Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Hebrews chapter 2, and reading
for our text, verses 9 and 10. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9 and
10. But we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man. 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. Hebrews 2 verse 9 and 10. In the Scriptures of Truth, really
from beginning to end, is a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. But He's not set forth in, we
might say, exactly the same way right through Scriptures. It's
like if we were to have a person and we took a photograph of them,
and we took a photograph of them front on, then on the side, and
then the other side, and then the back view, and we saw them
as they were perhaps in their work clothes, and then we saw
them ready for the Lord's house, and it's always the same person.
but we are seeing them different views and pictures of that person. And so you find the pictures
of the Lord Jesus Christ right through the scriptures. We can think of many different
examples. You might think of Noah's Ark,
an ark, the type of Christ, the destruction of the world through
water, Those that were in the ark, come thou into the ark. The Lord was there, come. And
then the Lord shut Noah and all his family and all that was therein. And it was the ark that bore
the deluge. It was the ark that bore them
up. It was the ark that kept them safe. It was the ark that
separated between those being destroyed and those that were
saved. It was the ark that brought them
to a renewed earth. And so it is a beautiful type
of Christ, when the world shall be destroyed by fire, and those
that are safe with him, shut in with him, not destroyed with
the world. Then we have the other types,
the types of the Passover, the Passover lamb. The Lord said,
with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you before
I suffer. and it sets forth that suffering
Lamb of God, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. We think of in the lives of the
people of God, like Joseph, a man sent before his brothers to be
a means of saving them and his father from famine and bring
them also into the will of God as it was first there in Egypt,
and all the sufferings and all that he went through in bringing
those brethren there. So we have a picture there of
our Lord, then of the near kinsman in the book of Ruth, one that
was in a position to redeem, like Boaz was, and the Lord has
to become in a position where he can redeem his dear people. We see those pictures predominantly
as the Lord spoke to those two on the way to Emmaus, a suffering
Christ, or not Christ who has suffered these things and to
enter into his glory. But you also see him before Joshua
as the captain of our salvation and the Lord's host going before
into the promised land. And so when we have these views
of our Lord, and then we have a text as we have here, but we
see Jesus, we would expect, what do we see? How do we see him? How is he set forth in this part
of the Word of God, in this chapter? And that is what I desire to
look at this evening, seeing Jesus through Hebrews 2 in this
portion that is before us. And may it also whet our appetites
to have the desire to see him right through the scriptures
and especially to notice the different views we have of him. Sometimes you might say unexpected
We might find that in a natural sense as well, where we may have
only seen someone in a suit and tie. And then we see them in
their rough clothes working in the fields. We think, I've never
seen them like that before. I've always only seen them in
a suit and tie. And so there are those times
we may get those glimpses of the Lord and think, well, I have
not seen him like this before, sat before me in this way. You know, the disciples, they
saw him as none had ever seen before, a risen saviour, he that
was dead and yet alive. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. Dear Mary, she saw him before
that, but she suppose that he had been the gardener until he
spoke her name. But may you be held this evening
just in a viewpoint to look through this passage and we'll introduce
these points. There's seven actually upon my
spirit that is a little view of our Lord throughout this passage. But we see Jesus. The first is this, in verse 14,
that he became partaker of flesh and blood. The eternal Son of
God was made like unto his brethren, yet sin accepted. For as much
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also likewise
took part of the is set forth. Many times it is
taught in the Word that our Lord was a real man, soul and body. It's put very simply here, isn't
it? It identifies with the children,
identifies with his people. They have flesh and blood. He also himself likewise took
part of the same. Then we're told further, in verse
16, that he did not take on him the nature of angels. And of
course this chapter is comparing our Lord with the angels, showing
how he is greater and more glorified than the angels. He did not take
their nature. Theirs is spirit only. Are they
not all ministering spirits sent to minister to them that are
heirs of salvation? But he took on him the seed of
Abraham, that is, not of flesh of bulls and of goats, which
is just flesh, but that which is soul and body. a true human being. He took on him the seed of Abraham. And so may we see the Lord in
this view. This is a view that dear Jacob,
when he wrestled with the angel, there wrestled a man with him
to the breaking of the day. One of those pre-incarnation
appearances of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou hast wrestled with
God and with man, and hast prevailed. God manifests in the flesh. The same is what Abraham also
saw. There came three men unto him,
and one of those was the Lord. So the first little view that
we have of our Lord in this chapter is seeing Him partake, like we
are, of flesh and blood. coming to this world, made of
a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that are under
the law. And we are told here that the
reason why he took that nature was that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.
He must needs become a man. that he will die, the eternal
son of God, one person, two natures, divine nature that can never
die, but a human nature that can by willful act of his own
lay down his life and lay it down as a ransom. And so the
first picture we have is a partaker of flesh, and blood. The second
I bring before you is that made a little lower than the angels. This is again going back to our
text now but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than
the angels and it tells the reason why he was lower than the angels
and it was for the suffering of death, something that they
would not experience, they were eternal, but the Lord was to
be brought into that place where he could actually die, where
he could, with a freewill offering, lay down his life. The Lord said,
no man taketh it from me, I lay it down, of myself, I have power
to lay it down, I have power to take it again. But he became
obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. And so in this picture where
the apostle is seeking to testify it's not unto angels he hath
put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak, and then
he starts to quote from Psalm 8, from verse 6. And of course,
man was also made in the image of God. So what is said there,
that thou mayest him a little lower than the angels, crown
him with glory and honor, in a reflection that is pointing
to Adam. But if Psalm 8 and this portion
here is all pointing, to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And it is then set before us
that in the will of God, that for this purpose and because
of death, he was made a little lower than the angels. One vital thing of our Lord Jesus
Christ This condescension is the position
that he took so willingly, coming right down where his people are,
right down into death, and to bring his people up from death. And so we see again another picture,
and this seems a very different picture. Look from another angle,
and that is him crowned and honour. We know there is
no greater glory and no glory that can be given to any but
the Lord as the glory of salvation. When he was given the name of
Jesus, he shall save his people from their sins. And that crown
is on the Lord's head. He is unique. There are many,
many angels There are many men and women upon this earth, but
there is only one Redeemer, one Saviour, one Name given among
men, whereby we must be saved. And it is upon the Lord Jesus
Christ that that crown and that glory is placed, crowned with
glory and honour. You know the verse before, Now
text it. It seems perhaps almost a contradiction,
but now we see not yet all things put under him. When we think
of the disciples and all what the Lord was testifying of his
kingdom, of his Father in heaven, and then when they viewed, they
viewed the Roman soldiers, they viewed the Jews, they viewed
his crucifixion, it did not look like the Lord. was crowned with
glory and honor. He is crowned with the crown
of thorns. He is mocked, he is spat upon. But there shall come a time when
he comes with power and great glory without sin unto salvation. Every eye shall see him. Then
shall the kindreds of the earth wail. That glory also he does
have. He hath ascended up on high,
hath led captivity captive. He received gifts for men, yea,
for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among
them. And so that glory of salvation
in every soul that is saved, in every one that is ransomed,
every one that is set free, for every one the crown is put on
his head, none shall ascribe their salvation to themselves,
or to a church, or anything else, but to Christ, and Christ alone. So we see him in this chapter,
crowned with glory and with honor, being that only name given among
men, whereby we must be saved, and he of whom is the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth, who is exalted, magnified
and lifted up as the Redeemer. But then we have a further view
of him, that he tasted death for every man. Now this of course
cannot mean that he died to put away the sins of every man. Some will teach that. But our
Lord was very clear, I lay down my life for the sheep. And then
he says to the Jews, or those that were not believing in him,
ye are not of my sheep, therefore ye hear not my word. The scriptures
set forth a particular redemption, a particular love for his people,
and a love was given to a people that were loved eternally. I've loved thee with an everlasting
love, and therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee, chosen
in Him before the foundation of the world. But it is by the
grace of God that our Lord should enter into that at which every
man shall enter into. You know, none of us, until we
come, there are many experiences that we have in our lives, but
really nothing can prepare us for death. That path we have
never walked before, entering into that dark veil with that
before us, we have never experienced that and never entered into that
before. No one of our fellow creatures,
No parent, no grandparent has ever entered into it and then
returned and told us what it was like, what death was like,
experienced it. It must be for all the sons of
men, that last enemy, which is death. But here we read of the
Lord tasting death, and we realize as the Lord enters into that,
our Lord Jesus Christ had never died. He had never walked that
path. He was to experience it. He was
to feel it. He was to know it. He was to
walk through it, enter it, but be brought out the other side
and rise from the dead and appear to his disciples. I believe this
is a wonderful consideration for us, for there is one. is one who has entered into it,
who has shown that passage through. There's a beautiful time really
comparable to this, when the Ark of the Covenant, which was
a type of our Lord, carried upon the shoulders of the priests,
the Levites, and when they went through the River of Jordan,
which is typical of death, dividing between the wilderness journey
and the promised land is the River of Jordan, is death. And
we find that the ark was carried into the midst of the river,
but as their feet touched the river, then the river was stopped
up. They went on dry land, they stood
on dry land. And the ark had to be a long
distance away in front of the people so they all could see
it, all could see it go. You know, if you have a crowd
around someone, around something, you can't see what is in the
middle of that crowd. But if something is a long way
off, away from that crowd, then you can see it. And that's how
it had to be with the Ark. But it was, in the end, Every
one of those Israelites passed right next to that ark. They
saw it right up close. When? When they were going through
the river. When they were going through
it. And the Lord says in John 14, I will come again and receive
you unto myself that where I am there ye shall be also. In other words, when you come
to death, I will come and I will walk with you through it. I will
take you through it. I have been through it. I've
tasted it. I've known what it is. I know
the enemy that it is. And I will be with you through
it. I'll land you safe above. Father, I will, that they whom
thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold
my glory, that glory that is here." But that tasting of death,
in meditating upon this, I thought, What a wonderful thing, a sacred
thing, a mystery, that the eternal Son of God manifests in the flesh,
that He must face this. You think of His cry upon, in
the Garden of Gethsemane, Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. And we might just think of, when
I say just, I don't minimize, but we think of His sufferings,
the scourge, the crown of thorns, the nails, the scourging, all
of the mocking, all that he went through. But he was to go through
death. He was to enter into death, descend
into the grave. And when we think of what that
is for us, even if we have a death that we might say is a gentle
death, with no pains and no suffering, just to gently breathe our last.
Death is still death. It's still the last enemy. Still
entering where we have never, never gone before, but our Lord
has. And he's tasted it. And no man
can say, well, God does not know what death is. Jesus does never
taste of that, yes. Every man can know he has. His
taste is what that is. Then we have a picture of Him
bringing many sons unto glory. It became Him for whom are all
things and by whom are all things, that is God the Father, in bringing
many sons unto glory. But He brought them to glory.
through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And it is that
picture then of our Lord in this work, in all of his work of redemption,
in the ransom that he paid, the death that he died, the life
that he lives, his intercession in heaven, in all that he does
in the lives of his people, the grace of the Lord, the faith
that he gives them, all of those things. He is the one that brings
a people, many sons, unto glory. We mourn those that have gone
before, those that we've lost, many that are in bereavement
at this present time. Sometimes it's hard to lose sight
of the sorrow and the loss and the empty place. But when we
view that this is what the Lord has desired, Father, I will that
they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. And would
we keep the Lord from his people, his people from the Lord, that
they do not enter into that which the Lord has prepared for them?
The whole aim is to finish our course, as the Apostle says,
with joy, to finish it and to be with the Lord and to be with
Christ, which is far better. I hope it is with us as we think
of the Thessalonian church, to wait for His Son from heaven. There is that expectation, that
thinking, of a future glory, of a heaven that awaits, and
that we might have this prayer and desire, Lord, that I might
be amongst those sons of God. And Paul writes to the Romans,
he speaks of the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit, giving
us the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father, no more
a servant, but called sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. But then we have another picture
of our Lord going from Him, bringing the many sons unto glory, God
the Father doing this through His beloved Son. And we have
the picture of Him at the head of that company as the captain
of our salvation, one that is going before a leader, one that
does show the way, one that does give strength to his people.
If we can look at Hezekiah, when Assyria came against them, what
a beautiful captain, what a beautiful type of Christ he was, that exhorted
the people to trust in their God. to lean upon him, to look
to him. The people rested themselves
on the words of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. And it is the
Lord is that same captain. He leads the way. He goes the
way before. He shows the way. He endures
all what those that are going behind him endure. He is the first fruits, the first
begotten. from the dead. We're to see him
then in this picture, to see him as our leader, our captain. Then we have the picture of him
succoring the tempted. This comes to the end of the
chapter and we read in verse 17 and 18, Therefore in all things
it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, why? That
he might be a faithful, merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For
in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted. not only of him in glory, not
only of him as the captain, not only of him as bringing many
sons unto glory, but also of a succorer to them as they go
through this wilderness world in their temptations, in their
sorrows. He knew what sore temptations
are, and he is able to succor them, to bring his word, suited
to their case. Do we know what it is to have
the Lord bring His Word by His Spirit to our remembrance, or
through the ministry of the Word, speak to us and then calm our
minds, that it is a refuge to us, a hiding place to us, the
healing Word, He sent His Word and healed them, that Word that
does put to flight the adversary. When our Lord was tempted, he
answered Satan with, it is written, and it is written again. And
in the end, Satan, he left him. We are exhorted to resist the
devil, and he will flee from us. But it is wearing. There's a trying path. There's a path where we need
succor. We need help. We need relief,
we need strengthening. And the one that is set before
us, the picture here, our Lord is that one. And yet when we
think of our Lord in the garden, sweating great drops of blood,
and the angels came, ministering to him, strengthening him, and
yet those things that he went through were so that not angels,
but he, might succour the people of God. In all the pictures that
we have here, but we see Jesus, they're all things that relate
so closely to us. It's not viewing someone that
doesn't relate to us at all. It does. All what the Lord has
set before us, in his flesh and blood, in his humility, in his
suffering of death, in the crown of a saviour, in that bring many
sons to glory. All these things, they all relate
to us. They are joining, as it were,
the Lord with his people, the shepherd with his sheep, the
saviour to sinners. His death, His sufferings, His
path here below, to the lives of His people and their experience,
His glory and His exaltation in heaven, to the eventual exaltation
of the people of God. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how in this chapter the
Apostle exalts Him, way above the angels, and sets him forth
to sinners in a way that I trust it shall be that we're drawn
to him and attracted to him. I, if I be lifted up above the
earth, will draw all men unto him, unto me. May we be like
the Greeks, so as we would see Jesus and then be able to say,
but we see Jesus. and then feel that his disciples
did, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. But we see Jesus, who is made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honour, that he, by the grace of God, should taste
death for every man. 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. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.