Securing Our Redemption
February 26, 2017 Preacher: Jeff Griffis Series: Hebrews
Scripture: Hebrews 2:10–18
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Securing Redemption: Hebrews 2:10-18
[Scripture reading: Psalm 22:22-31]
Read Passage and Pray:
- IT WAS FITTING. (it was right, it was appropriate) – This section is loaded with depth of content, into which we need to dive right in. So much of what we say is explanation of the text. Here is one application for today—It is fitting that we should be overwhelmed by God’s grace.
- (Remember the transitional nature of vv. 5-9 in shifting our attention from the deity of the Son to his humanity – his incarnation) Read v. 9
- The critical importance of the incarnation: God became man for the purpose of securing our redemption THROUGH the suffering of death. à ultimately for his own exaltation and the glory of the Godhead
- God’s plan was for the would-be King, unmatched in power & splendor and majesty, to stoop to become a man and suffer death on behalf of men—enslaved to sin, the walking dead in fear of death, incapable of truly living, unable to capture restoration to God—was fitting. It was perfectly fitting that God himself should secure our redemption through the incarnation, humiliation, and subsequent exaltation of God the Son.
- (So in this section, the author emphasizes) The Son identifying with and suffering for humanity [more specifically… in bringing many sons to glory]
- (Remember the transitional nature of vv. 5-9 in shifting our attention from the deity of the Son to his humanity – his incarnation) Read v. 9
- God the Son became man and suffered death to redeem sons. (v. 10, &9)
- I know, some of us are almost inoculated to this concept b/c we’ve always heard it. Jesus had to die. Others of us, like readers in the time this sermon-letter was written and circulated, might be more shocked. (Death by crucifixion was scandalous, offensive. And to think that God the Son should suffer such a fate!) Woah, why did God have to secure forgiveness, to accomplish salvation, like this? He’s sovereign Creator of and over everything. Couldn’t he have done it some other way? à The author assures listeners that first of all it was fitting, perfectly consistent with the character of God and his eternal plan.
- Again, as is the ultimate end of all things, the result is the most glory to God. It was fitting that Christ should suffer death because the result is his crowning with glory and honor. (v.9)
- For God’s glory, by His grace (v. 9), it was fitting for the Christ to taste death in bringing many sons to glory (into the heavenly kingdom of a family who rightly worships God). – We have to be brought. We are INCAPABLE on our own.
- It was even fitting that God should make our salvation’s Founder perfect through suffering. Two things to clarify on this point:
- The Gk word translated ‘founder’ (archegos) can mean originator as well as captain (or pioneer, leader) – both nuances are true of our Savior. That’s no coincidence.
- Secondly, how was the Son made perfect through human suffering? As God, he was sinlessly perfect, so it doesn’t mean BECOMING sinlessly perfect. His divine nature was already perfect. But in his human nature, through suffering, his obedience to the will of the Father perfected/completed his mission to be the perfect sacrifice.
- This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- The sanctifying work of the Son turns God’s enemies into Christ’s brothers.
- Proceeding further into his point that Jesus’ death was fitting for God’s saving purpose, the author of Hebrews progresses in showing Christ’s solidarity with those who become fellow sons, fellow children.
- He first assumes that it is clear in v. 11 that it is Jesus who sanctifies (cleanses and sets people apart to God, from wickedness to holiness) by his atonement for sin. *The primary emphasis made then is that those he sanctifies are “all of one.” (our translations have additionally supplied the word ‘source, origin, or Father’ for clarity)
- While Christ’s humanity is pertinent in the section (esp. in 14-16), the central meaning in the immediate context seems best understood in connection with the spiritual generation of these ones he is unashamed to call brothers because of their origin, source, in God-the-Father. And this familial bond is what sets up the quotes in vv. 12-13.
- (This preacher in Hebrews loves to quote OT scripture so much that sometimes at first blush the precise reason for the inserted quote is tricky to identify.) For vv. 12-13, what we need to do is… catch the messianic context of the quotes… and see their link to v. 11.
- Psalm 22* - That makes these “brothers” in this scriptural quotation the ones who by faith become united to Christ, and the congregation becomes the heavenly family worshipping God.
- The quote from Isaiah 17b&18 is sandwiched btwn prophetic words from Isaiah, first to King Ahaz, including references that would be well-known to these hearers as prophesying the Messiah’s birth. 7:14 and 9:6 -- This one who became man is God in the flesh who came to earth to die to bring many sons to glory, and thus can call them brothers. SO like the prophet in Is. 8, Jesus entrusted himself to God’s fitting plan and identified himself with the children God had given, who will also follow God. à Even more appropriately in the NT context, it is this very same trust in the fitting work of God through Jesus Christ that brings sinners into God’s family. And the Father does in fact “give them” to the Son. (John 10:27-29)
- This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- Proceeding further into his point that Jesus’ death was fitting for God’s saving purpose, the author of Hebrews progresses in showing Christ’s solidarity with those who become fellow sons, fellow children.
- Identifying fully with humanity, Christ sacrificially died to break the devil’s power and deliver sin’s slaves. à For the sake of those who would become children, sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters with Jesus.
- Jesus shared in flesh and blood bc we are of flesh and blood (literally). And again comes the appropriateness of this plan – so that through death. Death and power become the two prominent players in this description. (“through Christ’s death,” Satan wielding “the power of death,” and man’s “fear of death” – then too Christ’s death “rendering powerless” this Powermonger of death, “delivering” those who are slaves to sin and death)
- As humans we all die (and we know it). – Death is the great leveler, the one certainty (as some say). – What is uncertain to lost humanity is when and how and what comes after it. Satan wields the power of making us fearful of death.
- What’s more, in the line of Adam, we humans are slaves to sin, meaning that our death is not just physical and temporal but also spiritual and eternal. Without the fitting death of our salvation’s founder, we are indeed bound in slavery under the dominion of the devil.
- So does it matter that he who holds ultimate power and authority and dominion gave himself to suffer death? Yes, beyond measure! à It is the satisfaction of God’s justice and wrath, the perfect sacrifice to atone for sin, the deliverance of sinners from slavery, the very means of salvation, securing redemption for those who by faith receive his death on their behalf. He lived a perfect life that sinners could not, he suffered a sacrificial death to pay the price that sinners owe, he rose again to conquer death and free slaves, and lives exalted as prophet, priest, and king of those who have been made sons! How important is the doctrine of Christ’s atoning death? It is exactly the crux of God’s plan for restoring all glory to himself in his purposeful creating and directing of this universe. à This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- V. 16 reiterates the importance of the incarnation with regard to the Abrahamic covenant, and connects with what came before in the text and what comes after.
- Jesus became a man and not an angel because he came to save men. à So it is people that he ‘grasps, takes hold of.’ (the more literal meaning of the word trans. ‘helps’)
- And Jesus is the fulfillment of God expanding the offer of blessing to all mankind through their spiritual redemption, making us Abraham’s spiritual offspring. à This is amazing grace.
- Jesus’ ministry for humanity satisfies God’s justice and makes him a sympathetic Captain.
- This foreshadows a motif in Hebrews that will receive much fuller development from 4:14 through 10:18 à The uniqueness of his high priestly ministry as emphasized here is that his purpose was to become a high priest who could offer HIMSELF as a sacrifice for our sins. A perfect, complete sacrifice—not a temporary covering but a permanent removal. (That’s the point of the final clause in v. 17.)
- So Jesus had to share in all the real experiences of human life that we have (first part of 17 summarizing the precedent argument about his incarnation), including temptation and suffering, and yet remain without sin (4:15 & 7:26).
- Merciful high priest – Peter O’Brien points out that while nowhere in the Greek Bible are priest or high priests said to be merciful, “But again and again the Old Testament asserts that Yahweh is merciful.” – from Ex. 34:6 the Lord to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”
- Faithful high priest – He is both trustworthy for us to put our faith in him, AND he was perfectly faithful to God’s plan in order that God might forgive our iniquity without clearing the guilty (Ex. 34:7 continues expressing God’s character)
- Not only did his high priestly ministry atone for the sins of those who receive him, but also his exaltation and continued ministry means that what he went through on earth makes him a sympathetic leader to help us now in our weakness—both to sanctify us positionally (of which we are incapable without him) and for growth in knowledge and holiness (which we also cannot do without his work in us by the Holy Spirit he has given us). – Heb. 4:15-16
- This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- IT IS FITTING. God’s plan for the King, unmatched in power & splendor and majesty, to stoop to become a man and suffer death on behalf of men—enslaved to sin, the walking dead in fear of death, incapable of truly living, unable to capture restoration to God—was fitting. It was perfectly fitting that God himself should secure our redemption through the incarnation, humiliation, and subsequent exaltation of God the Son. à This is the love of God on radiant display. His justice secured. His mercy fulfilled. His grace unmeasured. His glory magnified.
- It is fitting that we should respond gratefully to God’s plan for Christ to suffer death, to redeem sons, to make us brothers, to defeat the devil and deliver us from slavery, to satisfy God’s justice, to be a sympathetic leader who helps us in weakness.
- God accomplished salvation through Jesus so that he might be the founder of your salvation. Will you crown him with glory and honor in your heart? Are you ready to start living? It is fitting that you should turn to him in faith to be your saving Lord.
- Sons of God, brothers and sisters of faith, Christ secured your redemption and has called you family… to be a living emblem of the majesty of His grace, a living representation of His mighty power to save, a living trophy of the glory that belongs to Him alone. à (rhetorical question bc the answer is obvious) Is he someone that you desire to ignore or treat flippantly? Or is he the God to whom you long to invest every fiber of your being with endurance of faith? It is fitting that Christ’s brothers, God’s children, should be always redirecting our love and our manner of living toward knowing him and making him known. – Jesus’ sacrificial death to restore us to God, securing our redemption, is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- Jesus shared in flesh and blood bc we are of flesh and blood (literally). And again comes the appropriateness of this plan – so that through death. Death and power become the two prominent players in this description. (“through Christ’s death,” Satan wielding “the power of death,” and man’s “fear of death” – then too Christ’s death “rendering powerless” this Powermonger of death, “delivering” those who are slaves to sin and death)
Securing Redemption (Hebrews 2:10-18)
IT WAS FITTING.
- God the Son became man and suffered death to redeem sons. (v. 10)
This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- The sanctifying work of the Son turns God’s enemies into Christ’s brothers. (vv. 11-13)
This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- Identifying fully with humanity, Christ sacrificially died to defeat the devil and deliver sin’s slaves. (vv. 14-16)
This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
- Jesus’ ministry for sons satisfies God’s justice and makes him a sympathetic Captain. (vv. 17-18)
This is boundless, overwhelming grace.
IT IS FITTING.
Take It Home: (Discussion questions for Discipleship Groups or families at home)
- Are you shocked that Jesus had to die? Talk about whether you are astonished that such was God’s plan. Also describe your amazement that God would do such a thing for rebellious sinners.
- As mind-boggling and gratitude-inducing as it is, doesn’t Christ’s death still fit with God’s character? Explain.
- As you read the verses, does the Holy Spirit prod you with any specific part? Are there any questions arising from the text that still remain unclear to you?
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