JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF MAN

Hebrews 2:5-18

Key Verse 2:17

“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

This week my wife and I received many gifts from friends and family. They bought us baby clothes, baby books, and other baby accessories. Do you know what the greatest gift is? The greatest gift comes from those who offered themselves. They offered to freely sacrifice their time to baby sit for us. There is probably no greater gift than for one person to offer themselves in service to another. Today, I pray we’ll see that the greatest gift of all time is the gift of God’s son, Jesus. He offers himself not just in service but as sacrifice for each of us. May we receive this great gift anew today and through him live as sons and daughters of glory in this generation.

I. What is man? (5-9)

             Let’s read verses 5-8. “It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, 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 and put everything under his feet.’ In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” Verses 6-8 come from Psalm 8. It is a psalm that praises God for his creation and for blessing man as sovereign among all the creatures. In Genesis 2, God’s intended purpose was to make man the ruler over his creation. He commands the man and woman to fill the earth and subdue it. Here, verse 8b says in putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. God really made man special. The truth of this can be seen in the incredible things man has been able to accomplish in history. As humans, we built the Great Wall and the Pyramids. We also built the Empire State building and the Eiffel Tower. We can fly in airplanes and ride in cars. We have invented computers and cellphones. We have the ability to think rationally and to problem solve. When my dad had a problem with squirrels eating his fruit trees, he got a man-made trap to get rid of them. In many ways, we can see a glimpse of God’s intended purpose for man in the way we were made to think, create and rule. God really was mindful of us when he made us.

             But look at the end of verse 8. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. We were made to rule over all dominion on earth. But doesn’t it seem that at present when we look at the news, the world and even ourselves that instead of rulers of the world, we are its subjects? For all our “abilities” and accomplishments, we can still be crushed by tsunamis and hurricanes. Thunderstorms keep our airplanes from flying and snow keeps us from driving. Bridges collapse and buildings crumble. Good luck swimming with a shark or outrunning a lion. As many squirrels as my dad catches, more squirrels keep on coming.

Ultimately, we are also ruled by the power of sin and death, in us and in the world. As good as we think we are we can’t avoid sinning. Science has allowed us to create artificial hearts, use lasers to correct vision and make vaccines to eliminate disease. But no matter how great our science is we can’t avoid death.

The psalmist was able to see very clearly the glory God intended for man. Verse 5 implies that eventually in the world to come we will be able to see that intended glory once again. But the reality is that at present what the psalmist saw and what I see don’t seem to be the same. The evil in the world seems to outweigh the good. For all the good I try to do, I am still amazed at how sinful I can be. Ever since Adam sinned we as God’s creation have fallen short of the glory and honor intended for us. The Army says be all you can be. Unfortunately, for us, at present we can’t be all that God intended for us to be. This may lead some to despair. But the Hebrews writer writes to encourage us that though we may not see it now we have reason to hope. That hope comes in the person of Jesus himself.

Read verse 9. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” In Jesus, we see the fulfillment of this psalm. We see that Jesus became like us in the flesh but did not sin. He represented perfectly what God intended for us to be. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that he was the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Jesus’ perfect life, his death and finally his resurrection reveal to us the hope of God for all man. It is God’s hope for each of us to reign in glory and honor. In the world we may not see it fully. But in Jesus we see it perfectly.

I realize in these verses how much hope and love God has for each of us. I can’t imagine what kind of glory and honor exists in heaven. But it is amazing to think that before creation God intended glory and honor for us. Jesus showed us what that glory and honor looks like during his life. We too should pray and earnestly seek to fulfill God’s purpose for us, now and in the kingdom of God. God has great vision for each of us. I think personally, professionally and especially spiritually God wants us to keep growing, striving and maturing. He wants us fulfill the hope he has for us. Let us continually focus our eyes on Jesus that we might see the glory and hope God desires. May we reflect the glory and honor of God in this generation as his people and his blessed creation.

II. The same family (10-13)

             Read verses 10-11. “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” By tasting death for everyone, Jesus promises us that we will follow him into eternal glory. Through Jesus’ suffering and death, we are brought into the same promise, glory and holiness of God.

             Most other translations, instead of calling Jesus the “author” of our salvation, call him the “captain” of our salvation. On a team, the captain is the leader. He is supposed to represent the team. The coach often makes his desire known to the team through his captain. The captain doesn’t stay on the sideline but suffers along with his teammates. He knows the pain of training and has the scars from doing battle in the game. Because of this, his teammates look up to him. Where the captain goes, his teammates will follow. As the captain of our salvation, Jesus has revealed Coach God’s will to bring us into his heavenly family. Jesus is our leader who has known our pain of suffering and bears the scars from death on the cross. He didn’t stay in heaven but came to “play” with us. Because of this, we know he loves and cares for us and we want to follow his lead.

             Part of that leading includes his perfection through suffering. Are we ready to follow? Philippians 2:5-8 say, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross.” If we want to share in his glory, we must also share in his suffering. This means we take on the very nature of a servant and become obedient to God’s will.

             Just as Jesus was willing to serve us we must be willing to serve others if we want to share in his glory in heaven. The suffering comes from denying ourselves to give to others. I was really encouraged this week by this passage. This was my first full week of work and I had to prepare Bible study for my fellowship and for the Friday night meeting. I also had to prepare today’s message. In doing so, I was tempted to complain. I was tempted to ask why me? But through this passage I have learned that there is great blessing in serving God and serving others in the work of God. I know I am following in the footsteps of captain Jesus and will one day follow him to the kingdom of God.

More than his teammates we become part of Jesus’ family and he is not ashamed to call us brothers. John 1:12-13 say, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” By faith in Jesus, we become his brothers and sisters. Jesus breaks down the walls of division to create a diverse family of God. Look around you in this room at the family of God. We have people from India, Uganda, China, Egypt, and Korea. People from backwards places like Pennsylvania. We have ugly people and pretty people. Smart people and not so smart people. We all enter into this family of God by the common thread of faith in Jesus. Just as Jesus called all kinds of people, e.g. lepers, public sinners, tax collectors, teachers of the law, let us this semester faithfully invite all students and people from every nation to receive Jesus and become a part of God’s heavenly family.

III. Jesus, our high priest (14-18)

             Read verses 14-15. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil-and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” These verses begin to answer the question of why Jesus had to come and die on the cross? First, he died and rose again so that he might destroy the devil and free people from the fear of death. Jesus became flesh and though he was fully human he was without sin. Though he died, God raised him from the dead. As the king of lies, the devil wants people to believe that death is to be feared because it signifies the end. Death seems so final. If people fear death, they’ll do everything to live for this life and their own glory instead of living for the glory of God.

             Satan lies to make people his slaves. Jesus works by inviting us to become part of the family. Satan works to destroy us. Jesus works to free and save us. There are so many different lies Satan uses to enslave people and keep them from knowing God’s truth. Many people believe in relativism. Others believe in other false religions. Still others believe God doesn’t exist. Satan also wants people to believe that holiness is impossible so why even try.

             God wants to show us that through him all things are possible. We live in a show me generation. People in Missouri live in the show me state. Everybody is a skeptic. I myself am the same way. My wife says she can cook a particular dish at a restaurant. I say show me. Sammy Brogi says he can hit a baseball over the fence. I say show me. James Ocita says he wrote a book. I went on Amazon to see it. People want proof or confirmation. People in the past said to God, “You say you have power over Satan and over sin and death. Show me.” So God sent his son Jesus to show them that he is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in him will never die. Do you believe this? God showed us his power and his love by raising Jesus from the grave. He showed us that he is able. We must believe in the power of God to stand up against the attacks of the devil. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego stood up to the king because they knew their God was able to save them.

             Read verse 17. “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Jesus became human so that he might become our high priest. In the OT, the high priest represented the people before God and brought God’s revelation to the people. Verse 17 says that by becoming like us he became a merciful and faithful high priest. Merciful is defined as forgiving or sympathetic. In a position of authority or power it is difficult to be forgiving or sympathetic to those under you. When I worked on campus, do you know who the best supervisors were? They weren’t the ones appointed by the president or from other departments. The best supervisors were the ones who were appointed from within the department. They were the ones who understood what the other employees were going through. And so they could be sympathetic to their needs and difficulties. Jesus is our merciful high priest because he knows what it is to hurt, to suffer and to be tempted. He knows the agony of overcoming temptation as he did in the garden of Gethsamene. Verse 18 says that by only enduring this temptation is he able to truly help us when we are tempted by sin.

             Jesus is also our faithful high priest. He is faithful because he is always available. He has come to know that temptation for us can come at any time, all the time. There’s a hymn that says we need thee every hour. Maybe it should be every minute or every second. We need Jesus all the time. From the beginning of the day to the end of the day. The moment I wake up I am tempted to go back to sleep. Going to work I am tempted to curse the man who cut me off or the woman who bumped me without saying excuse me. Or the teenager who took my seat on the Metro. At work I think about how nice it would be to make a little more money. Or complain about certain coworkers. Images in magazines, on newspapers and on the Internet fill us with all sorts of ideas. Temptation is coming all the time and so we need a high priest who will be faithful and available all the time. To be available all the time is nearly impossible. Even mothers need a little break from their kids. Jesus never needs a break. Actually, he’s always calling us to him through his word and through our spirit. May we turn to our merciful and faithful high priest in our time of need and trust in his power to help us.

The high priest also offered the sacrifices for the people’s sin. Jesus offered himself as the sacrifice to take away the punishment for our sin. Only one who was without sin could make atonement for our sins. Jesus was the only one who could perfectly represent us. It’s why he became the Son of Man. He came to give us the opportunity to receive more than we deserve. Last week, I saw Sarah Brogi get pulled over in front of my house. What if I drove up and told the officer I would pay the ticket and give me the points? I saw David Casler get pulled over Friday. And what if I did the same? I saw someone getting a parking ticket on Saturday. What if I paid their fine also? What if I paid all the fines in all of College Park? If I did many of you might be grateful. And then there would be some who would take it as a license to drive however they wanted. Instead of being grateful they would forget how amazing this grace was and they would take it for granted. Jesus paid all the fines for our sin. He took the beatings, the mocking, the spitting and the cross. He paid for the big ones and the small ones. The sins overseas and here at home. How amazing is his grace. Let us remember how great Jesus’ sacrifice is for us. Let us not take it for granted. As members of God’s family, let us be spurred on to holy living. Let us destroy the lies of the devil by preaching the truth of Jesus in this generation. I pray we would give thanks to God for his grace to give us his son. May we turn to him in faith to overcome this world and have hope in the glorious kingdom of God. Let’s read the key verse.