Hebrews 2: 9-11
Pentecost 20 B
Rev. Charles F. Degner
9But 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. 10In 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. 11Both 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.
As time passes in my life, I have grown to appreciate how important our earthly family is, especially our brothers and sisters. In John 11, Jesus came to Mary and Martha when their brother died and comforted them. First, he said, “Your brother will rise again.” Then he gave their brother back to them by raising him from the dead. He turned their tears into laughter, their funeral into a party. When you tell me that your brother or sister has died, I know what bitter sorrow that means for you. And so does Jesus, because our text tells us that he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.
If I were in very grave trouble, to whom would I turn for help? Of course, I would turn to my family first. My parents are aged, and I would not turn to them. My children are a big help to me and will be even more in my old age. My wife is always by my side, my true helper, as we heard in the book of Genesis. But if I did not want to burden my wife or my children or my parents with my troubles, to whom would I go? I would go first to my brothers or my sister. I know they would help me. They would comfort me if I needed comfort and they would give me a scolding, if that was what I needed. And they would know me well enough to know which I needed and when. Jesus says in our text that he is not ashamed to call his brothers. Before we turn to husband or wife, or brother or sister, we can always turn to Jesus.
Jesus Became Our Brother
1) A brother by birth
Our text says: “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.” These words invite us to look at Jesus closely, to see him as the true Son of God from eternity and to see him as the truly human son of Mary at the same time. This is stuff for our hearts to believe and not for our minds to understand. For how could Jesus be both God and man at the same time? How he be present everywhere and then bottled up in the flesh of a human being? How could he know everything, but have to learn to speak and read and write? Ye the Bible says that in Jesus the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). This if for our heart to believe and not for our minds to understand.
Our text says that God made his Son a little lower than the angels. Remember the passion story? When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed so hard that he was exhausted. The Bible says that an angel came and strengthened him. Yet he told Peter that he could ask for twelve legions of angels to fight for him. After forty days of fasting and resisting the devil in the wilderness, the angels came and attended him. Yet he could give a single command and send a legion of evil spirits out of the possessed man into a heard of pigs. How could he be so weak and so strong at the same time? Because he was both God and man at the same time. God made him a little lower than the angels. God made his Son, Jesus, who was true God from all eternity, come in the weakness of human flesh
You have often heard the expression that everyone in the world is really one family, the family of mankind. This is especially so if you believe that God created the world, and that he created one man and one woman from whom the whole human race has descended. We are literally brothers and sisters in this human race, because Adam and Eve are our first parents. When God’s Son entered this world and was born of the virgin Mary, he became part of this human family. He became our brother.
Why did he do this? Our text says because by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In verse 14 of this chapter, it says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.” Jesus became fully human so that he could really die and really rise again and give us the hope that even in death, we still win.
A hospital chaplain was visiting a man who was dying. The man confessed that at times it was hard to pray as he wanted to. The chaplain wisely said, "Just think of Jesus’ sitting right next to you in that chair, as your brother who is there to help." Later the nurses were surprised to find this man had died, not in his bed but kneeling and holding onto the chair next to his bed.
Jesus became your brother, and he is always there with you. He will especially be there when you face death. Your human family may not be with you in that moment, because you may be ninety years old and they are gone. Or maybe they are a long ways away and they cannot come and sit by your bed around the clock. Or maybe in the middle of the night, they will be sleeping and it will be your time to go to heaven. Someone will be by your side. Jesus, your brother, will be there with you to take you home.
2) A brother not ashamed of us
I can think of no greater peace and joy for your life and mine than knowing that Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters. Jesus is not ashamed of us because he sees us as people who have been brought to glory through him. "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." God’s whole plan for your life and mine is to bring us to a position of glory and honor where Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters.
If God’s plan was to lead us to this glory on the basis of our own accomplishments, then we would have a dismal life, and a dismal life facing us in the future. If you look only at this last week, you have to admit that there is an awful lot that makes you ashamed of yourself. You spoke words that hurt people, when you could have built them up, especially in your own families. There were days when you selfishly thought of yourselves first. Your love for God often took a second place to the material things of this life. You had time for television, but no time to read the Bible. This makes us ashamed of ourselves before God.
But do you realize just how sinful we really are? If you simply skim over the Ten Commandments, you might draw the conclusion there is not too much to be ashamed of in your life. When you realize that even the desire to do things wrong is already sin in God’s eyes, then there is so much more that makes us ashamed. Paul wrote in Romans 7, "I did not know what sin was until the law said, "You should not covet." If it were possible to put the ten worst thoughts you had this past week on a video screen and portray them to your family and friends, you would be horrified. You would want to hide in shame. How could Jesus ever say that he is not ashamed of me?
If God is going to lead us to glory and make it possible for Jesus to not be ashamed of us, then it was necessary for him to take this problem of sin in his hands. Our text says that "God made the author of their salvation perfect through suffering." What an amazing verse this is. Jesus took the shame of our sin upon himself. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinithians 5:21 He suffered the shame and suffering that we deserve. After full payment had been made, then the Father restored him to perfection again. The resurrection is the supreme proof that the Father no longer was ashamed of His Son who had become sin for us.
Verse 11 tells us the result of Jesus work. “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.” Jesus just didn’t come into the world to become like you. Jesus came into the world to make you like him. During the 1970’s President Jimmy Carter served our country as a model of dignity and polish, and still does today. He had a brother who was the very opposite, Billy Carter. He was a beer guzzling, good old boy from Plains, Georgia, a public embarrassment to his brother. The press could not wait for more words to come from the mouth of Billy. His greatest bid to fame was a beer named after him called, "Billy Beer." Billy was a great embarrassment to his brother, but his brother never stopped loving his wayward brother.
Jesus could never accept you as you are as Jimmy Carter accepted Billy because you were born steeped in the shame of sin. He had to become one of us, take on our flesh, so that he might assume our sin, and remove it from us, and declare us righteous. By bringing us to believe in what he has done for us, Jesus is able to honor us with the title of brother and sister. He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.
3) A brother willing to help us
Our text tells us: “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.” There was a custom, a law of God, in the Old Testament called the law of the redeemer. When the Bible calls Jesus our Redeemer, it is using this picture from the Old Testament. If you came into debt and had to sell yourself as a slave to pay off your debt, you could go to your nearest relative – usually that was your brother – and ask him to redeem you from your debt. If he was at all able, he was under obligation as your near relative to help you in your time of need.
You have probably felt this same sense of obligation in your human family, even without the regulations of the Old Testament putting it in writing. If someone comes to you and asks you to help them shingle their house, you may have time and you may not have time. But if your brother asks you, that’s a different story. If a stranger came to you and ask you for money to pay their rent, you probably would not give it, because you don’t know them or their circumstances. But if your brother asked you, and you knew that his need was real, you would certainly help him, because you are his brother.
Our text says that Jesus is not ashamed to call his brothers! What does that mean for us? The writer to the Hebrews tells us plainly a few verses later in this chapter. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” The mighty creator of the universe is someone who truly knows your pain and sorrow. Our text reminds us that Jesus shared in our humanity primarily to be "a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." He also shared in our humanity to show that he understands what we are going through better than we understand our own problems.
Jesus promises to be your brother in all the struggles you face in life. The greatest problem you face every day is the struggle against sin in your life. Paying your bills doesn’t come close to your struggle against sin. Getting good grades doesn’t come close to your struggle against sin. Trying to stay in shape doesn’t come close to your struggle against sin. There will not be a day when Satan does not try to shoot flaming arrows of temptation into your heart and life, arrows that burn and cause pain.
And when Satan is present, Jesus is also there for you. He is better than any human brother could ever be. He knows what it is like to be tempted, because he himself was tempted. And he has the power to help us overcome the temptations in our lives. He will strengthen you with his Word every day. He will plead your case before God’s throne. He doesn’t live so far away that he can’t help you, as some of our human brothers do. He is always right here with us.
