invited to

cling to him.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.