Well, let's open our Bibles this
evening to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 and looking
at the last few verses in this chapter beginning in verse 14. Hebrews 2 verse 14. For as much
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, and delivered
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that
he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor
them that are tempted." I want you to notice that in these verses
that I've just read, that we have the first mention in the
letter of Hebrews of the Lord Jesus Christ as the high priest. We see that in verse 17, that
he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. Now, the subject
of the high priest is one that we see many times in the letter
of Hebrews. I counted 34 references to the
high priest in this letter. And in Hebrews, it is only in
Hebrews, in this New Testament letter that speaks of Christ
as our high priest. In this letter, which was especially
written to Hebrews, to Hebrews, to those Jews who had professed
faith in Christ, but were being tempted to turn back to Judaism,
you know, They were familiar with the high priest because
the nation of Israel, that covenant that they were given at Mount
Sinai, the covenant that God made with Israel, the office
of the high priest, we might say was the most important office
of anyone in that old dispensation. Why is a high priest so important? Well, for you and I, I would
say this evening the office of the high priest is so important
because there would be no salvation if we did not have a high priest. There would be no keeping of
us. If you look over to chapter 7 just a moment here in Hebrews,
the office of the high priest is so very important. This is
the reason this This subject is so important and so interesting
to you and I tonight. In verse 25 of chapter 7, we
read, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. For such an high priest becometh
us who is holy. harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth
not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice first for
his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once
when he offered up himself." I was thinking of the office
of the high priest in that old dispensation He was so important
because he was the only man, remember this, in that tabernacle
and then in the temple, which is so symbolic, patterns of things
done in heaven, the scripture says, patterns of things in heaven. The high priest was the only
man that ever went into the Holy of Holies. He's the only man,
and he went in there as a representative for the nation. He never went
in there without blood. But that's not the only function
of the high priest under that old dispensation. Did you know
he was the one who blessed the people? Look back to Numbers
with me just a moment. Numbers chapter six. He was a
high priest on the day of atonement after he had taken the blood
into the into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the mercy
seat after he'd come out and confessed the sins of the nation
of Israel upon the head of the scapegoat. And that goat was
led away never to be seen again, picturing the Lord Jesus Christ
removing our sins. Isn't that wonderful? Removing
our sins as far as the east is from the west. And then it was
the work of the high priest to bless the people. Here in Numbers
chapter 6, they were given this blessing. The Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron. He's the high priest. He's the
one who has gone into the holy of holies. Speak unto Aaron and
unto his son, saying, On this wise you shall bless the children
of Israel, saying unto them, Here's the blessing. It's a threefold
blessing, isn't it? Reminding us of the blessed trinity
of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The
Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee. and give thee peace. And they,
that is the priests, shall put my name upon the children of
Israel, and I will bless them. And do you remember in Luke,
Luke chapter 24, as the Lord led his disciples out unto Bethany
and was separated from them, taken up into heaven, received
up into heaven, the last thing that he did Here in Luke chapter
24 and verse 49. And behold, I send
the promise of my father upon you, but tarry you in the city
of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. And
he led them out as far as to Bethany and Otis, and he lifted
up his hands and blessed them. That's the last image that his
disciples had of the Lord Jesus Christ with his hands raised,
blessing his people, his church. Isn't that to remind us that
tonight he is there as our high priest and he still is blessing
his people. Every day we receive blessings
from the Lord. His mercies, the scripture said,
are new every morning. But I want us to look tonight,
if you will, back in Hebrews chapter 2. That old covenant
that was given to Israel at Mount Sinai, it had a priest, a high
priest, and the new covenant that is mentioned here in Hebrews,
It is here that we are especially instructed concerning the high
priest of our profession, of the new covenant. And I want
to point out four things that are told us here in these verses
that we read, Hebrews 2, verses 14 through 18, about our high
priest. First, the high priest is of
the same nature as the children. Notice that in the first part
of verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same. The high priest is of the same
nature as the children. The children, that is you and
I, we are flesh and blood, so he likewise took part of the
same. Now, as we think about this,
I have two parts. Number one, who are the children?
Who are the children? It says, for as much then as
the children are partakers of flesh and blood. Who are the
children? Well, the children are those,
as you look in verse 13, that were given to him. Here are the
children. as much as the children were
partakers of flesh and blood." Who are the children? They are
those who were given to Him. And as I said last week in those
verses that we looked at, it was for them that He tasted death. When we think about the children
of God, in respect to the Father, we are His children by adoption. But in respect to the Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we are His children by donation. We were given unto Him by the
Father. This is what we read. This is
what our Lord said. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Anyone who does not come to Christ,
who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, was not given to
Him. Because He said, all, not most,
not many, but all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. How do we
come to Him? We come to Him by faith. Trusting
in Him, we come to Him. And then we know, because we
trust in Him, that we are the children who were given to him
by the Father. In Isaiah chapter nine and verse
six, the promise of the son given, of the child born. The scripture
there says, his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the
Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The Everlasting
Father. We were given to him. His children
were given to him as his children. We were given to him in several
relationships, but tonight we're just thinking about this one.
We were given to him as his children, as his seed. In Isaiah chapter
53, a chapter that speaks to us of the suffering Savior and
the successful Savior, one of the verses tells us this. It
pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. Who made his soul an offering
for sin? God did. God bruised him. God's justice bruised him. Oh
yes, the stripes and the spear and the nails of those Roman
soldiers bruised his body, but my friends, it was the justice
of God that he was satisfied. It pleased the Father, the scripture
said. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. Now listen, he shall see his
seed. This one who was made an offering
for sin, this one that it pleased the Father to bruise, the suffering
substitute, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
he was raised from the dead, never to die again, to live forevermore,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. But you see, it says there, he
shall see his seed, the Savior, the suffering Savior. Turn with me to Psalm 22, just
a moment. Psalm 22, the Psalm of the cross. It begins with the words that
he spoke from the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? But I want you to notice down,
if you will, to verse 30. A seed shall serve him. A seed. A man's seed is his children. A seed, who are we reading about
in this psalm? We're reading about the Savior.
It's all about Christ, isn't it? You go through this psalm
and it tells us exactly what he experienced there on the cross.
But then it tells us, a seed shall serve him. It, that is
his seed, shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare
His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath
done this. So as we think tonight in our
text that tells us, for as much then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, who are the children? They are those who
were given Him. The second part of this is, he
took part of the nature of the children. For as much then as
the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same. That is, the same nature. Our nature is that of flesh and
blood. So he took part of the same. Notice in verse 16, The writer
tells us, verily, he took not on him the nature of angels. He did not take part of the nature
of angels. He took part of the nature of
his children. And this reminds us, for him
to take part of his children of the same nature, that means
he existed before he came into this world. When did he take
part? of the nature of his children.
When he joined to his person that body that was prepared him
by God the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. That's when he took part of the
nature of his children. Or as the Apostle Paul writes,
when the fullness of the time was God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman. This is when He took part of
the nature of His children. And you notice, He took part. Look at what the verse, for as
much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
He also, He did this Himself. The Father sent the Son, yes,
absolutely. God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son. But the Eternal Son, He took
part. That's what the Scripture here
tells us. He took part of the same. It was out of His love. for His children, those who were
given unto Him of the Father, that He took part of our nature. God sent Him, yes, but as we
read in Philippians 2 and verse 7, but made Himself, that is
the Son of God, He made Himself. of no reputation, and took upon
him, or took the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men. The father loved his people whom
he had chosen, and gave his son, but the son, he loves those who
were given to him, and he took part. He did this himself. This is what we call the Incarnation,
isn't it? We're all familiar with that
term here tonight, the Incarnation. The word was made flesh. The
word flesh and carne in Greek, He was made flesh, His Incarnation. This is what is celebrated each
year at Christmas time, isn't it? The birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ. when he took part, as the scripture
here says, that he partook of flesh and blood. He took on him, notice in the
last part of verse 16, first he said, for verily he took not
on him the nature of angels. God provided no savior for the
angels that fell. He didn't take on him the nature
of angels, but notice it says, he took on him the seed of Abraham. You remember that promise that
was given unto Abraham, in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed. He took on him the seed of Abraham. His children, his bride, We have
real flesh and blood, so he took part of the same. He became bone
of our bone and flesh of our flesh. We know this was necessary
for him to have the right of redemption as a kinsman redeemer. The point is he had a real body. The one exception between him
as man and us is that he had no sin. He was the one man who
had no sin. Adam, when he was first created,
he was a man. He had flesh and blood. He had
no sin. So sin, a person, a man, to be
a man, it's not necessary to have sin. And the Lord Jesus
Christ, He took part of the same. our nature, but he had no sin. The high priest, think about
this, in that old covenant, the high priest, he had the same
nature of those for whom he served, the people of Israel. They all
had the same nature. But our high priest, while he
has the same nature as us, he also has another nature. the God nature. And that's the
reason we're careful to say He has two natures, but He's one
person. He did not take upon Him a person. He took upon Him a body. As that body was first conceived,
produced in the Virgin Mary, it was joined to His person. So there's not two persons in
this one individual. There's one person, but he has
two natures. That's our high priest. That's
our high priest tonight. All right, notice the second
thing we're told here about our high priest. The high priest,
by his death, destroyed the devil. Notice that in the last part
of verse 14. that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Well, first
of all, what is meant by the devil having the power of death? Well, it certainly doesn't mean
that the devil ever had the power on his own to take the lives
of other men, or take the lives of men. He never had that power. We have this example in the book
of Job, when God spoke to Satan and asked him if he had considered
his servant Job. Now, Satan would have killed
him. There's no question about that. He would have taken his
life. He didn't have that power. God
gave him the power that he exercised to take away everything Job had
materially. and to even take away his health,
but he didn't have the power to take away his life. That power
only God has. God alone has the power to give. He's the only one who can give
life, and He's the only one who may take life. That power is
in His hands, in God's hands. It was never in the hands of
the devil. What does it mean then, that
he had the power of death? It means that he was the one
who was permitted by God to tempt Adam to sin, and when Adam sinned,
he brought death into the world. The Lord Jesus Christ, you remember
in John chapter eight, he said this about the devil, he was
a murderer from the beginning. From the beginning, back in the
beginning. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth, and he created man on the sixth day. And then soon after that, man
failed. He was a murderer. The devil
was a murderer from the beginning. He continues, as John Gill said,
to tempt men to sin. You ever tempted to sin? The
devil tempts men to sin, and this is the way he works. He
tempts men to sin, and then when the man gives in to the temptation
and sins, then he accuses the man of sin, as if there were
no hope, and then he terrifies men with the fear of death. This is what the Scripture says.
Likewise, took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. How did he destroy the devil?
He did so by his death. He did so. Christ destroyed the
power of the devil by his death. For him to die, for Christ to
die, our high priest, for him to die, he had to have the same
nature as the children. Because God cannot die. But he
had to be more than a man to satisfy. If he had taken the
nature of angels, he could not have died. Angels are spirit
beings. They cannot die. This was part
of the first gospel promise. And it was spoken to Satan. It
was spoken to the devil there in the Garden of Eden. The seed
of the woman shall bruise your head, shall crush your head. And thus he destroyed the power
of the devil. Look in 1 John, just a moment,
over a few pages, 1 John chapter three and verse eight. 1 John 3 and verse 8 says, he that
committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. Now notice, for this purpose, the Son of God was manifested
that he might destroy the works of the devil. Our high priest, by his death,
he destroyed the power of the devil. Now third, I want us to
think about this. The high priest delivers from
the fear of death. Notice that in verse 15. He took part of the same, that
is the nature of his children, that through death, through his
death, he might destroy him who had the power of death, that
is the devil. and deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now, some say that this especially
refers to the Jews, that under that old covenant, they were
kept in bondage by fear of death because there were so many commandments
that carried a penalty of death. I mean, if you violated the Sabbath
day, the penalty was death. If you were to light a fire in
your house on Sabbath, and you were reported, the elders were
to stone you. Now, they were always in bondage.
Through fear of death, they were always kept in bondage. There's
no doubt about that. Why? Because there were so many
commandments, and to break many of them, The penalty was death. That's true, but I don't think
that it necessarily refers to the Jews. I believe that all
men, by nature, are in bondage through the fear of death. You
know, there have been two things true of every nation, every nation
that's been discovered. Now, I don't suppose there are
any more nations left to be discovered. But in my lifetime, I know they
have found tribes and nations of people that they didn't know
existed in the jungles and in areas that had never been discovered. But you know, there's two things
about Every nation that's always been true, no matter where they
were, no matter how backward they were in the things
of this world, every nation has always believed there's a God. Never discovered a nation that
did not know that there's a God. And number two, did not offer
some sacrifice to the God or the gods. Man seemingly knows
that he has offended against God and needs some sacrifice,
some propitiation to the gods or gods. Now, how does a high
priest remove the fear of death? He does so by the truth that
he died in our stead. He died in our place. He shows
us through His Word that death, and all of us are going to die
one day unless the Lord comes in our lifetime. But He shows
us in His Word that death is ours. It's part of the all things
that are ours. Death is. It's just as much ours
as life is. Look with me in 1 Corinthians
where the apostle tells us this. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. You remember this church, they
were somewhat divided over different ministers and Paul is telling
them that all things are yours. It doesn't matter if it's Paul
or Apollos or Peter, whatever preacher comes around, They're
all yours. They are to serve you. God's
given them for your benefit. Notice here. Verse 21, chapter 3. Therefore,
let no man glory in man, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Paulus, or Cephas,
or the world, or life, or death. All things present are things
to come, all things are yours. And you are Christ, and Christ
is God's. He shows us that all things are
given us in Christ, and death is one of these things. And if
you look in chapter 15 of I Corinthians, we see also in verse 55 and verse
56, that the sting of death is sin. Verse 55, O death, where is thy
sting? You know, when a bee stings,
it hurts, doesn't it? It gives you pain. Well, death,
where is your sting? How can it hurt you? O grave,
where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But my friends, if we have no
sin, And we don't. Christ has taken our sins. Our
substitute has suffered in our stead and in our place, and he
has removed our sins. And when he has removed our sins,
he has also removed the sting of death. Has no harm, has no
hurt for a child of God. The one who knows the Lord Jesus
Christ as his high priest, death doesn't come as a penalty. You
know, the penalty of sin is death, but death no longer comes to
a believer as a penalty because his sins have been removed by
Christ. But death comes to a believer
like a servant, like a servant to sever us from this present
evil world. That's all death is to us. It's ours. It's like a servant
who comes to usher us into the presence of our Savior. Now here's the last thing, the
fourth thing that we read here about our high priest in verse
17. The high priest is both merciful
and faithful. Merciful and faithful. Number
one, he must be merciful, thus he must be taken from among men. You know, men, we all experience
temptations, we experience troubles. I read this morning that verse
in Job, I think it's chapter 14, that reminds us that as sparks
fly upwards, so man that is born of woman is born unto trouble. We all experience troubles, trials,
and sorrows in this sinful world. Now, holy angels, They never
experienced any of these things. They've never experienced any
temptation or trial or trouble or sorrow. They couldn't serve
as a high priest. How could they be merciful? They've
never experienced any of these things. But the Lord Jesus Christ,
as our high priest, because he took part of our nature, He knows
by experience. Now as God, He knows these things,
yes, but He learned these things by the things that He suffered.
He learned these things by experience. He knows what it is to be tempted,
for He Himself was tempted, the scripture says, of Satan. Satan
came to Him, but when he came to Christ, he didn't find anything
in Christ. But he was tempted. He knows
what it is to be sorrowful. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. He knows what it is to be rejected. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. He knows what it is to be despised
by the world. And my friends, he knows something
by experience that no other man has ever known. He knows what
it is to be alone. I mean alone when the father
turned away from him. You see, he knows what it is
by experience, and it is through these things that he suffered
that he is able to succor. We don't use that word, do we?
Very often, if ever. What does it mean? Well, it means
to help. It means to aid. I want you to
look at what Paul said about a believer, a woman, a believer
in the church. He told this to the church in
Rome, if you look at Romans 16. And I want to point this out
to us to make a point. I command unto you, Phoebe, our
sister. which is a servant of the church
which is at Centuria, that you receive her in the Lord as becometh
saints, and that you assist her in whatsoever business she hath
need of you. Now notice, for she hath been
a succorer of many, and of myself also. Now my point is, Paul,
he could not have commended her more highly. He could not have
commended this woman more highly than he did. But you and I, when
we read this, we know she had her limitations. She did. She has been a succorer of many,
yes, but she had her limitations, as all men do. But our high priest,
he doesn't have any limitations. No matter what circumstance we
may find ourselves in, it's not a circumstance in which he cannot
help us, succor us, aid us. And the last thing, he must be
faithful. Not only merciful, but faithful.
You know, it was as man, the first Adam was proved unfaithful.
And it was now man, the second man, the second Adam rather,
who is faithful. He was faithful to God to do
all that he required. And he's faithful to his covenant
people to do all that is necessary in bringing us all safely home
to our Father's house. He's faithful. Let's look at
another verse and I'll close. In Jude, Jude, the last book
before Revelation, this small letter here, but notice what
we read. In the last few verses, Jude
verse 24, Now unto him that is able, who is this? This is our
high priest. This is who this is. This is
our great high priest. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise
God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both
now and ever. And the people said, amen. I didn't hear any people say
it. Amen. Okay. Let's sing a hymn and we'll
be dismissed in prayer. All right, let's all stand and
let's turn to hymn number 145. 145, one of my most favorite
hymns in this book, Hail Thou Once Despised Jesus.