Hebrews 2:9-18

Hebrews chapter 2.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

I want to spend the next two Sunday mornings

!

The writer to the Hebrews is quoting the Old Testament, Psalm 8,

and he asks the question, doesn't he,

what is man?

What is man?

What is woman?

And then in verse 9, he really gives us the answer to that in a very profound way,

where he tells us we see Jesus.

That's really the answer to the question in verse 5.

What is man?

See Jesus.

Jesus.

If you hear this, isn't it?

I hid it in a supermarket not long ago.

I love the human race.

All of my family belong to it.

And some of my husband's family too.

And I don't know if you realize you're part of the human race.

There is only one race.

I think we've got to keep saying that.

There's one race.

And that's the human race.

The Apostle Paul, when he's speaking at the Areopagus in Athens,

he's debating there with the intelligentsia of the day.

And he told them and he tells us that from one man, God has created every nation to inhabit the whole earth.

So that means there is only one race.

It's the human race.

We're part of the same race.

This morning, it doesn't matter where you come from.

It doesn't matter what the color of your skin is.

It doesn't matter what language you speak.

There's one race, one human race, and we are human beings.

And so the question, I think that Psalm 8 is asking and verse 5 is asking,

what does it mean to belong to the human race?

What does it mean to be a human being?

There's a lovely story told about the 19th century philosopher Schopenhauer.

Schopenhauer, as you can tell, I've not done much reading of him.

But Schopenhauer was like many, many academics,

and he wasn't very interested in his personal appearance.

He wasn't too worried what he looked like.

He was sitting on a park bench in a park,

apparently looking more like a tramp than a professor.

He was very disheveled.

And he was approached by a policeman who said,

Jim, who do you think you are?

And he said, I wish to God I knew.

What does it mean for you?

What does it mean to be a human being?

To belong to the human race?

And the answer to that question is found in the incarnation of Jesus.

The God who became man.

And that is why it could be argued that Christianity is properly understood,

actually really is true humanism.

As opposed to the mysticism and other worldliness of other religions.

So someone has said, I would rather be found in Christ than lost in God.

I'd rather be found in Christ than lost in God.

And so don't think that Christianity is losing yourself in God.

That's mysticism.

Christianity is being found in Jesus Christ.

Christianity is, as you come and put yourself under the rule of King Jesus,

you discover who you really are.

Who you were created to be.

You find your true identity as a human being in Christ.

And so there's two huge ideas in this passage and I want to draw it out.

Let me put it like this.

There is the man who would be God.

That's you.

That's me.

That's Adam, the first man.

The man who would be God.

And then there is the God who became man.

So those two things.

The man who would be God, verses 6 to 8.

He's quoting from Psalm 8.

And the question that Psalm raises is, what is man?

There's many answers to that question.

What is a human being?

Some of them are profound.

Some of them are ridiculous, aren't they?

Plato once defined man as a featherless bipod.

One day one of his students brought a plucked chicken into the lecture hall.

Much to his embarrassment said, is this all we are?

Is that all a human being is?

A plucked chicken?

A naked ape?

Is that what we are?

Someone with far too much time on their hands has worked out that the average human being,

that's you, has got enough fat for seven bars of soap.

Iron enough for one medium-sized nail.

Phosphorous enough to tip 2,200 matches.

Potash enough to explode a toy crane.

Sulfur enough to rid one dog of fleas.

That's what you are, chemically.

Is that all you are as a human being?

It's interesting, isn't it?

Even the most convinced atheist faced with the choice of having to run over a child or a dog

would choose the child.

Even the most hardened atheist you know, if they were faced with that dilemma,

what's the difference between a dog and a child?

What is a human being?

Isn't it surely just a highly developed animal?

Is he an undeveloped child, as Darwin thought?

Freud taught.

Is a human being a cog in a machine?

An economic unit, like Marx believed?

There's loads of different answers, aren't there, to this question.

Mark Twain apologized for man by saying that God made man at the end of a very busy week.

Because he was tired.

What is man?

Well, the answer is, if you look at these verses in verses 6 to 8,

and he's quoting from the Old Testament,

and he's telling us the Bible's answer to this question.

What is man?

That you're mindful of him.

You are mindful of him.

Or the son of man that you care for him.

You made him a little lower,

a little while lower than the angels.

You've crowned him with glory and honor.

You see, God created human beings.

And he made us a little lower than the angels.

And when he created this world in which we live,

he gave us this world to cultivate and care for.

To nurture it.

And that means it's our responsibility to seek peace,

to work and act justly,

to care for the environment that God has put us in.

That's how God created us, to rule over his world.

But at present, look what it says.

You've made man a little lower than the angels.

You've crowned him with glory and with honor.

And then verse 8,

you've put everything in subjection under his feet.

That's problematic, isn't it?

Because not everything is under human beings' feet.

The world is not under our feet.

The world is not under our control.

Everybody wants to rule the world,

according to Tears for Fears.

Frank Sinatra's favorite song was,

If I Rule the World.

I'm really up to date, aren't I?

You'll have a George Formby illustration in a minute.

But we want to thank God.

We don't rule the world, don't we?

Thank God I don't rule the world.

I can't even organize my diary.

Imagine everything was under my control.

It would be a disaster.

And it's not just me, is it?

When you look around us at human beings,

what do we see?

We don't see everything in control, in its place.

That's not how the world is, is it?

Martin Luther King famously said,

we have guided missiles and unguided men.

So we've got the technology, haven't we,

in your pockets to do astonishing things.

Man can walk on the moon,

but we can't live together.

We've got the scientific know-how

to feed the world millions,

many times over,

but still a quarter of the world's population

are starving.

And the long history of the human race

shows that human beings,

men and women,

often behave more like slaves

than sovereigns.

What is man?

God made man a little lower

than the angels to rule,

to put everything under his feet,

and we're meant to be sovereigns,

ruling under the authority of God,

the world that he's given us.

A world that is perfectly suited

to our needs,

but we can't live like that.

So back in the Old Testament,

one of the great observers of life,

Solomon,

in Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 7,

Ecclesiastes 10:7

he says this,

I've seen slaves on horseback

while princes go on foot like slaves.

If he was talking nowadays,

he'd talk about chauffeur-driven limousines

or something like that.

But who is in the driving seat?

He says,

as I look around the world,

I've seen slaves on horseback

while princes go on foot.

Paul talks in Philippians 3

about those who are the enemies

of the cross of Christ

and their God is their belly.

What does that mean?

It's exactly the same point he's making,

that the appetites and the desires

that God has created us for,

you know, things like

the enjoyment of food

and the ability to form relationships,

the gift of sex,

the context of marriage,

all those things which are good gifts

from God's hand.

They are good servants in this life

and yet they become masters

which dominate us.

Things that control us.

And so the servants are on horseback

and we are coming along behind

sort of cap in hand to our own lusts.

And instead of being in control,

we find ourselves out of control

in so many levels.

Do you see,

this is man,

man who would be God,

this is the man who would be

the captain of his own fate

and the master of his own destiny,

but we're not.

So what is the answer to that?

Here is man made by God

to be ruler over everything,

himself and this world

for the good and blessing of others,

but it's not the way things are.

And so here's where the great message

of Christmas is,

comes in.

He says,

what is man?

See Jesus.

Not the man who would be God,

but God who actually became a man.

We see him

who was made a little lower

than the angels.

That's what the incarnation is.

It is God become flesh,

the creator entering into his creation.

The king of the angels,

the one who was seated

below the cherubim,

the one whom the angels worshipped,

the king of the angels,

now made a little bit lower

than the angels.

He takes on frail flesh.

And there's three things here.

We see him as our brother

and as our captain

and as our king.

He's the king who is crowned.

He's the king who is crowned,

verse 7,

with glory and honor.

Can you see that in verse 9?

We see Jesus made a little lower

than the angels,

namely Jesus crowned

with glory and honor.

He's not the man who would be God,

but he is the God who became man.

It's not robbery,

Paul says,

for him in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

It's not robbery for him

to claim to be equal with God.

He is equal with God

and yet he humbled himself

and made himself of no reputation

and took upon himself

the form of a servant,

a slave,

and he was obedient unto death,

even death on a cross.

He did not reach out

to grasp something

that belonged to him.

He didn't covet.

That's what Adam did,

isn't it?

Which is why we're in the mess.

We're in.

Adam coveted him.

He reached out for what was not his.

He humbled himself

and Jesus is not a

Greco-Roman God

who lives on Mount Olympus,

drinking wine

surrounded by festal virgins,

who occasionally

looks down

when he's bored.

He's the God

who actually came down.

Tim Caller,

in one of his books,

retells the gruesome story

of a murder

that took place

in 1964

in New York.

I was a 28-year-old

by the name of

Catherine Genovese.

She was brutally murdered

in a place called

Kew Gardens,

but in New York.

It was a grisly killing

and what particularly

hit the headlines

was not so much

the killing,

because that happens

in all big cities,

doesn't it,

all the time.

It was the response

of the neighbors

as she screamed for help.

38 witnesses

did nothing to help.

People opened their windows.

They looked out,

but nobody bothered

to call the police.

One witness later

explained himself

with a phrase

that passed in infamy,

I didn't want

to get involved.

According to the reports,

the people opened

their windows

and looked down.

Some called down

and the murderer

went away,

but came back

to finish her off.

Jesus,

Jesus didn't open

the window

and look down.

Jesus heard

our screams

and came down.

He's not some

Greek or Roman God

who lives in his own world

and is not really

interested in us.

Jesus,

here's the one

who appeared

to Moses

in the burning bush.

The angel of the Lord

who appeared

in the burning bush

and he says,

I've seen the misery

of my people,

I've heard their cries

and I'm concerned

about their suffering.

and I've come down

to deliver

and this is the one

who appeared

in that manger

in Bethlehem.

There's a great little

picture of a manger

and the caption

in the cartoon

above the manger

says,

king-sized bed.

It's great,

isn't it?

That's what happened

to the king,

the king of the angels,

the Lord of lords

didn't just look down,

he didn't just hear

our screams,

he's come down

to do something about it,

to deliver us

and we look around

the world

and we don't see

the world as it was

meant to be

and our lives are not

as they were meant to be

but we see Jesus

this Christmas

and we want our friends

and our neighbours

to see Jesus

because Jesus is

the hope of the world.

We see Jesus

in that manger

and it is a king-sized bed

because the king

has come down

to do something

about the mess

we've got ourselves into.

He's our king,

he's the captain

of our salvation.

Look at verse 10

with me.

It says,

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,

the captain

of their salvation

perfect through suffering.

And so verse 10

is saying

he's not the one

who's appeared

in the burning bush

as an angel

of the Lord.

He is that one

who appeared

in the burning bush.

He is the one

who appeared

to Joshua

at Jericho

as the captain

of the Lord's army.

He is the captain

of our salvation

and now he comes

to champion

our cause.

The burning bush

in Joshua

it's just an appearance,

it's fleeting,

it's temporary.

It's foreshadowing

something,

it's pointing you

to something,

it's a tantalizing

glimpse.

But now

here is the reality

the writer

of the Hebrews says.

Here is

the founder,

here is the captain,

here is the champion

of our salvation

who's actually come.

And you notice

in verse 10

do you see

what he brings?

He's bringing

many sons

to glory.

Many sons

to glory.

Literally

he's the arch leader.

Literally

he's the founder,

he's the trailblazer,

he's the pioneer.

And it was fitting

that

God should make him

perfect.

In other words,

Jesus is perfectly

suited to this job

of saving.

Perfectly

suited

to this job

of saving

through suffering.

suffering.

So it's not

enough for him

to come

and for him

to appear.

He has to

become one

of us.

He has to

take frail

human flesh

in order to

bleed and die.

It was

fitting

that God

should make

the captain

of our salvation

perfectly

suited

through suffering.

So imagine

someone is trapped

in a burning

building.

you don't

send someone

just in a pair

of Speedos

into that burning

building,

do you?

You don't do that

because that would

not be fitting.

But if somebody

was drowning

in the sea,

you wouldn't

send someone

in full

fireman's gear,

would you?

That wouldn't

be fitting either

because

the type

of rescue

defines

the kind

of rescuer

you need.

Can you see that?

And Jesus

is exactly

the kind

of rescuer

that you need.

There's an

old acronym.

Jesus,

you take

the letters,

Jesus

exactly

suits

us

sinners.

Jesus,

Jesus

exactly

suits

us

sinners.

sinners.

He's the

God who

became man

in order to

suffer and

bleed and

die for

our sins.

He's put

on the

uniform of

our humanity,

if I can put

it like that.

He's become

an authentic

human being

in every sense

of the word,

psychologically,

emotionally,

spiritually.

He's become

one of us

in order to

rescue us.

Jesus

exactly

suits us

as sinners.

He's not only

the king

and the

captain,

but notice

also he's

our brother.

Verse 11

and 12.

For he

who

sanctifies

these,

he who

sets us

apart,

and those

who are

sanctified,

all of

one source,

that is

why he

is not

ashamed to

call them

brothers.

Saying,

I will

tell of

your name,

God,

to my

brothers,

and in

the midst

of the

congregation,

I will

sing your

praise.

And again,

I will

put my

trust in

him,

and again,

behold,

I,

look,

I and

the

children

God has

given

me.

That's

what

Christmas

means.

It means

that the

God who

created us

has now

actually come

amongst us

and has

brought us

into his

family.

And it

says,

doesn't it,

Jesus is

not ashamed

to call us

brothers.

brothers.

Our

Western

individualistic

society is

quite different

to Jesus.

In the

world of the

New Testament,

family matters

much more

than it does

even in our

culture.

And so if

you go for a

job today,

you come up

with a CV

and you come

up with

references,

you list

your achievements

and your

accomplishments

and that is

what will

get you the

job.

But in the

ancient world,

in the New

Testament world,

it wasn't

like that

at all.

And in

lots of

cultures today,

maybe some

of the

cultures you

come from,

it's not

like that.

That you're

not so much

a product of

your own

choices and

your own

decisions,

you are

actually a

product of

your family.

And so

what they

want is,

if you are

going to

commend

yourself to

an employer

or someone

in the

ancient world,

what they

want is not

so much a

CV, a

list of

all your

accomplishments

and all your

achievements,

but what

they want

is your

family tree.

What family

are you from?

Can I

trust you?

And so

it's

interesting,

isn't it,

that the

Gospels,

what do they

begin with,

Matthew and

Luke?

They begin,

don't they,

with a

genealogy.

they begin

with a

family tree.

And Matthew

and Luke

are writing

the Gospels

to commend

Jesus to

the world

and he

starts not

with a

CV and

not with a

record of

achievement,

but with a

family tree.

And who

do you find

in that

family tree,

Matthew chapter

one?

There's all

sorts of

different names,

aren't there?

it's not an

exhaustive list

of kind of

every generation,

but there's

four or five

women in there

for a start,

which is

unheard of

in Jesus'

day.

Because the

status of

women is

something that

the Gospel

of Jesus

Christ actually

brought in.

In the

ancient world,

women had

no status,

and you

wouldn't put

them in

your CV,

but in

Jesus'

CV,

there are

four or

five women

in the

family tree.

There's

Tamar,

sordid

story of

incest.

Bathsheba,

and the

story of

her adultery

with David,

there's

Rahab,

the prostitute,

in the

genealogy of

Jesus,

and there's

Mary,

a single

mom,

an unmarried

mom.

And by

the moral

standards of

the day,

they would

be seen as

the black

sheep.

And if you

wanted to

commend

yourself and

put yourself

forward,

you wouldn't

put those

people in

your family

tree.

You'd put

the high

achievers

in the

family tree

and all

the famous

people.

You wouldn't

put the

black sheep

in at all.

The people

you're ashamed

of.

But Jesus

is not ashamed

of you.

He's not ashamed

of me.

to call us

his family.

He's not

ashamed to

call us

his brothers

and sisters.

So it

doesn't matter

what you've

done.

It doesn't

matter how

many skeletons

are in your

cupboard.

In his

incarnation,

in his

becoming a

man,

and by his

sacrifice for

our sins on

the cross,

Jesus is not

ashamed to

call his

people his

brothers and

sisters.

So does it

matter what

they think of

you in

school?

Does it?

Does it

matter what

they think of

you in

work?

Does it

matter what

people say

about you

when Jesus

is not ashamed

to call you

his brother?

He is our

king.

king.

And he

is our

captain.

And he

is our

brother.

Let me

try and

apply this

to you.

What are

you afraid

of this

morning?

What are

you afraid

of?

Are you afraid

of the

future?

Lots of

people are

very afraid,

aren't they?

I was at a

party last

night where

people didn't

know what to

talk about,

so everybody

talked about

the cost of

living

crisis?

Are you

afraid of

the future?

Look what it

says in

verse 5,

can you see

that?

For it was

not to

angels that

God subjected

the world

to come.

That's the

future way to

talk about.

That is the

world as it

will be,

the world as

it should be,

and Jesus

has been

there.

And if

you belong

to the

Lord Jesus,

that is

your future.

You belong

to Jesus

in the

world to

come,

where

everything

is going

to be

in its

place,

a world

where

everything

sad has

become

untrue,

a world

where

everything

will be

as it

was meant

to be.

No

sickness,

no sadness,

no sorrow,

no death,

no difficult

Christmas.

And so

what hope

is there

of that

in the

world?

Is Rishi

Sunak

going to

bring that

in?

We know

he won't,

don't we?

But we

do see

Jesus.

And that's

why Christmas

matters so,

so much,

doesn't it?

The message

of the

incarnation

is so

relevant

to our

world.

We do

see Jesus,

the one

who will

rule the

world to

come,

and he

is the

man

who

Psalm 8

is all

about,

and through

him it

will be

true for

us.

So are

you afraid

of the

future?

your

captain

has secured

your future.

Everything

will be

under his

feet.

Are you afraid

of the

past?

Are there

things in

your life

that you

wouldn't be

able to

live down

if it all

came out?

skeletons.

We've all

got skeletons

in the

cupboard,

haven't we?

But some

are bigger

than others.

Some are

more scary

than others.

All of us

have got

a history.

We have

all got

things that

we are

terribly

ashamed

of,

and we

wouldn't

want anyone

else to

know.

We've all

got that,

haven't we?

But Jesus

does know

about that.

Jesus knows

about those

things,

and he is

not ashamed

to call you

his brothers.

There's an

old hymn,

how willing

was Jesus

to die

that we

fellow sinners

might live.

The life

they could

not take

away,

how willing

was Jesus

to give.

That we

fellow sinners

that Jesus

should be

made sin

for us,

that he

should be

made the

representative

sinner,

that he

should not

be ashamed

to identify

with the

likes of

you and

me.

With all the

skeletons in my

cupboard,

how willing

was Jesus

to die

that we

fellow sinners

might live?

not just

fellow sinners

with one

another,

but fellow

sinners with

him.

He was no

sinner,

but he who

knew no

sin,

the Bible

tells us,

he who knew

no sin

was made

sin,

that we

might be put

right with

God.

God.

So maybe

this morning

it's all

the past

and it's

not the

future,

you are

really

struggling

with

temptation.

You're

really

struggling

with sin,

and it

kind of

seems like

it's trapped

you.

This morning

the Bible

tells you

you have

a captain

and you

have a

champion

and you

have a

brother.

you have

one who

will put

his arms

around you

and you

have a

king who

will deal

with that

problem in

your life.

Maybe you're

just struggling

with life

generally this

Christmas.

It's often a

time when life

unravels,

it's often a

time when

real problems

and real

difficulties

that people

have come

to the

surface.

Perhaps it's

because you've

got more time

to think about

it or perhaps

you're thrust

into the

company of

others and

we're not

distracted by

work and

other things

and things

that we're

struggling with

and we're

afraid of

our troubles.

Advice is

often given

to young

ministers and

that is to

be with your

people in

their troubles

because they'll

remember that

long after

they've forgotten

your sermons.

It's good

advice, isn't

it?

To be with

your people

in their

troubles.

Jesus is

here with

us in

our

troubles.

What's

his name?

His name

is Emmanuel.

What does

that mean?

It means

God with

us.

It's not

God up

there looking

down,

not God

on the

sidelines

giving you

some advice

like some

coach,

but he is

the one

with us.

He is

God with

us.

In our

trials and

difficulties

and troubles,

in our

temptations,

and our

struggles with

sin.

Temptation is

powerful,

isn't it?

And sin

can ruin

lives.

Christianity

is not

simply a

matter of

believing in

Jesus or

believing Jesus.

We need

more than

that.

We need to

have Jesus

with us in

our struggles.

as we

face those

temptations,

those monsters,

and that is

exactly what

Jesus promises

to do.

He is

with us.

He says,

I've seen

the misery

of my

people.

I've heard

their screams.

I know

about their

suffering,

and I've

come down

to deliver

them.

Jesus,

your brother,

your captain,

your king.

Apparently,

it was said

of the Roman

emperor,

Trajan,

that he

was not

just a

king,

but a

captain and

a brother.

That not

only did he

lead his

soldiers into

battle and

fight alongside

them and

for them,

but apparently

he tore his

royal robes to

bind their

wounds.

Jesus has

done that for

us,

hasn't he,

and more.

Tonight,

we will come

to the Lord's

table where

Jesus will

say,

this is my

body broken

for you.

This is my

blood shed

for you.

Lord of the

Rings.

I hope you

watched the

Lord of the

Rings at

Christmas.

I heard of a

church last

year in

America,

but on

one day

after Christmas,

they showed

the three

Hobbit films

in church,

morning,

noon,

and night,

and then the

following day,

they showed

the three

Lord of the

Rings films.

Great,

wouldn't

it?

We'll watch

Lord of the

Rings at

Christmas.

I love it.

Anyway,

you know

the story

of the

Lord of

the Rings.

Boromir.

Boromir,

he was

destined,

he thought

that he

was going

to lead

the great

city of

Gondor,

but then

he runs

into Aragon.

Aragon is

the true heir

to the city.

He's the

real king,

and Boromir

really struggles

with that.

He struggles

because if

Aragon wasn't

around,

Boromir would

be the

true ruler

of Gondor.

But Aragon

is there.

Boromir really

struggles with

that,

and towards

the end

of the

movie,

he repents,

and he

looks up

at Aragon,

and he

says,

I would

have followed

you,

my brother,

my captain,

my king.

And then

he dies.

Is that

the challenge

of Christmas?

The challenge

of the

incarnation is

Jesus,

he is the

man of

Psalm 8.

Jesus is

the proper

man,

he is the

true,

authentic

human being,

he's the

man who's

crowned with

glory and

honor,

he is the

man to

him in

all belongs,

he is the

true heir to

the throne

of your

life and

the throne

of this

world.

And if

that is

true,

that is

who he

is,

well that

means you

cannot be

king.

And maybe

you don't

like that,

maybe you

struggle with

that.

You can't

rule,

you can't

run your

own life.

Because

Jesus is

Lord and

Jesus is

king.

And you

have to

renounce all

claims to

be the

captain of

your fate

and the

master of

your own

destiny.

And will

you say to

Jesus this

morning,

I will

follow you,

my brother,

my captain,

my king.

me.

Why wouldn't

you follow

it?

How is

it going

with you

as the

master of

your life?

Are you

making yourself

happy?

You're not.

Certainly not

making others

happy around

you.

Why wouldn't

you come under

his lordship

so that

you can be

the man

or the

woman,

the boy

or the

girl that

God created

you to be?

I will

follow you

anywhere,

my brother,

my captain,

my king.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.