Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Right Man for the Job (Hebrews 2:5 - 18)

The Right Man for the Job
(Hebrews 2:5 – 18)

Introduction:

One of the biggest headaches a homeowner usually faces is the problem of termite infestation. We've encountered the same problem also in our home, not just once, but probably around 3 to 4 times already. Termites are very destructive. They consume things like wood, fabric or cloth, and paper products. When we had an infestation a few years back, we discovered it by accident when we were moving some stuff in one of our rooms when I noticed that a carton box was disintegrating and there we saw some termites eating the carton.

So, what should we do with these termites? Definitely, we shouldn't ignore them like nothing's wrong. If we choose to ignore them, it won't take long before every inch of wood in your house will be consumed and you'll be left with a house that will collapse at anytime. The other thing some people do is to attack the termites by spraying them with insecticide. Now, the termites that get sprayed will definitely die, but the termites that are hiding inside will sense the danger and will go elsewhere within the house to feed and destroy. So, it isn't wise to attack the termites by yourself. The best solution is actually to call up the pest control company and pay them to do the work. You see, the people who work in reputable pest control companies don't just go around spraying pesticide, they actually understand the behavior of common household pests such as the termite, and with that knowledge they know how to control infestation by using different kinds of chemical pesticides or by using baiting systems that will slowly poison the entire colony. We could say that the pest control people are the “right man for the job” when it comes to pest control.

Its not only in the issue of pest control that we look for the right man for the job. If we want to build a house, we look for people like architects and building contractors as well as licensed plumbers and electricians. If we are sick, we go to the doctor. If our tooth aches, we visit the dentist. If we want our garden to look really green and flourishing, we call a gardener to tend the garden. We all want the best person for the job we need done. I don't think you would want to entrust the building of your house to a dentist. You wouldn't want the doctor to be doing the electrical circuits in your house. You surely wouldn't think that the gardener would be capable of drawing an elaborate design of a house or perform root canal on your tooth. We all go to the person who is well-trained and who specializes in certain fields for our needs.

This morning, we continue to look into the Book of Hebrews, in particular, Hebrews 2:5 – 18. In this section of Scripture, we will understand why Jesus is the right man for the job. What exactly am I talking about? I am talking about Jesus Christ being the right man to be our Savior, our Great High Priest, and as our Restorer.

This morning's message is an important one because we are looking into and affirming the importance of Christ's humanity. You see, the humanity of Jesus Christ is crucial in at least three areas – our salvation, the restoration of our human dignity, and his being able to understand and empathize with us as our high priest. In our day and age, many people deny that Jesus is God. They think of him merely as a human being. The deity of Jesus is important because, according to Scripture, he is the creator and sustainer of the universe as well as the judge of all humanity. If Jesus were not God ,he cannot fulfill these roles since he would merely be a created being. During the time of Jesus, many did not believe in the deity of Jesus, because this was a blasphemous idea, especially for the Jews. However, some time after the resurrection and ascension, a group of so-called believers denied the humanity of Jesus. For them, to be human is to be sinful. They speculated that the supposed human life and death of Jesus was nothing more than a fantasy (sort of like the movie “Inception”).

However, the author of Hebrews makes clear that the humanity of Jesus Christ is very important. As I've mentioned a moment ago, Jesus is the right man to be our Savior, our Great High Priest, and our Restorer. We will use this as our outline and I will explain why I call him the right man for the job.

Jesus: The Right Man To Be Our Savior

First of all, Jesus Christ is the right man to be our Savior. According to Hebrews 2:10, he is described by the title “author of their salvation”. What this title means for the translators of the NIV is that Jesus Christ is the one who created and designed our salvation. In other translations of the Bible, the phrase from the original language is translated differently. In the latest revision of the NIV, the phrase was translated as the “pioneer of their salvation”, meaning, he is the pattern of the new life we are to trust and to follow. In the King James Version, He is called the “captain of their salvation”, meaning, he is the one who gives the orders and steers our life in the right direction. The various versions of the Bible have different takes on how they understood the phrase, but what is clear is this: Jesus created and designed our salvation. He patterned the new life for us to trust Him and to follow Him. He is the one who steers us in the right direction we are to take in order to be saved.

In describing Jesus as the author of our salvation, we read that he tasted death for everyone (v. 9). What this means is that Jesus took our place, bearing the penalty of sin upon himself and dying for us. He did this in order to destroy the enemy (v. 14) who holds sway over people with the power of death and to free us from the fear of death (v. 15). Satan is the one who induces people to choose sin and to fall under the penalty of death. He uses this power over us. When Jesus took our place, he gave fallen people like you and I the power to overcome death by first taking the penalty of sin upon himself, and then by defying death through resurrection. I don't know if you remember something Jesus said in Mark 3:23 – 29. Jesus here said that no one can enter the house of a strong man and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. In other words, there has to be someone stronger who can defeat the strong man. Jesus is the stronger one who has defeated the strong man who has held all of us hostage because of sin. All this is possible because Jesus came as a human being. At the same time, his being God ensured that he was sinless. Being a sinless human being meant that He would be the perfect or the right sacrifice for us. Hence, he was the right man for the job of saving us.

If Jesus were not a human being. How can he complete work of salvation? How can he be the perfect substitute for us on the cross? You see, for the Lord Jesus to be our Savior, he has to be a human being. If he were not a human being, he could never die. If he couldn't die, he couldn't take our place on the cross and defeat Satan. That is why Jesus is the right man for the job of salvation. He came as the perfect sacrifice who can take our place.

Jesus: The Right Man To Be Our Restorer

Secondly, Jesus is our restorer. Now, when I say “restorer”, I am referring to Him as being the restorer of our humanity. When God created the human race, his intention was for them to have dominion over the earth and to have fellowship with Him. Humanity was the apex of God's creation order and we were meant to reflect God's glory. Sadly, Adam and Eve, the first human beings on earth, sinned against God by disobeying Him. This marred the entire human race as all who were born afterwards were marred by sin and by the propensity to sin. We all fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23) and we all are separated from God because of our sins. Man was originally given a high position, just a little less than the angels, yet close to God's heart. Sin brought man down from his high position, from one who was intended to shine God's glory to one who insulted and mocked God. Instead of possessing a high position in God's kingdom, we became slaves to sin and slaves to the power of death. Instead of being a part of God's family, we have become part of the kingdom of evil.

Aside from our salvation, Jesus came in order to restore that which was lost, namely the high position of man as well as the original purpose of God for creating man. If you are familiar with the quotation mentioned in our passage, it is actually Psalm 8. This Psalm is used when talking about the high stature of man in God's order of Creation. The author of Hebrews used Psalm 8 not to talk about man in general but to refer to Jesus Christ himself, as the man who fulfilled God's original purpose for humanity of bringing glory to God.

Where Adam and Eve failed utterly, Jesus triumphed completely. When Adam and Eve were tempted, they were tempted in three areas – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. They thought of the forbidden fruit as being good for food (the lust of the flesh); they perceived of the fruit as being pleasant to their eyes (the lust of the eyes); and they desired for the knowledge of good and evil so that they can be like God (the pride of life). Yielding to the temptation, Adam and Eve ate the fruit and they fell into sin. Jesus, on the other hand, was presented with three different temptations but all three fall into the three areas of temptation. Satan suggested that Jesus turn the stone into bread in order to ease his hunger (the lust of the flesh), that he jump from the pinnacle of the temple so that the angels can rescue him and prove to all that he is the Son of God (the pride of life), and that he bow down to him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world which he showed to the Lord (the lust of the eyes). Jesus did not yield to the temptations of Satan but he battled Satan with God's Word and came out victorious. I am sure this was not the only episode in Jesus' life where he was tempted, but the important thing was that he triumphed over them all. In so doing, he was bringing glory to God as a human being, the original purpose that human beings were created for. Furthermore, according to some Bible scholars, he was representing humanity in those moments of temptation in order to restore back to humanity that which was lost – our high position before God and our original purpose of bringing God glory.

If Jesus Christ did not come at all in the flesh, there is no restoration work that can be done for humanity. We can never be brought back to God's original purpose as to why he created us. We would be forever be under the subjection of Satan. Thank God that Jesus came in human form in order to be our restorer! Thank God that He was the right man for the job.

Jesus: The Right Man To Be Our Great High Priest

Finally, Jesus is our Great High Priest. We find mention of this position in verse 17, where Jesus is described as our merciful and faithful high priest. For the Jewish believers, this was a familiar picture. They had been taught about the sacrificial system as recorded in Leviticus. They had visited Jerusalem and the temple during holy days. They probably even know someone who was a priest or even the high priest. The position of high priest during the time of the temple was a significant one. It was a great responsibility as the high priest was the only person who could enter into the Holy of Holies inside the temple once a year in order to offer the atonement sacrifice to God. The High Priest was the representative of the people when it came to approaching God. They were sort of the middleman between God and the people doing the work of intercession and offering the sacrifices that were intended to please the Lord.

The problem though was that the high priest in the Jewish faith was just a human being who had the same problem with sin as everyone else had. Before he could even offer sacrifices on behalf of the people, he had to offer a sacrifice for himself, for the cleansing of his own sins (see Hebrews 7:27). The sacrifices he offered were not effective as he had to keep doing this over and over again. The high priest was just as much a sinner as the other person. He could not claim to be holier than others for in the sight of God he was just as much a sinner. If the people were weak spiritually, the high priest was very much just like them. Furthermore, he was also under the same penalty of sin as everyone was.

The author of Hebrews declared that Jesus Christ is our great high priest. His being the great high priest is linked with his humanity. Look at verse 17. It said that he was made like his brothers (to become a human being) 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. Jesus needed to become a human being so that he could empathize and understand what we are going through. Not only that, by being human and going through temptations and triumphing over them, he is able to help us when we are tempted. By being human, he could represent humanity before God. By being God, he was holy, blameless and pure (Hebrews 7:26). What a combination!

One important thing regarding Jesus as our high priest is that he is our permanent high priest since he lives forever and because he presented the ultimate sacrifice of himself, he is able to save completely all who come to him in faith.

If Jesus did not come in the flesh, he could never be our great high priest, for he would not have been able to offer the ultimate sacrifice that would save us completely. He would not be able to truly empathize with us and to understand what we're going through. He would not have been able to set the pattern of the victorious Christian life if he had not faced temptation personally and triumphed over them.

Conclusion – What does it mean for me?

We've learned that Jesus Christ was the right man for the job. He was the right man for the role of Savior, Restorer and High Priest. You may be asking, “What does it mean for me? What are the practical implications?

First, as the right man to be our Savior, anyone here this morning who has doubts about Jesus and his offer of salvation should reconsider their position. Jesus' death on the cross ensures that the power Satan wields over us can be broken if we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So, will you put your faith in Him, believing that he has already done everything needed to give us salvation? I hope you will receive Him into your life as your Lord and Savior. If you need to talk with any of our pastors and church leaders about Jesus and his offer of salvation, feel free to do so.

Second, because Jesus is our restorer by winning back the dignity of humanity and by fulfilling the original purpose of man in glorifying God, we can look to his pattern of life as recorded in the Gospels and use it to guide our life so that we too can live according to God's original purpose for us – to glorify Him. Let it be our lifelong pursuit – to follow in the steps of Jesus. I encourage you all to take time to read and meditate on the Gospels and learn from the pattern and teaching of Jesus and put them into practice everyday.

Finally, because Jesus is our merciful and faithful high priest who understands us and who has gone through everything we experience in life and has come out of it victorious, we can confidently approach him through prayer and pour out to him what is in our hearts . We need not fear rejection from him for he welcomes us and he wants for us to tell him everything that's in our hearts, and he knows how to answer us correctly.

Jesus is the right man for the job. Do you believe and trust Him? Will you follow his pattern of life? Do you have confidence in his guidance and answers for you? I hope we all can say “yes” with confidence to all three questions.

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