Hebrews 1:1-2:18

Memory Verse: 1:3b

Questions

Introduction

Outline

I. Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1-14)

* The engraving from a book by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) is title; "De onwaardige wereld : vertoond in vyftig zinnebeelden, met godlyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen / door Jan Luiken

The engraving title is "Jesus Begins to Preach." The cited passages are Luke 4:16-22 (Mark 4 inferred) and Hebrews 1:1-2. Jesus, followed by a multitude, preaches in the open air. The Dutch artist and poet Johannes Luyken (1649-1712) drew and etched this emblem and wrote the accompanying poem.

>1. How did God speak in the past to reveal himself to men? What do you learn about Jesus from the fact that finally God spoke to us by his Son Jesus?

Hebrews 1:1 "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways"

* The letter to the Hebrews does not start out like a normal letter for there are no greetings. Instead, it makes a bold statement about the word of God and how it has come to God's people.

* The reason the author brings up this point was to show how the word of God that came through Jesus Christ was greater than the word of God that came before him. He does this in hope that true believers in Jesus may pay attention to Jesus' words as well as, and more than, the words in the Old Testament. (2:1-4. Notice the logical flow in 1:1-2:4)

* "In the past" -refers to the time of the Hebrews fathers, from Abraham, to Moses, to John the Baptist. God spoke to Abraham. He called him to be the father of a holy nation. Then, God spoke to Moses, to call the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, to be a holy nation of priest for the whole world. After him God instructed and guided the Hebrews through the prophets "... at many times and in various ways..." up to and including the time of John the Baptist.

* "through the prophets" -Men chosen and qualified by God to teach his people. God spoke to the prophets in many ways. For instance, in Numbers 12:6-7a the Lord is recorded saying, "'When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses... with him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles.'" The LORD God spoke to the prophets in these ways. They in turn relayed the LORD's message to the people.

* The old way was fine, but in these days God speaks to us in a new; a better, more direct and clearer way.

>2. What does the writer tell us in verses 1-4 about Jesus? Who is he? Where is he? What did he do? What does he do now?

Hebrews 1:2a "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son"

* "these last days" - Refers to the days of preaching the gospel (good news) of the kingdom of God (aka church age and te age of grace) from Jesus to this very day.

* When where the "first days"? The first days are the days from creation to John the Baptist.

* The ages have been broken up in different ways. I do so now according to this passages emphasis on God's revelations:
First, were the days from creation to the patriarchs. During that time God spoke to men through angles, dreams, visions and voices. In Genesis we see God spoke to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others in these way.
Second, were the days of Moses, as we see in the second to fourth books of the Bible. God spoke to Moses face to face.
Third, were the days of the prophets, as we see in the last part of the Old Testimony. Again God spoke to them by angles, dreams, visions, voices, and face to face. All are a part of the "first days" of God's revelation to man. God's word by these means are binding and true.

* "through his Son" -God speaks to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. While Jesus was on earth he went from town to village teaching the word of God. His main theme was the Kingdom of God and repentance. He made every effort to give this message. Now, his words are recorded for us in the four gospels and the writings of the apostles. So, to this day God continually speaks to us through his Son. Therefore, his words are binding and true, and we best heed to them. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after he left to remind us of his words. (John 14:26; 16:7-11)

Hebrews 1:2b-3 "his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

* After the author makes his bold statement in verses 1 and 2a about how the word of God has come to us these days, he goes on to show the greatness of the Son. Who is the Son of God? Who is Jesus, through whom God now speaks to us? Once he establishes Jesus' greatness in 2b-3a he points out that the word of God through Jesus is greater that the word of God given in the past and therefore should especially be paid careful attention too. (2:1)

* "appointed heir of all things." -First, after Jesus left earth he was given all things. He is the King of the world and is in total control.

* "through whom (God) made the universe... sustaining all things by his powerful word." -Secondly, Jesus is the creator. In Genesis chapter 1, we see that through the Word, God created the heavens and the earth. Jesus is this Word. The Apostle John wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. " (John 1:1-4) Take a look at all that Jesus created with his powerful words. Look at the delicate beauty of a rose or the brilliant splendor of the powerful sun. Man can barely comprehend each of these magnificent creations. Yet, with just a few words, Jesus created both of them with the rest of the created heavens and earth. Jesus words are indeed powerful and effective? From this we can learn to admire Jesus, finding comfort in his powerful and delicate words.

* "The Son is the radiance of God's glory" -Third statement of Jesus' identity. Jesus claimed to the Sanhedrin just before they handed him over to be crucified, "And you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven." When Jesus comes again he will be in glory to judge and save Israel and Judah. The cloud of heaven is the bright shining glory of the Lord. Glory is "kabad" in Hebrew meaning a bright sinning cloud surrounding the LORD God. The glory of the Lord came on Mt. Sinai just after the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt (Ex. 16:7-10, 24:16-17), in desert Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38; Lev. 9:6, 23; Num. 14:10), and in the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Ki. 8:10-11; and 2 Ch. 5:14, 7:1-3, Isa. 6:1-4). Jesus coming in the glory of the Lord is prophecies by Isaiah (Is. 4:2-6, 35:1-2; 40:4-5; 59:19-20; 60). Ezekiel also saw the glory of the Lord. (Ez. 1:25-28; 3:12, 22-23; 9:3-4; 10:3-4, 18-22; 11:22-23; 43:1-5; 44:4). Luke 2:9 says the glory of the Lord shown over the shepherds when they angles said Jesus was born. Paul calls Jesus the "Lord of glory" in 1 Cor. 2:8.

* "The Son is ...the exact representation of his being" -Fourth statement of who Jesus is. Jesus and God are exactly the same. This concept is hard for simple man to comprehend, but it is true. One of Jesus' disciples did not understand it, so he asked Jesus, "'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. ' Jesus answered (him): 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father;" Don't' you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?'" (John 14:8-10a)

* These days many people want to take away from Jesus' deity or question it. But when they do this they are separating themselves from God, and lose the light of life. To believe in Jesus means to believe in his divine nature as well as his humble life as the Son of Man.

* "provided purification for sins" -Fifth statement about Jesus. The greatness of Jesus Christ is his death for our sins by being slaughtered as the Pascal Lamb and by offering his blood as the Great High Priest to God. Sins are ugly. They make us dark and gloomy. Selfishness and rebellion are the heart of sin. When we are in sin we rebelliously separate ourselves from the holy and pure God. But Jesus laid down his life so that our sins could be forgiven. His blood, which he shed on the cross, cleans us of all our dirty sins. Now we are forgiven by God. Praise Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of heaven and earth, who could leave his glory in heaven to suffer and die so that our sins may be forgiven!!!

* "(Jesus) sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." -Jesus did not remain in this humble state forever. After he died he rose from the dead and accented into heaven. (Acts 1) Jesus' sat at the highest place of honor, even higher than God's angles.

>3. What do verses 4-14 tell us about angels? In what respects is Jesus superior to angles? What Scriptures prove that the Messiah is not an angel, but is far superior to angels?

Hebrews 1:4 "So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

* "much superior to the angles" -The author continues to explain Jesus' greatness in order to help Jesus' followers, true believers to concentrate on Jesus' teachings. Since he was writing to the Hebrews, he brings up the angles whom they were familiar with and whom God's speaks to men through. He compares Jesus to the angles. Most of the Hebrews who first received this letter saw Jesus as he went from town to town teaching the word of God. To them he looked like just an ordinary man, with no great power or beauty. He didn't dress nicely, eat great foods, nor did he live in a mansion. Still, his words were God's words and are binding, even more than the beautiful angel's words were.

* "the name" -The name Jesus inherited is the Son of God. As indicated by his name, Jesus is greater than the angles. By knowing and accepting this fact the Hebrew who received this letter could grow in their admiration of Jesus and therefore adhere to his teachings.

Hebrews 1:5 "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Or again, 'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.'"

* To confirm Jesus' greatness over the greatness of the angles, the author compares several Old Testament verses that talks about Jesus and God's angles. That is from Psalm 2:7; and 1 Samuel 7:14; and 1 Chron. 17:13. These verses states that Jesus is God's Son. He was first called God's Son when he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. When an angle came to Mary to bring her the good news of her soon to be conception, he said, "'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" (Lk. 1:35) Therefore, Jesus had no human father, for Mary was a virgin. Instead of having a human father, God himself conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, so that he would receive the name of honor. That name of honor is the Son of God. This name gives Jesus recognition greater than even the angles even though he was in the flesh. His name shows his words are to paid attention to.

Hebrews 1:6 "'And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"

* "firstborn" -When the author calls Jesus the firstborn he means the "firstborn" in the blood/flesh. Jesus alone is of the seed of God. His blood alone in the entire human race is and was pure. As Paul says he is the second (last) Adam. (1 Cor. 15:22, 45) Why is his blood so different so that he is called the firstborn of God? Leviticus 17:11-12a states, 'For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Hebrews 9:22b states, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

In his book, The Chemistry of the Blood, M. R. DeHann, M.D. explains the origin of blood: "The blood which flows in an unborn babe's arteries and veins is not derived from the mother but is produced within the body of the fetus... It is only after the sperm has entered the ovum and a fetus begins to develop that blood appears. As a very simple illustration of this, think of the egg of a hen. An non-fertilized egg is simply an ovum on a much larger scale than the human ovum. You may incubate this non-fertilized hen's egg, but it will never develop. It will dry up completely but no chick will result. But let that egg be fertilized by the introduction of the male sperm and incubation will bring to light the presence of life in an embryo. After a few hours it visibly develops. In a little while red streaks occur, denoting the presence of blood According to scientists... from the time of conception to the time of birth... not ONE SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD ever passes from mother to child... The mother contributes no blood at all."

Jesus' pure blood was not conveyed by his mother, the daughter of sinful Adam. Rather, it was conveyed by the pure seed of his Heavenly Father! Thus, Jesus is the firstborn of God. Centrioles are supplied by the father's sperm. A centriole is the center of a centrosome and is a minute protoplasmic body. Plasma is the fluid part of blood and protoplasm is organized living matter, the fluid complex of the living nucleus that is often designated the physical basis of life. The basis of life is in the father's protoplasmic seed: a seed made of fluid and plasma - water and blood. Jesus came by just such a seed. John tells us there is one who came by water and blood,' Jesus Christ. (1 John 5:6) John also tells us that when Jesus died he saw the blood and water come out of Jesus side separately, thus marking his death. (Source, In Search of Israel by Batya Wootten.)

* "Let all God's angles worship him" -The angles worship Jesus. Even though Jesus came into the world in the flesh as the firstborn of God, the angles were still commanded to worship him. Indeed, multitudes of angles sang about the Son of God, the Son of Man, when he was born in a manger. (Luke 2:13-14)

Hebrews 1:7 "In speaking of the angles he says, 'He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.'"

* "winds" and "fires" -Refers to the winds that dried the bed of the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross. And the columns of fires are the ones that appeared every night for forty years to lead the Israelites through the desert and the column of fire that came down and swallowed up Baal worshipers in Elijah's time. In doing these things the angles served God's people. They were powerful works by human standard. But they are nothing compared to the power and authority of Jesus and his words.

Hebrews 1;8-9 "But about the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.'"

* This quote is from Psalm 45:6,7.

* Jesus' throne will last forever and all will be subject to it. All the angles, his companions, was set below him. So they worship him on his throne of righteousness. Verses 10-12 is a quote from Psalm 102:25-27. It too tells of how Jesus is the mighty ruler.

* From these verses we can find comfort that the Jesus, whom we claim to have faith in, and whose words we believe and follow, is more powerful that anything in heaven and on earth. He is Sovereign Lord who rules over everything. So we can confidently put our trust in him; believing, studying, and applying his words.

Hebrews 1:10-12 "He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

* "wear out" -Our sin brought curse to creation. This creation is falling apart. The law of entropy is in effect. It will end not because of these. Rather Jesus will end it.

* "changed" -Jesus will bring a new heaven and earth; a new creation. I write of this in my manuscript The Believer's Future- Hope that Inspires.

* "you remain the same" -Jesus never changes. He who interacted in the ancient and near past will always be the same. He can be trusted.

Hebrews 1:13 "To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

* Again the author points out that Jesus is greater than the angles.

Hebrews 1:14 "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

* "inherit" -God is our Father. Jesus is our brother and LORD. Jesus inherits all and shares it with us, his brothers.

* "ministering spirits" -Angles are given the commission of helping true believers; not everyone. Jesus protects his own. He sends angles to protect us. Protect us from who? Evil spirits who are in rebellion against God. God's angles sent by Jesus protect us from the unsaved and rebellious people of the world that are controlled by evil spirits.

* "salvation" -Jesus saves us from sin, death, and a corrupted system brought on by sin (rebellion).

II. Pay Careful Attention (2:1-4)

* The engraving from a book by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) is title; "Zedelyke en stichtelyke gezangen / van Jan Luiken ; en den lof en oordeel van de werken der barmhertigheid ; alles met konstige figuuren versiert

The engraving title is "The angel of the Lord". The cited verse is Hebrews 1:14. The angel of the Lord protects and delivers those who fear Him.

>4. Why must we pay careful attention to what God has spoken to us? What does it mean "pay more careful attention" and "do not drift away"?

Hebrews 2:1-3a "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"

* In chapter 1 the author proclaims the greatness of Jesus Christ. He is the Almighty Creator and sustainer of the entire universe. (2,3,10) He is God (3), and became the Son of God when he was conceived in the womb of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. 5,6) Now he sits at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (13) And his kingdom is forever (8,12) and all the angles in heaven worship him. (6,9) Because of these facts the author gave the Hebrew Christian's, and us, some sound advice.

* "We must pay more careful attention...to what we have heard" -since Jesus is who he is. The message we have heard is God's saving grace and love. This is the message of Jesus' death for our sins and resurrection as a sign of hope that we will rise from the dead. This is the message of a repented life, dieing to our desires and wants, to live for the glory of God according to the word of God. To do these things we must pay careful attention to what we have heard.

* In today's world it is not easy to sit down, deeply study the Bible, and apply it in our day to day lives. But the author warns us that we "must" pay careful attention to Jesus' words despite our busy schedules and hidden desires. Why? Because if we ignore Jesus' words and take them lightly we will "drift away" (1) from his teaching.

* "drifting away" -Being taken away by the current of this world, much like a driftwood is taken away by a rivers strong current, far from the tree it fell from.

* The currents of this world is the easy going life, the hedonistic life, and the materialistic life. For instance, when one comes home from school or work it is the world's way to sit down on a soft couch and watch TV. Or for instance, on the weekends it is the world's way to party. And, finally, it is the world's way to live a yuppie life style. These actions, of course, are not according to the teachings of Jesus. Continually doing them slowly causes us to "drift away" from the Christian life until we are for from living according to Jesus' teachings. Then finally, at the end of our lives, we will be ashamed, or even find out that we are not saved and thus under the wrath of God. We will the go to hell and be called "evildoers", as the people were in the parable of the narrow door in Luke chapter 13.

* To "...pay careful attention to what we have heard..." we need to deeply study it every day. We need to meditate it and apply it to our lives. We need to live it continuously. We need to go to school or work witness about Jesus and study his word. We need to follow up on those we witness to. We need to live a sacrificial servant's life. We may think, "Well I'm not drifting away from Jesus' teaching because I belong to such and such church, and we study the Bible deeply. But we should watch out for that kind of thinking.

* Judas Iscariot is a good example of one who heard the word and was a member or the elite group called the twelve. Yet, he did not pay careful attention to Jesus' words. Even though Jesus taught him about living a sacrificial life, Judas stool money from the collection bag. It probably wasn't much money, and he probably had good rationalizations for his actions. But it was something that helped him "drift away" from Jesus' teachings. He was taking Jesus' word's too lightly. In the end his inattentiveness to Jesus' teachings, lead him to forget God's salvation. So when he betrayed Jesus. Finally, he thought there was no hope for him and hanged himself. We must pay careful attention to Jesus' teaching always, even in little ways so that we do not "drift away".

>5. What was the great salvation announced, confirmed and testified? Why can we not ignore such a great salvation?

Hebrews 2:3b-4 "This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

* "This salvation" -The teaching we must pay careful attention to is the message of salvation. God himself witnesses to the greatness to this message, so that we may notice it and pay careful attention to it.

* "first announced by the Lord" -First, the Lord Jesus preached it as he went from town to town on his way to Jerusalem. The fact that the Son of God, who reigned in power and glory, could give up his greatness to give us this message shows us that it is a great message that we must pay careful attention to. His miracles also is a witness to its greatness.

* "confirmed to us by those who heard him" -Secondly, Jesus' apostles preached the message of salvation; first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth. God testified that the message of salvation taught through them was important by preforming many signs, wonders and various miracles through them. And finally God witnessed that the people who accepted the apostles message were receiving his message. He gave them gifts of the Holy Spirit.

* "how shall we escape" -We must pay careful attention to Jesus, the Son of God's, teachings. But we may ask, "Why? What good will it be for me? If I pay attention to the teachings of Jesus I will have to give up my life and dreams. Then, at the end of my life I will have nothing." There are two good reasons that we should pay careful attention to Jesus' teachings. First, we will escape God's wrath.

III. Crowned with Glory (2:5-18)

* The engraving from a book by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) is title; "De onwaardige wereld : vertoond in vyftig zinnebeelden, met godlyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen / door Jan Luiken

The engraving title is "Everyone's Liking. "The World is surrounded by a large number of people of various ranks, who all reach for it eagerly. In the background, additional people arrive. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant scripture text is Hebrews 1:10-12. The accompanying poem is:

>6. What is the main point of Psalm 8:4-6? Why did God make Jesus a little lower than the angels (9)

Hebrews 2:5-8a."It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: 'What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.' In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him."

* Secondly, we will be heirs of the world to come.

* When we think of God's love, bringing salvation to us by way of his crucified Son, we can defiantly ask, "What is man that you care for him? "King David, the writer of the Psalm in verses 6-8, asked himself this question.

* Let's think about God's love for a moment. All of us were so rebellious towards God, yet he loves us. All of us had at one time left God's love, as a prodigal son. All of us squander our life in wild living. I, myself, was a bear drinking and a girl chaser. And yet, even though we are so rebellious toward God, he is willing to forgive us and love us. Not only that but he is willing to crown us with glory and honor when we reign in the world to come. All because they paid careful attention to Jesus' message of salvation.

* Its easy to be skeptical of our reigning with Jesus. All we seem to ever reign over are a pile of bills, a miserable job, or some hard school work. We see people who aren't saved reject the gospel message. And when we visit people homes to witness about Jeus they sometimes say, "No. I'm not ready for God's free gift. I don't want to study the Bible." A lot of the times we may ask ourselves, "Is living according to the message of salvation worth it?" But we must never doubt God's promise that we will reign with Jesus. Even though it doesn't seem like we reign over anything.

>7. God made Jesus a little lower than the angels. But why was he crowned with glory and honor again? At the end of verse 9, what does "he might taste death for everyone" mean?

Hebrews 2:8b-9 "Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

* Jesus is our example of what will happen to us if we pay careful attention to the message of salvation. Jesus was made a little lower than the angles when he was conceived in a virgins womb. When he did this he accepted the message of salvation as his life. This life was not always easy for him either. Humanly, when Jesus was made a little lower that the angles, he didn't appear to be a ruling king. All he ever seemed to reign over was twelve smelly fisherman who never understood what he was talking about. Continually, the religious leaders challenged him and gave him a hard time. And one time, when Jesus was teaching over 10,000 people about receiving him in the heart, all but 12 left. But by faith, hope, and persistence Jesus continued to diligently teach the message of salvation.

* Humanly, in the end all his hard work seemed to gain was death. But, Jesus rose from the dead and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Then, God used his suffering and death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Since he died and rose from the dead, we will rise from the dead and reign too.

* So we should not give up hope. We must continually pay careful attention to what we have not heard. We must continually personally apply Jesus' teachings. For when we die we will be heirs and rulers in the world to come.

>8. How did God choose to bring many sons to glory? (10-11)

Hebrews 2:10 "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering."

* "In bringing many sons to glory" -Sons refers to saved men and women. God, the creator of heaven and earth, adopts people to be his sons and daughters. When he does this they are still in their sinful state. They are spiritually dark, dirty, and stinky. In this state they are much like orphans who use to run the streets of the Hebrew and the Roman cities. These children were dirty and smelly. Their hair was in knots. Their clothes were torn and ripped. Their language was filthy. They stole and cheated. And they had no manners what so ever. No one ever wanted to adopt these children. Similarly, sinful men are too wretched to be called sons of God for they are full of sins and sinful desires. But God, in his infinite love, adopts us, making us his children. This is amazing his grace. What's even more amazing is that he made this adoption possible through his Son suffering and death on the cross. Imagine sending your Son out to be slaughtered so you could adopt some street juvenile deliquesce. Yet, this is what God did.

* Why would God let his Son suffer so much to save us such wretch people? Couldn't he have done it in some another way? In the following verses there are four resons why it was fitting that God should make the author of our salvation perfect through suffering.

>9. Why is it significant that Jesus is our brother? (11-12) How does the Scriptures confirm the fact that we, along with Jesus, are God's children? (11-13)

Hebrews 2:11 "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers."

* First, so sinful men will be part of the family of God and so Jesus will not be ashamed of us before God on judgement day.

* When God adapted us, Jesus became our brother in flesh and in spirit. It would be shameful if our family would adopt a street juvenile delinquent. But it wouldn't be shameful if they were changed. In fact we would be proud of them. In the same way, it would be shameful for our brother, Jesus, if we stayed in our sinful states. Therefore, God decided to make a way for us to be changed and be brought out of our sin problem.

* What is sin which we so eagerly dwelt in and which God removed from us? Sin is rebellion against God. When we rebelled against God we separated our self from him; and brought, shame and punishment upon ourself. But in remove our shameful sins Jesus took our punishment upon himself by being crucified and dying on a cross. Therefore, our sins are now gone. And, therefore our shame is gone Now, Jesus is not ashamed of us when we become a part of God's family. In fact he is proud of us.

Hebrews 2:12-13 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me."

* Here are three old testament verses which states that Jesus is not ashamed to be our brothers before God. Therefore, let us rejoice that we are in the family of God and free of our shame. Let us draw near to Jesus our brother and God our father. Lets us draw near to our brothers as well. If God has forgiven our brothers sins and is not ashamed of them, we should not be ashamed of their past sins as well. Let us all act as one family of God.

>10. Why was it necessary for Jesus to share in our humanity in order to accomplish our salvation? How does his death give us real freedom? What do these verses teach us about the devil's power and way of working?

Hebrews 2:14-15 "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

* Here is the second reason why it was fitting that God used Jesus suffering to bring us adoption into God's family.

* Death is the tool of Satan. He uses it to cause men to sin and lead selfish lives. He makes us think that death is the end. He says, "Let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die." We believe him and bring our self into slavery under him.

* But death is not the end. Jesus destroyed death and its power by rising from the dead. Now with sin removed the fear of death is removed. We no longer need to serve Satan and ourselves. Jesus brought us out of the slavery of the devil so that we can serve God and other people. In the past we lived for ourselves. We hoped to get a little enjoyment out of life before we died. We tried to enjoy our self with sin. But sin only made us miserable slaves of Satan. But, now, we accepted Jesus' death and resurrection. Now we can deny ourself and serve God. Let us accept Jesus every day so we can serve him freely and be freed for slavery to Satan.

Hebrews 2:16-17 "For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."

* Here is the third reason why it was fitting that God used Jesus suffering to bring us adoption into God's family.

* Jesus came in the flesh so he could help us as the high priest help Abraham's descendants. In the old testament the high priest had basically two jobs. He was to give sacrifices for the sins of his people and he had to pray for their sins. Jesus came in the flesh so he could shed his blood and offer it to God as a high priest. He offered his blood with the prayer, "Father forgive them. for they do not know what they are doing."

* To this day Jesus prays for us to our father as a high priest.

* When we are in need in any way Jesus asks the father to help us. The father then abides to his Son, the high priest and helps us. Therefore, let's us then draw near to Jesus who is faithful to help us whenever we need it.

Hebrews 2:18 "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

* Here is the fourth reason why it was fitting that God used Jesus suffering to bring us adoption into God's family.

* When Jesus came in the flesh Satan tempted him in many ways at many times. He knows what it is like to be tempted. When I was a little boy I use to ask, "How can God know what it is like to live in a miserable world full of temptation? He is God, far above us. He does not know what it is like." But Jesus does know what it is like. He was is the flesh and was tempted in all ways. So when we are tempted he can helps us. Since this is true let us go to Jesus who can help us overcome temptation and win.