OUR OLDER BROTHER
HEBREWS 2:10-18
FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 27, 1998
KEVIN D. BARRON
BETHEL COMMUNITY CHURCH
KIRKSVILLE, MO
INTRO. Sometimes it is hard to picture Jesus as my older brother. I have my
older brother, Dennis, to use as an example of this kind of relationship. My
brother and I fought too much when we were kids. We had a lot of different
interests. Being the oldest child in the family, he had to sort of blaze the trail
in asserting his independence from my parents and cutting the apron strings,
so he wasn’t always too happy when it seemed as if my sister and I got things
easier, and he wasn’t always very sympathetic when we didn’t get things easier.
Or maybe it just seemed that way. Once, when my brother was four or five and
my sister three or four, Dennis came running into the house. “What’s wrong?”
my mother asked. “Wanda hit me!” my brother, in tears, cried out. Not
wanting him to be unable to take care of himself, my mother told him to hit my
sister back if she did it again. A few minutes later, Wanda ran into the house,
howling at the top of her lungs. Dennis had found the largest stick - really a
tree branch - that he could pick up, then walked over to Wanda and swung it
at her as hard as he could, whopping her a good one. I’m not a real expert on
older brothers - I only have the one, and as the youngest in my family, I’ve
never had to be an older brother. It boggles the mind that Jesus wants to be the
older brother for the human race, but that’s what Hebrews says - “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 and sisters” (2:11). What does it
mean that Jesus is our older brother? Like I said, I’m not a real expert on the
subject, but I believe the passage in Hebrews tells us some ways Jesus is our
brother.
I. JESUS IS OUR BROTHER IN THE FLESH. He was flesh and bones, blood
and muscle, just like we are. Verse 14 - “Since the children have flesh and
blood, he too shared in their humanity.” Verse 17 - “He had to be made like his
brothers and sisters in every way.” To Sir With Love , Sidney Poitier the actor,
bled when cut. Cut Jesus and he bleeds, not just on the cross but throughout
all of life. He stands shoulder to shoulder with us in our struggle to live for
good and for God.
Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other
kids, and she hated it. She was born with a cleft palate and had to
bear the jokes and stares of cruel children who teased her non-stop
about her misshaped lip, crooked nose, and garbled speech.
With all the teasing, Mary grew up hating the fact that she was
“different”. She was convinced that no one, outside her family,
could ever love her ... until she entered Mrs. Leonard’s class. Mrs.
Leonard had a warm smile, a round face, and shiny brown hair.
While everyone in her class liked her, Mary came to love Mrs.
Leonard. In the 1950’s, it was common for teachers to give their
children an annual hearing test. However, in Mary’s case, in
addition to her cleft palate, she was barely able to hear out of one
ear. Determined not to let the other children have another
“difference” to point out, she would cheat on the test each year.
The “whisper test” was given by having a child walk to the
classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger, and
then repeat something which the teacher whispered. Mary turned
her bad ear towards her teacher and pretended to cover her good
ear. She knew that teachers would often say things like, “The sky
is blue,” or “What color are your shoes?”
But not on that day. Surely, God put seven words in Mrs.
Leonard’s mouth that changed Mary’s life forever. When the
“whisper test” came, Mary heard the words:
“I wish you were my little girl.”
- John Trent, Ph.D., Vice President of Today’s Family, Men of Action, Winter
1993, Page 5
He knows what the struggles of the flesh are, and because he does, he is
perfectly able to help us through those struggles.
II. JESUS IS OUR BROTHER IN THE SPIRIT. He knows what it is like to
be discouraged, depressed, ready to give up. Verse 14 says “he shared in their
humanity” - that’s our humanity and verse 17 says he was made like us “in
every way.” We must get to the point in our relationship with God where we
understand that if I am down, he is there for me. If I am hurt, he is there for
me. If I am ready to give up, he is there for me!
Vance Havner told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly
disturbed by her many troubles--both real and imaginary. Finally,
someone in her family tactfully told her, “Grandma, we’ve done all
we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look
of absolute despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh dear,
has it come to that?” Havner commented, “It always comes to that,
so we might as well begin with that!”
I came across this poem that expresses so well how he is with us in the spirit.
When We are Neediest
When you are the neediest, He is the most sufficient.
When you are completely helpless, He is the most helpful.
When you feel totally dependent, He is absolutely dependable.
When you are the weakest, He is the most able.
When you are the most alone, He is intimately present.
When you feel you are the least, He is the greatest.
When you feel the most useless, He is preparing you.
When it is the darkest, He is the only Light you need.
When you feel the least secure, He is your Rock and Fortress.
When you are the most humble, He is most gracious.
When you can’t, He can.
- Source unknown
III. JESUS IS OUR BROTHER IN THE TEST. A test is a temptation, an
attraction to do or say or think something evil. In Hebrews, we are told in verse
18 that because Jesus “suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those
who are being tempted.” When Satan dangles his toys in front of you and trys
to get you to play his game, our older brother, Jesus, is the one who can help
us because he knows all about it. He understands! That temptation to break
a relationship, to abuse a trust, to cover a mistake, to ignore a failure, Jesus is
right there when we experience it, because he has walked that same path
already. He knows! It was Mark Twain who said, “There are several good
protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.” What he would
call cowardice, I would call the wisdom to know that we cannot survive that
temptation on our own. We need Jesus! And the beautiful thing about it is that
he is there for us!
A scene from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress portrays Interpreter
bringing Christian to a wall where fire is blazing from a grate. A
man is trying to douse the fire with water. Then Interpreter shows
Christian the other side of the wall, where another man is secretly
pouring oil on the fire to keep it ablaze. Interpreter says, “You saw
the man standing behind the wall to maintain the fire, teaching you
that it is hard for the tempted to see how this work of grace is
maintained in the soul.” Satan tries to quench faith, but Christ
keeps it alive.
In those temptations that Satan brings on us, Jesus is there to see us through,
to bring us out the other side, to take us on to victory! Our job is to cooperate
and let him do his part for us while we do our part for him in this battle.
Historian Shelby Foote tells of a soldier who was wounded at the
battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War and was ordered to
go to the rear. The fighting was fierce and within minutes he
returned to his commanding officer. “Captain, give me a gun!” he
shouted. “This fight ain’t got any rear!”
- Daily Walk, July 10, 1993
Folks, the tests of life ain’t got any rear, either. When they come, our older
brother, Jesus, will fight shoulder to shoulder with us to give us the victory.
Will you let Jesus bring you through?
IV. JESUS IS OUR BROTHER IN THE TRIAL. Trials are not tests. They are
not temptations. They are brought upon us by God to strengthen us, to draw
us closer to him. Or they may be things God has nothing to do with, but simply
allows to happen.
How you can tell when it’s going to be a rotten day:
You wake up face down on the pavement.
You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold.
You see a 60 Minutes news team waiting in your office.
Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
You turn on the news and they’re showing emergency routes out of
the city.
Your twin sister forgot your birthday.
Your car horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you
follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the freeway.
Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
The bird singing outside your window is a buzzard.
You wake up and your braces are locked together.
You call your answering service and they tell you it’s none of your
business.
Your income tax check bounces.
You put both contact lenses in the same eye.
Your wife says, “Good morning, Bill”, and your name is George.
- Author Unknown
Sometimes it’s the trials which are the hardest to deal with, because we expect
God to straighten them out and are quick to blame him when he doesn’t. We
get into the “Why?” game. Why was my child born with a disability? Why
was my daughter in the car wreck? Why is my mother struck with so many
physical problems? And it goes on and on. When you’re in the “Why?” game -
and all of us are there at one time or another - we need to remember what
Hebrews says in verses 14 and 15:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he (Jesus) 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.
What we are hearing from the Bible is that Jesus can remove the fear of death.
I know just how strongly death can reach out and grab you. But if Jesus can
meet that fear and conquer it for us, then any other trial can be overcome as
well.
Comfort in Tragedy
One night while conducting an evangelistic meeting in the
Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago, Booth Tucker preached on the
sympathy of Jesus. After his message a man approached him and
said, “If your wife had just died, like mine has, and your babies
were crying for their mother, who would never come back, you
wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying.”
Tragically, a few days later, Tucker’s wife was killed in a train
wreck. Her body was brought to Chicago and carried to the same
Citadel for the funeral. After the service the bereaved preacher
looked down into the silent face of his wife and then turned to
those attending.
“The other day a man told me I wouldn’t speak of the sympathy of
Jesus if my wife had just died. If that man is here, I want to tell him
that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, but it has a song put
there by Jesus. I want that man to know that Jesus Christ speaks
comfort to me today.”
- Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 10
We have all been touched by death and I imagine we would all agree it is the
worst trial there is. If Jesus is sufficient for that trial, then he is sufficient for
all your trials. Praise God, he IS sufficient!
CON. My older brother, Dennis, has failed me at times. I am sure he would
tell you I have failed him at times, and that’s the truth. But in Jesus, we have
an older brother who has never failed us and never will. Verse 10 in Hebrews
says that he was made “perfect through suffering.” He suffered it all for us, and
he will go through with us everything we face today - in the flesh and in the
spirit, whether it be tests or trials. Is he with you right now? Why not let him
be? Let him walk with you, talk with you, live with you, right now? He is
waiting and wants to do just that. Let him do it.
