Theme: Christ, through His humanity, secured
our great salvation which involves exalting believers, freeing us from the fear
of death, and affording us the help of a compassionate High Priest in Heaven during
temptations. In addition, Christ’s
humanity enables Him to understand our needs, challenges, and pains fully.
Introduction:
Where do you usually turn for comfort
when you are hurting?
Perhaps you would say, “my spouse,” “my
Bible,” or “prayer,” maybe “my Lord,” or your parents. If things get bad enough (usually as an
absolute last resort) we will turn to our pastor. It is good if we turn to one of these
especially if we go to the Lord Jesus first.
There are; however, some less honorable
options we sometimes resort to, like food (chocolate, cheesecake), shopping, a
movie (escape), or travel (escape). Anything to escape being alone with our
thoughts, anxieties, fears, and pain…. Unfortunately, these do not really
change anything…they only exacerbate the problem. They mask the pain, but they
cannot heal it.
Some of us even retreat within
ourselves to nurse our wounds. Sulking in silence, brooding in utter
bitterness, and refusing to admit we are hurting deeply. The problem is such
bitter existence will only result in spreading our pain in the lives of others.
Some people also seek comfort in the abuse of alcohol, over-the-counter drugs, illegal
drugs, and even prescription drugs. Even Christians sometimes deal with pain in
ways that seldom include looking to Christ for comfort.
It may surprise you to know how deeply the Lord Jesus
understands our pain. Actually He suffered more deeply, persistently, and pervasively
than anyone who has ever walked the earth. He is also the key to triumph over
pain. Would you like to know how? Consider Hebrews 2 verses 10 through 14.
For it became him, for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make
the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all
of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in
him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil; 15 And deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews
2:10-15)
Lesson:
Why did God allow his Son to suffer?
(Heb. 2:10-14) To answer this question honestly reveals the answers to our own
pain. Yes, there were incredible situation changing purposes for the pain of our Lord
Jesus Christ! The same is true for every genuine Child of God. Consider four
biblical realities that reveal this vital and strengthening reality.
The Character of God
Suffering is entirely consistent with the holy character of God, the
Great Planner (2:10)—“For it became Him
[Father]”.
The Plan. It was completely in keeping with the
righteous character of God that man’s dominion should be restored through the
humiliation of the Savior.
Christ must suffer, bleed, and die to put away
sin. Sin had disturbed God’s order. Before order could be brought out of chaos,
sin must be dealt with righteously; that is in a manner worthy of a holy God (Rom.
3:21-26; 2Cor. 5:21). He sent His only begotten righteous Son to die in
our place (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:6-10; 8:31-32). Thus God remains “just” and can
“justify” the ungodly who trust Christ.
The Planner. The Father as the wise Planner is
described as the One for Whom are all things, and by Whom
are all things. First the Father is the objective or goal of all
creation; all things were made for His glory and pleasure. This defines the
purpose of all men and everything else. But He is also the Source or Originator of all
creation; nothing was made apart from Him (2:10). To live in His will is an
expression of his design for us. Because
everything belongs to God, He determines what sacrifice is necessary for sin.
He, the Creator of the world, determined what was needed for our “great salvation.” (MacDonald)
The Purpose. His great purpose is bringing many sons unto glory. What does this glory consist of? Glorification includes immortality,
moral perfection, spiritual power, liberty, reigning in the Kingdom of God, and
sharing God’s glory forever! This incredible truth is well attested in the Scriptures (Rom 8:23; Phil 3:21; Rom 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:43-44; 1Thess
2:12; 2Tim 2:10-12; Rom 5:2; 1Thess 2:12; 2Thess 2:14; 1Peter 5:10).
When we consider our own unworthiness, it staggers
us to think that Jehovah would have even bothered with us, but it is because He
is the God of all grace (Heb. 2:9) that He has called us to His eternal glory
(Heb. 2:10). Truly this is a “great salvation!”
We are destine to share in Christ’s glory and honor
as fellow sons of God—what a marvelous-dignified-elevated future is ours (Rom.
9:23-24; 2Cor. 3:18; 2Cor. 4:17-18; Col. 3:4; 2Tim. 2:10; 1Pet. 1:5, 10).
In
life or in death, God’s purposes will be accomplished and his promises to
believers will be fulfilled because believers have been called into God’s
eternal glory. God called—this was his initiative; therefore, he will do as he
promised. Why did Christ suffer? Because it is the character of God to endure remarkable
sufferings to secure our salvation—our highest eternal good! How can I be comfortable with giving Him
token and convenient service? Is it my purpose to bring many sons unto glory in
concert with the purpose of God? (Wiersbe)
“Just A Little While”
For believers, suffering will not last
forever. If you're under stress, if food is scarce, if disease is spreading,
God promises that suffering will last "just a little while more."
No matter what trouble you face, hard
as it is, God has stamped your life "temporarily out of order," with
emphasis on "temporarily." A day is coming when the Great Repairman
will wrench evil from the world and restore your life so that it works as God
intended. You will be in mint condition, guaranteed to function as God
designed.
Many times all we can do is trust God
and look forward to Jesus' return, when God will restore us. Our hope is in
him! –The Life Application Commentary Series
The Captain of God
Suffering was necessary to prepare Christ to be our perfect Captain of salvation
(2:10).
His Passion. This is the cost of our
glorification! The captain of our salvation had to be made perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10 says: “Make
the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
Jesus Christ was perfect throughout His earthly
experience (Heb. 4:15; 2Cor. 5:21; 1Pet. 2:22). As far as His moral character
is concerned; the Lord Jesus was always sinlessly perfect. He could never be
made perfect in this respect.
The word “perfect”
means “complete, effective, and adequate.” According to Ex 29:33, 35, “to
perfect” describes the consecration of the priests, and indicated the qualifying of a person for priestly service. Jesus qualifies as High Priest because he has
completely fulfilled his role as Messiah.
Jesus could not have become an adequate Savior and
High Priest had He not become Man and suffered and died. (Wiersbe)
He was made perfect or adequate as
our Savior and Intercessor. What does sufferings mean? Basically it means enduring hardship,
affliction, pain, persecution, and Calvary. In order to purchase eternal redemption for us, He
had to suffer all the punishment that our sins deserved. Christ’s death was
punitive.
Besides
being forsaken by God, and the extreme sufferings of His physical body, He was
also brought into waters so deep, there was no place to stand. He endured
extraordinary punishment, arising from the awful visions of the sins He had of
His people, and of the wrath such sins deserved, and felt all those inward and
painful sensations which such views provoked. In these things, no doubt, the
sufferings of His soul far exceeded His physical agonies on the Cross, though
these must have been colossal also.—The
Biblical Illustrator
We could not be saved by His spotless life; His
substitutionary death was an absolute necessity.
He must be made perfect for this role “through suffering.” Since His brethren must
suffer, so must He if He is to be the kind of Captain we need. By having done
so, He can give us the help we need (v. 18). (Walvoord)
Always
bear in mind that God has a glorious purpose in sufferings and He uses such
experiences to prepare us for ministry and leadership (2Cor. 1:3-7). Be
mindful of this the next time you are dealing with the pains of this life;
suffering is preparatory (Rom.
8:17-18).
Sharing with Jesus Christ … involves more than
anticipating the glories of heaven. For Jesus Christ it involved suffering and
abuse and crucifixion; therefore, being co-heirs with Christ requires that
believers share in His sufferings (cf.
John 15:20; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12). In fact believers do share
in His sufferings… (cf. Rom. 8:9). Then after the suffering they will share in His glory (2 Tim. 2:12; 1
Peter 4:13; 5:10). –The Bible
Knowledge Commentary
His Pioneering. Christ as the Last Adam is our Representative, but He is our Restorer
as the Captain of salvation. That word Captain literally means “pioneer—one who opens the way for others
to follow—a leader.” Christ gave up His glory to become man. He regained His
glory when He arose and ascended to heaven. Now He shares that glory with all
who trust Him for salvation (John 17:22–24). He is literally bringing an entire
band of redeemed children to glory—great is our Restorer!
As lost children, we were
once held in servitude by our enemy, Satan (2:14-15). Since we were human, our
Captain had to become human and die for us, in order to rescue us.
His Path. In God’s eyes,
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for God’s people, pioneering their salvation
through his suffering and death. Because humans experience suffering and death,
Christ became fully human and experienced these aspects of being human as well.
That Christ both lived and died gives us confidence that we have a High Priest
who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses (4:15). We have confidence that
because Christ conquered death, he also can save us from death.–The Life Application Commentary Series
The Children of God
Suffering was necessary to sanctify and identify
with God’s children (2:11-13). The next three verses emphasize the perfection
of Jesus’ humanity. If He is going to regain the dominion which Adam lost, then
it must be demonstrated that He is true Man.
Christ Sanctified Us. First, the fact is stated: For both He that
sanctifieth and they who are
[being] sanctified
are all of one, that is, they are all possessors of humanity,
and have the same origin; meaning that in our humanity, we all have one God and
Father.
Christ is the One who sanctifies, that is,
He sets apart or separates men to God from the world. Blessed are all those
whom He thus sets apart! A sanctified person is set apart from ordinary
uses to be for God’s own possession, use, and enjoyment. The opposite of
sanctification is profanation.
Lookout for the various passages in Hebrews where
sanctification is mentioned, and carefully determine which type of
sanctification is in view.
Christ Identified with Us. He is united to us, and we are united to Him:
we are spiritually one. We are His “brethren”
(Heb. 2:12). This quote from Psalm 22:22—a messianic psalm— refers to Christ and
His church
as His brethren.
This means we and the Son of God share the same nature and belong to the same family! What a marvel of God’s grace!
He became a true Man therefore He is not ashamed to speak of His followers as brethren. Is it possible that the Eternal Sovereign of the
universe should become man and identify Himself so closely with His creatures
that He would call us brothers?
The answer is found in Psalm 22:22 where we hear
Him say, “I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren.”
The same verse also pictures Him as identified with His people in common
worship, “in the midst of the church [assembly] will I sing praise unto Thee.”
In His dying agony, He looked forward to the day when He would lead the
ransomed throng in praise to God the
Father.
We are all believers (Heb. 2:13). Christ’s
humanity is demonstrated by the fact that He placed His trust in God. Implicit confidence in
Jehovah is one of the greatest marks of true humanity.
Jesus lived in utter dependence on God and with
complete confidence in God. All of his
brethren must live in the same faithful manner even in the midst of hard
sufferings.
He can also speak to us of His own trust in God (v. 13a, quoting Isa.
8:17) and can regard us as the children
God has given Him (Heb. 2:13b, quoting Isa. 8:18). Like an elder brother
in the midst of a circle of younger children, the Captain of our salvation can
teach us the lessons of faith along the pathway of suffering. (Walvoord)
Like
those faithful to God in Isaiah's day, we should stay true to Christ and ignore
the advice that would distract us from following him. –The Life Application Commentary Series
We are His “children”
(Heb. 2:13). Not only are believers His
brethren, but we are also His children: “Behold I and the children which God hath given Me”
(Heb. 2:13).
The Lord quoted Isaiah 8:18, which refers to the
Prophet Isaiah and his unique sons who were given significant names (see Isa.
7:3; 8:1–4). But the ultimate reference is to Jesus Christ.
The thought is that we are members of a common
family, acknowledging a common Father. If Jesus Christ had not come to earth
and become man, He could not take us from earth to share in His glory. The
Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection must go together. They all lead to
glory for you and me.
The Conquest of God
Suffering was necessary to destroy Satan and the
power of death (Heb. 2:14).
This exaltation, vaulting us far above the angels
to be Christ’s brothers in God’s family, is also our deed to freedom. Satan,
who held the power of death, was destroyed by Christ’s self-sacrifice. Now we
are free.
By dying Christ was able to
destroy …the devil. The author did not mean that Satan ceased to exist or to be
active. Rather the word he used for “destroy” indicates the annulment of his
power over those whom Christ redeems. –Bible
Knowledge Commentary
Thus
our greatest enemy has been subdued through Jesus Christ’s mighty Cross and
resurrection! Christ did indeed suffer to demonstrate the character of God, to
become the great Captain of our Salvation, to completely identify with the
children of God, and to conquer Satan and his devices. Thus we are not alone in
our pain…whatever it may be.
During the winter of 1777–78 the
Continental Army of the rebelling American colonies shivered in Valley Forge
while the British forces occupied and rested in Philadelphia. Conditions at
Valley Forge were so miserable and supplies so inadequate that the desertion
rate from the ranks of the Continentals exceeded the rate of arrival by new
recruits.
The only reason the Continental Army
survived at Valley Forge was because George Washington was with it. The
impression Washington’s character had made on his men through months of service
together inspired enough loyalty to keep the Continental Army intact and the
British army bottled up.
Washington suffered with his men. He
endured their privations and continually interceded with the Continental
Congress for provisions and supplies. The troops in the huts who lacked boots,
blankets, and food knew the General was their fellow-sufferer and champion with
the powers-that-be.
Washington had come out of retirement
to lead the Continental forces, and once the Revolution was successfully
completed he tried to retreat once more to the beauty of Mount Vernon. (Source
Unknown)
The letter to the Hebrews opened with
grand assertions about the deity of the Son of God, His role in sustaining all
of creation, and His superiority over the angels as the Revealer of the Father
to humanity. This tribute of praise set the stage for the main idea Hebrews
wants to express about the Son. This awesome Being has shared human nature and
experience so fully that He is both Jesus the Son of God and the Son of Man. Hebrews
emphasizes the genuine humanity of Jesus as well as Christ’s deity. It was this
unique combination of humanity and deity that enabled Him to be both our Savior
and our High Priest. Hebrews 4:15 states, “For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Whatever the test, pain, or form of suffering you are facing;
turn to Jesus Christ the Son of God—the Son of Man. Why? Because He knows all
pain fully, deeply, and pervasively! As the suffering Savior he understands. As
our Great High Priest He provides help at our moment of need. You are not alone
in your pain. Christ is with you in all of them. No, He does not shield us from
all suffering…He instead uses pain to make us more like Himself. God uses
suffering to prepare us for leadership and greater responsibility. Remember
your destiny is glory through Jesus Christ! Trust Him with what hurts….
Approach Him with complete confidence in His unique ability to strengthen and
sustain you through the ugliest and worst this broken world can belch out at
us.
Yes, it is time to stop looking to temporary fixes, quick
fixes, cheap substitutes, and mere brooding…. Step out of the darkness and
enter the fellowship of grace, love, and power Jesus Christ affords those who
trust Him with their pain.
