Your Big Brother Jesus Heb. 2:14, 15
INTRO.: I’ve never had an older brother. I am an older brother, so I know a little of what it’s like. An older brother is someone who sticks up for you in a fight and blames you when Mom is angry. He gets the new clothes first and you have to wear hand-me-downs.
But, an older brother was also someone you could go to when you needed help. We have such an older brother and His Name is Jesus.
I. Our older brother understands our problems because he shared our weaknesses and temptations: He has "been there and done that."
A. The story of His entry on the human scene.
1. Born in an occupied land, ruled by tyrants, His parents are forced to make a long journey as His birth drew near.
2. Born in the roughest and most unsanitary conditions.
3. Soon after His birth, the tyrant ruling his homeland sent assassins to kill Him. Spent His early days in a foreign land.
4. Member of a laborer’s household. Expected to perform "chores" and learn a trade He would never use.
B. He suffered severe temptation. One story is told in Matt. 4.
1. Satan made every effort to cause Him to doubt the care of the Father just as he did Adam and Eve.
2. Of course, these weren’t the last temptations. He faced opossition by His enemies, false accusations, desertion and betrayal by His disciples
3. In the end, He died a lonely, agonizing death while His loved ones watched, unable to help.
C. This was a necessary process if He is to be our Savior and High Priest. 10, 17
1. Because God cannot die, Jesus must become a man in order to give His life for His brothers.
2. He is also qualified as our High Priest by His humanity. The High Priest must be chosen by God from among men. Heb. 5:1
3. Then, He is made perfect (complete and competent) by His suffering. Each High Priest came before God with a sacrificial offering. Jesus’ sacrifice was His own flesh and blood.
II. Our older brother will help when we are attacked by the world’s worst bully: 14
A. We do have an enemy who is out to destroy our body and soul in Hell.
1. He is the one Jesus said we should fear. Matt. 10:28
2. Many think Jesus was referring to God. He does not want to destroy us. He wants to save us. He has the power, but we don’t need to be afraid of Him.
3. Satan is the enemy who not only can but will destroy us if not for our older brother.
B. We are introduced to Him in the third chapter of Genesis:
1. We don’t know much of his origin. He seems to be an angel fallen from grace.
2. Clearly, he opposes everything God stands for. He contradicts God in every way.
3. Jesus calls him a liar and the father of all liars. He is a deceiver and destroyer.
4. He introduced sin and death into the human picture.
C. He is still active in our world today: I Pet. 5:8
1. He is still a deceiver and a liar. He makes his temptations look pleasant and attractive. He calls adultery "love," abortion "choice," and sexual perversion "gay."
2. Don’t be fooled. Satan is calling you every day. Especially if you are young. He is the one suggesting premarital or extra marital sex, drug abuse, rebellion.
3. Look to your Big Brother, Jesus, for guidance and avoid Satan’s temptations. Ask yourself, "What would Jesus have me do?"
III. Our older Brother will help us face the greatest threat in the universe - death.
A. It’s the threat Satan brought upon us in the Garden of Eden when he introduced sin..
1. Now, we all must die because we all sin. "The sting of death is sin."
2. But, Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil. I Jn. 3:8
B. Oou big brother, Jesus, is the Author of our salvation.
1. The word literally means "leader" or "pioneer". He is the one who planned our salvation and the one who implemented the plan.
2. Not only did He suffer for us, He also arose victorious for us. It was for the joy set before Him He endured the cross.
3. It’s like you are on a rooftop in a raging flood. A helicopter comes to your rescue. A man is let down on a cable and ties you to him with a harness then you are lifted up. That man is in the place of Jesus. He is your salvation.
C. The real threat we face is sin. I Cor. 15:55 -"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law."
1. Sin is disobeying God and rebelling against His law.
2. We all face physical death, even Jesus died. But, there is a second death, eternal separation from God. That’s caused by unforgiven sin.
3. Jesus came to take away our sin and in doing so delivered us from eternal death.
4. ILLUS.: When my sciatic nerve was inflamed it caused great pain. The doctors treated the inflammation believing if the inflammation were gone, the pain would be gone. In the same way, Jesus treats the problem, sin, to eliminate the symptom, death.
CONC.: "We were in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in East Africa, during a famine. It was so bad we walked into one village and everybody was dead. There is a stench of death that gets into your hair, gets onto your skin, gets onto your clothes, and you can’t wash it off.
"We saw this little boy. You could tell he had worms and was malnourished; his stomach was protruding. When a child is extremely malnourished, the hair turns a reddish color, and the skin becomes crinkled as though he’s 100 years old.
"Our photographer had a grapefruit, which he gave to the boy. The boy was so weak he didn’t have the strength to hold the grapefruit, so we cut it in half and gave it to him. He picked it up, looked at us as if to say thanks, and began to walk back towards his village.
"We walked behind him in a way that he couldn’t see us. When he entered the village, there on the ground was a little boy who I thought was dead. His eyes were completely glazed over. It turned out that this was his younger brother. The older brother kneeled down next to his younger brother, bit off a piece of the grapefruit, and chewed it. Then he opened up his younger brother’s mouth, put the grapefruit in, and worked his brother’s jaw up and down. We learned that the older brother had been doing that for the younger brother for two weeks.
"A couple days later the older brother died of malnutrition, and the younger brother lived. I remember driving home that night thinking, I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he said, "There is no greater love than to lay down our life for somebody else." [Citation: Jack Kelley, USA Today reporter, from message "The Stories Behind the Headlines," given at Evangelical Press Association convention in May 2000.]
Jesus is a Big Brother like that. He gave His life for you. Will you give your life to Him?
