He has bound himself to us | Hebrews 2 | Revd Dr Luke Foster

Now, I wonder when the last time was that you

had one of those kind of cold sweat moments that

makes you stop and pause and just think, what

was I thinking? What was I thinking? How did

I get into this? It could be that moment when

you press click, buy, and suddenly wonder, was

it a scam? What was I thinking? It could be one

of those moments where you get that email confirming

a place on a half marathon or an Ironman. I don't

know that particular example of that, but I could

imagine the confirmation of the place comes through

and you go, oh, yikes, what was I thinking? It

could be when you're on a walk in the Lake District

that was meant to be fun with all your mates

from the first year and you find yourself being

led by Tom Mishley saying, no, seriously, it's

fine. And you're clinging to the cliff edge going.

What was I thinking? It could be any of those

moments. I had a moment like that, less dramatic,

when Martha, my daughter, had a friend round

to play. And that wasn't a disaster. That was

fine. But we decided that we'd go to go away

because that'd be like a really fun thing to

do. And it always looks fine from below. It's

fine from below. And then you get up top and

they clip you in and you're stood there on the

platform. I said, what was I thinking? because

there I am there's the height and it looks so

much further and all I've got is like this little

piece of metal attaching me to the thing and

it looks so far and I said what was I thinking

you know particularly as I was responsible now

not just for me but for my daughter and her friend

I was like why couldn't we just have gone bowling

like normal people so we get up We get that moment,

we feel that fear in all kinds of different ways,

in all kinds of different moments, but it also

kind of sets in. As Christians, we have that

cold sweat, what was I thinking kind of moment.

And it could be like a very clear moment in our

lives, like that moment when we just... We're

thinking to ourselves as we maybe leave university

and head into the world of work, like it was

all fine when I was a student, when I was at

my student church and things, but now what was

I thinking? Or we hit that phase of life when

we go, it was all fine when everything was fine,

but now it's not fine. What was I thinking? I

was really... Struck by Dan's honesty on Monday

when he shared about that experience of stepping

into such an other strange Muslim context and

thinking, well, kind of all those truths that

I trusted then still true here today. Now, in

this place, we could be those kind of moments

or it could be just the kind of pattern that

keeps cropping up. It happens when I'm with that

family member. And it suddenly feels like, really?

Committing myself to Jesus, giving myself to

his ministry. What was I thinking? It could be

when I'm with that group of friends or it could

be as I look at where my friends have got to

and now where my family is and the choices that

we've made and think, really, what was I thinking?

What is this book of Hebrews and this chapter

of Hebrews is written to people like us, people

like that, people having that same fear, that

same thought. What was I thinking? Because they,

like us, they'd heard about Jesus. They believed

in Jesus. But then the pressure begins to build.

The reality sets in. And a bit like me on that

platform at GoApe, starting to think, like, will

this hold me? Will this hold me? As I look around

the people I'm responsible for, will this hold

them? What was I thinking? And it's a question

that's really the context for this whole. That's

sort of provoked by this whole book, particularly

by the context of these verses, because throughout

Hebrews, we get that message again and again,

cling to Jesus, cling to Jesus because there

is no one greater. And particularly this passage

itself was framed just before and after by that

call to cling to Jesus because he's so much greater.

You just glance up to two, one to four or glance

across to three, one to seven, one to six. Those

sort of paragraphs present us with Jesus and

say, cling to Jesus. Look at his greatness. He

is greater. He is greater than the angels and

greater than the whole mosaic system that those

angels represent. Cling to Jesus because he is

greater. But then it's like the doubt sets in.

Because when I look to Jesus. And when I look

to myself. All I see is foolishness and all I

see is frailty. It's a bit like wondering whether

I clicked on an offer that seemed too good, that

seemed so good, and it turns out to have been

too good to be true. Because when I look to Jesus,

see that foolishness, when I look to myself,

see that frailty, it's as if my grip on Jesus

begins to slip and I begin to wonder what was

I thinking? And these verses speak into that

moment. These verses speak into that fear and

they speak into it saying, look to the crucified

Jesus. Look to the crucified Jesus, because there

you will see the truth of who he is. There you

will see the truth. of who you are as you look

to jesus crucified you will see jesus the glorious

and loved son and us as his precious beloved

brothers verses five to nine um at the first

chunk of these verses they hold up to us jesus

As the glorious son. And the very place that

provokes the world's contempt, the various the

very place that the church, these Hebrews, that

we ourselves might find discouragement. That

is the place that Hebrews calls us to look for

our confidence. That is the place that these

verses call us to look for our comfort and our

security. Because we say, look, he can't be great.

Just look at the foolishness of him crucified.

And the writer of Hebrew says, he is great. Just

look at his humiliation as he is crucified. See,

verses five to nine, it's as if they teach us

how to see. They teach us how to see so that

we can recognize the truth that's revealed. in

the cross and it teaches us how to see by like

adjusting our vision in verses five to eight

by showing us first of all adam and seeing the

principle there and showing what is true for

adam and then turning an eight to nine and saying

now we've learned to see now we've tuned our

vision and sharpened our vision now we can recognize

the truth of jesus so in verses five to eight

we marvel at the fact that salvation or glory,

dominion over the earth was to come to this one

made of dust. What is man that you are mindful

of him or the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the angels.

You crowned him with glory and honor, putting

everything in subjection under his feet. It marvels

at the fact the one who is made lower than the

angels. has had everything placed in subjection

under his feet. And then as we turn from 5 to

8 and look in verses 8 to 9, we see that what

was pictured in Adam and what was squandered

in Adam and spoilt in Adam is truly and gloriously

achieved in Jesus. Verse 9, the one truly made

low. is the one ultimately exalted. We see him

now, who for a little while was made lower than

angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and

honor because of the suffering of death. Jesus

is crowned with glory, not despite, but because

he suffered in the very place of his shame. We

find the very heart of his glory. Jesus is the

greater. Jesus is greater than the angels because

he is the glorious son. But where do we see that

he's the glorious son? We see it in the cross

of him crucified. I mean, it's a bit of a silly

example, but you could imagine me with one of

those instructors kind of, no, I didn't do this.

I didn't panic. I held it together. This is what

I was thinking, you know, because obviously my

daughter's there. So when they're explaining

here, you'll be fine. I go, yeah, yeah, cool,

cool, cool, cool. But in my head, I'm thinking

like, how can I be sure? It's just this and a

little piece of rope. And you can imagine like

the instructor sighing, okay, another one panicking,

going, you can be sure. Just look at this and

the piece of rope. Just look at it. Yes, just

look at it. You can imagine them saying. And

so I wonder whether in many ways our struggle

with faith so often exposes a struggle to see.

Not so much what I see or what I don't see, but

how I see. The fact that I've got such a distorted

vision of greatness and glory means that I don't

recognize the real thing when it's shown to me.

So when I'm wondering and I have those moments,

what have I done when Jesus seems so foolish?

These verses teach us how to see and see that

glory in the cross. Now, our issue here this

morning may not be at this point that we are

going to abandon the cross. It might be much

more likely that we will. Just begin to look

away from the cross. Maybe not so much reject

it, but perhaps more likely begin by wrapping

it around in something that makes us feel more

secure. You know, we find our reassurance in

something else, something that is more, you know,

a Jesus who is more respectable to me. A Jesus

who's more acceptable to those family members

or friends amongst whom I find it so hard to

be a Christian. And I don't know, maybe a particular

challenge for us here at Oak Hill is that danger

of wanting to, when we're faced with the shame

of the cross, wanting to wrap it around with

the knowledge that we have, with that respectability

of knowledge that I can maybe there feel that

strength, the strength of knowing stuff that

then maybe intellectually, people will respect

or apologetically I can wield. We're tempted

to wrap the cross round in something more respectable,

something more acceptable. But the cross is the

place where the greatness of Jesus is made known.

This is where we see what God is like. This is

where Jesus is his most. God -like. This is where

Jesus displays his greatness as the true, the

glorious, the much -loved son. And so if I'm

thinking, what have I done? We're not to look

for something else. We're not to look for something

more. We're not to wrap the cross. in something

that makes it feel more acceptable. Instead,

we're to look at the cross and keep looking because

there we see Jesus for who he is. And that's

what we're going to do in a little while as we

share communion together. Together, as we look,

as we take, as we taste, as we trust, we will

know the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Given for us. Preserving our body and soul to

everlasting life. At the cross we see Christ

for who he is. And so let's feel ourselves as

we take the bread and take the wine. Feel ourselves

clinging to Jesus. Jesus crucified. And as we

do that, and as we look to the cross, we find

the cross not simply displaying to us the glory

of who Jesus is. We see the cross displaying

to us the truth of who we are. If we've looked

to the cross to see Jesus as the true and glorious

son, we look to the cross and see who we are

as brothers and sisters with him, brothers and

sisters in him. but you can imagine that again

that sort of feeling of tension like it's one

thing to put it this way to sort of feel that

the carabiner is strong enough or the rope strong

enough but like how securely is it attached to

me yeah i don't just want to tug at it and feel

that it's strongly on that hook up there on that

tree or whatever i want to tug at it and feel

that it's hooked firmly to me. And so as the

writer to the Hebrews presents Jesus in his glory,

you can almost imagine that other question bubbling

up. Yeah, but what about us? You've taught me

how to see in the foolishness of the cross, the

glory of Jesus. But what about when I look at

ourselves and see only frailty and weakness in

me, and to be honest, in those around me? Where

do I turn for reassurance? And for the Hebrews,

maybe it was the sacrificial system, the mosaic

order, those traditions and communities that

they had been part of. For us, it could be our

work, our abilities or all some kind of social

status to give us acceptability. But these verses

say, look to Jesus, look to the cross, because

there you will see the security of who you are.

There you will see on the cross. That Jesus has

bound himself to us. He has bound himself to

us, clipped himself to us, as it were, as brothers.

And that he will bring us home. Just look at

the way he binds himself to us as brothers in

11, sorry, in 10 to 13, verse 10. He's bound

himself to us in suffering in verse 10. In verse

11, he's shared in our life. In verse 11, he

goes on to call us brothers. He binds himself

to us. And as he does that in verses 10 and 11,

then onwards in 11 to 13, he makes us his brothers.

He calls us brothers in verse 11. And then in

verse 12. It's as if he turns and proclaims his

father to us. So this is what he's saying in

verse 12. I will tell in the midst, sorry, I

will tell of your name in the midst of the congregation.

I will sing your praise. It's as if amongst us,

amongst his brothers, he's proclaiming his father.

This is your father who you know and who you

can celebrate with me. And then having proclaimed

the father to the brothers, he then presents

the brothers. To the father saying, verse 13,

behold, I am the children you, the Lord God,

have given to me. He binds us to himself as brothers.

And as he does that, he brings us home. Look

at that security and certainty of the Lord Jesus

bringing us home. Verse 14 to 15, he has rescued

us. Since 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. He

shared in our humanity to defeat our enemy by

dying in our place. And the one who rescues us,

keeps us. He shares in our humanity and so rescues

us, but he shares in our humanity and so can

sustain and keep us. Verse 16 down to 18. Surely

it's 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 his people. Because he himself

has suffered when tempted, he is able to help

those who are being tempted. He shares in our

humanity to save us. He shares in our humanity

to keep us. He helps us, verse 16. He's merciful

in verse 17. Verse 18, he is compassionate. At

the cross, we see the truth that Jesus has bound

us to himself and will bring us home. You know,

I don't know if you've done stuff like go ape,

but you find that that thing of no doubt done,

you know, bungee jumping and up sailing and things

like that. But, you know, if you've ever had

that moment where you you find yourself clinging

hard to the rope or maybe on a roller coaster

to the to the stuff that's holding you in, you

find yourself your white knuckles, your hand

hurts like gripping, holding tight. And it takes

a little while to realize that it's not me keeping

myself safe as I cling to the rope. It's the

rope keeping me safe as it is bound to me. I

might be holding tight, but this can carry my

whole weight. And that's something what these

verses are calling us to know about the Lord

Jesus. It's so easy for me to look for reassurance.

from the world it's so easy for me to look for

glory in the world at best doing that is like

squeezing a rope so hard so hard that your hands

hurt it's exhausting it's tiring at best when

we do that it's that exhaustion of clinging in

our own strength at worst When we do that, it's

a bit like slipping off the harness at the top

of the tree and looking for our security somewhere

else. These verses say Jesus can take your weight.

He has bound himself to you and he will bring

you safely home. The cross shows me who Jesus

is. He shows me what he has done and he shows

me who I am to him. You see, there I see Jesus,

the glorious son who has made me, who has made

us to be his brothers and sisters. And so when

I feel weak, when I look around me and see that

the church is so frail. I'm to look to the cross

to see him there binding himself to me, calling

me his brother, committing himself to bring me

home. And again, that is what Jesus calls us

to see in just a moment as we share bread and

wine together. As we come to his body broken,

as we come to his blood shed. There we see the

truth of who he is. There we see the truth of

who we are. As we look to him, we can then look

up and around and see each other and see brothers

and sisters in Christ. We can see brothers and

sisters of Christ. Jesus has bound us together.

as he has bound himself to us as brothers and

sisters who he is bringing home. So in that moment

when the cold sweat sets in and we think to ourselves,

what have we done? What have I done? The call

is to look to the cross. And here's the thing,

like after a little while on Go Ape, you'll be

very pleased to know, I actually began to enjoy

it. As you begin to kind of let go of the rope,

as you begin to feel the way it can carry your

weight, you grow in confidence, you grow in that

enjoyment. And that is what these verses call

for us to do. That is what the Lord's Supper

will call for us to do. To rest in Jesus. To

entrust ourselves to Jesus. To look to the cross,

not moving away, not adding to it, not wrapping

it around in something more respectable or trying

to replace it with something that seems to us

more secure. Instead, looking to the cross and

knowing there, that is where I see Jesus, the

glorious son. That is where I see how much I

am loved and how safe I am as his dearly loved

brother and sister. Let me pray. Father God,

thank you so much that the Lord Jesus is not

ashamed to call us brothers. Thank you that he

is your glorious son. And thank you that he has

brought us into your loving family. We pray that

we might know that, trust that, enjoy and rejoice

in that truth. For his glory. And our blessing

we pray. Amen.