JESUS THE BETTER WAY: BETTER THAN OUR HUMAN POTENTIAL
HEBREWS 2:5-2:18
BIG IDEA: For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is man that you are mindful of him,
The son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned him with glory and honor
And put everything under his feet.”
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers;
In the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”
And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
INTRO
Have you ever paid attention to the warning labels you find on appliances and products you buy? I found a web site that has catalogued quite a few of them. I think you may find these “interesting:
• "Caution: The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish." -- On a bottle of shampoo for dogs.
• "For external use only!" -- On a curling iron.
• "Warning: This product can burn eyes." -- On a curling iron.
• "Do not use in shower." -- On a hair dryer.
• "Do not use while sleeping." -- On a hair dryer.
• "Do not place this product into any electronic equipment." -- On the case of a chocolate CD in a gift basket.
• "Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking." -- On a toilet at a public sports facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
On a personal note, attached to the handle on the case of the projector I bought was a cotton thread with a note from the manufacturer on it. It read:
“Before you try it your way, read our instructions.”
It would have been a whole lot less frustrating (not to mention saved me some time and money) if I had just read that little tag and took its advice BEFORE trying it my way. But nooooooo! How hard could it be! I don’t need to read no stinkin’ manual!!!! The truth was, however, the manufacturer knew better how to operate it than I did and I should have heeded the warning and taken their advice.
(special thanks to Thomas Lea in “The Holman New Testament Commentary” for this adapted illustration).
That scenario has been reenacted time and again by people from every walk of life and in every age. They think they can tackle whatever is on the table at the moment in their own power and with their own skill set. It is so engrained in us that it easily morphed into a movement with an official name – “The Human Potential Movement” (HPM).
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the chaos of the 1960s and formed around the concept of capturing the potential that, according to its advocates, lies largely untapped in all people.
• The movement has its conceptual roots in existentialism and humanism.
• It believed that: encapsulated within human potential was the ability to solve any problem and lift the world out of its mess into a state of perfection.
• It believed that: there was good within each person and that it simply needed unleashed.
The “off spring” of the Human Potential Movement is all the self-help movements of the past 40 plus years. The movement graduated from a social change movement to a personal development movement. At the core of all these movements is the assumption that humanity is sovereign and even divine! It is the making of a new "god" in our own image. In a manner of speaking, we all become private “gods” and set our own rules for success.
• It’s Adam and Eve reenacted
• It’s the tower of Babel in 21st century wrappings.
It is the elevation of SELF.
And it flies in the face of Hebrews 2 (and the Gospel) which reveals man as frail, faulty and in need of a savior.
“What is man that you are mindful of him?
The son of man that you care for him?”
You see, like the self-help movements, Hebrews speaks a lot about us humans. It particularly speaks about our need to be rescued – as opposed to the HPM which asserts we are the rescuer.
It is not by accident that our Savior is called by his human name, Jesus, in this chapter (v. 9, 14-15.) Throughout the book the writer uses various titles and names for our Savior and each time it is intentionally chosen to communicate particular truths about Him. By referring to Him as “Jesus” we know he is emphasizing the flesh and blood -- the human side of Christ.
Maybe you are asking, “What does this matter to us and why would the writer emphasize the superiority of Jesus’ human life?”
As we will see, it goes back to our exaggerated yet faulty view of ourselves. Let’s face it, humanity tends to exalt itself and over-inflate its potential. We think there is no mess we have made that we can’t correct. Just watch some of the presidential campaign promises and ads that you will be seeing very soon. They emphatically say that, under the leadership of a certain politician, we can accomplish anything; and we can solve our own problems.
But the truth of chapter 2 is that some big problems are beyond our human potential (v.11) and there is no problem more significant that our sin problem (9, 17). In fact, sin is at the core of all our other problems and until it is solved we will continue to mess up everything else of worth and value.
Our sin problem impacts every facet of our lives.
• It affects how we relate to God
• It affects how we relate to ourselves
• It affects how we relate to each other
• It affects how we relate to creation
LET ME BE CLEAR; OUR INABILITY TO RELATE PROPERLY TO GOD AND, IN A SECONDARY WAY TO GOD’S WORLD (V.10) IS AT THE ROOT OF THE BIG ISSUES WE FACE.
They are a result of us choosing not to read and heed the instructions.
Deep within we all know that being flesh and blood is a handicap for us. We trip up and mess up the simplest of assignments.
• No wonder we feel frustrated and helpless when we look at the big problems in our lives and in our world.
• No wonder we see things backfire and the spiral downward. We cannot solve the real issues because the real issue is within.
• “We have met the enemy and it is us.” (Pogo)
So … how does this get fixed? That brings us back to the man … Jesus. Whereas we humans are prone to mistake, flesh and blood was not a handicap for Jesus.
[1] JESUS’ HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO RESTORE OUR LOST DOMINION (2:5-9)
The author quotes a passage of Scripture from Psalm 8:4-6. Within this passage the writer could see the problem … man does not even do a good job of controlling himself much less controlling God’s world properly.
The author then gives us the solution in 2:9 -- “But we see Jesus!” It is in the Gospel of Jesus that we find the solutions to humanity’s big problems.
• Even a casual reading of the four Gospels shows Jesus’ authority and proper relationship with creation.
• Even a casual reading of the four Gospels reveals that humankind often approaches big problems, global problems, and human problems differently than Jesus did.
Man has lost his “potential” but Jesus regained it and is crowned with such. And when redemption is complete we will reign with him … God’s intent will be fulfilled. We discover that the best of our humanness cannot save or restore us; only Jesus can.
[1] Regain Our Lost Dominion (2:5-9)
2] JESUS’ HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO BRING US TO GLORY (2:10-13)
Isn’t this what self-help movements have been trying to accomplish for decades?
Isn’t it our quest to be perfected?
But, pardon the term, “The devil is in the details” and the nagging unpopular truth is we simply cannot achieve that which we desire. But Jesus, being fully man and fully God was able to secure our salvation.
[1] Regain Our Lost Dominion (2:5-9)
[2] Bring Us to Glory (2:10-13)
[3] JESUS’ HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO DISARM SATAN AND DELIVER US FROM DEATH (2:14-16)
There’s a “big picture” problem we all face!
Death.
It is the ultimate evidence of humanity’s moral failure and our inability to rescue ourselves. Every year people spend billions of dollars and untold hours and energy trying to delay, or even defeat, death. It is our supreme enemy and we have never been able to conquer it – no matter how hard we try.
Jesus came, in the flesh, specifically for this purpose … to experience death on behalf of others (2:9) and to destroy its power over us (v. 14).
We are no longer “held in slavery by the fear of death.” We live in the reality of a resurrected Savior who assures us of resurrection so we can live fearlessly for him in this life.
We know death is not the end.
And that leads us to my final insight:
[1] Regain Our Lost Dominion (2:5-9)
[2] Bring Us to Glory (2:10-13)
[3] Disarm Satan and Deliver Us From Death (2:14-16)
[4] JESUS’ HUMANITY ENABLES HIM TO HELP US WITH ALL OUR BIG PROBLEMS AND STRUGGLES (2:17-18)
Jesus is Merciful. Jesus is Faithful. He is our Advocate before the Father’s throne.
Jesus is capable of helping us in our fight against both sin and the flesh. And a close look at the four victories that Jesus secured summarizes everything man is trying to do for himself. By becoming human He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves; particularly (but not exclusively) as it relates to our relationships; with none being more significant than our relationship with God.
You, see one of the under currents of the book of Hebrews is the tendency for man to look to the wrong sources for salvation ... for renewed communion with God. I mean, of all the needs we possess none are bigger or have more far reaching implications than our sinfulness.
How many times and in how many ways have you tried to solve your sin problem and secure your own salvation?
• You’ve tried to rationalize your lifestyle and choices and fashion God into an image that excuses your sin
• You’ve tried to quit a nasty habit – like that alone will purify you
• You’ve tried to keep the Ten Commandments – that ship has sailed folks!
• You try to do good things for other people – but we are often mean to those closest to us
I KNOW ALL ABOUT THESE BECAUSE I HAVE TRIED (AND FAILED) THEM TOO. THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET IS THAT THE PROBLEM LIES WITHIN ME AND UNTIL THE PROBLEM WITHIN ME IS SOLVED EVERYTHING I DO IS FLAWED AND EVENTUALLY BACKFIRES OR IS CORRUPTED.
I NEED A SAVIOR!!!!
I cannot save myself and I cannot rescue myself in any authentic way. Anything I can do is superficial.
And what is true of me is true of all humanity. We have a knack of making a mess out of everything that is important.
WRAP-UP
Well, How about a few more warning labels.
• "Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover." -- On a pair of shin guards made for bicyclists.
• "This product IS not intended for use as a dental drill." -- On an electric rotary tool.
• "Caution: Do not spray in eyes." -- On a container of underarm deodorant.
• "Do not drive with sunshield in place." -- On a cardboard sunshield that keeps the sun off the dashboard.
• "Not intended for highway use." -- On a 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow.
• "Do not use orally." -- On a toilet bowl cleaning brush.
The need for warning labels like these flies in the face of the Human Potential Movement. Whereas humanism says we are our own savior, reality says we need one! And there’s nothing new about it – the HPM is as old as humankind. It gets a face-lift occasionally and a new name but there is nothing new. And you’d think by now that we would face up to the fact that it never works!
It is intended to make the world a utopia – a better place. And it asserts that the source of this nirvana can be found within each of us. But the owner’s manual says that our salvation is found in another; it is found in God Himself. He alone can take us to glory.
I suggest that we should all heed the words on that tag attached to the projector handle:
“Before you try it your way, read our instructions.”
The key to humanity reaching its apex is not in “trying harder” or “trying smarter.” It is not at looking within until you find that golden core and then unleashing its potential for the world.
The key is to look to Jesus (v. 9). He can bring you to glory – not by showing you your potential but by humiliating himself, and tasting death for everyone. He flipped it all on its head. THE ANSWER WAS FOUND IN JESUS SUFFERING AND DYING A FELON'S DEATH. THE AUTHOR ASSERTS THAT, FAR FROM THIS BEING AN OBJECTION TO HIS GREATNESS, THIS WAS PART OF IT. THIS WAS THE WAY HE WOULD SAVE US. HE WOULD BE MADE LIKE US TO RESCUE AND DIE ON OUR BEHALF.
Every day we are bombarded with the message that we are our own answer. We are left thinking that there is no other source for solutions outside of our selves.
The question begs to be asked, “How’s that working out for ya?”
The Gospel of Jesus emphatically states something altogether different than the message of HPM. It states that Jesus and Jesus alone is mighty to save.
Let’s sing “Mighty To Save.”
Would you pray “The Congregational Prayer from Hebrews” with me?
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
First Church of the Nazarene
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
www.banazarene.org
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Jesus: The Better Way
(A Congregational Prayer from Hebrews)
Leader: Heavenly Father, giver of all good gifts,
Leader: Because Jesus is better than our legends
All: We will look to Him for character
Leader: Because Jesus is better than our human potential
All: We will look to Him for strength
Leader: Because Jesus is better than our family pedigree
All: We will look to Him for identity
Leader: Because Jesus is a better mediator
All: We will look to Him for reconciliation
Leader: Because Jesus serves as a better guide
All: We will look to Him for direction
Leader: Because Jesus offers a better relationship
All: We will look to Him for communion
Leader: Because Jesus makes better promises
All: We will look to Him for assurance
Leader: Because Jesus ensures a better peace
All: We will look to Him for comfort
Leader: Because Jesus provides better possessions
All: We will look to Him for satisfaction
Leader: Because Jesus instills a better motivation
All: We will look to Him for purpose
Leader: Because Jesus establishes a better family
All: We will look to Him for belonging
Leader: Because Jesus awards a better inheritance
All: We will look to Him for our future
Leader: Because Jesus imparts a better life
All: We will look to Him for an example
Leader: In the name of Jesus, the Better Way, we pray.
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
