Hebrews 2:10-18


Hebrews 2:10-18



1.      One of Ann Landers’ classic newspaper columns was entitled "A hysterical view of the historical."  In that column she listed what are purported to be actual statements made by high school students on history and English exams.  She got the information from the works of Richard Lederer, a well-known American author.  Listen to what some high school students had to say about some major historical figures--

--Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who died from an overdose of wedlock...

--William Tell shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son's head...

--Martin Luther was nailed to the church door at Wittenberg for selling papal indulgences.  He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull...

--Sir Walter Raleigh invented cigarettes...

--Sir Frances Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper...

--John Milton wrote Paradise Lost.  Then his wife died and he wrote "Paradise Regained."

--Gravity was invented by Isaac Walton.  It is chiefly noticeable in autumn, when apples are falling off the trees.

--Bach and Handel were famous composers.  Handel was half-German, half-Italian, and half-English.  He was very large.  Bach died from 1750 to the present.

--Beethoven was so deaf that he wrote loud music.  He expired in 1827 and later died from this.

--Karl Marx became one of the Marx brothers...

2.   I suppose those statements should serve to remind us that it's easy to get the facts of history confused.  But it's important that we not make that mistake when it comes to understanding who Jesus is and what He does for us.

3.   In our last session began looking at a paragraph in Hebrews 2 which clearly sets forth the identity of Jesus and the work of Jesus.  The paragraph begins at verse 9 and goes to the end of the chapter.  From Hebrews 2:9, the first verse of the paragraph, we saw that when we really see Jesus we see--

--humility (Jesus was made for awhile a little lower than the angels...He left the glory of heaven to dwell on the earth...)

--sacrifice (He died on the cross)

--substitute (He died in our place)

      In this session, from the remainder of this paragraph, we are going to focus on some specific things Jesus does for us.



Want you to think for a moment of the most significant thing anyone has ever done for you...perhaps was some gift given out of love...perhaps some kind word or compliment...maybe some personal favor done for you at great sacrifice of someone else...hold that thought in your mind for moment...want you to know that no matter how significant or how great the thing another person did on your behalf, it pales in comparison with what Jesus has done and continues to do for you...and from this rather long, complicated passage want share with you in summary form five things Jesus is doing for every person who trusts his or her life to Him...



I.   Jesus shows us the way to salvation

      1.   One of most descriptive titles for Jesus to be found in Scripture is in verse 10...called "the author of ... salvation"...word translated "author" in NASB and "captain" in the KJV is archegos...word literally means "pioneer" or "leader"...

2.   Jesus is like a pioneer who has gone before us and blazed a trail for us to follow...and as we follow after Him, He leads us into salvation...

3.   William Barclay illustrates the meaning of the word archegos this way...says suppose ship was stuck on some rocks not too far from shore...the only way get passengers safely to shore was for someone to swim through the surf with a line so that once the line was secured the other passengers could take hold of it and follow it safely to shore...Barclay says the one who was first to swim to shore would be the archegos...that person would have blazed the way to safety for the others...

4.   That's what Jesus has done for us...He has gone before us and shown us the way to salvation...



II.  Jesus makes us holy before God

1.   Verse 11 describes those who are followers of Jesus as "those who are sanctified"...word "sanctified" is from same word family as word "holy"...there's a wonderful thought here...

2.   From our perspective, it is very difficult to think of ourselves as holy...after all, we are very aware of our sinful nature...we know our evil thoughts and we know our un-Christlike actions...

3.   But as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, in eyes of God we are holy...that's because instead of seeing our sin, when God looks at our lives, He sees the sacrifice of His Son for our sins...

4.   Our holiness in God's eyes is not something we have achieved in our strength...it's not a result of our good conduct...it's what Jesus does for us...one writer put it this way:  "Before God, those who are in His Son are holy.  We may not act holy, but we are holy -- just as a child who often does not act like his father or please his father is still his father's child.  We are holy in the sense that before God the righteousness of Christ has been applied and imputed in our behalf." [McArthur, p.67]



III.  Jesus makes us part of God's family

1.Family terminology permeates this section of Hebrews--

--in v.10 we are referred to as "sons"...

--in v.11 God is called "Father" and we are described as "brethren" or brothers of Jesus...

--in v.12 we are again called "brethren" or brothers...

--then in v.13 and again in v.14 we are called "children"

2.   Point of all that is when we gave our lives to Christ, we became part of a spiritual family...under the Fatherhood of God and the Lordship of Jesus, we are brothers and sisters in the family of God...

3.   I have an older brother who is today and always has been one of my heroes...he's kind, unselfish person who is always concerned about welfare of others...when I was small wanted go everywhere he went...would follow him like a shadow...can imagine this caused some problems in our family...when wanted go somewhere without me, would wait until my guard was down, burst out the backdoor, and run around and around the outside house until he lost me...sure there were times he wished I wasn't his brother...

4.   But Jesus never feels that way about us...told in v.11 that "He is not ashamed to call [us] brethren..."...He gladly makes us part of God's family...



IV.  Jesus delivers us from the terror of death

1.   In v.14 the writer of Hebrews points out again that Jesus became flesh and He came to our world...and through His death He defeated the one who holds the power of death, the devil...one writer put it this way:  "The only way to destroy Satan was to rob him of his weapon, death -- physical death, spiritual death, eternal death.  Satan knew that God required death for us because of sin.  Death had become the most certain fact of life.  Satan knew that [all people], if they remained as they were, would die and go out of God's presence into hell forever.  Satan wants to hold onto [people] until they die, because once they are dead the opportunity for salvation is gone forever.  [People] can't escape after death.  So God had to wrest from Satan the power of death.  And just for that purpose Jesus came." [McArthur, p.69-70]

2.   And the result of His coming --of His death and resurrection from the dead-- is spelled out clearly in v.15...and that is that He "might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

3.   And point of all that is that while still hurts when we are separated from loved one by death, Jesus has robbed death of its terror and dread and sting...and in place of those things has given us hope...and He accomplished that by going before us in death...

4.   One of my professors in seminary was Dr. John Kiwiet...at one time became very ill and had one of those near death experiences...he said experienced transition from this world to the next like walking through a long tunnel...tunnel was very narrow and lined with sharp thorns...impossible walk through without being scratched by the thorns...but as entered tunnel noticed all thorns had been broken in direction was walking so walls of tunnel were smooth...on tips of each thorn was drop of blood...realized God's way of telling him he didn't need to fear death because Jesus had gone before him and paved the way...



V.  Jesus helps us overcome temptation

1.   Look at very last phrase in this paragraph in v.18...says "He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted..."...Why?  Because any temptation we face he has already faced and overcome...

2.   When facing some crisis or difficult problem and need some help, just makes sense to seek the counsel of someone who has already successfully dealt with the kind of situation with which you're struggling...

3.   And do well to remember that whatever we may face in this life, Jesus has faced it before us...and whatever path we must walk, Jesus has walked it before us...and when going gets tough can turn to Him and with confidence say, "Lord you know what I'm going through...you understand thoroughly... please help me through this..."

4    .Later in Hebrews we're told of Jesus, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."...and that, above all else, qualifies Him to help us with our temptations...

CONCLUSION

1.   A man named Tony Bullimore was competing in an around the world yacht race when his boat capsized in icy water near Antarcita...was trapped in cabin, in freezing water up to his neck, being thrown about by large waves...expected to live only for a few minutes...but fortunately an Australian warship heard his distress signal, sent out a rescue team and extracted him from the sinking yacht...Bullimore was taken to Australia where was given a hero's welcome...was given an opportunity to address the nation on national television and simply said, "Thank you, Australia, for giving me my life back." [DMN, Jan.14,1997]

2.   When look at this passage in Hebrews and see all the things Jesus does for us--

·        Show us the way to God...

·        Makes us holy before God... 

·        Makes us part of God's family...

·        Delivers us from the terror of death...

·        Helps us overcome temptation...

      How can we say anything less than "Thank you Jesus for giving me life?"