2007 Book of Hebrews Series – “Bond of Brothers”
Hebrews 2:10-18
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – February 11, 2007

Prayer Introduction: I told you, last week, how much I enjoy the passage that we are looking at this morning – Hebrews 2:10-18. So let’s pray and get right to it…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!

READ Hebrews 2:10-18: From these verses I would have you see that we are Brought into Brotherhood; The Boast of Brotherhood; we are Blood Brothers; and our Bond as Brothers.

I. Brought into Brotherhood (v.10)

First, I would have you see that we are Brought into Brotherhood. We did not start off as Jesus’ brother; because we did not start off as a child of the Heavenly Father. Verse 10 begins by stating that it is God who brought many sons to glory through the author of our salvation.

            Only a Christian can call God “Our Father who art in heaven…” Only one who has been justified by faith alone, is then adopted by the judge. In our sinful nature we arrogantly think that God should love us as His children – “look at how cute I am” – instead of realizing that in our nature we were objects of God’s wrath (cf. Ephesians 2:3). It is only by God’s great mercy that we go from being God’s enemy to being God’s children.

The hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” has long bothered me; not so much for what the hymn says, but for the way many people take it. I hear a number of people say, “I like to think of Jesus as a friend – someone I can sit and talk with who won’t judge me, but will just listen to me.”

            But that’s not the way the hymn speaks of the friend we have in Jesus. He is not our equal. He is strong and we are weak. He is Savior and we are sinner. He is the Lord who protects us, guides us, leads us. We ought to be amazed that Jesus would even care to know our name, let alone call us friend, let alone call us brother.

            In our celebrity-driven culture perhaps we could think of it this way. Imagine the pro athlete, movie star, singer, you would most like to meet. Or perhaps imagine being able to go back into history to meet any historical figure you could. Now imagine being at a gathering with thousands of people and out of the crowd the person looks at you and says, “Let’s do dinner together.” Would you not spend the entire evening blown away that this person chose to do dinner with you?

            You would be honored. You would probably be incredibly nervous. You would want to know everything you could about them. Ask them all of your questions. Find out their thoughts about everything.

            Now imagine the King of the Universe choosing to spend time with you. He isn’t just a celebrity – He actually deserves attention. He’s the real deal. He is called the “Author” of our salvation, the Greek word for author also means “champion.” It is the word used to describe Hercules. Jesus is “the real superman.” Think of a celebrity, mixed with super-hero, and then realize that He is real.

Would you not be honored to be with him? We are not equals. He is the Lord, who has chosen to be with you. Would you not be nervous when you were with him (filled with fear and awe)? Would not want to know everything about Him? Would you not want to ask Him questions, and get His input?

            How arrogant that we would come to Jesus and tell Him our thoughts about life. Jesus, “I know you are the Lord of the Universe – everything was created through you – but let me tell you what I think about the current state of economics in Clearfield County.”

            What?! Are you kidding me?!

            We take everything to the Lord in prayer. In other words we say, “Jesus, we are not equals. Tell me what to do. Show me in your revealed word what I am to do. I’m not going to tell you what I think. I want to know what you say.”

            You reached out to me. You came to me. You saved me.

II. The Boast of Brotherhood (vv.11-13)

And so I would have you see The Boast of Brotherhood. The last sentence of verse 11 should send chills when you read it: “Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. He is proud to call us brothers. Jesus boasts of you as His brother.

Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brother. Why are we so ashamed to call Him ours?

            It has been said that at the root of every sin is personal pride. Anger rages at not getting what we want. Pause for a moment and think about your anger – does it not come when you don’t get what you want as you pridefully determine that you deserved to get it?

            I have lost track of the number of times I come home tired and I just want some peace and quiet; but there is no such thing as quiet at our house – unless I rage at those who make unwanted noise. Oh the arrogance in my heart that makes me rage like that.

            Road rage at those who get in our way. Don’t they know that the world revolves around me? Nope, they are too busy having the world revolve around them.

            Lust comes from the prideful heart that believes “she wants me.” Greed comes from the prideful heart that believes “I deserve more.”

            And there is great arrogance in saying, “I can sin, because Jesus will forgive me.”

            Boasting in Jesus removes the boasting in ourselves that causes us to engage in sinful acts. When you stop to consider Jesus, there is no more room for thinking sinfully about what you deserve. There is only gratitude for the grace that doesn’t give you what you deserve – and the grace that gives you what you don’t deserve.

            So often in our life we think – and may even say out loud – “It’s not fair.” Praise the Lord for treating us unfairly. It is not fair that Jesus takes the punishment for our sin while we get the credit for his righteousness.

            Every time you are tempted to think, or say, “It’s not fair” – stop and praise the Lord for treating us so unfairly. And then do the same for others. Surrender your rights in order to display mercy.

            We may have to suffer from time to time in order to display God’s mercy; but it is in Jesus’ suffering that God’s mercy is displayed for us.

            A quick side-note. Verse 10 says that Jesus was “made perfect” through suffering. This doesn’t mean that he was imperfect. Perfect means “complete.” Our salvation was made complete through the suffering of Jesus. Psalm 22 – which we read earlier in the service and is quoted in verse 12 – extols the suffering of Jesus to make our salvation complete.

The number 7 in Scripture carries this connotation of completion as well. It is part of our theme for this year – 2007. We are seeking the perfecting work of Christ – the completed work of Christ – in us, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose [to give you the desire and power to do His will – NLT]” (Philippians 2:12b-13).

III. Blood Brothers (vv.14-15)

And so I would have you see that we are Blood Brothers with Jesus. Verse 14 says that Jesus, the Son of God who is superior to the angels, was flesh and blood. It is what we celebrate at Christmas – and what separates us from other religions.

If you talk to a Muslim or a Jehovah’s Witness (or many other religions and cults) they will be happy to talk about Jesus, the prophet. However they think it is outrageous to say that the holy God could take on corruptible human flesh. Followers of other religions and philosophies consider the idea of the Incarnation as scandalous.

            Indeed, we believe in a different God. We know of a God who is most holy, but who also was born into human flesh. The scandal of Jesus becoming human is why we see the world reject the Christ of Christmas.

            Jesus is God and did become flesh and blood; and He shed His blood. Do you realize what Jesus did for us, in suffering for us? He destroyed the devil and the fear of death.

There are lots of movies that show the Grim Reaper – the Angel of Death – who approaches. He is a scary figure. Jesus comes in and destroys him – renders him completely ineffective. The devil can no longer lead you to death – so don’t let him cause you to fear death. Jesus gives us victory over death and the fear of death. 1 Corinthians 15:54b-55 – “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

            Imagine a bridge that everyone is afraid to cross because of the dragon that guards it. Is it the bridge you fear, or the dragon? If the dragon is slayed, then you no longer need to fear the bridge. The dragon has been destroyed. The bridge to eternal life is wide open – come on down.

            Perhaps you are saying, “I don’t fear death.” There are 4 ways in which we experience the fear of death. (1) The fear of losing control over your life. Do you not love to be in control? You hate it when you have no control. When your body stops working right – it is scary. Christians overcome this fear by surrendering control. Trust the mastery of your life to the master of your life.

            (2) We fear what we might never complete. I talk with so many seniors who bemoan the things that they can no longer do. Christians overcome the fear of incompleteness by realizing the eternity that is to come – in the new heavens and new earth. Do not focus on what you can no longer do in this life. Focus on the eternal work that lies before you. Engage in the spiritual pursuits that make an eternal difference.

            (3) We fear leaving our loved ones. Christians overcome this fear by knowing that we are heading into the arms of our Heavenly Father and our divine Brother; along with those who have gone on ahead of us (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

            (4) And we fear the unknown of what lies on the other side. Christians overcome fear of the unknown by surrendering control in this life and facing the unknowns of this life in Christian confidence. Galatians 2:20 is carried fully into the next life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

One Christian defined his boldness in the face of persecution: “You cannot kill a man who has already died to self.” We may experience some trepidation from time to time about death; but through Christ we are not slaves to this fear.

IV. Bond as Brothers (vv.16-18)

And so, finally, I would have you see our Bond as Brothers. We have a bond of brotherhood with Jesus; and through our shared faith in Christ we have a bond of brotherhood to one another. We, as the church of Christ, are brethren – brothers and sisters. We pray for one another; encourage, exhort, rebuke one another. When one part suffers, we all suffer. When one part is honored, we are all honored.

            Are we not in this together? Are you allowing the church to play a full role in your faith walk? This week I read an article about the many faces of anger. One of them is cynicism – “It is sneering, insolent, self-righteousness…It looks down on the church. It looks down on sermons. Like other forms of anger, it is a posture that is always elevated above others and always confident in its judgments” (Ed Welch).

Lose the pride, by looking to Jesus. Many people – some who may be here this morning – have never been set free from guilt by a grace from a God outside of themselves. You walk around with guilt and shame, because you have never asked Jesus to save you from it. Not just asking him to forgive you, but to set you free from sin and Satan’s grasp. You’ve never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, because, “I can take care of myself thank you very much.”

            Let it go. Be humbled as you consider who Jesus is and what he has done for you. Know that Jesus has been tempted in every way that you are – and resisted sin every time – so that he can help us to deal with our temptations. We will look at this truth more in a few weeks, when we get to the end of chapter 4.

            But, here, at the end of chapter 2 I want you to see Jesus – and the bond that you have in his willingness to call you brother; and the bond that we have as brothers and sisters in Christ. Lean on Jesus, by leaning on fellow Christian believers – to help you through your sufferings and temptations.

MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!