Hebrews 2

Well, we're glad to see each one here tonight. Good to see you all. I hope that the Word of God will be a blessing and encouragement to each one of us.

I just remember the meetings that are purposed the remaining two nights, Thursday and Friday night, or I should say Wednesday and Thursday night. Get my night straight, I don't want you to come the wrong nights, there won't be anybody here. But Wednesday and Thursday night, God willing, we expect to continue on through the book of Hebrews.

And what I have in mind for tomorrow night, if you want to consider that yourself, is a subject of the great high priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's one of the great important themes of this epistle, the epistle of the Hebrews. And I trust that we'll be able to appreciate something of the Lord's care for us as his own people.

We're reading tonight in Hebrews chapter two. We'll begin reading from verse five. Hebrews chapter two and verse five, I would take it that verses one through four of chapter two are really a parenthesis.

So that when you read the end of chapter one, you find that he says that the angels are ministering spirits, their servants sent forth to minister under them who are, who are to be heirs or shall be heirs of salvation. So we find at the end of chapter one, that the writer to the Hebrews tells us that angels are only ministering servants, fulfilling the functions that God has for them and caring for God's people. Now, having learned that we come to verse five of chapter two, and we begin reading for unto the angels, you see how that connects with the end of chapter one or under the angels, hath he not put in subjection the world to come wherever we speak, but one in a certain place testified saying, what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him.

Thou madest him a little lower than the angels. Thou crowned him with glory and honor. Thou set him over the works of thy hands.

Thou has put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man for it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect or complete through sufferings for both he that sanctified and they who are sanctified are all of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church or the assembly will I sing praise unto thee and again I will put my trust in him and again behold I and the children which God hath given me for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage for verily he took not on angels I think it's better to read leave those italicized words out because they're really not in the text and it's not the idea of taking on the nature of angels but he didn't take hold of angels but he took on the seed of Abraham wherefore in all things that behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation or as it says reconciliation and revival but it's a better word to think of it as propitiation because it's a work in relation to sins and toward God to make that work done a propitiation for the sins of the people for in that he himself has suffered being tempted or tested he is able to succor to save them that are tempted I will just stop there with that reading I'm sure that there's more than enough to occupy our time profitably for the entire meeting we're looking last night in chapter one at the glories of the eternal son of God now seen in a glorified man that is resurrected from the dead and who was ascended to God's right hand in chapter one in verse two and three we notice that there was a seven-fold description of the glories of the Lord Jesus culminating in the fact that he sat himself down at the right hand of the majesty in the heights and then we had seven quotations from the psalms that are used by the writer of the hit to the hebrews to emphasize the greatness of the Lord Jesus and his superiority to angels no matter how high or how great they might be so we're looking at different aspects of the truth concerning the Lord Jesus that is emphasized that are emphasized rather in that passage we'll come to another section though when you look at chapter two because in reality it's not quite dealing so much with the emphasis on the deity of Christ but it's having to do with his perfect humanity he's no longer seen here as son of God but here in this chapter he's seen as son of man and I want to say that the title son of man is not given to him because he became man but he became man because he is son of man the title son of man is a messianic title it's a title that indicates God's purposes that he would become identified with humanity that he would be in fact I believe the prototype when God made Adam in the garden of Eden he made him in his own image we read and I would take it that God had in view the Lord Jesus it is perfect life here upon the earth when he began to make man he is son of man and characteristic but as son of man he's also the one who will fulfill all that God had purposed in Adam but which failed because of Adam's sin because God's purpose is still his purpose and he's going to put this entire universe under the control of a man and that man is son of man the Lord Jesus we read in John's gospel chapter 5 that God has entrusted all judgment to the son because he is son of man and it says son of man that he is going to rule and he is going to judge mankind one that has become identified with us and one that has passed through this scene in which men are experiencing all the difficulties of life he knows all about it and says son of man he will judge it's a son of man that he will rule it's the one who is coming again in power and glory the Lord Jesus said that hereafter he shall see the son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven and so the title son of man is not given to him as something subsequent to his becoming man but I would suggest to you that he became man because he is son of man and he came into this world in that capacity now in that case we're looking at the glory of the Lord Jesus as God has in view the incarnation and the reasons why he came in this world I suggested to you last night that I see five purposes for the incarnation in these verses we've read and just uh at the very beginning I'll give them to you I would take it that in verse five through through eight the Lord Jesus there is seen as the sovereign of the universe the sovereign of the universe the one who is going to have all things put under his feet in absolute dominion there that expression the sovereign of the universe is seen in relation to the purpose of God God's purpose for all eternity that he has never deviated from and he never will so the sovereign of the universe is fulfilling the purpose of God in relation to government and rule in verse nine the Lord Jesus and his incarnation is seen as the sufferer who is now crowned I would take it in that order though there's some dispute about whether the crowning with glory and honor preceded his suffering or was subsequent to it we probably won't settle that tonight but nevertheless you could see that he is the sufferer there that is now crowned with glory and honor that is linked with the pathway of the Lord Jesus not the purpose of God so much but the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life here below so we have the sovereign of the universe first in verses five through eight in the purpose of God we have the sufferer who is now crowned in the relation to the pathway of Jesus in verse nine in verse 10 through 13 he is the sanctifier of his people the one who he says is one with his own he is the one who sanctifies and they who are sanctified he says are all of one and so a sanctifier of his people he's seen there as the in the perfection of the captain the one that has gone before he is the perfect captain in relation to his own people so verse 10 through 13 the sanctifier of his people in verses 14 through 16 his incarnation is seen in relation to him being the savior by means of death destroying him who had the power of death that is a devil and delivering them saving them setting them free who all their lifetime were subject of bondage he's the savior by means of death and their instinct with him being a partaker of humanity in verse 14 we read that he took part of the same so he's the partaker voluntarily of humanity and of course in the last two verses 17 and 18 he is the suckerer that is the helper the one that comes alongside and the one that meets the need the suckerer as the great high priest and there of course he is the priest of his own brother made like unto his brother so we have five pictures five different aspects of the lord jesus that are linked with his incarnation is becoming man is coming to this world in perfect manhood and fulfilling the will of god in that way now come with me just back to five and we'll look at the first one and continue as we are able he's going to make it very clear that god never intended for angels to rule the universe god's intent for the beginning when he created all things was that this world to come the habitable world the world of the millennium the world of the coming rule the world when christ is going to rule supreme is intended by god to be put under man and his control and he says that is fulfilled that is verified when you look back into psalm 8 i believe it's psalm 8 we have that reference here and in psalm 8 the psalmist is looking to the heavens and the stars skies and he's he's wondering at all the greatness of what god has made it ought to cause wonder in the heart of anyone for us to think about the expanse and the marvel of what god has created and he looks at all of that and he looks at the greatness of the stars he looks at the wonder of all the great things that god has made and looks at himself looks at mankind and he says in wonder and amazement what is man in comparison with all the immensity of all that god has made what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visit us here now i believe really and i think it's true that the reference primarily is to adam in the very beginning to look at this great expanse of the universe and yet god has put it in his purposes under the control of a man why would god ever do that why would god set a man in dominion over all the greatness of all that he has made why not an angel angels are far greater angels are far more superior angels excel in wisdom and power nobody says he's put it all in relation to man man is the center of god's purpose when it comes to the creation of all the things that he has made so he says what is man that thou art mindful of him that is why should god ever think about us why should he ever look upon adam there in the garden of eden or any one of us the descendants of man that he would visit us he said thou does make him a little lower than the angels that is in terms of his intrinsic power what he really was in himself he had a position inferior to angels but he says he was crowned with glory and honor it's interesting to notice that when it speaks about adam in that respect it's using a word in original language of our new testament that indicates it's a victor's crown and oftentimes we think of that kind of a crown as a result of one having accomplished a victory or won a battle but in this case it's the crown that is given him in view of his office in view of him functioning that position of ruling for god and holding this all in in his responsibility to god he says he's been crowned with glory and honor and he says thou has put him over the works of thy hands and thou has put all things into subjection under his feet that was what god intended from the very beginning and yet you know what happened in the garden of eden when man sinned against god and he really delivered rule over in a sense to the devil as he yielded to the temptation and he he did the will of that enemy of god he says we do not see yet all things put under him in other words that purpose of god for the beginning in that he was going to put everything under the control of a man seems to have failed doesn't seem very evident today does it man can be afraid of animals in this creation man can be afraid of elements in the dark and in all of his weakness he doesn't have dominance over the world the way that god intended him at the very beginning in fact in many ways he's only ruined it and it's a result of sin that has come in and evidently to outward appearances god's purposes have failed we do not see all things yet that word yet carries with it the element of hope it indicates expectancy in other words it's not that we don't do not see all things never or uh as if it will never take a play take place under him but we don't see things yet under him because god says in this passage that will yet come to pass you know god's first purpose that is indicated in the bible is this purpose of man ruling as sovereign over god's universe and god's first purpose is always his ultimate purpose god never changes his purposes and even though man failed in the garden of eden and refused the commandments that god had given him and his responsibility to god yet god says that purpose still stands and there's still going to be a man that is going to rule over all things as i intended so we do not see things yet put under him but he says we see jesus i think that's a lovely expression in between those verses that verse the phrase that i read before he says for him that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him in other words absolute control without any limitation but he says but now we see not yet all things put under him but we see jesus you know it's interesting to me that in the earlier part of this book up to this point in time he has never mentioned the personal name of jesus i think there's about nine or eleven times in the book of hebrews that he uses the single name jesus the name of his humanity the name of his lowliness of his walk and his humility but he says we do we see jesus it's the eye of faith that looks upon him and looking upon the lord jesus christ as a man who came into this world and who walked in this life in a way that adam never did in every in every way that adam failed and disobeyed god the lord jesus triumphed and proved his faithfulness and showed his obedience to the will of god never deviated from it you remember that it went out in the tent in the wilderness to be tempted or tested by the devil that was not of course the design of the devil to do that that was designed by god he was driven by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the because god was going to prove to this enemy of his own purposes that there was a man that was different a real man but a a different man a man that had no had no ability would never succumb to the temptation of this one that had brought ruin into the creation of god so god put the lord jesus in his perfect humanity in the wilderness that in every point that he was tempted he might prove himself to be the one that was superior to the one that had failed in the garden and so we find that we see jesus and that is that word that indicates that he came into this world as a new man a different man but a real man a man that would not be touched by sin we read in chapter five that in his high priestly character we have such a one who is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners which means he is different altogether from sinners and he's now made higher than the heavens and so he's marking him out in all of his perfection the eye of faith of a child of god sees jesus and it's not seeing him as he walked in this light here below it's seeing him now at the right hand of god we see a real man and that real man that passed through this scene with all of his temptations and trials and triumphed over everything that stood against him and always vindicated the will of god the fact that he is now at the right hand of god is the evidence that while god says we see not yet all things put under him we will one day a living savior a living man at the right hand of god is the absolute proof that god's purpose to put this world under the control of a man will one day be realized he had to become a man to fulfill god's purpose god never intended that he would rule over this world from heaven he could have but that wasn't god's purpose he never intended that any other person would rule over this world and have absolute control for god what he is a man and as a perfect man jesus he is going to rule and in that capacity so we see that he has indicated to us that he came into this world and he came in that way that he might vindicate the purpose of god and fulfill it and that in doing so he might one day be seated on the highest throne of the entire creation and all things will one day be put into subjection under his feet now when that says all things it means all things we notice in chapter one that he is the one that has made all things by the word of his power we find that he is the one who upholds all things by the word of his power he's taking them all to their final destination all things were made by him in john chapter one and without him was not anything made that was made all things means all things and everything without exception will be brought under subject into subjection under the absolute supreme control of the lord jesus it's any wonder that we read in isaiah chapter 52 in verse verse uh 15 is it or 14 that king shall shut their mouths at him for that which had not been told them shall they see and that which had not heard shall they consider that is they will see that one that bowed in shame and humiliation at calvary and suffered at the hands of man crowned with glory and honor and seen in all his glory and dignity and beauty he's the one that's going to rule thank god we can look forward to that that's what gives me hope in this in this present scene with all of its chaos and in a certain sense and you know the word of god tells us that degeneration in terms of order so far as the world is concerned is going to become worse and worse we think things are bad today just wait i'm thankful i won't be there nevertheless the fact remains that when man has his way of control he can never rise to the standard that god wants but the right man the right man upon the throne is the one that will bring peace order justice righteousness we read that in chapter one last night god says about him that thou lovest righteousness and hatest lawlessness therefore he says god even thy god hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows and so far superior to every other ruler will be the lord jesus seen in all of his power and glory solomon when he reigned over that vast area of the middle east was a picture of the lord jesus one who never fought a battle and never had to subdue an enemy and the one who who had a reign that was peaceable and was profitable and prosperous so we have this lovely picture that one day he will have that place of supremacy but we pass from that because in order for him to have that place of supremacy and sovereignty he must pass through the article of death he must be the one that is suffering the word of god always makes it very clear that the cross comes before the crown you remember that in the wilderness is referred to that the devil offered him the kingdoms of the world of the glory of them said all these can be yours if you'll only fall down and worship me and of course he would have liked to have deviated the lord jesus from going to the cross and he would not have it because that had to come first he must suffer and that must take place first so we read that we see jesus that one who was made a little lower than the angels now some would try to say that it means for a little time lower than the angels in terms of time and it possible it's possible that could be the thought of it but more than likely the thought really is expressing the fact that he came into perfect manhood what was man a little lower than the angels where did the lord jesus christ come in incarnation a little lower than the angels he came as a kinsman redeemer you know in the old testament we have those that were called redeemers or kinsmen and a kinsman redeemer that would set free one that have been taken into slavery or bring back and rebuy land that had been lost because of poverty or other reasons he might come in to vindicate the issue that might arise he had to be one who was associated and related to the individual couldn't be just someone off the street to come in and do that work he had to be a near relative he had to be one that was related to the injured party and the lord jesus came into this scene made like unto his brethren becoming one who was a kinsman redeemer that he might in all of his association with fallen mankind lift them up redeem them purchase back that which had been lost and bring us back into the good of an inheritance what a wonderful person he is we see jesus he says who was made a little lower than the angels because of his perfect manhood coming in the same place that you and i occupy today in fact we find that in verse 11 he says that he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all of one that is they're of one company they're associated together he's come in such a lowly way in such a perfect identification with mankind that he might redeem us that he might bring us back to god wonderful work he came to do he says he made a little lower than the angels angels could never redeem one soul angels could never die and angels could never take upon themselves flesh and blood like he did that he might redeem those who were like him except for their sin so he says he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death or because of the suffering of death you can lick that expression the suffering of death either with with that which goes before it or that which comes after it and anyone that studies this passage of the bible would know that there are different opinions as to how this verse should be interpreted i'll just tell you that there are those who would say that he was crowned with glory and honor in his lifetime and you see the evidence of it as he moved amongst men and he showed his power over the elements of creation calming the sea and stilling the waves and stopping the wind and being in the well with the wild beasts in the wilderness and not being touched by them he was like adam crowned with glory and honor in his lifetime and in the same way he suffered death as others would tell us and i personally inclined this way even though it's more difficult and it seems more unwieldy so far as the verse is concerned to see that his crowning with glory and honor is following his suffering of death but be whatever it might be he has indicated to us that the one who has suffered is the one who is also the one who is crowned and just like adam was crowned with glory and honor we read in verse seven crowned with glory and honor in view of his official capacity as a ruler over the universe under god's purpose i take it in the same way the lord jesus is crowned with glory and honor in view of him by way of suffering and resurrection and exaltation one day taking up that same position that adam lost because of his fall but he's making it very clear that he is the one who suffered farther down the chapter he doesn't speak about suffering he just speaks about his death the suffering indicates the payment of sin the suffering indicates the travail of his soul and all that he had to pass through the suffering indicates that he entered into the experience of what man should suffer man should experience because of his own sinfulness and so we read that we see jesus made a little lower than the angels because of the suffering of death now crowned with glory and honor that's the way i read it i link it with what follows because of the suffering of death he is now crowned with glory and honor that is to say that because of what he passed through in his perfect obedience to god in his willingness to suffer under the great load of sin now he is crowned with glory and honor fitted perfectly for that capacity of ruling over a creation that is redeemed by his own suffering and death and then you have that last expression is the one that gives us trouble because it seems totally out of order doesn't it crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of god should taste death for every man and i would take it in my own little way of thinking that he is indicating that he is crowned with glory and honor again because of the fact that he by the grace of god tasted death for every man based upon that fact of the finality of his work because of the fact that he has finished the work to satisfy god's requirements and because of the fact that all has been done in an entire way to redeem lost guilty fallen men to himself there he is now crowned with glory and honor and seated the right hand of god i think that it's interesting that it has been made lower than the angels it was a voluntary act upon of his on his part he was made or he became for a little time or for a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death and you remember that it required that so that we you and i might have a savior that we might be redeemed we might be brought back to god so we have this one who has tasted death for every man now that word taste doesn't mean that he just took a little sip of death the word really indicates that he took into himself all the death involved and all of its extremity and all of its suffering and all of its separation from god and all the isolation that he endured what he hung upon the cross and his loneliness and all that death meant he tasted that death and he did that for every man it's interesting that the word man is really not the word literally man here it's for every purpose or everything mr darby translates it he tasted death for everything or for every purpose and that would be interesting because it indicates that his tasting death goes beyond simply saving our souls but it is involved to the fact that he has redeemed the entire world of universe that has fallen under the curse and the awful depravity of sin he tasted death i like to think of it this way he tasted death for the accomplishment of every purpose of god in order to fulfill all that god had in view i'll be that as it may it's very definitely emphasizing to us that the object of a child of god is the one who passed through the deep sorrows and sufferings of the cross of calvary and who is now seated at god's right hand a prince and a savior but the clock is moving very quickly on me let me go on very quickly a little faster here and look at verse 10 and 13 we see him as a sanctifier of his people just notice a few things in verse 10 it says for it became him of whom are all for whom are all things and by whom are all things that's god himself it's the one who has originated and one who has created all things and who has brought everything into existence it's for him and it's by him you read in another epistle that it's also for the lord jesus and by the lord jesus so that you have a worker unitedly between every member of the godhead to produce all that has been made and to sustain it and it's for god's purposes to be displayed so that one it says it became him and that word became means it was perfectly suitable to him it was that which uh is in keeping exactly suitable and fitting to his own purpose it was suitable to god who has made all things and for whom are all things in he says bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation that word captain means the leader the one that goes ahead the one that has experienced all this ahead and has done it for us to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings now there's a few interesting expressions there and one is to indicate that it's suitable god says it's perfectly fitting in relation to god's purpose and bringing these sons unto glory that in keeping with that great purpose the captain the leader the one that's identified with them as their p as his people must be made perfect through sufferings now you say wasn't the lord jesus always perfect absolutely not a question about it but the word perfect doesn't mean perfect in the way that we oftentimes think about it it means brought to completion he says he's going to bring he must bring him to completion and how does that apply to the lord jesus christ as the captain of our salvation being brought to completion well you know until he passed through this world and all of its difficulties and temptations and trials and knowing what it was to hunger and thirst and to be weary on his journey and experience the same things that you and i experience apart from sin how could he ever really be identified with his people unless he knows what you and i are passing through that is he is brought to a state of completion he is brought to official completeness in terms of what god intends for him to be and to do to represent his people he is going to pass through the same experiences of suffering that you and i experience but apart from sin and even more though he would suffer for sin at the cross to redeem these sons that they might be brought to glory so here he is as the one who has gone the way before who is leading the way to glory he's going to bring with him all these sons and he's going to be made complete and and and suitable for that work that position by means of the fact that he has suffered and passed through the same experiences as those that are coming behind have experienced and so he's making it very clear that this one who is a sanctifier of his people in verse 11 is the one who is who is brought to the state of completion of perfection as their captain it was suitable it was fitting to god's in view of bringing all these sons to glory that he's going to make the one who is leading them the one who perfectly represents them not only by way of a position but also by way of experience he says because he that sanctifies that's the lord jesus he's the one that has set us apart he's the one that has given us a position that is perfect before god he says that one that sanctifies his people and those that are sanctified which are his people are all of one they're all of one and of course we're not all of one in one sense because it's not one in essence it's not one in nature because who could be one in nature with one who is god manifested flesh but we're one in the sense of identification and association together all one in the fact that he has become identified with his people and they're indivisible as a result like the body and the head of the body in terms of the church they're inseparable he said they're all of one so that what one has passed through and experienced the other will pass through and experience as well and he has set us apart to god and brought us into that lovely and perfect position he that sanctifies and they were sanctified are all one and it says for this reason because of this he is not ashamed to call them brethren that's the expression of his condescending grace he has brought us into association with himself and he says as a result these are not my servants these are not my slaves these are not just my followers these are my brethren these are my brethren you know Gideon spoke to Ziba and Zalmanah when he was getting his victory over them and he said what kind of men were those that you slew wherever it was i can't remember the exact place in the battle they described me he said they were just like you they had faces like eagles he says they were my brethren and as a result he slews Ziba and Zalmanah for their act against his own brother here's one who has brought us into such a place of relationship we don't call him brother by the way it would be wrong for us to call the lord jesus anything but what the word of god tells us we should call him we call him lord we call him our savior we call him the one who is our great high priest but he in condescending grace he calls us brethren and his expression of the fact that having passed this way himself he's identified himself so perfectly with us he's going to bring us his sons unto glory that's the assurance of the final destination but he's going to bring us along as brethren he says he's not ashamed to call them brethren and that's based on verse 12 in verse 12 of the old testament quarter from psalm 22 and if you look at psalm 22 in that particular passage you know that psalm 22 deals with the sufferings of christ but the latter part of it has to do with singing the praises in the midst of his brethren in the congregation he's singing praises unto god he's the one that leads his people in praise identified with them as the great praise leader he says i will declare my name unto thy name unto my brethren and he says again in the same context i will put my trust in him as a perfect man he moved in his dependence upon god like you and i are supposed to and again he says behold i and the children that word is the little children it's a word that has tenderness connected with it behold i and the little children which god hath given me so he has identified himself with us and as such he is the sanctifier of his people we enjoy a perfect position before god today because we're seen in our relationship to him he's the one that sanctifies us that word's not a sanctimonious word by the way sanctify just means to be set apart from that which is contrary to god it means being set apart to that which is connected with christ and representative of him and expressive of his own purpose we've been set apart and as a result we're seen in the presence of god of the lord jesus now then verse 14 and 15 the lord in his incarnation is seen there as a savior through death a partaker of humanity notice in verse 14 the language is so very careful for as much he says then as the children those children that he's been speaking about these sons these little children these children he says they are partakers of flesh and blood that word simply means that you and i had no other option it wasn't a choice we had we were brought into a commonality of possessing flesh and blood that's our life that's our natural existence he says that is what we were that means that there is fellowship and joy through a like nature the children are partakers of flesh and blood but really no different in that respect he likewise himself took part of the same now it's important to notice words in your bible that's a different word altogether we are partakers because that was our only existence we had no existence outside of flesh and blood but he took part voluntarily he took it upon himself for the accomplishment of a purpose he came from a different existence into this existence of flesh and blood and there he is becoming identified with his people but not because there was as it were no other possibility of existence so you and i are characterized by flesh and blood he took part of flesh and blood in his identification with his people he took part of the same that through death the inevitable result of flesh and blood is death and taking himself bringing him coming rather i should say in that experience like you and i have come into have had from our birth he says he took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of that is the devil and deliver them now the word destroy him that had the power of death doesn't mean that he's absolutely annihilated him it means that he carries the idea that he has nullified his power he's abolished his authority he's robbed him of his potential and there even though he exists today the devil himself the lord himself is moving with his superior power displayed as a perfect man his glorious resurrection and he has defeated that devil the one that had the power of death and he's delivering them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject of bondage so that that fear of death has brought bondage man is bound to eventually die and the anticipation of it to some degree causes fear to his heart you say how does the devil have the power of death well the you know the the entire kingdom of darkness over which the devil rules is a kingdom of death it's the death that has come into this world because of man's sin and when man's sin of the garden of eden he relinquished relinquished his power and he willingly allowed the devil to take that control and as a result he is linked with the power of death he doesn't cause death god himself is the one that brought death he said in the day that thou eatest thereof thou should surely die but this aspect of death is that he is the one who holds sway in this kingdom that is characterized by death and he has that dominion over it and because he is the cause of sin he has the power to demand the death of the sinner and yet he is under that same penalty himself a power of death that is the devil and deliver them setting them free i spoke at my mother's funeral back in 1979 amazing to think that's long long ago she'd asked me to speak at her funeral this is one of the scriptures i used when i was speaking that the lord jesus robbed the devil of the power of death and he came to liberate them who all their lifetime were subject to bondage and he is the one that has brought about deliverance for his people so by way of his sal by way of his death by way of him entering in the article of death and willingly allowing that experience to be his and voluntarily suffering what sin required he robbed the devil and he's been delivering you and me so we have a savior wonderful savior he is wonderful if you know him as your savior everyone here tonight and can say he's my savior he delivered me from the power of death he's the one that has taken away the fear of death and one day he's going to take away the sting of death we read in first quintet's 15 when the resurrection takes place so we have the last expression i'll just briefly mention it because we might go on to it tomorrow night and that is a relation to the high priest he had to become a man so that he could be the great high priest you know moses was not the high priest of israel you remember that aaron was a high priest you know why well moses never experienced all the conditions of the israelites experience when they were in slavery when he was in egypt he was in the palace of pharaoh he was the son of pharaoh's daughter and then when he fled when he was 40 years old he went out in the wilderness you know when he was tending the sheep he never experienced the lash of the taskmaster he never experienced the fear of being oppressed by the enemy he never experienced the toil and the travail but aaron did aaron was there for all those years and he knew what the people had passed through and aaron because of that he was the high priest now you notice he says wherefore in all things it behooved him that word behooved means it was a moral obligation a necessity he must be likened to his brother we'll read over in chapter five i believe it's in chapter five that every high priest taken from among men is ordained for man in things pertaining to god verse two says who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way and so we find that the one who is going to be the high priest must be one who knows what sore temptations are for he endured the same and those years of his of his journey is sojourned here in this world the lord jesus passed through the experiences similar to you and me so he is made like unto his brethren so that he might be or become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to god and so because of his incarnation we have the anticipation of a sovereign over the universe we have the enjoyment presently of one who suffered and is and he is the one who is crowned now with glory and honor he's the one that sanctifies his people and is leading us on to glory he's the one who is our savior who has set us free by means of his death and he's the succorer because he's the great high priest those are five of the reasons i believe five of the purposes that were involved and the lord jesus coming to this world in perfect manhood incarnation what a marvel it was coming to this world as god manifest in flesh but a real man a man that knows what you and i experience and a man who one day as that man and all of the experiences of his life will be the one who will rule in perfect righteousness and justice for god what a wonderful future really lies ahead even though we know that according to the word of god there will be dark experiences that will come in between when the wrong man sits upon the throne you have one day there will be the right man he is exalted and crowned and he's coming again so god help us to appreciate him and to understand in a greater way perhaps some more reasons you know sometimes we only think that the lord jesus came to be a man so that he might die on the cross i would say there are at least 10 purposes 10 reasons in her bible why the lord jesus came into this world as a man and he's a man today he wasn't a man until he came into this world but he's always going to be a man carrying glorified manhood back into heaven and there is one who is seated at god's right hand there as a man preparing a place for us so one day we will be with him and like him and god bless his word let's pray our god and a gracious father we are thankful of thee that through our lord jesus we have been brought unto thee to enjoy fellowship with thyself today and one day as sons will be brought into glory to be identified with him gathered around himself and presented to thee as those that have been redeemed by his own precious blood guarded by his tender care and watched over all along the way thank god we're going to be there and we look forward to that moment at any time when he shall appear we offer thanks for our time together we're thankful for the word of god we're thankful for the portrayal of our lord jesus we pray we might appreciate him more and more as time comes and we ask thy blessing now you separate grant thy help to each one of thy people and use thy word we pray for the encouragement of each one of us as we ask and give thanks to thee in the name of the lord jesus amen