Consider Christ Jesus - II

Q: What does the Bible say about the role of Jesus as our mediator?

Jesus is our mediator who fully reveals God to us and fulfills the law on our behalf. In Hebrews 2, we learn that Jesus is the designated mediator who represents us before God. As He manifested the word of God, His role confirms that He is the ultimate communication from God. Jesus fulfills the law perfectly, allowing Him to be our representative and intercessor. His unique combination of divine and human natures enables Him to communicate God's will to us while also bearing our sins. Essentially, He unites us with God, as indicated in John 17:20-21, where He prays for unity among believers through His relationship with the Father.

Q: Why is the suffering of Christ important for salvation?

Christ's suffering is critical because it provides the necessary atonement for our sins, allowing us to be reconciled to God. The suffering of Christ is at the heart of salvation because it addresses the curse of sin that binds humanity. Hebrews 2:9 states that Jesus tasted death for every man, which signifies that He truly experienced death in its fullness. His suffering fulfills the requirement for justice while showcasing God's mercy. By His sacrifice, Jesus reconciled us to God. This dual necessity—suffering for atonement and divine authority for justification—ensures a complete redemption that is only possible through Christ. As Romans 5:8 informs us, God demonstrates His love for us through Christ’s death, affirming that we are justified and made right before Him.

Q: How do we understand Christ's victory over death?

Christ's victory over death is foundational for our hope, as He has conquered sin and its consequences for those who believe. In Hebrews 2:14-15, it is highlighted that through His death, Jesus destroyed the power of death held by Satan and freed those in bondage to fear. This victory is essential for believers because it assures us that death no longer holds dominion over us. Instead, in Christ, we are promised eternal life, characterized not by fear but by hope. This hope is rooted in Christ's resurrection, where He defeated death once for all, as depicted in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57. Consequently, those who are in Christ can confidently face death, understanding that it is merely a passage to eternal fellowship with God.

Q: Why is it important to listen to Jesus' teachings?

Listening to Jesus' teachings is vital as they represent the ultimate revelation of God and guide us in the truth. Hebrews 2 emphasizes the importance of listening to Jesus, the final messenger of God. The text warns against neglecting such a profound salvation that comes from Him. Jesus' teachings not only reveal God's character and will but also provide us with the necessary guidance for living in accordance with His purposes. Ignoring His words can lead to spiritual drift, similar to a vessel leaking water. To truly grasp the treasure of salvation and remain anchored in faith, believers are encouraged to give earnest heed to what Christ has communicated through His life, death, and resurrection, as well as the writings of His inspired apostles.

God spake to our fathers where
the prophets hath in these last days spoken by some. There won't
be another voice heard. He's God. He's the perfect messenger. He's the messenger of the covenant.
He's the last one. So let us listen. Let's give
earnest heed lest at any time we let them slip. The reference
here is like a leaking vessel. that the water slips out, slips
away. Before you know it, it's gone. How do we let these mercies and
revelations slip away? Well, when they're preached,
we don't receive them. Our Lord said, I have manifested
your word to the men you gave me, and here's the main thing,
well the important thing for us, They have received them.
I have manifested their word and they have received them.
And they believe that I came from thee. We let them slip by
not receiving them. Secondly, we let them slip being
occupied and engrossed in too many other things. Our generation has too many playparties. Too many playparties. Too many
things. to take us away from the Word
of God. Too much to read. I read an old
Puritan who said, back in his days, there were only two books
in every home, only two, the Bible and Pilgrim's Proclus.
We've got too much reading material that doesn't point us to God,
but takes us away from God. Our newspaper every day is enough
to corrupt your mind for a week. So we let them slip by becoming
engrossed in too many other things, and then finally we let them
slip when God is pleased to leave us to our delusions. Will God
leave a man? Yes, sir. It says that in 2 Thessalonians. They received not the love of
the truth, so he left them to their error. and their delusions,
false delusions. For he said if the word, verse
2, spoken by angels, that is spoken by prophets, angels in
the word, God did speak through angels, but usually it's a messenger,
an angel is a messenger from God. So if the word spoken by
prophets and angels, messengers from God, back in the Old Testament,
if it was steadfast And the folks who would not hear it, the folks
who would not hear those angels and those prophets, if they perished,
that's what it says, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast
and every transgression and disobedience, refusing to hear it, received
a just recompense of reward, which is God's wrath, how are
we, how are we, how shall we escape the wrath of God if we
neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken
by our Lord, by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That God has
spoken to us by his Son, and was confirmed unto us by his
disciples. We've heard the Lord, and we've
heard his choice of disciples. Turn to the book of Mark, chapter
3. We've heard, well, we're turning
right now to one of his writers and reading what he had to say.
We have the word of the Lord and we have the word of those
whom he sent and whom he inspired to write the scripture. Mark
3, verse 15. Isn't this a blessing for us
to stand here? You don't have to believe what I say, but you
have to believe what I read. See what I'm saying? I say something
and then I say, turn, let's read it. So Mark 3, verse 13, and
he goeth up into a mountain, and called unto him whom he would,
and they came unto him, and he ordained twelve, that they should
be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and
to have the power to heal sicknesses and cast out devils. We have
the accurate written word from every one of those meetings.
all that they saw and heard and experienced at the feet of our
Lord. And verse 4 of my text, Hebrews 2, says God bore them
witness. Those disciples, those Peter,
James, John, Paul, all of God, also bearing them witness with
signs and wonders and different miracles and gifts of the Holy
Ghost according to his will. I was thinking this evening of
all the evidences that our generation has and the signs and the proof
that we have of God's mercy and salvation in Christ Jesus. Let's
think of several. First of all, we have the completed
canon of scripture, the Old Testament and the New Testament, completed.
The prophets and the apostles We can study the Old Testament
prophets, all of their writings, their pictures of Christ, their
pictures of the Messiah, their prophecies of the Messiah, and
then we can turn to the New Testament and read from our Lord and from
the apostles and see the fulfillment of those Old Testament prophecies.
Abraham didn't have the scriptures to turn to. Moses wrote. He didn't have the New Testament.
Daniel. These apostles had the Old Testament.
We've got the prophecies, the promise, and the fulfillment.
Adequately fulfilled. All we have to do is read it.
We are the words of our Lord Himself. He said no man has seen
God at any time. But the only begotten Son hath
revealed Him. He told his disciples, you've
seen me, you've seen God. You've heard me, you've heard
God. The words of our Lord himself, we have. We have the early church
and its ministry. We have Timothy, Titus, we have
Philemon, we have Silas, we have all of those men that walked
with God. We have their testimonies, we
have their experiences, we have their sermons, we have their
prayers. We have recorded history from
the days of Christ, from the Roman government, the Caesars,
the people back then. We have Josephus, the historian. We have recorded history from
the days of Christ to read. And we have the testimony of
men Augustine, All of those old great men, Ignatius, Polycarp,
all of those men who lived in the days of the apostles, we
have their writings. We have the men who preached
the word through the history of the church. We have the mighty
men God has used, the reformers, the men whose names live today
in the annals of church history. We have their testimonies. We
could read it if we just take the time. And they all speak of the crucified,
risen, exalted Lord Jesus Christ. We have songs. There's one in
our book written in the year 200 A.D. The church has been
singing that hymn 1,800 years. So how are we going to escape if we neglect so great salvation
which is spoken by our confirmed by those who heard him and those
who saw him, those who saw him after his resurrection and men
down through the years who by experience and the grace of God
tell us the truth. Are we going to listen to these
shaved tails of today that know nothing? All they read is contemporary
things written by their peers who have no time to study the
history and study the Bible and study the word of God. I'm going
to read this book. I'm going to bury myself in this
book and find out who God is and who I am and who Christ is
and how I can know that God. I'm not going to be satisfied
until I know. Are you? Verse 5, For unto the angels
hath he not put in subjection the world to come? Unto whose
reign and rule has he put the world to come in subjection?
Christ. Not the angels, but Christ Jesus. God did not put in subjection
the world to come under the angels, but to the Son. John 17, our Lord in his prayer
said, Father, thou hast given me authority over all flesh. In Matthew 28, when he sent his
disciples out to preach, he said, All power is given to me in heaven
and earth. So you go in my name and preach
this gospel. And here's the prophecy, it's
taken from the book of Psalms. In verse 6, for one in a certain
place, that's David writing in Psalm 8, I believe it's David,
saying, what is man? He wrote this, he said, when
I consider the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, the things
thou hast made, what is man? That thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man that thou visiteth him? Who's he talking about?
He's talking about Christ. This is Christ he's talking about.
And he's the man. And he's the representative man.
And he is us. And we're in him. We've always
been in him. We've chosen in him from the
foundation of the world. Always been in him. He's our
representative. He's our head. Thou madest him,
righteous in your margin, for a little while lower than the
angels. He didn't make him a little lower
than the angels, he was a heap lower than the angels, a whole
lot lower than the angels. But for a little while he was
made flesh. For a little while he was made
lower than the angels. But not now. Thou crownest him
with glory and honor, and didst set him over the work of thy
hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.
Or in that he put all in subjection unto his feet, he left nothing
and no one that's not put unto him. Do you believe that? Well, you turn to the book of
1 Corinthians chapter 15, and I'll show you that written real
clearly and plainly in 1 Corinthians 15. He left nothing that's not
put unto Christ. 1 Corinthians 15. Let's just start with verse 21,
1 Corinthians 15 verse 21. For since by man came
death, Adam, by man, Jesus Christ, came life, resurrection from
the dead. For as in Adam everybody died, so in Christ all who are
in Christ are made alive. But every man in his own order,
Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are his. They that
are Christ's, they that belong to him, they that the Father
gave him at his coming. That's when they'll be raised.
Then cometh the end. What's this now? When he shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, this Messiah, this Christ,
even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule, all authority,
all power. For he does, has, must, will
reign. till he hath put all enemies
under his feet. And the last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death, all death, all death, spiritual death, physical
death, plant death, all death. That's the last enemy. For he
hath put all things under his feet. But when he said all things
are put under him, it's manifest that one person's accepted. Only
one. And that's the one that put all
things under him. That's the only thing in the universe, in
creation, topside or bottom, that hasn't been put under Christ,
is God the Father. Everybody and everything else
is under him. Belongs to him, is his, to do with what he will.
God the Father, that's the only one. And when all things shall
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself. He's subject
unto him that put all things unto him, that God may be all
and in all. Now let's look at verse 9. Verse
8 says, Thou hast put all things in subjection unto his feet,
for in that he put all in subjection unto him he left nothing, nothing
that's not put unto him. But now, we don't see that in
reality, do we? Looks like Satan's kicking up
his heels pretty good. Demons and evil spirits and wicked
men and wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation,
all going on. Right now we don't see all things
put under him, but I tell you what we do see, we see the one
under whom all things have been put. Look at verse 9. We see
Jesus. Now we see Jesus. We're chosen
few. We are blessed. We are blessed
people because we see him. How do you see him, preacher?
With his natural eyes? No, sir. I see him with eyes
of faith. He said to his disciples, blessed
are your eyes, they see. And your ears, they hear. Let
me read to you that in Matthew 13. Matthew 13, verse 15. We see Jesus. We see with the
mind and with the heart. We see Jesus. Matthew 13, 15. This people's heart is wax gross.
Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes have been closed. Isn't that our generation? Just
shut their eyes. Lest at any time they should
see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand
with their heart and should be converted. I'd heal them. Blessed
are your eyes they see and your ears they hear. For verily I
say unto you that many prophets and righteous men in the Old
Testament days have desired to see what you see. They have desired
to see what you see and have not seen these things. And to
hear the things you've heard and have not heard them. What
a blessed generation. What a blessed generation we
are. We see Jesus. We see him, first now we see
Jesus who was made by little while lower than the angels.
Why? Why did God make him lower than the angels? Why did God
subject him to the wearing this wicked likeness of wicked flesh
and sinful flesh. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God took upon himself the form of man, was
made in the likeness of flesh. Why? Well, I'll tell you why. Here it is right here. For the
suffering of death. That's why. That's why God's
Son was made flesh. That's why for a little while
he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. That's why for
a little while he was made a man, lower than the angels, born of
a woman under the law for the suffering of death. You see,
God can't die. God can satisfy. He can keep
the law. And God can satisfy and honor
his justice. He does. He does right. The judge
of the earth does right. Truth and equity. are the foundations
of his kingdom. But God can't suffer, and God
can't die. Well, man can't satisfy. Man
can't honor the law, and man can't satisfy God's justice.
So, the God became a man. That as a man, he could suffer,
as God could satisfy. That's right. As man, Jesus Christ
was made a little lower than the angels, took on himself the
likeness of flesh for one purpose, for the suffering of death. You
see, sin, when it's finished, brings forth death. The soul
that sinneth will die. I've sinned, I've got to die.
So my mediator and my redeemer became me in the flesh. But he had something I don't
have. He had the ability to satisfy God. He had the ability to keep
the law. He had the ability and the power
and the grace not to sin. He had the holiness that pleased
God. And when he went to the cross, he died. He died. He died. Stand at the cross and
you'll hear those two natures. Listen. Stand at the cross. Hear the man. I thirst. Hear the man, my God, my God,
why dost thou forsake me? Hear the man agonizing, suffering. He is in his sorrow like my sorrow. Wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
me in his fierce anger. Hear the man. Stay around six
hours and you'll hear the God, the God-man. It's finished! That's a whole lot different
from my God is my God. Why have you done this to me,
my Father? Into thy hands I commend my spirit."
That's the God man. Justice honored, law satisfied,
so I commend my spirit and all my people into thy hands. That he, by the grace of God,
should taste death for every man. And we'll come back to that. But I want to deal with this
taste death. That he should taste death. We don't use that term
now, but John Gill says that's a Jewish phrase. Old John Gill
was familiar with the Talmud and all the other Jewish writings
of the old rabbis and the people in the Old Testament days. And
he says this tasting death is a Jewish phrase met with often
in their writings, which signifies the reality of death. The reality
of death. Taste death. That is, the man
who tastes death, he really dies. And our Lord Jesus Christ didn't
swoon. He didn't fake death. He tasted
it. He tasted the bitterness of death
for sin. He tasted and felt in his soul
the curse of the law. He made his soul an offering
for sin. And he tasted death, darkness. And then he laid in the tomb.
Not for long. But he literally died. tasted
all of the fullness of death, nothing was held back. God cut
him no slack. Isn't that right? No slack. And I'll tell you this, those
who reject him and refuse him, he's going to cut you no slack
either. You can write that down. If God spared not his own son, who in the world would want to
be one of those enemies against him. I would. But we see him crowned with glory
and honor now. Do away with your pictures of
Christ hanging on a cross. That's not where he is. He's
seated in glory. He's crowned with glory and honor.
Do away with your pictures of poor little Jesus, a little baby
in the arms of the Madonna. Do away with your pictures of
the sufferer on the tree and the servant and picture in your mind the
exalted Savior, crowned with glory and honor. I heard a voice, John said, and
I turned to see who spoke, and I saw Him, King of kings and
Lord of lords, and I fell at His feet as a dead man. And when
He comes again, we're going to see Him, not as He was, but as
He is, crowned with glory and honor. For verse 10, let's look
at verse 10, it became him, who is this him? It became him. This him is the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit is God. It became him. Mercy, love, and
grace is becoming to God. The love of God, Mike just sang
it, the love of God. How rich, how pure. He is merciful. He delights to show mercy. Could
we with ink the ocean fill, where the sky is a parchment made,
and every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
to write the love of God above, or drain that ocean dry? Nor
could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from
sky to sky. God is love. It's becoming to God. I will
be merciful, he said. I will be gracious. He delights
to show mercy. David said in Psalm 130, Lord,
if you should mark iniquity, none of us could stand, but thank
God this forgiveness would be. God delights to show mercy. God
takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He takes pleasure
in holiness. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I'm pleased. It became him. for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things. That's becoming the God of such
power, such greatness, such holiness is becoming. You know, if you
ever notice this, that when you see these travelogues and the
National Geographic picture and the gods that are all over the
nations, they're ugly. Buddha sits there like a monster
down in Kamakura, Japan. All the rest of them are gargoyles
and awful looking things and people afraid of their God. They
throw their children into the fire to appease their God. They
want to appease my God. My God's love. That's right. It becomes him in bringing many
sons and daughters to glory. It's the coming of God. He's
love. He's mercy. He's grace. His wrath
is only demonstrated against those that hate him and those
who want to put him out of business. And if anybody is on the trail
of trying to put God out of business, then God's going to deal with
him in judgment. But anybody, anybody anywhere under any circumstances
who wants to worship God will find peace and a welcome and
mercy. That's right. It's the coming
of God. It's bringing many sons to glory. Who's that? Those sons, that's
us. Sons of God. Look at those next verses, verse
11. He that is sanctified and they
that are sanctified are one. For which cause? He's not ashamed
to call them brethren. He called us brethren. His brothers. Family. Family. Look at the next
verse. Saying, I declare thy name unto
my brethren. In the midst of the church I
sing praise to thee. That's what he said from the
cross. That's Psalm 22, the Psalm of the cross. He said, I declare
your name to my brethren. Who's he talking about, the angels?
Oh no, he's talking about us, brothers. And again, I'll put
my trust in him and again, I and the children God gave me. The
children God gave me. My brothers, my brethren, the
children God gave me. My children. You know what he
said to his disciples? I go to my father and your father,
we're brothers. That's right. My father, Christ
the Lord, stood in front of his disciple after he died on that
cross and the rose, and he said, I'm going to my father and your
father. Because he prayed in John 17,
the glory which you've given me, I've given them, and I just
love them as you love me. Now my friends, that's not a
monster. That's a merciful, gracious,
loving, kind God to those who bow. Go back to that last line
of verse 9, that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man. Who are those men? Verse 11,
my brethren. Verse 12, my brethren. Verse
13, the children God gave me. Those are the ones for whom he
tasted that awful, awful bitterness of death. for everyone. You don't
have to taste it. Your death is not going to be
like his. For as much then as the children, those brethren,
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took the same. Flesh and blood. The same. That through death, his death,
tasting death, he might destroy him that had the power of death.
He destroyed He destroyed sin, shall I have dominion over you?
Sin is the sting of death. You're not going to suffer in
death what Christ did. My God, why have you forsaken
me? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's gone. No wrath. There's no condemnation of them
who are in Christ. Therefore being justified by
faith, we're at peace with God. He has destroyed Satan, he has
destroyed sin, he has destroyed the curse of the law, and he
has already destroyed death. I've got to go to sleep someday.
The number one way for me to get from here to Gloria is to
go to sleep. That's the only way. There's no way around it
now. I know we're praying for our
Lord to come, and he may, but death is not death for a believer.
It's sleep. Christ said, he that believeth on me shall never die.
He'll never know what it is to die alone, to die without hope. to die under the curse and judgment
of sin and never know. Death is a peaceful experience
for God's people because he suffered. And deliver them, verse 15, who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
He took the fear out of death when he took the sting out. All
right, for verily he took not only in the nature of angels.
There were two falls, you know that, and I do too. The angels
fell first. Jude wrote about him, he said
the angels that kept not their first estate, but sinned against
God and following Lucifer, they fell and they reserved in everlasting
chains of darkness unto that day of judgment. But he took
on him the seed of Abraham. He announced to Abraham in Genesis
22, 16, listen to this, Genesis 22, 16. By myself, God said in 2216 Genesis,
by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord. He swore by himself
because he could swear by no greater. For because thou hast
done this thing and hast not withheld thy son, thy only son,
that in blessing I will bless thee, in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the heaven, as the sand which is
on the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. In Abraham's
seed. Preacher, is that Jews? Is that
Israel? No. Galatians 3. Turn over there
and I'll show you who Abraham's seed is. But remember the promise
now. He said, In thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed. Thy seed shall possess the gate
of his enemies. Galatians 3 verse 16. Got it? Now, to Abraham and his
seed where the promise is made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, to thy seed, which is Christ. That's where
you inherit, you're an heir of God, you're a joint heir in Christ. And that's what he's talking
about here in my text in Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. He took not on him
the nature of angels, verse 16, Hebrews 2. He took on him the
seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things, it
behooved him to be made like his brethren. Now listen. It
became him. It became him to be made like
his brother. That was his grace and mercy,
his love. It behooved him. Behooved means
necessary. It behooved him. It was necessary,
owing to the nature of the matter at hand, the fulfillment of justice
and love. He's got to become a man. It
behooved him, it was necessary, that God may be just and justified. So in all things, it behooved
him, it was necessary, to be made like his brethren. Because
if he didn't, he couldn't be a merciful, couldn't be a faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God. And he couldn't make
reconciliation for the sins of the people. But in that he himself
has suffered, he's able. This last verse, look at it.
In that he himself hath suffered, he is able to succor. He's able
to comfort. In that he suffered, in that
he hath suffered, he is able to comfort. And he's the only
one who can. Nobody else has anything to offer
but our blessed Lord. Oh, what a promise, what a blessed
promise.

Consider Christ Jesus - II

What does the Bible say about the role of Jesus as our mediator?

Why is the suffering of Christ important for salvation?

How do we understand Christ's victory over death?

Why is it important to listen to Jesus' teachings?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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Consider Christ Jesus - II

What does the Bible say about the role of Jesus as our mediator?

Why is the suffering of Christ important for salvation?

How do we understand Christ's victory over death?

Why is it important to listen to Jesus' teachings?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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