The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (Hebrews 2:5-18)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Amen. And if you would take your copy of God's

word. Maybe one that you brought or one that's

in the pew back there in front of you and open

up to Hebrews chapter two. Looking at five through

18. And as choir members are finding their seats

and you're finding the scripture, I want to point

out something here that in verse six of what

we're looking at, it says. It has been testified

somewhere. And then the author of Hebrews proceeds

to share a scripture with us. But the testified

somewhere within this passage is a curious thing.

We may wonder, why doesn't the author of Hebrews

tell us where all of these scriptures are from

that are listed within the passage? And I think

the reason for that is because once again, we

are reminded that the author of Hebrews does

not give his name within this book, and he is

keeping the authorship focused upon the true

author, that of God. And so let us see God's

word now, Hebrews 2, 5 through 18. For it was

not to angels that God subjected the world to

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

somewhere. 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 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 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. For it was fitting

that he, for whom and by whom all things exist,

and bringing many sons to glory should make the

founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

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 of God 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 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 the people.

For because he himself has suffered, when tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted.

This is God's word. Let's pray. Father, your

word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our

path. Your word is true. Your word is living

and active, sharper than any two -edged sword.

And so I ask, Lord, that as it is all these things,

would you now help us to understand and apply

what is here for our sanctification, for our

growth in Christ, these things we ask in his

name. Amen. Why did Jesus die? Why did Jesus

die? It's a simple enough question, right? One

that a child, maybe a non -believer, maybe even

a mature believer may ask from time to time,

why did Jesus die? Well, there are several answers

that we might give towards that question one

Jesus died to save me from my sins. Yes, that's

true Of course it is Jesus died to satisfy the

wrath of God. Yes again, very very true Jesus

died because the religious leaders of his day

put him to death because they hated him Yes,

that's true. And finally we might say Jesus died

to fulfill prophecy Yes, all of those are true

and very much so, but on a very basic level,

drawing from the text, Jesus died to kill death.

Jesus died to kill death. That, we might say,

is the theme of this passage. But this passage

does something interesting. You've seen all of

the quotations that are in here as it draws upon

all of these other texts to tell us the story

of the death of Jesus. Other than maybe Matthew,

Hebrews is the greatest New Testament book for

interpreting the Old Testament. And here as we

consider the death of Jesus, we should be taken

back to Genesis chapter 3. For you remember what

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

happens in Genesis chapter 3. There's this interaction

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

between the serpent and between Eve and And what

does Eve say? She tells the serpent what God

has said Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil for the day that you eat of

it You shall surely die, right? You will die

It was a promise that God gave to man if man

ate of the tree and we know that Adam and Eve

did. But here what we are getting at is that

Christ reverses the curse. And how does he do

it? How does Christ kill death? He does so by

dying. In 1647, the Puritan pastor and writer

John Owen wrote a very important book called

The Death of Death and the Death of Christ from

which I have gotten my sermon title today. The

Death of Death and the Death of Christ. It is

a masterpiece on what Christ's death does for

those who trust in him. And as John Owen wrote

that book, a lot of what he's reflecting upon

is found in the book of Hebrews. No doubt, John

Owen's commentary on Hebrews is one of the best.

And so I'll be quoting from John Owen a couple

of times, but as we move through this text about

the death of the death of Christ here, I have

three things I want us to ponder. One, there

are questions. What did Christ do in his suffering?

When did Christ suffer and for whom did Christ

suffer? Now notice with those points, I am talking

about the death of Jesus, but specifically I'm

talking about the suffering of Jesus because

Jesus didn't just die. There are a lot of ways

that people die. Sometimes they go peacefully.

We know this is not Jesus, right? He did not

die peacefully. No, even before his death, he

was sweating drops of blood and he was beaten

and they mocked him and they put nails through

his hands and his feet, the agony of the cross,

but ultimately the greatest suffering that Jesus

experienced. was suffering the full wrath of

God put upon him in order to redeem us from our

sins. The suffering of Jesus was in being forsaken.

For he cried out, my God, my God, why have you

forsaken me? And so we need to understand that

as we talk about his death, we are talking about

the most painful death anyone could ever experience,

the wrath of God for all of us placed upon him.

And so let us understand what Christ does in

his suffering. Look at verse five. It says that

God has not subjected the world to angels. And

then it quotes Psalm eight, which we sang earlier.

As we read Psalm 8 and as we read the text quoted

here, we should be reading this with our minds

upon Christ, how God subjected all things to

Christ and yet at the same time, Christ has been

made lower than the angels. Isn't that mind boggling?

For a time Jesus is made lower than the angels

and yet. At the same time, all things have been

subjected to him. If you didn't know what Christ

did in his suffering and in his exaltation, you

might say, this is absolutely mind -boggling.

This is amazing what Christ has done, but sometimes

we've heard it so many times that we are numb

to it, that it doesn't have an impact upon us.

But look at verse nine and let it have an impact

on you. 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. This has a kind of

first shall be last last shall be first idea

to it the humility of Jesus in the incarnation

to take on flesh and Ultimately to go all the

way to the cross for us Friends, I want you to

know this Christ did not come against his will

He came willingly he came in humility to suffer

and to die for you. He became incarnate to identify

you with you in every single way, yet without

sin. Look at verse 14. Jesus takes on flesh and

blood. Jesus is not made from something that

we are not made from. Jesus has the flesh and

the bones and the blood flowing through his veins.

He is fully God and yet fully man. But also look

at verse 18. He was tempted as we are. He was

tempted as we are and in that way Jesus does

something that no other sacrifice could do, right?

He was tempted, yet he didn't sin. Friends, Do

you understand today that you have a perfect

Savior? A perfect Savior in every single respect?

I think the danger is that we sin so often that

we can't even wrap our minds around what perfection

looks like. We get so used to our own sinfulness

that I think we give very little thought to the

perfection of Christ. The Westminster Confession

of Faith says that we sin daily in thought, word,

and deed. Can you conceive of a day without sinning?

Maybe if I'm in a coma. Maybe. Can you conceive

of a Sunday morning and which you don't snap

at your family member? Can you conceive of a

day where you don't grumble against the providences

of God? Can you conceive of an hour without doing

that? Friends, I want you to know that you can.

You can because Christ who is perfect has atoned

for your sin and he has released you from enslavement

to sin and you have the indwelling of the spirit

within you. This is all possible because of the

suffering of Christ, his humility to come and

take on flesh and live perfectly. never breaking

a single commandment. Jesus never had an impure

thought. Jesus never gossiped. He never slandered

anyone. He never grumbled against the providence

of God. Every single day of Jesus, his earthly

ministry was the same in this respect. He never

ever sinned. No sin. And that glorious truth

can help us with verse 18. Look there. For because

he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able

to help those who are being tempted. Here's where

we should remember 1 Corinthians 10 -13. No temptation

has overtaken you that is not common to man.

And God is faithful and he will not let you be

tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation,

he will provide the way of escape that you may

be able to endure it. Jesus's suffering helps

us in this way. But when did Jesus suffer? This

seems like an obvious point during his incarnation

and especially on the cross. But the timing of

this matters because it gets at the glorious

truth of the resurrection and the ascension.

Look at verse seven. as it quotes from Psalm

8. You made him for a little while lower than

the angels. This refers to both status and to

timing. That this was not for all of eternity.

Why? Because Christ didn't stay dead. He rose

and he ascended up to the right hand of the Father.

So this points to the temporary nature of the

sufferings of Christ. Not to the temporary nature

of his incarnation for he is still fully God

and fully man and still bears the marks of his

suffering But this points to that Jesus came

in the fullness of time and at just the right

time died for your sins Because Jesus proclaimed

what it is Finished there's nothing left to do

it was once and it was for all who trust in him

but friends as Christ had a limited window in

which to suffer So you have a limited window

in which to repent You have a limited time Before

either you die or before Christ comes back you

have a limited window to turn from your sin and

turn to Jesus Christ. As Ecclesiastes says, there

is a time to live and a time to die. You do not

have forever on this. And so today, if you are

indulging in unrepentant sin, this passage demands

that you leave your sin in the dust and turn

to Christ. Verse 17 says, he makes propitiation,

which means that he satisfies the wrath of God.

And that's good news because you don't have to

bear the full wrath of God because Jesus already

took it. Jesus has had the iniquity of us laid

upon him, but you do not have forever on this.

You might not even have the rest of the day.

You might not even have the rest of this worship

service today is the day of salvation right now

and Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

word of Christ and you're hearing it right now

So do not remain in your sin turn to Jesus And

this helps us answer the third point today For

whom did Christ suffer? Did he suffer for you?

If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and

the Savior of the world, then you can be assured

that you are numbered in the company of the elect.

I've already mentioned John Owen. He wrote that

book to speak about and against the erroneous

teaching that we have free will to exercise faith

on our own. rather than being drawn by the Father,

John 6, rather than it being all of grace, Ephesians

2, rather than it being ordained before the foundation

of the world, Ephesians 1, and rather than being

predestined according to Romans 8, J .I. Packer

said here, where the Arminian says, I owe my

election to my faith, the Calvinist says, I owe

my faith to my election. And so really then what

this passage is getting at as we consider for

whom did Christ die, this is getting at particular

atonement. You all have heard of tulip before,

total depravity, unconditional election, limited

atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of

the saints. I for one do not. care very much

for the term limited atonement. I prefer particular

atonement because we recognize that God has given

people to Jesus for him to die for. And yet,

as we consider particular atonement, we may have

a question regarding verse nine. Look there.

Look towards the end of it, at least within the

ESV. It's at the end of this. as it says that

he might taste death for everyone. He might taste

death for everyone. That everyone word might

trip us up. We might wonder what's going on here.

We need to read this in context because Jesus

has lived and died for the many sons of verse

10. He has died for those sons who are called

brothers in verse 11. He has died for those who

are called companions in chapter 1. He has died

for the congregation in verse 12 and verse 13

for God's children and verse 16 for the offspring

of Abraham. You see this is painting a picture

of particular atonement. It's painting a picture

of God's sovereignty in salvation. that those

that Jesus has died for might be made holy and

perfect with consciences made clean. Here again

then from John Owen who said, there is enough

in the death of Christ to save everyone that

shall so do, meaning belief. leaving the purpose

and counsel of God on whom he will bestow faith

and for whom in particular Christ died. Friends,

there is enough in the death of Christ to save

every single one that the Father has given to

the Son. Every son and every daughter of God

will be brought to glory and it's made possible

by the death of Christ. Jesus' death destroys

the one who has the power of death, the devil,

it says. And yet, even as we think about that,

perhaps we are perplexed here. Because as you

remember what the people were shouting about

Jesus or to Jesus, they were shouting, crucify

him, right? And you must think that as people

yelled, crucify Him, this must have put a smile

on the face of the wicked devil. Surely he could

want nothing more than for Jesus to be made a

curse. But didn't Jesus pray? Forgive them, Father,

for they don't know what they're doing. Friends,

they didn't know. True words have never been

spoken. Augustine said, he used a phrase called

Felix Colpa to capture this idea, which means

the blessed fall. It was better that Adam fell,

for in it we experience something better, something

greater. Look at verse five. And I don't mean

to relegate a doctrine like the new heavens and

the new earth to just the last couple of minutes

in the sermon, but there is more here than I

could imagine. Look at verse five. For it was

not to angels that God subjected the world to

come. Jesus has gone to make a place for us,

hasn't he? And yes, he's inaugurated these things

now. He's set the ball in motion. He has said

it is finished, but he has something glorious

planned for us. And in his death, he secures

for us something far better than we could ever

imagine. Christ killed death so that the curse

would be reversed. Lest you die now means lest

you live and live in the world. to come. Now

what do we do with all of this? Friends, an application

of this that we can say is very simple, profound,

straight to the point, and yet with everlasting

implications. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

and you will be saved. His suffering was for

you. If you hear nothing else today, hear that.

Believe in Jesus. But if today you are in Christ

and you are looking for sanctification, look

at verse 11. When you consider your sin and misery,

how you as a redeemed man or a redeemed woman,

sometimes you feel like you can't get out of

your own way in your sin. Well, Paul said it

like this, I do not do what I want. I do the

thing that I hate. The evil I do not want is

what I keep doing. Paul can't seem to put his

finger on exactly why he does these things, and

we can't either. Yes, it's sin, but do you ever

just wish or do you ever wonder why am I not

further along in my sanctification than I am?

Why do I continue to sin in these ways over and

over again? Why do I still struggle with this?

And what does God think of me? Friends, there

is so much shame and so much guilt that we carry,

like a backpack full of cinder blocks. And we

think, I don't even want to show my face around

the church. I don't even want to show my face

around those people. What do they think of me?

Will they ever talk to me again? Am I loved?

And what about God who is all -knowing? He knows

everything that I do and say and think. Sometimes

we might think Christ must be utterly repulsed

by us. But friends, particular atonement isn't

about Christ dying for the cream of the crop.

Paul called himself the chief of sinners. Particular

atonement is about the glory of God and his love

displayed on those who had no hope whatsoever.

Because he suffers in your place, he calls you

brother. He calls you sister. Again, 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. Friends, Christ is not

ashamed of you at all. He died for you. How could

he be ashamed of people that he died for? He

calls you brother. He calls you sister. He died

on the cross to bring you into his family. But

because that is true, The reverse also must be

true. Christ is not ashamed of you. Are you ashamed

of him? The same word that is used here when

it mentions this word ashamed is the same as

Romans 1 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone

who believes. to the Jew first and then to the

Gentile. And so the application, friends, is

this. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Let it

be ready on your lips. Be ready for the reason,

for the hope that is within you. Since Christ

has defeated sin and death and the devil, you've

been brought into the family of God. Let us put

our faith into practice by proclaiming the gospel

to dying people. I like to quote Richard Baxter

on this. See, you get two Puritans in one sermon.

Richard Baxter said, Preach like a dying man

to dying men. Friends, we are all dying. Our

outer selves are wasting away, but though we

die, because of Christ's defeat of death and

the devil and sin, we will live. John Owen. knew

the heartache of death. John Owen had 11 children.

10 of them died in infancy. And the 11th, he

still had to bury that child too. And he had

to bury his wife. We are all acquainted with

death. We are all suffering through the realities

of the curse. We just celebrated, no we didn't

celebrate, sorry. We just remembered 9 -11. and

the 25th anniversary, and all of those who died.

Friends, people are dying today because of terror,

of war, of cancer, of all sorts of reasons. What

can get us through such a tragic life in which

there is all of these things? Friends, you who

are acquainted with death, must be acquainted

with Christ in order to receive the benefits

of his death, to have the benefit of eternal

life with him, resurrection, and the world to

come. Christ has defeated death. Let's pray.