Big Idea: Jesus earned the right to be called our Captain by his courage under fire.
- Hebrews 2:10.
- Jesus is called the “captain of our salvation” in this verse and I want this morning to pursue the military analogy that that puts forward.
- “Captain” is the Greek word “archegos” which means “pioneer, leader, author, the first one to lead the way.”
- Those who have served in the military will tell you that there is a world of difference between being under the command of some green lieutenant who only has book knowledge and an unsubstantiated amount of confidence compared to an officer who has been in the firefights and has displayed courage under fire.
- There was some question (and I’ll use an example from each party) about both Bill Clinton and George Bush serving as Commander-in-Chief when neither of them had served in war. In comparison, just to cite the most obvious example among our current crop of presidential contenders, no one would ever dispute the courage under fire that John McCain displayed in war. (That’s not an endorsement of McCain, just an observation.)
- Before Jesus, “brave” wasn’t a word you associated with God. Before Jesus, “courageous” wasn’t a word you associated with God.
- “Glorious?” Sure. “Omnipotent?” Yes. “Wise?” Absolutely. “Beautiful?” No doubt.
- But “brave?” When had God ever had a situation in which He had to show bravery?
- “Courage?” When had God ever had a situation in this He had to be courageous?
- But Jesus has earned our respect by being brave and courageous in the face of horrific spiritual warfare.
- The word “perfect” is interesting here.
- Is the Bible saying that Jesus was not sinless? No. Is the Bible saying that Jesus was imperfect because He wasn’t fully God? No.
- Jesus was perfect in sinlessness and righteousness. But Jesus, before He came to earth, could not be fully sympathetic to our plight as humans because, as God, He had never experienced what it was like to be a human. Certainly He was our creator and knew all about us, but, still, He had not experienced what it was like to be a human.
- Jesus coming to earth allowed Him the opportunity to display His courage and to increase His sympathy for us by experiencing what we experience.
- The perfection here is not in comparison to imperfection, but in comparison to incompleteness.
- It’s one thing for me to know some facts about China. It’s another for me to go and visit for a couple weeks to get the flavor of the place. But it is another thing entirely for me to go and live in China for the next thirty years of my life. To live with the Chinese and to experience what they experience.
- This is important to understand because it ties directly into one of the ways that many people view God.
- People think, “Does God understand the battles I face everyday?” People wonder, “What does God know about the difficulties I face trying to do what’s right?”
- The answer is that, in Jesus, He fully understands our battles and our difficulties.
- In Jesus, we now have a God who has gone through what we go through. He knows what we go through.
- Further, He has led the charge against the evil powers of this world. We can be a part of what He’s doing because we know He has led the way.
- When you have a Captain who has displayed courage under fire and has shown the valor in his character, that’s someone you are not ashamed or leery of following into battle.
- And that’s the big point that I want to emphasize this morning: Jesus has earned the right to be called our Captain. His courage under fire, his bravery on the spiritual battlefield has earned our respect.
- We should be honored to follow Him into battle because we know He is a man of courage and bravery.
- Don’t merely give Him your obedience, give Him your respect. He has earned the right to be followed into battle.
Five Reasons To Respect Jesus As Our Leader:
- Here we’re going to maintain the military analogy.
1. My Captain took my place on a deadly mission.
- Hebrews 2:9.
- Imagine facing a mission as a soldier that you knew was very likely to end in death. Then your Captain steps forward and volunteers to take your place, knowing that his knowledge and ability will allow Him an opportunity for success that you don’t have.
- Jesus tasted death for everyone.
- I was in a situation where I was facing a death sentence, spiritually speaking. There was nothing I could do to free myself.
- Jesus gave His life in my place.
- Thanks to the power of God, He not only faced death, He conquered it.
2. My Captain released me from the P.O.W. camp.
- Hebrews 2:15.
- There are so many people who live in fear of death. And, in a sense, rightly so. There is no way to avoid it. There is no way to trick it. It comes for everyone.
- Because of that, many live in bondage to that fear.
- It’s like being held spiritually prisoner in a P.O.W. camp. We’re in bondage to our fear of death. But Jesus has come to set us free.
3. My Captain welcomed me into His unit.
- Hebrews 2:11.
- As if it’s not enough that to think of Him giving His life for us and releasing us from bondage, He then welcomed us into His unit. He welcomed us to fight beside Him. He invited us to be a part of His unit.
- It would have been easy to understood a Captain who saved us and then was dismissive of us because of all that He went through because of predicament we’d created.
- But Jesus calls us “brothers.”
- Further, notice the incredible statement that we are now one with Jesus.
4. My Captain earned my respect through battlefield suffering.
- Hebrews 2:10.
- We talked earlier about what it meant that Jesus was made perfect.
- One thing in particular that’s worth mentioning was that, living in heaven, Jesus had never experienced pain or discomfort. In coming to earth, Jesus opened Himself up to experiencing the pain and suffering that we go through.
- Jesus endured suffering, especially the physical, mental, and spiritual suffering entailed in the cross.
- Someone who has gone through that kind of pain deserves our respect.
5. My Captain singlehandedly turned the tide of war so that now we’re on the winning side.
- Hebrews 2:14.
- After Jesus, there are still battles to be fought, but the outcome of the war is no longer in doubt. And the tide was turned because of one man: Jesus.
- Satan is being destroyed.
