Hebrews 2:5-18

Hebrews 2, page 1001.

If you can get that open.

That's where we're going to be together this evening.

Let me pray one more time as we come to God's word.

Our Father, we ask that you would speak and that we would listen

And that your spirit would work in each of our hearts.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Michelangelo only ever signed one of his sculptures, the Pieta.

It's a statue of Mary holding her crucified son.

And this statue stood in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome from 1500.

And it was there for four and a bit centuries until somebody in 1972 got past security

and took into it with a hammer.

Mary's arm was in smithereens.

Her nose was very badly damaged as well.

That makes throwing paint over Van Gogh's sunflowers or soup, wasn't it, over Van Gogh's sunflowers.

Seemed a bit like child's play.

But what had happened was this treasure of Renaissance art, Michelangelo's beautiful creation,

became a marred masterpiece.

And it took experts an age to restore it.

That sense of a marred masterpiece is a great description of you and me.

Men and women, boys and girls, we are a marred masterpiece.

That we are a masterpiece, the crown of God's work, comes from the creation story.

God made everything, and we're told when we read those first verses of the Bible,

that those things were good.

Trees, good.

Mangoes, good.

The silverback gorilla, good.

And then he made mankind and looked at his handiwork and he said,

Very good.

Unique.

Distinct from everything else.

Wonderful.

All by God's design.

And that's actually where our author starts this evening.

Verse 5 of Hebrews chapter 2, including Psalm 8.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

Psalm 8 begins as a meditation on that creation story.

The psalmist looks at humanity in wonder.

He looks at us as we are now.

He does that in wonder that God would bother with us.

God is so vastly glorious, so supremely wonderful,

and we are so insignificant by comparison.

And the psalmist says,

What is man that you are mindful of him?

But as he goes on,

that declaration from Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

is at the front of his mind.

Look at verse 7.

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.

He's saying,

You gave mankind this place of honor and dignity,

and you gave them this world to rule.

That was our original design.

We were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

But we know that we blew it.

We blew it.

We chose to reject God's ways in his world.

We squandered our potential,

and we damaged what God had made,

and we are inescapably marred.

We're broken.

But unlike the Pieta,

the vandalism doesn't come from outside of us.

It is an inside job.

Many years ago,

I heard a preacher referring to sin

like the employee of the bank

who goes down and opens the door for the robbers.

And he said,

Every sin you see is an inside job.

And it's a good way to put it, isn't it?

Because our sinful hearts cause the problem.

Our sinful hearts open the way for sin to come in.

But here's the thing.

Just as the Pieta was restored by master artists,

it took them a long time to be sure,

but just as it was restored by master artists,

Hebrews 2 tells us that this is what God has done for us.

Through His Son.

So the divine Son of chapter 1 of Hebrews,

the supreme one,

supreme over all things,

including, we heard last time, angels,

that supreme Son is now shown to move in our direction.

He's coming to put right, verse 5,

the world to come.

The world to come.

Do you notice he says there,

it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come,

of which we are speaking.

So it's the era that he is talking about now,

chapter 1, verse 2,

in these last days.

He's talking about the world that followed

the old order of the Jewish way of things.

Old covenant Israel.

This is the era of the new covenant.

It's not simply some time far off,

another world in the new creation.

It is this world.

God has come to put right this world,

and in particular, chapter 2, verse 10,

can you see,

He's done that to bring many sons to glory.

God is coming to restore us to the presence of God

that we have forfeited through sin.

That's what Hebrews 2 is about.

You could say that's what salvation history is about.

And it is a remarkable story.

The way Hebrews 2 unpacks it for us,

it is a remarkable story.

It first of all describes how this supreme son of chapter 1,

here's our first point,

takes our humanity.

How he takes our humanity.

As I've said, in Psalm 8,

David is speaking about mankind.

As he begins, he's talking about mankind

and the high calling that we were given in the beginning.

But the author of Hebrews then makes the connection with Christ.

Look at verse 9.

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.

He is a marred masterpiece.

He doesn't rule as he should.

Verse 9,

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels,

namely Jesus.

The psalmist knows that because of sin,

we don't have dominion over the earth,

but there is a particular man who has come to put this right.

The Lord Jesus.

So, when the Son of God took on flesh that first Christmas,

the eternal Son was made a little lower than the angels.

Now, if you were here last week,

you'll remember that I mentioned...

You'll remember.

That's presumptuous.

What I said last week was that angels are a measure of status of being.

You remember?

To be above the angels...

In the way the Bible talks,

to be above the angels is to be God.

To be below the angels is to be human.

And here we see that for a little while,

the Son, who according to His divine nature is higher than the angels,

takes to Himself the means by which He can become lower than them.

One of the early church fathers sums this up like this.

He says,

The Son of God deigns to become and to be called Son of Man,

not changing what He was, for it is unchangeable,

but assuming what He was not,

for He is full of love to man.

What He's saying there is,

all the grandeur and splendor and majesty of the One

who is portrayed in chapter 1

humbles Himself to take our humanity.

That profound truth that we sing,

our God contracted to a span,

incomprehensibly made man.

God, who is higher than the angels,

coming for a little while below the angels,

taking up residence in Mary's womb,

taking flesh.

And that humiliation marked every aspect of His ministry.

Baptized by John, you remember,

identifying with sinners.

Embracing temptation in the desert for 40 days

as the second Adam.

Living in perfect obedience to the law of God.

The Lord Jesus is the model of true humanity.

The question is, why?

Why did He make that descent from glory to earth?

It's a shocking thing to think about.

Why would the God of heaven and earth

contract to a span incomprehensibly made man?

It is a shocking thing.

And the answer is even more shocking, actually.

He did this in order to be able to suffer and die.

That's what we're told.

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.

Christ has been crowned as King.

He is ruling and reigning this evening

from the Father's right hand

in a human body.

But that exaltation only came

because of His obedience to death.

Do you see the way the writer says that?

That's the reason that He gives.

He is crowned with glory and honor.

The Lord Jesus enjoys a restored humanity

because of the suffering of death.

He has been exalted

because He was humbled.

He reigns now

because He was obedient

to the Father's plan of redemption.

And this was only possible

because He took to Himself

the ability to suffer and die.

Because He made that journey

from glory to be one of us.

There was no other way.

Verse 10, have a look.

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.

He's saying,

if God, for whom and by whom all things exist,

would bring men and women

back into His presence,

restore the masterpiece,

bring them to glory,

have them rule with Him,

as Psalm 8 tells us,

the only fitting way for this to happen

would be through the suffering

and death of the one

who was a qualified Savior.

When it says here

that Christ was made perfect

through suffering,

that's not suggesting

that there was any deficit in Him.

He wasn't imperfect

before His suffering.

Rather, the word is,

literally it is,

He is the founder,

He is the pioneer

who goes ahead of us,

and so He is therefore

a perfectly fit Savior.

And He is that,

verse 11,

because He is one of us.

Look at verse 11,

For He who sanctifies

and those who are sanctified

all have one source.

He who sanctifies,

the Lord Jesus,

and those who are sanctified,

His church,

all have one source.

Because of the shared humanity,

He is our perfect representative.

He can act on our behalf.

When He took our humanity

to Himself,

He was then able

to stand in our place.

And this was essential.

Verse 17,

Have a look,

if He would deal with our sin.

Therefore,

do you see,

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.

If our sin

will be removed,

if it will be dealt with,

He must take our humanity.

And that is what He did.

The God of glory

became one of us

so that He could suffer

and die for us.

He took what we deserve

for our failure

in order to bring us to God.

So,

the Son of God

in chapter 1

becomes a son of Adam,

not changing what He was,

but assuming what He had not been

in order to deal with our sin

and bring us to glory.

Is that not staggering?

The distance between us

and God

was infinite.

And He came down

and reached across

that chasm.

He came from the loftiest height

into the depths

of our rebellion.

He came from the sublime

perfection of heaven

to the angry hatred

of our world.

We didn't care for Him

one bit.

We weren't saying,

oh, please come and save us.

Please come and restore us

to the glory that we had

in the beginning

while we were yet sinners.

We hadn't a thought for Him

or a care for Him

in the world

and He made that journey.

And He did it to taste death

for everyone

and bring many sons

to glory.

And sons here

is the language

of inheritance.

It refers to both men

and women.

If you're a woman,

you want to be a son of God

in this sense

because it means

that you're an heir

of salvation.

It is a staggering thing

that the Lord Jesus did this.

He took our humanity.

But it is on that theme

of inheritance

and becoming heirs

that our author stays.

You see,

the Son takes our humanity

in order to,

point number two,

make us family.

That's verses 11 to 18.

He takes our humanity

in order to make us family.

That's the language that's used.

Can you see it?

Verse 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,

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 to angels

that he,

it's not angels that he helps,

but he helps the offspring

of Abraham.

The Son of God

became a son of Adam

in order to make us

sons of Abraham.

He did it in order

to make us children

of the promise,

to bring us under

God's covenant care.

He is bringing us to glory,

but we are going there

as his children.

Now,

one thing that that means

is that you have Christ

as your older brother,

and he's not ashamed of you.

Did you hear that?

He is not ashamed of you.

Think about that for a minute.

Lots of us have siblings.

Boys and girls,

look up for a moment.

Lots of you,

I assume,

have siblings that

sometime or other

have embarrassed you.

Annoying younger brothers

obsessed with toilet humor.

You don't want your friends

to meet them.

Maybe it's sisters

who talk a bit funny

or dress a bit funny.

You don't want your mates

to know that

she's your sister,

and we're a bit ashamed

to associate with them.

It could be like that

in the church,

can't it,

if we're honest with ourselves.

We have brothers and sisters

in Christ

that say and do things

that annoy us

or make us cringe

or they're socially awkward

or they're a bit intense

with bad personal hygiene.

Maybe they have extreme views,

we think.

If only they were

just a bit,

you know,

less out there

with what they thought

about things.

Pick your poison on that.

There are lots of things

we get irritated about

with our brothers and sisters,

whatever it is.

We think,

oh, they embarrass us.

We'd rather not be associated

with them.

There is none of that

with Christ.

even though we all

behave in foolish ways

and all kinds of different ways

a lot of the time,

even though we slip up often,

Jesus is not ashamed of you.

Maybe you need to hear that

this evening.

Be reminded of the fact

because there's a voice

in your head that,

well, you're ashamed

of yourself, actually,

because you did it again.

You slipped up again.

You did that thing

that you try so hard

not to do.

You committed that sin again.

Jesus is not ashamed of you.

Before the heavenly host,

before the watching cosmic powers,

in the face of accusation

from the devil,

when the devil comes and says,

is he one of yours?

Jesus says,

that's my brother.

She's my sister.

And he's not ashamed to do that.

Because for each one of us,

our salvation reveals

the purpose and the power of God.

Your story of salvation,

whether you had the privilege

of growing up in a Christian home,

and you can testify to the fact

that there was never a day

when you didn't know

and love the Lord Jesus,

that brings glory to God.

If you have had a different story,

and it was a total mess,

and he saved you

in a really radical way,

that brings glory to God.

Wherever you've come from,

your salvation reveals

the power and the purpose of God,

and he gets glory for that.

Satan says,

well, they're terribly bad, you know.

Do you think God doesn't know that?

Yes, they are,

but that is how far

my forgiveness extends.

Have you seen how dark

their heart is?

Do you think I don't know that?

That's how wide my mercy flows,

and it would flow even wider

if you could find someone

that you think is even worse.

You see, Christ doesn't bring us

to glory,

as one author put it,

holding his nose.

He doesn't...

When he saved us,

he was pleased to do so.

In fact, he was so pleased,

verse 12,

that he praises God for it.

It's a quote from Psalm 22, 22.

I will tell of your name

to my brothers.

In the midst of the congregation,

I will sing your praise.

We are aware of the joy

that our salvation

should bring to us.

We should rejoice in the fact

that we have had our sins forgiven,

our conscience cleansed,

and that we are made new,

and that we are on our way to glory.

We know that.

But here we see the joy

that our salvation brings to him.

Christ is celebrating

because he saved you.

And he stands up

in the midst of the congregation,

and he says,

God be glorified

that he has redeemed

my brother, your name,

my sister, your name.

We can far too easily forget

that our God

is everlastingly full of joy.

We worship and serve

a God who delights

to save people.

You know that, don't you?

He takes great joy in you.

I think lots of us,

lots of Christians,

believe that God has saved them

because he has to kind of

keep his word.

He saved us,

but he's not really

that pleased about it.

We're so sinful,

we're so inconsistent,

we're so weak,

and we imagine God

is just a bit

perpetually disappointed with us,

just kind of rolls his eyes.

One author says this,

God is glad,

and God is joyful.

Now, most Christians

can deal with that

assuming it's an attribute

of God thing,

that is,

he is those things

in himself.

Note this, however,

he rejoices over his people

with gladness.

He looks at the church

assembled as we are now,

and he breaks into song.

Do you ever think that?

Stop and wonder about that,

that God in Christ

wanted to save you,

and he rejoices in having done so.

He doesn't regret it.

In fact, he's so happy about it

that he sings about it.

And here's the thing,

if he's not ashamed of you,

don't you be ashamed of him.

What I mean is,

don't mumble your way

through our songs

that give him praise.

Don't step back from him

when you're told to

in the workplace

or when you're at school,

boys and girls.

And don't be shy

when it comes to speaking

about him to others.

He isn't ashamed of you,

don't be ashamed of him.

And,

if he isn't ashamed of you,

don't you be ashamed

of yourself.

Lots of us, I think,

operate under a cloud of shame.

I did it again.

I'm such a failure.

Say,

repent of your sins,

remember the promises

of the gospel

that he forgives you,

get back on your feet

and go again.

He isn't ashamed of you.

He isn't ashamed

to call you his brother.

Now, there's more to say.

Let's keep going.

Part of being in the family

is that Christ calls us brothers,

but using the language

of the Old Testament,

Isaiah chapter 8,

Isaiah 8:18

verse 18,

we then see he also

calls us children.

Through faith in him,

we are the children of Abraham.

And look at what that entails.

Do you see?

He took our humanity

all the way to death,

verse 14,

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.

The power of death

that the devil holds,

that's our fear of death.

We fear death.

All of us fear death

at one level or another,

not because our physical lives

will end.

We fear death

because we know

that it tells us something

about ourselves

that we don't like.

It tells us

that we deserve to die.

See, death isn't

a biological thing.

It's a moral thing.

It is the consequences of sin.

So when the devil accuses us,

we know that he has a point.

Fair enough.

If we came to an experience

of death,

an experience like death

as innocent people,

the situation would be

totally different.

But we're not innocent.

That's why we fear death.

And even as Christians,

for honest,

we're tempted to fear death,

which is why we need to grasp

what we're being told here.

Christ took our humanity

in order to take away

our fear of death.

And death's sting,

to use Paul's language,

that is the hold

that death has over us,

is removed because of the cross.

Christ has defeated the devil.

Jonathan Edwards,

the Puritan,

talks about Jesus going into

the belly of death

and when he's there,

poisoning death to death.

It's quite an image,

isn't it?

He's saying it's like

Jesus inflicts death

with a terminal disease

so that it spits

Jesus out to glory.

I don't know if you saw

this week the footage

of the canoeist in Chile.

And a humpback whale

comes up and swallows him.

His dad is in the canoe

behind filming him.

I can't imagine

what his experience was like.

And then the whale

spits him out

and he's unharmed.

Death is a little bit

like that for the believer.

We'll go into it,

but it won't be able

to stomach you

and it will eventually

spit you out to glory

because Jesus,

our pioneer,

has destroyed Satan

and has disarmed

his schemes.

The New Testament

has countless ways

to talk about this.

In his death,

Christ cast out

the ruler of this world,

John 12.

Christ disarmed

the rulers and authorities.

putting them to open shame

by triumphing over them

in the cross,

Colossians 2.

The cross is not just

defeat for the devil.

It's not just a points victory,

as it were.

He was destroyed.

It was a thumping.

So yes,

he still prowls around.

He is the great accuser

of God's people,

but he is a defeated foe.

His condition is terminal.

So his words

have no lasting power.

His promises

and his threats

no longer need

to pull us away.

Look at verse 18.

For because he himself

has suffered when tempted,

he is able to help

those who are being tempted.

The temptation

of these first readers

was to turn away

from Christ,

go back to their old lives.

Well, when Christ

took our humanity,

he shared in the same

struggles that we do,

but without sin.

So although the whole point

of his coming

was to die and rise

to bring many sons

to glory,

in his suffering,

he was tempted

to give up.

In Gethsemane,

he cried out in agony,

If there is any other way,

Father,

let it be so.

But he submitted himself

fully to the Father's will.

In his human nature,

he faced the temptations

and the sufferings

that come

in a human,

being human.

And what that means is

the writer of the Hebrews

is telling us

that he is able to help you

in the same struggle.

So you can hear this,

that he took your humanity

in order to save you,

that he made you family.

He's not ashamed of you,

but you've got to go

and live in a world

that is opposed to you.

Well, remember this.

Jesus faced the same

temptations and sufferings

that life in a fallen world brings.

He was without sin,

but he walked there

ahead of you.

And it means that he's able

to help you

in the same struggle.

He understands temptation.

He understands the human frame.

And he can help you

whatever your trials.

He can help you now

and he can help you later

when you face death.

Our older brother

has gone through it already

and he has taken away the sting.

When death's sting is removed,

the fear disappears.

Yes, you are a marred masterpiece.

We are marred masterpieces,

but the Son of God

became a son of Adam

in order to suffer and die

to make you a son of Abraham

and bring you to glory.

So what?

Well, look at chapter 3, verse 1.

Therefore, in light of all of that,

holy brothers,

you who share in a heavenly calling,

consider this Jesus.

Trust him.

Confess his name.

Know that he delights in you.

Lean on him

when times are hard.

And above all,

keep rejoicing in him.

Let's pray together.