Many of you may recall when Alan Harris, several Christmases ago, walked us through the way that Noel had become associated with the first advent of Jesus Christ. The phrase was given, now all is well. Now all is well. All is well because God has taken on flesh all is well because He has entered into our situation and He has done what was necessary to reconcile sinners to the Holy Creator. All is well. Noel. If you have a copy of the Scripture, I'm going to invite you to Hebrews chapter 2, the letter to the Hebrews. Chapter 2, try to arrange some of this. We continue today this sermon series that was begun last week, naming Christ and naming the one who would change the world. looking at various names assigned to our Lord. And last week we looked at Immanuel, which means God with us, and this week we will look at that same name. We saw how in the passage in Hebrews 2 and verses 9 through 13, how the writer of Hebrews, that great quoter of the Old Testament, how he draws in the significance of what it means that God took on flesh, the Incarnation. And this week we're going to continue in chapter 2, reading from verses 14 to the end of the chapter, and see what else the Lord wants us to see of the mystery of the Incarnation. Hear God's Word then. From Hebrews 2, 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. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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 propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. God's Word for us. We heard last week that this is the Word of God. We read from John chapter 1, the Word that was in the beginning, that was with God, that was God. That same Word took on flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace, full of truth. The One who spoke and brought all things into existence. The One who was, in chapter 1 of Hebrews, much superior to the angels. Our passage last week showed us that that same One, much superior to the angels, for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that He might taste death for everyone. God answered our deepest need in Jesus Christ, who, while remaining what He was, fully God, became what He had to that point had not been. He became mankind. in order to accomplish our redemption. J. I. Packer says that we should never view the Incarnation as simply a marvel of nature, but rather we should view the Incarnation as a wonder of God's grace. Because that is the wonderful news that brings our salvation. Last week we looked at the marvel of the Immanuel. We saw how the sovereign God took on flesh. The Creator was made lower than His creation for a little while. We saw a baby born to die. And Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. He was crowned with glory and honor, exalted and lifted high through the suffering of death. We don't think like that. We think, crowned with glory and honor because you avoid something bad, but not so the wisdom of God. We saw last week how He has become for us the elder brother, that one who would go first, the one who would lead out, would accomplish what was necessary, and then call us His children. That word adelphoi, that Greek word can be used for both gender, brother and sister, but of the same family, siblings, that He stands in the midst of us, the congregation, and He sings praise to the glory of God, and He calls us His children, and He calls us His siblings. And then the writer picks up this point. The children share in flesh and blood, and He Himself partook. of that same thing. So this week, I want us to see how Immanuel is the destroyer of death. How Immanuel is the deliverer of the captive. The one who sets the captive free. How Immanuel means and points us to that He is the Keeper of the Covenant. That Immanuel is merciful and the faithful High Priest. That He is the Lamb. who was slain, the One who makes propitiation for the sins of the people, and that He is Immanuel, the suffering servant, the One who is able to sympathize with you and with me and our experience. Why? Because He walked as one of us. So the importance of Immanuel, the marvel of Immanuel, I don't know what you think about your body. I try to think very little about mine. Yeah. Christmas cookies. Somebody brought us a big tin of stuff over there in the audience. They're not even cookies. They're like chocolate, right? And we love that, by the way. It doesn't bother us. I don't want anybody to get the wrong impression here. I don't know what you think about your body. You like it. You might not like it. But you feel the pains. You feel what it is to live in a fallen world. You feel the aches, swinging those legs out of the bed in the morning as they hit the floor. Man, really? And the writer of Hebrews says that that which we share, Two interesting words used here, that the children, us, we, we share in flesh and blood. That's the Greek word koinonia. It means that we have that similar experience, a similar circumstance. We share in flesh and blood. And then there's another Greek word that the writer employs, partook. It's the word which means that which when someone takes hold of something that is not naturally their own kind. Melekoi. So we koinonia flesh and blood, we share in the same flesh and blood, but He took hold of that which was not natural to Him in order that, the writer says, He might destroy death. You want a good Christmas message? Talk about Immanuel as the destroyer of death and the devil. That's what he does. You know, we always see these little, you know, and you're probably sending them, great, good, the Christmas card covers, little baby or a little shaft of light or whatever, that same baby, would grow to be the destroyer of death. That's why He took on flesh and blood. That's why He partook of our experience. That's what the writer is building on. Remember last week we talked that He would taste death for everyone, for all who would believe. Later in the letter of Hebrews in chapter 9, the writer says, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment." That's why we talk about death. Because after death, there is an accounting that takes place for every living soul. Wherever you were raised, whatever your ethnicity, wherever your country of origin, there is appointed unto man, once to die, and after that, the judgment. Man knows not his time. Rick mentioned that we've had several in our church family that have mourned the loss of a loved one this week. We gathered in this very room yesterday to have a memorial service for our sister Lynn Sheldon, whom God was pleased to bring to Himself last Sunday morning. And Scott, as he did honoring his father two and a half years ago, he did the same yesterday. He honored his mom with a beautiful eulogy and a slideshow. And the slideshow presented to us in a blink of an eye, baby Lynn, little girl Lynn, Lynn in high school, Lynn at her wedding, Lynn with her baby, Scott, Lynn in front of the Tower of Pisa leaning. Lynn in the Alps. Lynn in New York City. Lynn holding her grandson. Lynn seeing her adopted granddaughter. Lynn near the end of her days. And it went by like that. I think about that every time I see those slideshows. Our lives are just that brief only in this perspective. We have 10 or 20 years. We have 40 or 50, 60, some maybe 80, but it is nonetheless brief. And death, make no mistake, comes to each of us. We deserve death. The Scriptures are clear. The wages of our sin, the payment, the penalty we're due is death. And so we rejoice that Immanuel has come to what? Destroy death and the devil, the one who holds the power of death. He came to destroy. There's two verbs in verse 14 and 15 that stand out. And that's where we get this wonderful Immanuel message. Two verbs. to destroy and to deliver. That's His role. That's His purpose. That's why He came. He came to destroy death and to deliver those who are in fear, those who are captive to the fear of death. The writer of Hebrews writing to a mainly Jewish audience that has embraced Christ as Messiah, they know that concept of deliverer. They know Moses the deliverer and Joshua the deliverer. They know that concept of captives in bondage, crying out from their state of weakness, and a strong deliverer rescuing them. We know something of the fear of death as well. Our faith wavers. We track with the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet, in the soliloquy, You've heard me use this example. I think it's beautiful. To be or not to be, that is the question. And as Hamlet is rehearsing these things, he finds himself at this conclusion. But that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose born no traveler returns, it puzzles the will, and it makes us rather bear those ills we have here then fly to the ills we know not of." And the line, thus conscience does make cowards of us all. We're pretty sure that there's a judgment on the other side of the grave, and we fear death because of that judgment, even if we've not had articulated for us the scriptural truth of all those points. There's something within the human soul that knows that there's got to be something more than this life. So our great Immanuel has come to destroy death, and the devil, the one who holds the power. You see what the Scriptures say there? It says that the devil holds the power of death and wields the fear of death. keeping us captive. Lifelong slavery, it says. You remember in Jesus' earthly ministry where He says that the thief came to kill and steal and destroy. And the verse goes on in John 10. Jesus says, the thief came to steal and kill and destroy, but I've come that you might have life, and that life abundant. And I wonder if I could, for your listening this morning, mash these two verses together and hear the Savior. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I've come to destroy death and the devil. And I've come to set you free from the slavery, set you free from the fear of death. Do you see the strength of our Savior in that? Do you see the marvel of Immanuel again? We watch a lot of detective crime dramas in our house, probably way too many than we should. And we got hooked somehow on this particular show. I should probably keep the title, whatever, and all his parents, Tim recommended this show. Sorry. But what occurs in these dramas, and it happens all the time, we get ourselves to the edge of the sofa, the edge of the lazy boy, because we see the hapless, innocent victim, and we see the twisted, wicked, bad guy, and they're holding them captive, and we see the good guy. From our perspective, we can see the whole picture. We see the good guy, and they've just figured out where the bad guy, the twisted, sick, bad guy is keeping the innocent, hapless victim captive. And we want the bad guy to get it on and get over there and kick the door down and deal with the twisted, sick, bad guy with extreme prejudice. I mean, that's what we long for. And that's the picture, with one exception. We're not the innocent victim. We're the rebellious person held captive by the twisted, sick bad guy who delights in what the bad guy does. Left to ourselves, we're okay with the bad guy. We run to the bad guy. We do the bad guy's bidding. That's what we want, naturally. But that has death and destruction as its end. And so, we scoot a little further on the edge of our seat because we want the good guy to kick that door down and to eliminate the bad guy with extreme prejudice. And that's what our hero has done. He's done that for us. Because the Scriptures say that we're not the innocent victim. In fact, we don't deserve this That's what makes it amazing grace. But He did it for us. Romans 5 sets the scene for us. That while we were still weak at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For us. Praise be to God. Let me ask you a couple of questions before we get to the next point. Do you believe that you deserve death? Half the battle of receiving the good news of the Christmas message is that we have to come to terms with God's truth about us. Do you believe that you deserve, justly deserve, death as a punishment eternally for your sins? Those are the kind of things that we pray for. When you pray for your lost loved ones, you pray for that. God, give them an awareness of their need of a Savior. Help them to see that they can't live this life on their own. Lord, please, that work that only You can do, please do. because it is a supernatural, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of God to take that victim who loves and delights to do the bad guy's bidding and change his heart so that he rejoices when the door is kicked in and the good guy is triumphant. Last week I used an illustration and I don't think I made myself very clear. because I was met at several points in conversation. I was trying to make it a hypothetical. Hypothetically, I had talked to my youngest son about, let's say that you had done something that was spankable, a spankable offense. And let's say, hypothetically, that Kevin, your elder brother, stood in the gap and said, I'll take that spanking for him. The point of that illustration was, I saw Kyle's eyes bug out, even with the hypothetical story. Why? Because we don't believe that anybody would do that for anyone. Yet we do believe that a brother would do something sacrificial for a younger brother. We believe that. But we don't believe that someone who is at enmity with another, that that person who has been rebelled against, would ever lay down his life for the wicked, for the ungodly. And that's why our eyes bug out when we hear the gospel, because that's what he's done. The elder brother has stood in our place. Immanuel, willing to lay down his life for all that the Father has called him to do. So we see that Emmanuel is the destroyer of death, the deliverer of the captive, and He is the Keeper of the Covenant. See verse 16? This is the one that's already been described. This person, Jesus, who's been described as, in chapter 1, much superior to the angels. And now in the beginning of chapter 2, that He's been for a little while made lower than the angels. And then in verse 16, for surely it is not angels that He helps, There's something going on with the writer of Hebrews and that angelic being. I think at Christmastime we see the angels more pronounced in Scripture. We talk about the angels. We sang this morning, angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight to worlds unknown. Tell salvation story. But what the writer of Hebrews, speaking to those Jews who have embraced Jesus as Messiah, is doing is he's saying, don't you realize again? Please understand. He didn't come to say this is not... He does not help the angels in this. But He helps the offspring of Abraham. And our minds are drawn to Genesis 15 and the covenant that God enters into with Abraham where He says, Abraham, go outside and look up into the night sky. Now, I want you to count the stars, Abraham. You remember this passage in Abraham? I don't know if there's a dialogue there that we had left out from the inspired word, but I can imagine Abraham. Lord, okay, but I don't think I can. And God comes with the promise. The promise of the covenant is this, as many as the stars are. so shall your offspring be." The number of God's elect is not complete because we are still here. And we have this wonderful privilege. We celebrate it tonight at the Lord's Supper. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. We proclaim that with our lives lived out in humble reliance, we said to these four. Lovely people. In humble reliance on the grace of God, do you now commit to live as Christ as your Lord? That's how we proclaim, and the Lord is pleased to bring more of Abraham's offspring into the fold. That's what the writer says. He's the keeper of the covenant. Immanuel, he's the one that has done it. He is also And he assumes his role as Keeper of the Covenant by fulfilling the role we see in 17 and 18, that he is the merciful and faithful High Priest. He's merciful, he's faithful in the sense that once the Son sets you free, you can fill in the rest, you are free indeed. There's no going back when Christ delivers you from death. There's no going, there's no, well, I don't know, maybe, let me see, but you're not working out. I think I'm going to release my hold on you. Jesus said, all that the Father has given to Me, I hold tightly in My grasp. And My Father holds Him in His grasp as well. And the double grasp of God guarantees you, beloved, that you belong to Him. Once the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. He is the faithful High Priest. He's not going to let up. And so He'll bring correction your way. You need to receive it. Because you're not complete yet, and neither am I. I'm less complete than you are. Because I know what's going on in here. I only see what you present on Sunday morning. He's also the merciful High Priest. He's the faithful High Priest in that He was the Lamb of God slain. Not only was He making the sacrifice for the sins of the people, but He was the One who was sacrificed. And He's the faithful High Priest, a merciful High Priest, that we're not being treated as we deserve. But listen, I saw it last night as I was going through this again. It's here. I didn't see it on like Thursday or Friday. I'm glad I saw it. I thank God for giving me eyes to see it. He's the merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God. Lest we think too much that it's about us, it's about God and His glory. Jesus Christ has become the merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God. He does all things for the glory of God. Do you remember in John 6, Jesus said, I did not come or I was not sent to do My own will. This is Jesus, God the Son in the flesh. I didn't come to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And in Matthew 26, you see the wrestling match in the Garden of Gethsemane as He's about to symbolically drink the cup of God's wrath. Lord, Father, if it be Your will, take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will be done, but Yours, O Lord." Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, fully God and fully man, became man, partook of the same flesh and blood, so that He might taste death for everyone and become the faithful and merciful High Priest in the service of God, to the glory of God. Jesus does all things for the glory of His Father. Isn't that encouraging? If God is the ultimate, preeminent being, and Jesus is completely on board with the purpose to bring glory to God, and then Jesus is the one that gathers us in, then we know that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But Jesus says, His elder brother, listen, I'm bringing many sons to glory. This is what I'm doing. I'm gathering you in and I'm confronting those sins, those things that you like to stay as the victim in the twisted, sick, bad guy's dungeon. I'm pulling you out. I kicked the door down. I destroyed that. I've released you from that fear. I'm in charge of this, and my purpose is to bring God glory in you and through you, through your marriage, through the way that you respond to rebukes, through the many things that come to us in a given week. God wants the glory. He will not yield His glory to another. this other word, this word, halaskomai, propitiation. Rick read it from 1 John. We see it here, that he has in this faithful service to God to make a propitiation for the sins of the people. This is one of the best words that we risk not giving to the next generation. We need to let you young people know what propitiation means, because you've got to carry it to the next generation following. We can't so make things comfortable with no theological terms that we lose sight of the richness of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. To propitiate a deity, to satisfy the wrath of an angry God is what's in view here. It's to settle the sin account and simultaneously satisfy the one who is described as angry at the wicked every day. That's the truth of who God is. That's the brilliant glory, the absolute perfection of His righteousness that we can't even grasp or comprehend. He cannot look on sin. It cannot be in His presence. And so Jesus, the faithful and merciful High Priest in the service of God, makes propitiation for the sins of His people. He settled your account, so you don't have to. and knowing that, believing that, resting in that, get ready for it, then you and I can receive rebukes from one another. I can actually open my ears and listen to what you have to say. Tim, it really offended me when you, or Tim, I'm concerned about this in you, or Tim, have you ever thought that you shouldn't… If I'm not aware that He is my propitiation, then I'm going to try to do everything I can to get out of what you're bringing my way. We just talked about this in our married Sunday school class, because we're talking about husbands and how sinful they are. And we might run out of time. We can't get to the wives, I'm sure. became our propitiation. And then the final point I want to make here, if I can, is that He is Immanuel, the suffering servant. Immanuel, the one who suffered, the one who was tempted, the one who is able to help those of us when we are tempted. Hebrews chapter 4, you get a little bit more description on this. In 4.14, the Scripture says this, Since then we have a great high priest, same high priest in view, since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Let's hold to that truth. You believe the Bible, the Old and New Testament, to be the only word of God, and in its content presents the only true doctrine of salvation? Yes, I do. Hold fast to that confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. So let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find our grace to help us in the time of need. He withstood the full force of everything that tempts us, everything that would tempt us to turn from our Creator, everything that would come into your life and mine, either into your mind or into the present circumstance of your reality, to pull you from giving Him glory and to rob that glory and take it for yourself. Jesus was tempted at the full force level, at every temptation that you and I can ever experience, yet never once succumbed. Never once did He utter a word that was inappropriate. Never once did His eyes wander to that lady in the crowd to get a better glimpse of her form. Never once, ever. Never once were His words unkind. They may have been hard to hear. They may have been coupled with a strand of cords and an overturned table, but there was never once ever a sin that came from the person and the work of Jesus Christ. And because of that, He's able to help those of us when we're tempted. In the midst of the struggle, however, you have to take Him up on His offer. There is no temptation that has seized you except which is common to man. And God is faithful in this, Paul told the Corinthians, that when we are tempted, God will always provide a way out. Do you believe the always there? Do you believe that that is true? Because it is, it's true because of Emmanuel. Now you can't tell from looking at me, but I was a kind of a scrawny kid who always hoped to be bigger. So be careful what you wish for. And we used to get together up at the Methodist church lot and play football. And there was something wrong with the system back then in the 70s because we played tackle football. And we had like t-shirts and jeans on. I'm surprised all of us didn't have broken collarbones sticking out of our necks going to school the next day. And I had a friend, and I think some of you have heard me relate some of these stories. I had a friend named Joey. And Joey was easily head and shoulders taller than me. And Joey and I had every class together. Well, we had most classes together in elementary school, at Woodside Elementary. And when we went to Corcoran Junior High School, we had every single class together. Seventh grade, eighth grade, and ninth grade. And I was still a scrawny kid. And Joey was still head and shoulders above me. But I can remember one of those football games where, and I won't leave it out in case he's visiting or maybe comes to visit. There was a guy in our neighborhood and he was a bully, or at least I hated him. And so I labeled him and I didn't have to worry about him and stuff. And we were in this football game and I got tackled and whipped around like thrown. And I came up mad, and I came up ready to fight. And I did not have the qualifications of elders that say, don't be pugnacious, because I stood with fists, and I was ready to go. And so was this guy, because he was always ready to go. And I remember Joey getting in between me and this unnamed person and turning back to me, because Joey could have taken him easily, and turning back to me and saying, you will not win this. I can do that. I got this, Joe. Get out of my way. Joe was very clear. You will not win this. He was protecting me. He stood in the gap. He was that one who knew my weakness, knew my frame, and also knew, listen, if anything's going to happen, I'll beat him up. I'll beat him up for you, but you won't win this. And that's the picture. Isn't that the picture? That this is the faithful High Priest who has been tempted in every way that we are, yet never once sinned, and so that when we are tempted, He is able to help us who are tempted, because He suffered in our place. We think we can do it. I'm going to face this day. I'm not going to need to read Scripture. I don't need to pray. There's no need to fellowship Spirit of God, and there's no need for me to even invite God's Spirit to be ever present in my life as I go through this day. I got this. And the elder brother, the one who is the destroyer of death and the devil, the deliverer of the captives of the fear of death, he stands in the galley and says, listen, you will not win this. This temptation will take you. And it'll take you quicker than you even realize. Because if you're thinking you can take it, you've probably already been took. And so, in order for this faithful high priest to have his way in us, we have to take him up on the offer. Somewhere, About here, underneath the stage, written in sharpie marker, is Galatians 2, verse 20. For I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ now lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh, with all these temptations, and all of these troubles, and all the ills that come my way in this present age, The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, the destroyer of death, the elder brother, the faithful and merciful high priest, the one who gave Himself for me. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Lord Jesus, give me grace to take you up on your offer. The importance of Emmanuel we see is that he is the one who's tasted death on our behalf, and he's the one that will see us through to the end of our days. Let me pray for us in that regard. Lord, I ask that you would help us. We need eyes to see, eyes of faith. to see how powerful, how majestic, and to see the wisdom of God displayed, that you would do what you accomplished by destroying death, that you would do it through death, that when you appeared to be most weak, you were at the greatest strength, triumphing over the spiritual powers, through the cross. Lord, help us, each of us. Corporately, we need You to lead us as a people. But individually, we ask that You would come, Lord Jesus, and show us how You would have us to live. In the name that is above every name, we ask it of You. Amen.