Heb No.5 A merciful and Faithful High Priest 2v9-18

Well, then we come to our fifth study from Hebrews, and as I direct your attention to the contents of the tenth verse and onwards of the second chapter, let me remind you just for a moment or so what has gone before. I'd be glad if you'd follow in your scripture, in your own copy of the Bible. Indeed, if you don't do that, then I reckon a lot of what I'm going to say this evening will be incomprehensible to you.

One of our reasons of coming together here, behind coming together here on a Thursday night, is for us to study scripture line by line, verse by verse, and by the aid of God's Spirit to come to a deeper understanding of all that the Lord Jesus Christ is and all that he wants us to be. Now, in that ninth verse, the one prior to the passage that we're going to be studying this evening, reference, I remind you, is made to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our eyes are fixed on the Saviour, and the writer informs us, we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.

You remember that was the finale of our consideration last week, that this Lord Jesus Christ, who is superior to the angels, nonetheless, in tremendous humiliation, stooped so low that he was prepared to go to the cross of Calvary on your behalf and on mine. And the reason why he did this, well, was to secure our salvation. But beyond the humiliation of our Lord Jesus, we're told in the ninth verse of his exaltation, you see that Jesus, the one who went to the cross, the one who hung upon the gibbet, now look at him, he's crowned with glory and honour.

Exaltation has followed his humiliation. The Via Dolorosa, the road of sorrows that led up Calvary's hill, has been transformed into the Via Doxa, the road of glory. For Jesus has received the honours of God the Father.

All the accolade of heaven belongs to the Saviour because of what he has achieved on your behalf and on mine. So then, it's the picture of the cross that falls upon our page as a shadow, and you're to see it in the tenth verse and the eleventh verse, and what is to follow, until you come to the picture given in the seventeenth and eighteenth verses of our Lord Jesus as a high priest offering for a sacrifice, incredible though it seems, not some animal, not some lamb, not some bullock, but offering himself, offering his own shed blood. So if you see the cross in the ninth verse, you'll also see the end of the shadow in the seventeenth and eighteenth verses.

Well then, let's look at this passage from the tenth to the eighteenth verses, and you will discover that without the slightest tinge of embarrassment, in the tenth verse, having had reference made to the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, there is an appeal made to the creative work of Jesus Christ. We're told in verse ten that it was the Lord Jesus Christ who is responsible for all creation. Now, that's not something new to us, of course, because in the first chapter of Hebrews and the second verse, we read there that the Lord God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

And we read in John's Gospel, do we not, that without the Lord Jesus Christ was not anything made that was made. But now you see the phenomenal idea, the contrast of ideas between the first part of verse nine and the first part of verse ten. The creator of the universe has been crucified.

God has been killed for your salvation and for mine. I find that to be a mind-blowing concept, but it's not new to the thinking of the writer of the Hebrew epistle, because you discover in the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and the fifteenth verse, the Apostle Peter is preaching, and there he makes reference to Jesus, and he accuses unbelieving Jews of having killed the Prince of Life, having killed the Author of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. So there is an anticipation of what you find in the ninth and tenth verses of Hebrews 2. God who creates the world, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, dies to bring about the possibility of your salvation and my salvation.

Well, all that by way of introduction to these verses, let me split them up for a moment or two, because you will find, broadly speaking, that from the tenth to the thirteenth verses, our writer is going to talk a little bit more about that salvation to which he refers in the tenth verse. And then when you go through to the fourteenth verse and on to the sixteenth, he's going to be telling us a little bit about the incarnation of Jesus, how the Son of God became flesh, became human, like you and me. And then in the seventeenth and eighteenth verses, you alight upon the word reconciliation, and we see just what Jesus has done, spelt out in the picture of a high priest for you and for me.

So these three words become hook words on which you can dangle the thinking of the writer at this particular point. Salvation, incarnation, and reconciliation. And the three words all refer to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well then, with that thought in mind, come back to the tenth through to the thirteenth verses, and there you get spelt out what Jesus Christ, this one who is God, by whom the worlds came into being, what his objective was in coming onto this earth himself. Why did he die? Well, we're told in verse ten that one of the reasons was to bring many sons unto glory. Have you found that expression? And then in the eleventh verse, we're told that another consequence of the salvation that he has wrought is that there are people that he is not ashamed to call brothers.

And then in the thirteenth verse, we're told in different words that another consequence of the Lord Jesus Christ's salvation is that children have been given to him. So here are three very homely terms. Sons, brothers, and children.

And in one sense, you could take any one of those terms and apply them, or apply it to yourself. Aren't you a son of God? Well, how do you know you're a son of God? Because of the salvation work of Jesus Christ. Are you a brother of the Lord Jesus? Well, we have certain evidence to support that in Scripture.

How do you know that you're a brother of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because of the salvation work of his on the cross. Are you a child of God? You are. How do you know that you're a child of God? Because of the salvation work of Jesus.

So you see, these three blessings really merge into one. We're part of the family of God. You can call yourself a son.

You can call yourself a brother. You can call yourself a child. And the reason for being able to bear such a privileged title, the reason for being able to slot into such a wonderful category, is because what Jesus has done for you through his mighty salvation.

Come back to the thought then, that Jesus Christ has brought many sons unto glory. Now, you remember in John's Gospel, we're told that that was part of the ministry of Jesus. Why did he come on earth? Well, he came unto his own, the Jewish people.

He wanted them to believe in him, but they didn't. But the writer of John's Gospel says in the opening verses of the first chapter, that to those who received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believe on his name. Now that's rather marvelous that Jesus, the son of God, by adoption enables you to be a son of God too.

Jesus was always the son of God. He is the son of God because he's the first begotten of the Father. But you and I become sons of God because we are adopted into the family circle of the Lord.

You know what adoption means. Some perhaps were adopted naturally in the early years of their lives. They were brought into a family circle.

They weren't born into it naturally, but they were brought because of the love of two people who wanted to adopt a son or a daughter. Jesus was born, the first begotten of the Father. He always was the son of God, but by his death on the cross, he's made it possible for you, for me, to be adopted into the family circle.

And I say he's made it possible by the cross. I have to say that because the writer of this epistle makes reference to the cross and the adoptive work of Jesus that results therefrom. Look at the latter part of the tenth verse.

In bringing many sons unto glory, it became him to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. That verse has created for some people an awful amount of trouble. They read it like this, that Jesus became perfect through his life.

And that would therefore seem to suggest that at one stage he was imperfect. Now you know full well that that wasn't the case because it was a sinless sacrifice he offered on the cross. Well, what does this expression mean about Jesus being made perfect or the captain of their salvation being made perfect through sufferings? How did Jesus become saviour? How did he become perfect in his work of redemption? By going to the cross.

He couldn't have been a perfect saviour without his suffering. And the word perfect there has got nothing to do with morality but it's got everything to do with the finished work of Jesus on the cross. He can only be seen as the captain of salvation because of what he suffered.

We only know that he is the saviour because he died on the cross of Calvary. So it was the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross that makes him the perfect saviour. Nothing to do with morality, nothing to do with any sin that allegedly some might say he had committed.

But his role of saviour becomes visible to everyone as they look upon him dying on the cross. Jesus before Calvary couldn't have saved. He was not the perfect saviour at that point but when he is pinned to the cross and when the cross is hoisted up high for all to see then is the captain of our salvation demonstrated to be Jesus the one who alone can save through the suffering that he endures.

So our Lord Jesus brings many sons to glory and that word bring is very interesting. It's got the idea indeed it's the same word in the original as the good Samaritan. You remember he finds the man who's been very badly treated on the Jericho road and he takes this blood-stained unfortunate person and he puts him on his donkey and he brings him to the inn and in the inn he finds safety and he is looked after by the innkeeper.

Now what the Samaritan did on the Jericho road of life so Jesus has done on the road of life for all who have trusted him. He brings them, he brings the elect of God through to glory. His salvation he ensures as being absolute on the part of those who trust him.

So then there's a thought that in the work of salvation Jesus makes us sons but there's another similar expression that I brought to your attention in the 11th verse. Again speaking of Jesus we read that he that sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Why on earth does that mean? Let me read it in the RSV to see if it's a little clearer to you from that rendering.

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin that is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Does that make it any clearer? You have the same origin as Jesus but you say that's nonsense. Jesus was perfect, I'm imperfect.

Jesus was a saint, I am a sinner. All right but bear in mind what Jesus did for you on the cross. He took your sin but what did he give you? He gave you his righteousness.

So you read later on in the Peter that we become partakers of the divine nature. Let me put that bluntly though not crudely. Not for the risk of being, not because I want to be theatrical but because I want to clarify the concept in your mind.

In one sense a little bit of Jesus resides in you if you're a Christian. He takes up residence within your life. So he who sanctifies the Lord Jesus and those who are sanctified have in one sense the same nature.

In the Lord Jesus Christ I receive freedom from my sins and I inherit the gift of his spirit. Now think this through because it's not too difficult even for the youngest friend who's here this evening to comprehend. When Jesus referred to his disciples before Calvary how did he sometimes address them? He called them friends.

He sometimes called them sheep. He sometimes just referred to them as his disciples. But never before he died on the cross does he ever call them brothers.

He never calls them brothers prior to his death on the cross. But listen how Paul describes the Lord Jesus and us who have been saved as the result of his activity at Calvary. Romans chapter 8 and verse 29.

Romans chapter 8 verse 29. Paul is going to speak about the death of the Lord Jesus and his resurrection and what the consequence of that resurrection is for you and me. For whom God did foreknow he also did predestinate.

Romans 8 29. To be conformed to the image of his son that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brethren. That Jesus might be the firstborn among many brethren.

When he was raised from the dead the first man ever to be brought back from the dead having suffered such an awful death as crucifixion. He becomes the prototype of all who will share in the glorious resurrection themselves. You and I who have trusted Jesus as saviour become brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is obviously what Romans 8 29 means. He is the firstborn among many brethren. I remind you that Jesus never called anyone brother until after his resurrection.

Now there's another scripture that perhaps is interesting in this connection. Here we are in Matthew's gospel chapter 28 and verse 10. Jesus has been raised from the dead and he has appeared to two women folk and he gives them instructions.

And in the ninth and tenth verses you read of what Jesus also has to say not just to the women folk but to some of his disciples. Matthew 28 verses 9 and 10. And as they went to tell his disciples behold Jesus met them saying all hail and they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him.

Then said Jesus unto them be not afraid go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall they see me. Jesus couldn't have called the disciples brothers until after the crucifixion and the resurrection because it was not until that point that they entered into the benefits of his saving life and death. So you and I can look upon ourselves not just as sons of God but as brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ sharing in his great inheritance.

Now the writer of Hebrews he underlines the point by making reference to Psalm 22 which you've no need to turn to at the moment. It's quoted in the 12th verse of Hebrews 2 saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. You remember it's the 22nd Psalm that remarkably predicts the death of Jesus.

And perhaps it becomes a more incredible Psalm because not only does it suggest the death of Jesus but it also anticipates his resurrection. And right at the end of the Psalm there is the thought that men who benefit from the death of the Lord Jesus his brothers will sing his praises in the church in the redeemed community. So what have we discovered so far? Well as far as salvation the salvation work of Jesus is concerned he's made us sons of God.

We also remarkably have a right to think of ourselves in terms of his brothers because he is the firstborn of many brethren and amongst the word brethren we identify ourselves. But more than this Jesus has established us as children, children of God. Look at the 13th verse and again I will put my trust in him and again behold I and the children which God hath given me.

In the latter reference there is a scripture which could be found in Isaiah 8 no need to turn to it at the moment. In that particular experience of the prophet God is promising him children but Jesus looks upon Isaiah 8 and the prediction there as being absolutely fulfilled in himself. And there will be times in his ministry when he will refer to the disciples as his children.

Jesus has come to establish the family of God as well as the kingdom of God on this earth. So you've got those three lovely concepts in the salvation work of Jesus he makes you a son of God, he makes you one of his brothers and he establishes you as part of the family of God in the category of a child. But if you move forward to the 14th through to the 16th verses there the writer tells us just how Jesus achieved all this.

If in the first three or four verses he's been talking about the salvation of Jesus now he speaks about the incarnation because of course there could have been no salvation had Jesus not taken upon himself a body like yours. So here is reference to the nativity and to Jesus maturing as a man and all that he went through on our behalf. In the first part of verse 14 the first part of our passage we're told what Jesus became.

For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself took part of the same. You've got a body prick your finger blood comes out in exactly the same way. Jesus had a body it wasn't a phantom body it was a real body.

Jesus wasn't a ghost masquerading as man he was real man. This is what you discover also in the 15th verse of the next chapter. We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities but the Lord Jesus our high priest was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.

He's a true priest he's a true man he's got flesh and blood but there's one thing that distinguishes Jesus from you and me and that is he was absolutely sinless. So here in this passage referring to the incarnation we're told about what Jesus became and then we're told what he did. 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 lifetimes subject to bondage.

The great tyrant of man is a devil and the thing that scares man rigid that seems to be within the absolute control of the devil is death. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem's manger when he grew up and became a man he engaged in warfare warfare against the devil he's fighting the devil all along you discover the devil accosting him just after his baptism in the Jordan. The devil when Jesus is in Judea comes along and tempts him.

The devil uses Peter one of Jesus's closest associates as a means of trying to deflect Christ from performing his father's will so Jesus has to say get you behind me Satan. The whole of Jesus's life can be seen in terms of a fight between the devil and himself but say isn't this also true if you've got any spiritual perception that your life is also a fight between the force of evil the devil and the diabolical way in which he would try to ensnare and trap you and ensure that you go to hell if you were to die in an unforgiven state then your life would not be exterminated you would go to face the consequences of your sin that's why people fear death you wouldn't fear death if it was just annihilation I don't fear going to sleep and I don't dream that often so if you had any idea of what an annihilation was like while you're still alive it would be a dreamless sleep you've no need to be afraid of that have you but the reason why people fear death is because they believe that death does not in any way stop their sin but brings them into a sphere of existence where they go to face the consequences of their sin they're afraid of death because they're afraid of the power and they've often fallen foul of his snare now who was the devil the devil was an angel lucifer son of the morning the greatest of the angels you remember my teaching on this area just a couple of weeks or so ago and it's lucifer who tries to rob god of his glory in man by preventing man from ever being reconciled to the father so a champion of man must come into this world and that's what jesus was the last adam who comes to our rescue he takes upon himself flesh and blood like yours like mine without sin does battle against the devil right until the end and just at the time that it seems that the devil has got jesus in his power the lord jesus turns the tables on the devil and through death he destroys him that has the power of death that is the devil jesus was not locked eternally in the devil's dungeon he was raised in the power of an endless life he demonstrates that he has the ability not only to to to rob to rid men of their sins but to rid them of their fear of death and that's what our writer says he achieved in his life he became flesh and blood and he overcame the power of the devil he overcame the fear of death and he proved to all that if they trust him the blessings of sonship which they forfeited through their sins can be returned as they confess his lordship what jesus became what jesus did ah but look verse 16 what jesus did not do what didn't he do well surely says the rsv translation here it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of abraham what does that mean well if you were to read second peter 2 4 you would discover that there were angels who fell from heaven again i spelt this out quite clearly to you in two bible studies not so long ago but those angels who lost their first estate god inspires peter to say he spared them not there's no rescue work that's mounted to retrieve fallen angels but romans 8 32 says of the sons of adam of you and me that god spared not his only son to deliver us from the power of sin so what jesus did not do was to go to the help of angels what he did do was to come to the aid of the seed of abraham of the sons of adam of jew and gentile of people like ourselves so the word salvation is defined for us in its consequences in the first few verses of our passage the word incarnation is also shown up as being a very wonderful word what jesus became what jesus achieved what jesus didn't do and finally and quite briefly the last aspect of the ministry of jesus referred to in the 17th and 18th verses is that of reconciliation you find the word in the last part of the 17th verse jesus having become man having died on the cross to secure our salvation now reconciles us to the father but what do we mean by this ministry of reconciliation what does it mean to our lord jesus christ well it means this that he takes upon himself the role of a high priest so verse 17 says 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 expiation for the sins of the people you remember aaron was the high priest in the old testament era aaron is like moses you'd imagine that would be so because they were brothers jesus becomes like you and me and he acts as a high priest what does a high priest do well the high priest makes an atonement so abraham so aaron took the blood of the bull or the blood of the animal that had been slain into the holiest place of all and he makes reconciliation atonement between god and the people and in doing that he was typifying he was predicting what jesus would do for here is priestly language attached to the ministry of jesus the lord jesus christ goes into the holiest place of all to make reconciliation for the sins of the people but it's his blood it's his blood that is offered not the blood of any other animal but his own on the cross the high priest takes his blood into the holiest place and having done that what does he do he intercedes for you and me he helps us he comes to our aid that's what the 18th verse says in that he himself has suffered being tempted he is able to succor them that are tempted jesus sympathizes with you and me he knows all about the strains of temptation he went through them himself but he never sinned therefore he knew temptation more intensely than you than i do and because of that because he'd become a man because he went through all the pressurized experiences of life he is the more able to sympathize with us and to make intercession for us before the heavenly father you've learned three things or you should have done about jesus christ this evening you've learned about his salvation work you've learned also that the lord jesus christ became incarnate to achieve his work of salvation and you've learned what jesus has done for you on the cross and what he is now doing for you and for me in heaven making intercession on our behalf and it's the lord jesus christ who intercedes for us in a sympathetic fashion who calls you and me also to the ministry of intercession to pray for other people and that's what we're going to be doing in a moment or two father we thank you for the salvation work of our lord jesus made possible by his incarnation which results ultimately in his reconciliation the way that he has matched again man with god praise you for one who offered his own blood and took it into the holy place and having made an atonement he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high and there as high priest he intercedes for his people touched with the feelings of their infirmities and asks others to to join him in that noble ministry of petitionary prayer thank you lord for the opportunity for some of us of being able to do this this evening and those who cannot stay send them on their way rejoicing perhaps with a better grasp of the marvel of redemption as achieved by our lord jesus amen