Hebrews 2

You sit down. It would be great if you could get a Bible and turn to Hebrews chapter 2.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

A couple of years ago, around this time of year, quite a mature believer in our old church said to me,

Stuart, I understand that Jesus is God. I get that. I don't really understand what it means for Jesus to be a man.

I don't really relate to that. And I think she was, as I say, she was a mature believer.

I think probably she was speaking for a lot of us. And we're so used to talking about Jesus as God on earth

that we don't really grasp what it means for, if we ever could, for the eternal Son of God to become a man.

So that's what we're going to be looking at over the next couple of Sunday mornings.

We all know the stories of angels and shepherds. What is the significance of all that?

What is the significance of the incarnation of God taking on human flesh?

And so we're going to be looking at Hebrews chapter 2, which probably of all the Bible is a chapter which focuses so much

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

on Jesus in the flesh, God becoming a human being.

So this week we're going to look at him as our Jesus, our representative and restorer.

And next week, God willing, we'll see him as our brother, our champion, our priest.

This letter to the Hebrews is written to a bunch of Christians from a Jewish background,

but they were struggling with their faith.

They were considering chucking in the towel and just going back to Judaism and leading this Christianity business.

It's just too much like hard work.

And I suspect if we're honest with ourselves, while we may not come from a Jewish background,

perhaps among us today, there are those of us who wonder, is it really worth it?

Is it really that great with the struggles in the Christian life?

Well, the writer to the Hebrews wants us to see it is that great.

And so he starts by showing us this big picture of who the eternal Son of God is.

Those words we read earlier in chapter 1, verse 2, that he's the one through whom all things were created.

He is the one who angels worship, chapter 1, verse 6.

He's the radiance of the glory of God.

He's so much better than the angels.

That's the whole point of chapter 1.

Then we get to chapter 2.

Look at verse 3 for a moment.

See what he says about this great salvation.

How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

The salvation that Jesus has won for us.

Now what is salvation?

It's a very Christian word, isn't it?

We use it so often and so easily.

If you look it up in a dictionary, it says salvation is an act of saving something from harm or destruction.

But even then, what does that mean?

Let me try to illustrate it like this.

Sometimes we can think about salvation and think it's the same as salvaging something.

But it is not.

You may remember, when was it?

It was a couple of years ago now, three years ago now.

That huge ocean liner, huge cruise liner, the Costa Concordia, right aground and sank off the coast of Italy.

Well, there is now a salvaging operation going on.

What does that mean?

Well, it means that earlier this year, at great expense, they lifted the wreck up from the seashore to the bottom of the sea.

They towed it 200 miles up the coast to Genoa.

Now it's a port in Genoa being salvaged.

Which means essentially it's being destroyed.

They're going to recycle the metal that they can and everything else goes.

That's salvaging.

Just trying to rescue what is still of some use and recycle it.

I mean, salvation for the Costa Concordia would look like going down to the seabed, raising it up, bringing it back into port and then kind of remaking it somehow.

So it could float again.

That would be salvation.

But a great salvation, if you could do it for Costa Concordia, would be to go down, raise it up, turn it into port and then make it renewed completely.

With all the beauty, all the seaworthiness that once it had.

And not only that, a great salvation would be to make it unsinkable.

So it could never be destroyed again.

As we turn to Hebrews 2, we find out that the eternal Son of God has become man.

To work a great salvation.

To take what is broken, to bring it up, make it new so that it is now unbreakable.

And perfect forever.

That's what he has done.

That's what this chapter is about.

Let's look at verse 5 as we start the section that was read to us earlier.

The psalmist is quoting, the writer is quoting from Psalm 8.

So he says this,

Now it's not to angels that God subjected the world to come of which we're speaking.

This great salvation is a world to come.

We don't have it all yet.

It's a world to come.

But what's it like?

Well it's been testified somewhere.

What is man that you are mindful of him?

And so he goes on.

He goes back to use Psalm 8.

Written about what the world was like originally.

To show us how Jesus fulfills it.

So what we're going to do now is look at what Psalm 8 originally meant.

See how the writer uses it to show how Jesus fulfills it.

And then more briefly ask the question,

So what difference does it make for us?

What difference does it make for us?

So that's where we're going.

And the first point is going to, or the second point is going to take more or less forever.

Just warn you that now if you're taking notes.

So, Psalm 8.

What is Psalm 8 all about?

Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

That's how it begins.

And then rejoices in God's care and attention for mankind.

And really it's a poem, a song, rejoicing in all that God had done in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Where he makes men and women in his own image.

Crowned with glory and honour as God's image bearers in the world.

Set to be rulers over God's world.

That's the crowning with honour as well.

So God said, Genesis 1.26,

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over the livestock.

And over all the earth.

That's what the Psalm is celebrating.

What is man?

What are we little creatures?

That God should love us so much and give us such responsibility.

So it celebrates the dignity God gave us and the responsibility he gave us.

Crowned with, you're made in lower than the angels, but crowned with glory and honour.

Verse 7.

But as we look around at the world today, we see, don't we, it's not the same as it was in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Yes, we're still made in God's image.

But the world is not perfectly under our rule anymore.

Just over this weekend, they've been fixing new climate change agreements in Lima, haven't they?

Worried about what man is doing to the environment around us.

We see in the news, mudslides in Indonesia are killing people.

We know we live in a world that is no longer perfectly under human rule.

But in a creation that is now often hostile to human existence.

Why is that?

Well, in a nutshell, it's because the first man wanted to be God.

The first man wanted to be God.

So if you read on through the story of Genesis, in chapter 3, we read men and women rebelling against God.

God had put some trees in the garden.

He said you can eat the fruit from all these trees, but not this one tree.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And Satan crept into the garden, disguised as a snake,

and said, Genesis 3, verse 4,

Genesis 3:4

He said to the woman,

You will not surely die.

God said you'll die if this happens, but you will not surely die.

God knows that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God,

knowing good and evil.

See the temptation?

You see the attraction?

They wanted to be like God.

They weren't content with being made in God's image.

They wanted to be God themselves,

defining good and evil for themselves.

That's the human story, isn't it?

Every one of us wants to be God, naturally.

He wants to be in control of our own lives,

our own destinies.

And the result?

The result was disaster.

Death enters in the world,

the beautiful creation unravels,

and the world becomes hostile to us.

Just as when a nation suffers in unjust, bad government,

so society falls apart.

Look at Syria.

Look at Iraq.

So the world,

being no longer ruled by

beings doing what God wanted,

but by being ruled by those who turned away from God,

the creation unravels,

suffers the consequences of bad human leadership.

So the world is broken,

in a sense.

Now what do you do when something breaks,

when something you own breaks?

You can either

just chuck it out,

forget it.

Or you can make do.

The lock on our back door is not working right now,

it's actually locked shut.

Which is quite good,

because no one else can get in,

but it means we can't get out.

But you know what?

It's wet and horrible outside,

so we don't really care right now,

so we'll just make do.

We won't worry about it.

So you make do,

you can just throw things away,

or you can decide to fix it.

And our great God,

in his mercy,

in his commitment to the world he made,

has decided not just to make do with our rebellion,

not just to bid us all like we deserve,

but to come and fix what we broke.

As one writer put it,

God does not make junk,

and he does not junk what he has made.

He is committed to his world,

committed to his people.

So he's chose to fix the problem,

from the inside as it were.

The problem began,

with a man wanting to be God.

The problem is solved,

by God becoming man.

Coming down,

to fix what we broke.

And so that's how the psalmist now,

the writer of the Hebrews rather,

uses Psalm 8.

He says,

we don't see this perfect world God made,

but we do see what God has done,

in Jesus.

So let's have a look now,

secondly,

at how he applies,

this psalm to Jesus.

Look at verse 7 for a moment.

In a sense,

he breaks down Jesus' life and ministry,

into three parts.

Verse 7,

humiliation to begin with.

You made him for a little while,

lower than the angels.

Secondly,

exaltation.

You crowned him with glory and honour.

And finally,

putting everything in subjection,

under his feet.

The final triumph.

Humiliation,

exaltation,

then the final triumph,

when we see his exaltation.

So we're going to run through,

those three stages.

Of the incarnation,

of Jesus,

the son of God,

becoming flesh.

He unpacks those a bit more,

in verse 9.

Look at what he says,

in verse 9.

We do not see the world,

in subjection,

to human beings,

or to Jesus,

right now.

Verse 8.

But,

we see him,

who for a little while,

was made lower than the angels.

Namely,

Jesus,

crowned with glory and honour.

This is the first time,

in the book,

the writers use,

the name Jesus.

He's told us about,

the eternal son of God,

made in God's image,

the glory of God,

the exact imprint,

of his being,

of him being worshipped,

by the angels,

being greater than the angels.

And now he uses,

his human name,

Jesus.

This eternal God,

in his humility,

becoming lower than the angels,

to be worshipped by him.

Those who were worshipped,

by the angels,

now coming,

to take care of the earth.

Coming to do,

Adam and Eve's job,

the one who upholds,

the universe,

by the word of his power.

Verse 2.

Now coming,

to live as a man,

among us.

A couple of years ago,

Prince William spent,

I think a night,

out on the streets,

living as a homeless person,

identifying with them,

to highlight their need.

That was a,

wonderful thing for him to do.

He didn't need to do it.

Great thing.

But the eternal son of God,

didn't just identify with us,

for a night.

But after that moment,

in Bethlehem,

where he was born as a baby,

for all eternity,

he bears human flesh,

now renewed human flesh,

on the throne of heaven,

as the resurrected one.

But that journey,

that started in Bethlehem,

continues forever.

He so strongly,

identifies with us.

And he comes to do,

what Adam failed to do.

He comes to make amends,

to sort out the damage,

that was done by the first man.

And to see that,

a bit more clearly,

I want us to go back for a moment,

so I don't leap around a bit,

to Luke chapter 3 and 4.

Luke 3 · chapter mention

So if you can turn back to page 859,

if you're using one of those

black church Bibles,

to Luke chapter 3.

Luke 3 · chapter mention

I want us to see how Luke,

also,

as well as the writer of the Hebrews,

presents Jesus,

as the man who's come to do,

what Adam didn't do.

So Luke chapter 3.

Luke 3 · chapter mention

The context here,

we want to see Jesus has been born,

he's been baptised,

the voice has come from heaven,

saying this is my beloved son,

with you I am well pleased.

And Luke 3 verse 23,

Luke 3:23

we begin with Jesus,

when he began his ministry,

was about 30 years of age,

being the son,

as we suppose,

of Joseph,

the son of Heli.

And then we get a genealogy.

And what do most of us do

when we hit a genealogy in the Bible?

Glaze over and flip over it

as quickly as possible.

That's right, isn't it?

That's what we do.

But look careful,

well don't look too carefully

at this one,

because you look down,

you see Luke does something

that Matthew doesn't do,

he traces Jesus all the way back,

yes,

through David,

verse 31,

through Jacob,

verse 34,

and Abraham,

verse 34,

and he keeps going back,

he goes back to Noah even,

verse 36.

And verse 37,

to the Methuselah,

who's lived for a long time,

back in Genesis 5.

And look where he takes it back to you,

verse 38.

The son of Enos,

the son of Seth,

the son of Adam,

the son of God.

There's a contrast between

two sons of God,

isn't there?

The son announced at the baptism,

my beloved son.

And the first one made in God's image,

made in God's likeness,

who in a sense was God's son

in his likeness,

Adam.

But what did Adam do?

In the garden,

he fell into temptation

and disobeyed.

What does Jesus do?

Where does Jesus go next?

What does it say at the top of chapter 4?

What's the headline there?

The temptation of Jesus.

As Adam was tempted in a garden,

as Israel was tempted

in the wilderness and failed,

now we get Jesus,

tempted in the wilderness.

And what happens to him?

Chapter 4, verse 1.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,

returned from the Jordan

and was led by the Spirit

into the wilderness

for forty days,

being tempted by the devil.

And he ate nothing

during those days,

and when they were over,

he was hungry.

See, Luke wants us

to see the contrast.

What Israel had failed to do,

what Adam had failed to do,

what now the Son of God,

the eternal Son

in human flesh,

comes to do.

We're going to look

very briefly

at these temptations

and want us to see,

as Luke wants us to see,

the humanity of Jesus,

but also the victory of Jesus

in Adam's place.

So first of all,

he resists the temptation

to use divine power

for his own ease.

Do you see that?

Verse 3.

The devil came to him

and said,

if you are the Son of God,

command this stone

to become bread.

Of course,

we see Jesus' humanity here.

God cannot be tempted.

James chapter 1,

James 1:13

verse 13.

We also see his humanity

in the days,

hungry,

like we get hungry.

Like some of you,

by the time I finish this morning,

will probably be hungry,

and at least want your tea

and biscuits

at the end of the servants.

Well, Jesus was hungry.

But you see his humanity,

he restricts himself.

He doesn't use his divine power

to make bread for himself

and make life easy.

Rather,

as the one

who's made lower

than the angels,

he submits to his Father's will,

submits to the restrictions

of just being a human being.

For the second temptation,

verse 5,

the devil took him

and showed him

all the kingdoms of the world

in a moment in time

and said to him,

to you I will give

all this authority

and their glory

for it has been delivered to me

and I will give it

to whom I will.

But what human

and what man particularly

is not tempted

by power

and prestige

and honour.

And yet the man Jesus

resists that temptation.

He's not going to take

the shortcut

of fatal worship

to the devil

but the long way

of costly obedience

to the Father

so that he can get

the honour

and glory

of the nations.

And look at the third temptation,

the temptation

to test God.

Verse 9,

the devil took Jesus

to Jerusalem

and set him

on the pinnacle

of the temple

and said to him,

if you are the son of God

throw yourself down

from there

for it is written

he will command

his angels

concerning you.

What was the temptation?

The temptation

to put God

to the test.

It's never okay

for human beings

to put God

to the test.

If you look through

the Bible

you find it's a good thing

when God puts humans

to the test

as you put Abraham

to the test

it resulted

in Abraham

being blessed.

But it's never good

for us

for mere men

to test God

to test whether

he is true

to his word.

It's not even okay

for the incarnate

son of God

to test his father.

See in his human nature

Jesus had to learn

to trust his father

just as you and I

are men and women

boys and girls

need to learn

to trust

the living God

who makes great promises

to us.

So you see

Jesus' humanity

in these temptations

but you notice

also the victory.

He does not give in.

He does not give in.

And there's a bit

of a parallel

with the way

Adam was tempted

in the garden

isn't there?

The first temptation

is to do with food.

Well Adam succumbed

when he and his wife

saw fruit

that was pleasing

to the eye

and good to eat.

The second temptation

was for God

like authority.

What did the serpent

say to Adam

and Eve in the garden?

Eat this

you'll become like God.

What did Satan

say to Jesus?

Worship me

and I'll give you

all the kingdoms

of the earth.

You can be like God.

Again Jesus

resists

claiming that

for himself.

And also

the temptation

to put God

to the test.

Satan's first

words to Eve

did God

really say?

Did God

really say

you died?

Is that what

God really said?

You test him

to see if that's true.

Yet Jesus

does not put God

to the test.

He will not

throw himself

off the temple

to see if the angels

catch him.

The very points

at which Adam

failed

the new Adam

Jesus

our new representative

the son of God

succeeds.

And what did he have

to resist

Satan's temptations

with?

What does verse 1

tell us?

Chapter 4

he was filled

with the Holy Spirit

and how did he

meet each temptation?

He quoted

the word of God

back at Satan.

See he resisted

with the resources

that we have.

He resisted

as a man

in his human nature

filled with the spirit

armed with the word

of God

what every believer

has as we battle

temptation today.

Well this is the

first part of this

humiliation

that he was

made lower than

the angels

made a human being

subject to all

our temptations

and difficulties.

If you want to

turn back to Hebrews

or get on with

that passage

back to page 1002

if you're a church

Bible

Hebrews chapter 2

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

So he was made

a little lower

than the angels

and then we see

his ultimate

humiliation there

if you look down

to verse 9

we see him

who for a little

while was made

lower than the angels

namely Jesus

crowned with glory

and honour

why?

Because of the

suffering of death

so that by the

grace of God

he might taste

death for everyone

death

he took on flesh

so that he could

die

he tasted death

for all of us

not just a sip of

the cup

but he drank it

to the dregs

so that we do not

need to drink it

death is not natural

in God's world

death is an enemy

an intruder

that's how the Bible

tells us

death came as a result

of Adam and Eve's

rebellion

the sin of the

first man brought

death into the

world

but this sinless

man comes

who does not

give in to

temptation

who does not

deserve death

but drinks the

cup of death

for us

so there can be

new life

and why?

verse 9

is by the grace

of God

through Adam

death came into

the world

through Jesus

the sinless one

who drinks death

death can be

done away with

he dies as our

representative

so that we can

have life

see this is the

great salvation

this is the great

salvation

all the consequences

of sin

being taken by

the sinless one

who lived the

sinless life

so this salvation

could come

all that's been

the humiliation

but don't worry

we're getting on to

exaltation now

verse 7b

actually look back

to verse 9

the fuller account

he'd been

crowned with

glory and

honour

because of

the suffering

of death

our first

parents

Adam and Eve

were in a sense

crowned with

glory and honour

being made in

God's image

being made to

rule his world

but that was

marred by their

sin by their

rebellion

still human

beings are still

in God's image

still have great

dignity

we don't have

all the honour

we had

but now Jesus

comes into the

world

and he is the

only

he's only the

second man

created

in perfect

fellowship with

God as God

intended

created without

sin

the man

Christ

Jesus

and yet he

takes death

for us

he's raised

to new life

with glory

and honour

to restore

the blessings

that Adam

and Eve

lost

to restore

the dignity

and the

hope

that was lost

through their

sin

but how do we

know he's

exalted in

glory and honour

now

how do we

know that

we know it

because the

tomb is empty

don't we

we know it

because of

the resurrection

we cannot

we cannot

just speak about

Christmas

we have to

speak about

Easter as

well

don't we

because that

tomb is empty

he's raised

to new life

he's now

reigning

in glory

and honour

at God's

right hand

the apostle

Paul puts

the contrast

between Jesus

and Adam

like this

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:21

15 verse

21

for as by

a man

came death

by a man

has come

also the

resurrection

from the

dead

for as in

Adam all

die

so in

Christ

all should

be made

alive

so in

the end

there are

two types

of human

beings

there are

those who

are on

Adam's

team

and those

who are

on

Jesus

team

those who

are still

on Adam's

team

the team

we're

naturally

born

onto

will

inherit

the death

that comes

through

him

those who

by grace

through

faith

are on

Jesus

team

he is

our

captain

we will

go his

way

inheriting

life

so that's

the exaltation

the leadership

and the rule

that human

beings are

supposed to

exercise

is now

entirely

with Jesus

who rules

on our

behalf

who rules

as our

king

but we

don't see

that rule

completely

manifest

yet

do we

we still

see sin

and pain

and death

in the

world

we still

see many

people who

will not

bow to

king

Jesus

who will

entrust

themselves

to his

gracious

rule

the kingdom

has not

yet fully

come

so after

the exaltation

sorry after

the humiliation

that has

happened

the exaltation

which is now

the present

experience

that Jesus

is raised

Jesus is

reigning

there's still

one final

stage

his return

in triumph

and that's

what's described

in verse

verse 8

first line

of verse 8

putting

everything

in subjection

under his

feet

you know

in psalm 8

it was only

the living

beasts

the cattle

the fish

of the sea

the birds

of the air

that were

under the

rule of

Adam and

Eve

but the

writer of the

Hebrews

sees that

for everything

to be restored

absolutely

everything

will be put

under the

feet of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

so he

goes on

verse 8

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 one

day we

will

one day

the man

who is on

the throne

of heaven

will come

back

as judge

of all

and everything

will be put

right

the kingdom

will fully

come

all who have

turned from

living for

themselves

to seek

his forgiveness

to seek

life

will be

forgiven

will be

forgiven

will enjoy

the glory

and honour

that Jesus

now has

his humiliation

his past

his exaltation

his present

the final victory

is still to come

that's how

psalm 8

meant originally

that's how

psalm 8

is fulfilled

by Jesus

the new

Adam

the new

representative

of the new

race

final question

so what does

the incarnation

mean for us

what does this

matter

why should we

celebrate Christmas

not just the way

the rest of the

culture does

well let me put it

like this first

if the second

person of the

trinity

if the eternal

son of God

had not become

a human being

what would we

still have

well we'd still

have a creation

that is imperfect

for us

with death

disease

disasters

we'd still have

to pay for

our own sin

because no

other man

would have

taken our

place

we'd still

face death

and judgment

we would

still not

have any

hope

but that is

not the

state we're

in

is it

because actually

the eternal

son of God

has come

has lived

as a human

being

on this

earth

lives now

as an

exalted

human being

in heaven

so what

difference does

that make

well let me

try and sum it up

very briefly

in about two

minutes

say three

things

to think

about afterwards

and talk

about over

lunch

this

Jesus

ministry

as a

real man

gives us

a pattern

to follow

a hope

to cling

on to

and a reason

to worship

a pattern

to follow

a hope

to cling

on to

and a reason

to worship

so a pattern

to follow

what was the

pattern of

Jesus'

life

humiliation

and then

exaltation

he went down

and then was

raised up

most people

around us

have this

faith that

life will just

keep on getting

better

don't they

that is

as one

political scientist

put it

the faith

of practical

men and women

who believe

they have no

religion

I love that line

practical men and women

who believe

they have no

religion

have this faith

that life will just

keep getting better

that's why there's

astonishment

in the last couple

of weeks

that government

levels of

public services

might go back

to 1930s levels

of investments

now forget any

political points

about that

what's the outcry

it looks like

life isn't going

to keep on

getting better

that challenges

the deeply

held faith

of every

natural

western

human being

but what does

a Christian

know

a Christian

know that

that is not

the pattern

of life

the pattern

of life

is not

that it keeps

getting steadily

better

but that there

is humiliation

followed by

exaltation

we serve now

glory comes

later

we suffer now

glory comes

later

because that's

what Jesus

did

he gives us

a pattern

to follow

secondly

he gives us

a hope

to cling

to

we have

a hope

in the

present

don't we

as Jesus

went into

the wilderness

and had to

do battle

with the devil

who tempted

him

what resources

did he have

he was filled

with the spirit

and he had

the word of

God

we have

those resources

too by

God's grace

more or less

in coming weeks

as we look at

Jesus as our

priest

we have the

same resources

to deal

with the

temptations

we face

so we have

hope in the

present

we also have

hope for the

future

we have this

great salvation

the creation

that was

wrecked and

ruined

has been

brought up

by the

Lord Jesus

been made

new

been made

so that we'll

never be

subject to

failure again

a real world

that is the

Christian hope

not merely

heaven

heaven is good

heaven is what

we get when

we die

but there is

something even

better beyond

it

the new

creation

when heaven

comes back

down to

earth

when Jesus

comes to

reign

and everything

sad becomes

untrue

to steal a line

from Tolkien

for a moment

the Christian

hope is of

a real

physical life

in a real

physical world

no longer

scarred by

sin and

selfishness

and death

and disease

we don't have

the hope of

a Buddhist

nirvana

we have something

much better

something solid

something real

so we have a

pattern to follow

a hope to cling

to in the present

and for the future

and finally a reason

to worship

the triune God

has not given up

on us

that's the message

of the incarnation

isn't it

we broke his

world

he hasn't

binned it

he hasn't

ignored it

he's worked

to restore it

God does not

make junk

and he does not

junk what he has

made

he's so committed

to his creation

that the eternal

son of God

became a part

of that creation

came down

to lift us up

to the heights

God had planned

for us

the first Adam

wanted to be God

so he messed up

the world

the second Adam

the son of God

became man

to fix what Adam

broke

so because

God the son

became

and he

became a man

as our representative

and restorer

and tasted

death for us

we must trust

in him

for hope

in the present

for a pattern

to follow

for hope

for the future

we can trust

him

because he lived

with us

and lived for us

let's pray

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man

a man