Why did God the Son become man - Part 1

Hebrews chapter two.

Let me get us some context by starting in verse five,

although our sermon text is going to be eight and nine,

for it was not two angels, which is to say, instead,

it has been to mankind that God subjected the world

to come, of which we are speaking. It has been

testified somewhere Psalm Psalm eight. Actually, what is man that

you are mindful of him? Or the son of Man

that you care for him? 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 now, and 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 we do

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.

This is the word of the Lord.

I got a Nativity scene at my house. It's this

little plastic one set up on the counter in the kitchen.

It's been around I don't know, I don't know how

long we've had it. It's not in very good shape.

It's been abused throughout the years. I think it's been

used like as a play set some My son Stephen,

who's eight, his eyes are like right on the level

of the manger, and I just kind of have this

picture in my mind, this scene in my mind of

someone as curious and as bored as my eight year

old often is, just kind of sitting there staring.

At the plastic baby Jesus.

And wondering, why would God the Sun become a man?

And if you don't think that that's plausible.

I was talking to him just on the way over

here this morning, listening to him to drop some theological bombs, like,

you know, I think everybody is actually on the Natty

list because.

We're all sinners. Yeah, you got it. But I also.

Imagine these hypothetical answerers maybe standing over his shoulder, answering

the question, why would the son of God become a

man with things like to be the hope of the world?

Silly or.

I think that's actually a made up story and everything

in between. So this morning what I wanted to do

was look at Hebrews chapter two, just these two verses

actually a verse and a half to address those of

us who are right now thinking about this question superficially, simplistically,

and with the time that we have in this text,

to broaden, widen deep in our understanding of what it

means that God the Son became a man. For you,

what does that encompass, because it's more than we usually.

Contemplate. But also.

For those of us who right now may be thinking

quite cynically about why would more I guess.

Why would why would God the Son become me?

I think, with the time that we have in these verses,

I would hope that Hebrews chapter two would open your

mind a little.

To what is actually.

The only way God could do this, the only way

that God could make this all right. In Hebrews chapter two,

verses eight and nine, we see this key statement.

The author says, this.

We see him, we see him who for a little

while was made a little lower than the angels. And

then within just a few short sentences he gives us

actually two reasons, two reasons why God the Son would

become a man. And so this morning, with our time,

we're going to look at two reasons, and each of

them are going to be accompanied with a so then,

and our whole time is going to be sprinkled with

a bunch of so what are you sayings? Right, so

two reasons each get us sow then and a whole

bunch of so what are you sayings?

You can watch for all of that. Let's jump two reasons.

Here's one.

Why would God the Son become a man? Here's one

of the reasons that we're given here in Hebrews Chapter

two that we often don't contemplate. It's this to start

handling disorder for us, to start handling disorder for us.

Here's what I mean. The author quotes Psalm eight when

he says it was not to angels, but rather to

people that God subjected the world to come of which

we are speaking. It's been testified somewhere. He's speaking from

Psalm eight here. What is man that you're mindful of him?

What's the son of man that you.

Care for him?

You made him mankind a little lower than the angels

for a little while, and you've crowned him with glory

and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.

What the author is speaking of here.

Is God's original design for mankind and the world in

which man was meant to govern. God created man as

his vice regent, to govern everything with wisdom and justice

and selflessness towards the flourishing of all creation and all

people to God's glory, so that everything and everyone would go, Hallelujah,

Mankind's in charge.

Nobody laughed in the.

First service either, hallelu Do you have Mankind's in charge?

What are you saying? I told you to watch for those?

What are you saying?

Do you see what kind of job we've done? Elon

Musk wants to go to Mars for when we've completely

blown it here. He's making plans to go start over

with him a lot less raw material. By the way,

John Stewart, the political commentator and comedian, I heard him

say recently that when he looks at that picture of

the Earth that's been taken from space, you know, the

one where you see Earth as this kind of like

blue green marble with white clouds, so beautiful, And he says,

he said, when I see that, I instantly think, how

are we messing this up so badly? The best thing

we got going for us in this solar system and

we're completely blowing it.

Well.

I don't know how often the Bible is going to

agree with John Stewart, But in this case he's got

it right, says in verse eight. Now, in putting everything

in subjection to him, that is, and putting everything in

subjection to mankind, he left nothing outside his control. In

other words, the reason why this is all messed up

is not because that mankind's governance was partial. Rather, it

was supposed to be us order bring everything. But instead

that's not what we see. To Stuart's point, that's not

what we see at all. That's what the Bible says.

At this present we do not yet see everything in

subjection to mankind. We're not pulling this off. We can't

keep one nation from mowing another nation down. We can't

keep people from degrading other people. We've got plasma TVs,

skyscrapers and yachts, but we can't feed everybody. The creation

we were meant to care for, we often do a

great job of destroying, and creation itself is plenty destructive

as well, as every hurricane and mudslide reminds us. I

can't keep weeds out of my own backyard, and I

can't keep weeds out of my heart either. So one

of the key questions that scripture is asking from.

The very very beginning.

Is this, If this is man's job, which is so

messed up because of man's sin, what hope is there

of a man who could fix it.

That's one of those questions.

That I would hope to whisper into my eight year

old's ear as he's staring in that Nativity scene.

There's the man.

There's the man, the only man who could piece to

together all that we have shattered.

That's the only man.

Who can win back for mankind the good and right

governance of the world. And one day, when he returns,

we will reign with him, and we will see every

tribe and tongue together, and we will see no one

degrade another, and we will see everyone fed, and the

weeds will stay out of even my heart. This is

the man Christ Jesus, who will lead us in this,

the one who set aside majesty to be born in

a barn, live in perfect obedience and righteousness, as none

of us, going all the way back to Adam ever have,

and so is crowned with glory and honor after taking

on death on our behalf. We see him, We see

him who, for a little while.

Was made lower than the angels. So then my hope

for you.

This season, as you see him, that you would see

him with a sense, maybe maybe as you never have before,

you would see him with a sense of anti anticipation,

that he is making all things new.

This is the man, This is the only man.

Who is piecing back together that which we have shattered.

This is the man who with whom we will reign.

This is the man who is handling our disorder. We

don't see it all yet, but it's coming.

That's what anticipation is.

My hope is that this season, as you see him,

you will see what's coming.

With him, everything made new.

And I don't know about you, but I can use

some new. There is the second reason that we see

here in this verse and a half.

Not only does.

God the son become man to start handling disorder for us,

Christ became man to start handling death for us, to

start handling death. Says in verse nine. 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.

Here's what that means.

God the Son became a man to take on death

in a certain.

Way so we wouldn't have to.

And you say, what are you saying, I'm still going

to funerals.

Yeah.

But what God the Sudden did in becoming a man

and tasting death, taking on death for you, is that

he changed it that for those in him, death does

not have its real sting anymore. The Bible says that

the sting of death is judgment. The sting of death

is that when you come to die, that you would

stand before God and he would judge you for your

own actions alone, every careless word that you've spoken, everything done,

everything left undone, and his judgment on every person.

Would be no different. It would be guilty.

And so that death, that death would be permanent and

you would enter into judgment. That's the sting of death.

That's the fear of death. And what God the Son

has done in becoming a man and tasting death for

you is that if you are in Him, you are

covered by the judgment that was laid on him. There's

no judgment for you if you're in him. So, as

one pastor says, now, if you're in him, what you

call death is kind of not even worth calling death anymore.

You are stepping through a doorway into the presence of

Christ without any judgment whatsoever, no condemnation.

What sting is that.

Jesus says in John eleven, I am the Resurrection and

the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet

shall he live? And you might say this all seems

so convenient. Disorder put right, man, I want that death defeated.

Who wouldn't want that?

And C. S.

Lewis puts it this way. If I find in myself

desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only

logical explanation is that I was made for another world.

And that's exactly what the author of Hebrews says. There's

a world to come, there's a world to come. Disorder

put right, but we don't see it yet. Death defeated,

but we don't see it yet. Yeah, we're talking about

things the Bible says, man shattered that only God can

peace together. And God began piecing together those things by

becoming a man himself and subjecting himself to that disorder

and subjecting himself to that death. And now he asks

you to trust and follow that man. It may take faith,

but it makes all the sense in the world. God

had to become a man, and you may not be

able to see all of it, but you will begin

to see all you need when you see him. When

you see him, and you say, what are you saying?

I don't see him, Hebrews says, but we see him.

In fact, Hebrews in chapter twelve says, looking to him,

the author and perfector of our faith, putting our eyes

on him. But first Peter says, though you do not

now see him, you believe in him and rejoice.

So which one is it? Well?

Hebrews eleven actually clears that up by saying, by faith

he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Speaking of

the faithful man, by faith he endured him. He endured

as seeing him who is invisible. In other words, yes,

we see him, but not by sight. We see him

by faith. We see him now by faith as conveyed

by Scripture, by the.

Power of the Holy Spirit.

We see him by faith as conveyed in scripture, by

the power of the Holy Spirit. And if you want

to see Christ by faith, those are key elements.

Scripture.

Faith comes by hearing, and that hearing from the Word

of God. That's where faith comes from. If you want

to see Christ by faith, then the Word is the

means by which He is conveyed visibly to you in faith.

That's one of the most important reasons that you are

you even hear the proclamation of the Word, way more

than just getting a Bible lesson or way more than

just getting an instructive little way on how how am

I going to live? But rather for the soul to

gain sight of Christ, for Jesus to come into focus

in your soul by faith, as he is proclaimed from

God's Word. If you want to see Christ by faith,

you see it has proclaimed him by as proclaimed from Scripture.

But not only that, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, if you can

if you want to see Christ by faith, only the

Spirit can open up your eyes. It is only by

the Spirit of God can you start seeing Jesus. And

let me tell you, Christian, it's only by the Spirit

of God that you can continue seeing Jesus. So ask,

so ask. The Spirit of God loves to reveal the

Son of God to the humble heart who asks, ask

for the eyes of faith, that you would see him,

but as you ask, just don't think that the spirit

traffics in hypocrisy. In other words, don't ask to see

the rescuer from sin without asking that you would give

up your sin. Don't ask that you would see the

Lord of all without asking that you would submit to

that Lord. You saying, what are you saying? I can

only see Christ by faith if I want to. Well,

the Bible does say if you seek me, you will

find me, if you seek me with all your heart.

But also I can tell you my experience when I

first came to see Christ by faith. I started out

that day desperately not wanting to see him. In fact,

I made it through most of the hours of that

day not wanting to see him. But there came a

point where who Jesus was, which had been conveyed to

me from scripture by faithful parents, faithful teachers, faithful proclaimers,

who he was was sharp in my mind, though I

did not yet see him, And I came to a

point or suddenly, because of conviction of sin, need for

grace and mercy, what I desperately didn't want, which was

to see the Lord, flipped and I had to see him.

And I cried out.

And when the Bible says, if you seek me with

all your heart, if you seek me, you will find me.

If you seek me with all your heart, I don't

know how long you gotta do that I can tell

you for me. Up until that point in my life,

I had never sought him with all my heart.

And there he was.

I knew him from the word. In the spirit of

God had opened up my eyes so that I could

see him by faith. And here was the one. Here

was the rescuer from sin, and I desperately wanted him.

To have my sin. He was the Lord of all.

And I desperately wanted him to view my lord. Here

was the one who was made low for me. And

from that point forward I have adored him.

And so then my hope for you.

Is that as you see him now, as you see

him now, you would see him with a new kind

of anticipation, maybe the kind of anticipation you have never

grasped when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. He

is coming and he will set everything right. He has

already begun handling disorder, and we will reign with him.

But also that you would see him with a new adoration.

The one who was made low for you, the.

One who tasted death for you, the one who had

all majesty and set it aside to be.

Born in a barn.

Why for you, I hope that as you see him,

even if you are seeing him by staring at a

little nativity scene and contemplating him, or you see him

as you close your eyes in prayer, you see him

as you lift your voice in worship.

As you see him, the song of your heart would

be Come. Let us adore him, Christ, the Lord