And will you please remain standing for the reading today of God's Word, which comes to us from the book of Hebrews. From the book of Hebrews in chapter 2, and I will be reading verses 5 through 18. This is God's Word, and so I'd ask that you now give your careful attention to it. Hebrews 2, beginning in verse 5. For he has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have set him over the works of your hands. You have 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 do not see, 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, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. saying, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here I am and the children whom God has given me. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to its bondage. For indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. Thus far the reading of God's word, the flowers of the field fade away, but the word of the Lord is forever. Will you pray with me? Oh Father, and now may the meditations of our heart and the words of my mouth be to your honor and to your glory. For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. For my studies in St. Louis, I have been reading on the subject of the cross of Christ. One doesn't have to go too far in reading on the subject of the cross. Whether reading about the history of its interpretation or reading about its current interpretation, one doesn't have to go too far to come across critiques of it. In our own day, the critiques are as loud as they are rigorous and severe. The cross, it is claimed, is unjust. How can an innocent person be required to die for the guilty? It's too violent, amounting to a kind of cosmic child abuse. Its emphasis is all wrong, focusing on sacrifice and death. God, they say, is interested in life, not death. How can we, as people of the 21st century, still believe that the death of one person could somehow bring life to others. Isn't that a little primitive, a little superstitious? And so on they continue. And alternatives are proposed. The cross, they say, wasn't God's will for Jesus. It was man's raging against Jesus' counter-culturalism. Jesus challenged the powers that be, and so he was condemned by them. The cross becomes a symbol, not of the place where the justice and mercy of God met in the very person and work of Christ for our salvation. Rather, it simply stands as a symbol of man's unwillingness to follow God's path of love and peace. So as one author puts it, we cannot forget the cross, but neither can we glorify it. To do so is to glorify suffering and to render man's exploitation sacred. To do it is to glorify the sin of defilement. Well, there is, of course, some truth in this alternative picture, it must be said. And there is some truth, of course, in what they affirm, but it's what they deny, I think, that is particularly troubling. The cross, of course, was man's raging against Jesus and against God. It was a symbol of their refusal to live out God's way of love and peace. but they also claim it cannot be that the cross is God's means of salvation for the world. It doesn't make sense. It isn't right. The cross for these people has become a stumbling block and foolishness. But this, of course, doesn't surprise us. It has always been the case that the cross is offensive to many. In every generation, it finds itself the object of derision and ridicule. And yet, in every generation, it also stands at the heart of the gospel and goes out as the power of God for salvation to men and to women from every tribe and every tongue and every people and every nation. And this is what Paul tells us. You'll remember in first Corinthians chapter one and verse 18, where he says, for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And he goes on to say that we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Brothers and sisters, that is what Hebrews chapter two is all about. Just as in our day, so this group of Hebrew Christians was dealing with some Jews who were crying out against the cross. And so Hebrews chapter two takes up this challenge. And it argues that, in fact, the coming of our Lord in flesh and blood, being made like us, and is dying on the cross, is nothing else but the very wisdom and power of God. It is, in a word, as you see in verse 10, fitting. And so the passage this morning, we could divide up into two parts, two steps, really. In the first part, verses five through nine, the author takes up his original argument that Jesus is greater than the angels. Now this may seem a bit strange at this point, but you'll remember in chapter one that the Hebrew Christians were dealing with a group of Jews who were calling them back to Judaism. who were claiming that they ought not go off and follow Jesus and become one of these Jesus followers because that was not the true religion, that Judaism was the true religion. And one of their arguments, it seems, was to say that Jesus was not even greater than the angels, let alone Abraham and Moses. And so throughout the book of Hebrews, the author has to take on that challenge and show that Jesus is greater than the angels, that he is greater than Moses and Abraham. And so throughout the beginning of chapter one, The author argues that Jesus is greater than the angels in regards to his nature. Perhaps you remember that, that he is in his very nature the exact representation, the exact image of the Father, that he is the one through whom and for whom are all things. The whole of the world is created by him and he is called the Son, which none of the angels can lay claim to. And so in Hebrews chapter 1, he argues that Jesus is greater than the angels by his nature. And now in chapter 2, he begins to argue that Jesus is greater than the angels with regards to his work, particularly his work as our high priest. So the big question then of this passage of 5 through 18 is this. How is it that the work of Christ demonstrates that he is greater than the angels? In fact, it would seem that Christ's work would make him less than the angels. And it was this critique that the Hebrew Christians were dealing with. And it went something like this. If Jesus became a human being, suffered, and died, then he must be less than the angels. For angels cannot die. Now, it's worse to be able to die than not to be able to die. That stands to reason. And so, if Jesus is able to die, to suffer, then he must be worse than the angels, who cannot die. And furthermore, surely it is below God to use such terrible means as suffering and death in his plan of salvation. And so in chapter 2 verses 5 through 18, the author is responding to that critique. So as we said, in the first part, verses five through nine, the author begins to show them from their own scriptures, from the Old Testament, that in fact, the Messiah follows this sort of two-stage plan in his redemption. First, humiliation, and then exaltation. Indeed, it's by his humiliation that he is then exalted far above every principality and power, far above all creation, far above the angels, and receives a name that is above all names. And then, part two, verses 10 through 18, he begins to show how this salvation is fitting. The salvation that's planned by God, it was in no way below him. It was fitting, it was appropriate, even necessary. So verse five then, begins by declaring that Jesus is superior to the angels, because the world to come has been subjected to him, not to the angels. Now, it was not to the angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we have been speaking, verse 5. Now, this world to come, of which he has been speaking, is what we might call this time or this period of salvation, or the time or the period of the gospel. It's the period under the New Covenant, issued in by Christ himself, as opposed to the Old Covenant, issued in by Moses. That's what he's been talking about in Hebrews 2, 1 through 4. And this time of salvation, now under the New Covenant, is under the leadership, the Lordship of Jesus. How do we know that? Well, the author says, look at your Old Testaments. Look at Psalm 8, and then he quotes Psalm 8, four through six. What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now, at first glance, we may wonder why the author of Hebrews thinks that this psalm is speaking about Jesus. It seems to be talking about humans, man, mankind. But his reasoning becomes clear in the next verse, in verse 8 of chapter 2. Now, this is what he says, now, in putting everything in subjection to him, man, he, God the Father, he left nothing outside of his, man's control. At present, we do not see everything in subjection to him, that is in subjection to man or humans. So the psalm seems to be talking about humans in general, but, says Hebrews, if it is talking about humans in general, why don't we see humans ruling over everything? The truth is, we see just the opposite. We wage war against nature. We fight against natural disasters, against insects and pests, against germs and bacteria, against disease, and we often lose. The whole world, it seems, is against us, or even over us. We do not, at present, see everything in subjection to humans, not even close, really. But, the author continues in verse nine, we do see someone of whom Psalm 8 is true, but we see Jesus. the very one who after his resurrection says, all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. This one we do see, as verse nine says, crowned with glory and honor. Everything, all of creation, including angels, has been subjected to him. In other words, he is greater than the angels. So Psalm 8 must be talking about Jesus, the Messiah. But then there's something interesting about Psalm 8. Look at Psalm 8, 5, or as it's quoted here in Hebrews 2, 7. You have made him a little lower than the angels for a little while. you have crowned him with glory and honor. If this psalm is talking about Jesus, and it must be, then Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, but for a little while. And there are two steps then to this psalm, his being made a little lower than the angels for a little while, his humiliation or his condescension, and then his being crowned with glory and honor, his exaltation. And this maps on to Christ's earthly life, his earthly existence exactly. He came from on high, from his eternal abode, to dwell with us. He came down to dwell with us, to take on our nature, our infirmities. And thus, he was made a little lower than the angels for a little while. And yet, at his resurrection, he was vindicated as the Son of God. He ascended to the Father's right hand from where he sits enthroned and ruling over all. And that's why verse 9 does not say that the reason Jesus is exalted above all is because of his exalted nature. That's true, and it has said that in chapter 1. But in verse 9 of chapter 2, it says that the reason he is exalted is because of his suffering and death, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. The reason he is exalted above all is because of his work on our behalf, namely his suffering and dying for us. And this was the sticking point. This is what some of the Jews didn't like. And so, in verses 10 through 18, Hebrews shows that it was appropriate and fitting that God should save his people in this way. And verse 10 really gets to the heart of the argument. For it was fitting that he, God the Father, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation, that is Jesus Christ, perfect through suffering. It was fitting that he should work this way. It was not below God to bring about salvation by sending his son to live as a human with humans, to experience all our trials and temptations, even to suffer and die. Indeed, as a human, even to be made perfect through that suffering. not as though he moved from imperfection to perfection, as though he moved from sinner to saint, but rather that he moved from less maturity to more maturity as a human. We read in the Gospels, for instance, that he grew in stature and in wisdom. He moved to complete or perfect maturity and that through suffering. It was not below God to plan our salvation this way, and it was not below Christ to work out our salvation in this way. Quite the contrary, in fact. It was the very wisdom of God. It was, as we read here, fitting. And this term, fitting, has a sense of what is proper, what is appropriate. And thus there's an element of beauty to it. As we shall see in a moment, there's something beautiful about the way that God saves his people. But the term also has a notion of necessity. It was not only beautiful that God should work out salvation this way, in a sense it was necessary, it was right, it was proper. It was necessary that his justice on the one hand not be compromised, and yet the glory of his grace and mercy shine through on the other. So how was it beautiful and why necessary? Well, verses 11 through 12 begin to explain that if God is to save us, he must be one with us. You see that verse 11, for he who sanctifies, that is Jesus Christ, he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified. all have one origin, literally translated, are all of one. We have a solidarity with Christ, a union of sorts with him insofar as we are all human beings, insofar as he took on our human nature. And for this reason, it goes on to say, he's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. You see that in verse 12 through 13. And again, quoting from the Old Testament, as he so often does in this book, trying to show that this was all foreshadowed and pictured in the Old Testament. Again, he quotes from Psalm 22 and Isaiah chapter 8, showing that the Messiah was not ashamed to call humans, us, his brothers and his sisters. Now the Jews of this time may have been ashamed of the idea that the Messiah would lower himself below the angels to share in flesh and blood, the infirmities and the temptations of humans. But according to the Old Testament, The Messiah himself was not ashamed to do so. He was not ashamed to call humans his brothers and his sisters, for they are all one. For we are all one. Now we might ask, why was he unashamed to be one with us? And the answer is simply because he loves us. and salvation of fallen sinful human beings required nothing less. So you see in verses 14 and 15, Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things. that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. The Jews were ashamed of a Messiah who would die, who would be slain and apparently conquered. But they had failed to recognize the irony of their position. So long as the Messiah did not die, they must. But if the Messiah gave himself up to death, death itself would die so that they might live. In being slain, he would slay. In his apparently being conquered, he would conquer death and the one who has the power of death, Satan. These Jews had missed the fact that we as mere and sinful humans could not escape from the power of death and the devil who uses it to enslave us. We needed someone who could conquer. And so God, the Son, became one of us and was unashamed to do so. He shared in our flesh and blood, as it says, in order to conquer what we could not. The very one who says, I am the truth and the life, took death into himself and by his very life destroyed it. That is why he became a little lower than the angels. It says in verse 16, for surely it is not to angels that he helps, that he gives assistance, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. He had to become human because it was fallen humans he desired to save, not angels. And blessed be God that the son did not count equality with God as something to be clung to, something to be grasped, but he humbled himself and came to us in the form of a servant. Therefore we read in verse 17, that 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 in order to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Now this verse gives us a little bit more information on how it is that Christ destroys death and its power. So follow the argument here. Christ has become like us in order to save us. He had to take on our nature in order that he could die and that by dying he might destroy death. That's verse 14. And here in verse 17 we read that he accomplished the destruction of death and its power as our high priest. Now, he's going to go on in the book of Hebrews and detail just how it is that he works out our salvation as our high priest. He spends a number of chapters detailing Christ as our high priest. But here in verse 17, he simply states that this is how he conquers death for us. So put them together now. Verse 14, he had to become like us in order to conquer death. Verse 17, he had to become like us in order to become our high priest so that he could make propitiation for the sins of the people. And when you put the two together, You get that he had to become like us in order to be our high priest, so that he could make propitiation for our sins by his own death, so that he could conquer death for us. So do you see that he conquers the power of death by removing the penalty of death? And all of this qualifies him to be our help. And so you see in verse 18, for because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are also tempted. And surely this is one of the sweetest implications of Christ's work on our behalf. I mean, this is very detailed argument here that we are skating very lightly over, admittedly. But surely this is one of the sweetest implications of what he is arguing. Do you remember the story of Jesus told in Matthew chapter 14? After Jesus had fed the 5,000 and he sends the disciples off across the lake, but he doesn't go with them. He goes up on the mountain to pray. And while he is up on the mountain from this high vantage point, he's looking across the lake and he sees the disciples rowing headlong into a storm. And before you know it, their ship is being beaten and battered by the storm. And do you remember what he does? He doesn't simply look down upon them from his high vantage point. And he doesn't simply calm the storm from atop the mountain. He could have done that. But you remember what he does. He goes down the mountain, on the water, out to the disciples. And do you remember what he said as he approached them? He said, take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid. I think this is one of the most beautiful pictures of Christ as our high priest. He doesn't simply look down upon us from on high. No, he sees the storm of life that we are going through, that we go through, each and every one of us, and he comes down to help us. For he knows our troubles, he knows our weakness, he knows our temptations, and he, as our high priest, then, is able to offer us help. Well, there is so much in these verses to think about and to ponder, and I would exhort you to do so as you have time, even this coming week. But let me draw your attention and our focus to four points in closing. Take notice, first of all, of the great condescension of God in Christ. This is what Psalm 8 is talking about. What is man that you should be mindful of him? Or the Son of Man that you should care for him? We are so small, really just one species on a big planet, which happens to be a small planet in a big galaxy, which happens to be one galaxy in an estimated 170 billion galaxies. What is man? And we're not only small, we're also dirty. We're sinners who have left a long legacy of evil and destruction in our wake. So God is infinitely higher than we, and it makes no sense that he should take notice of us. But even if he does take notice of us, it makes no sense that he should want to save us. And yet, in Christ, he does not simply look down upon us. He does not merely come down to the level of the angels to gaze upon salvation, as we're told they do, but he comes all the way down to us as human to save us. This, dear friends, is the infinite condescension that we see in the glorious and befuddling grace of God in Christ. Think with me also and again about the fittingness of God's plan of salvation. How fitting is it that since through one man's disobedience, death entered the world, so too through one man's obedience, life is given to those who believe. Or think about Eve, just as Eve distrusted the word of God and disobeyed. And so, all who came through her womb, that's what Eve means, the mother of all living, all those who came through her womb would be plagued with sin and death. So also Mary trusted God's word and obeyed it so that all who believe would be freed from the plague of sin and death through the one who came through her womb. Just as the first act of obedience came at the foot of a tree and the fruit of that tree was death, so too the second act of obedience took Jesus Christ to a tree, the fruit of which was life itself. It was because of an act of unbelief that we were thrust from the garden, thrust from the presence of God. And so it is by faith that we are united to Christ who himself brings us back to God. And so on we could go. In this way, God accomplished so fitting, such a beautiful salvation for us. In this way, he dissolved the first disobedience and fulfilled all his promises and manifested both his justice and his mercy. In this way, he turned the world's wisdom on its head, the cross, the very wisdom of God. And think with me thirdly, that our Savior has conquered the power of death, which for so long has held us captive in fear. I don't think it's an understatement to say that one of the greatest, if not the greatest, underlying fears and causes of anxiety in our lives is death. From an early age, death stalks us. He may stay mostly out of sight, but we feel his cool gaze as we go along. Like a wild predator, we know he could attack at any moment. Death hangs over us like a big question mark at the end of our existence. And the power of death seems to come from at least two sources. First, human death is part of the curse. And because it is part of the curse, the devil runs with it. He reminds us everywhere and always that we are cursed, that death is our just penalty. This is the power that death has over us. It is a constant and brutal reminder that we have strayed from God and that God has judged us for it. The second source of the power of death, I think, is that death is often called the great unknown. Our anxiety comes from never having been to the other side. sometimes quietly, sometimes with screams of terror, our souls look into that great abyss. Our ships are sailing into that troubled water, into that dark fog that hides the world beyond, and we dread the journey. But don't you see, dear Christian, this morning that Christ has taken care of both of these sources for us. He took that curse for us, for cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, so that we who believe might be free from that curse. And he has destroyed the power of death by destroying it as a penalty. And furthermore, he did it by dying himself. That is, he too had to stare into that great abyss. He too sailed his ship through those troubled waters and under that dark sky. And he has not only come out the other side, but he has also come back for us to be our captain and to lead us safely through. Death no longer has the victory. Life has swallowed up the grave. So take heart, dear Christian, because Jesus also says to you, it is I. Do not be afraid. And finally, notice that Christ is Lord, and particularly over the church. It is to him that we owe our allegiance. It is to him that we owe our all. God, who became man, that as man he might lead men to God, the captain of our salvation. He is the one from whom are all things and for whom are all things. We are pilgrims here in this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. And therefore, our allegiance is to our King of Kings, not to any particular nation here, not to any particular political regime or party, not to any particular person. We love our neighbor. We try to live as good and wise citizens of the world while we are here. We live at peace with all men insofar as it is possible for us. But our allegiance is to Christ and to Christ alone. To him be the glory together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forevermore. Amen. Will you pray with me?