Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Jesus Christ was made a little lower than the angels. We are reminded here that Jesus’ original place was as the Creator of all things. He set His glory aside to come to this earth for the express purpose of suffering and dying for our sins. It was necessary for Him to come and shed His blood for mankind.
Angels cannot take away our sin. We have noted before that the fallen angels cannot be saved. They were made without sin, but the Bible tells us that many fell when Satan fell. Satan and the fallen angels cannot be redeemed. They will eventually be cast into the lake of fire.
Jesus Christ not only suffered death, but He was also crowned with glory and honour. He is seated on the right hand of the Father today and He is the judge of all the earth. Notice that the grace of God caused Him to taste death for every man. This again refutes the lies of Calvinism. God has not pre-planned that some should go to hell. Every man has the opportunity to be saved. The word translated as “taste” has the meaning of “experiencing”. Jesus did not just nibble around the edges.
The Seventh Day Adventists claim that Jesus fainted on the cross and when they took Him down and put Him in that tomb in the rock, His body revived. They say the rock would have been cool and that would have awakened Jesus from His fainting spell. That is called the “swoon theory”. They may not all hold to that, but that is one of their teachings.
Jesus Christ fully experienced death and we know that His death was a violent death, but it was more than just the physical violence. He also took the sin of man upon Himself. No one else will ever experience this. I cannot even take the weight of my sin upon me. The lost will spend eternity in hell because they cannot pay for their sin. That is why they must spend eternity in the lake of fire. Jesus Christ offered Himself in the place of wicked men. Those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation receive the gift of eternal life. We who are saved, did not pay for our salvation. Jesus Christ paid for it. He offers that gift to all. How important to respond in humility and truth to that offer of salvation.
In verse 10 we see that Jesus Christ created all things for Himself.
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
It is amazing to know that man was created for the pleasure of the Creator, and even though man fell into sin, an act that did not please God, yet God the Son came to provide salvation for man when man was not looking for a Saviour. When Adam sinned, he did not go running to God seeking forgiveness. He and his wife tried to cover up for their sin. Then when God spoke to Adam, he blamed God and his wife for his sin. In spite of the sinfulness of man, Jesus Christ came to this earth for the express purpose of tasting death for every man. His sacrificial death and His shed blood provide the means for many sons to be brought unto glory. We have already noted that Jesus died for all. The many that will be brought unto glory are those who turn to God and by faith trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word translated as “captain” has the meaning of “leader, author”. It is the same Greek word translated as “author” in Hebrews 12:2. Jesus Christ, in His humanity, faced death as all of us must. His death was much more brutal than any mere human being will face. In His humanity, He was made perfect, meaning He was made “complete” through His sufferings. He did not have any sin that needed to be taken out of the way. As we will see further on, He understands what man faces having experienced it as a man, Himself. As God He knew all things, but He became man to be able to go to the cross and shed His blood and die there for you and I. God cannot die. God required a sinless seed of the woman to die for the sins of mankind.
Bildad asked a very important question:
Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
God showed us the only way this is possible is if He intervened in a special way in the conception of the seed of the woman. That is what God did in Mary’s womb. Mary was not without sin, but that seed that was put there by the Holy Ghost was without sin. It is a miracle of God. God can do anything and He provided a sinless sacrifice for the sins of man.
In verse 11 we see the beautiful relationship that is brought about because Jesus tasted death. Jesus Christ is the “sanctifier” of those who are saved. The word translated as “sanctifieth” means “to make holy”. Jesus Christ is holy and He has the capacity to make those who trust in Him holy as well. Those who are saved become a part of the family of God. We do not become gods as the Mormons and other false religions teach. We become joint heirs with Christ in that we are brought into the family of God through Christ. Notice here that Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call those whom He sanctifies, brethren. We get a glimpse of the love of God here. We were not looking for salvation. We were born as wicked, lost sinners going about to fulfill our wicked desires. Yet, God in His mercy and love provided the means of salvation for us. Jesus Christ was willing to leave Heaven’s glory and become a servant obedient unto death for us. He did not have to do that, but He did that because of His great love for His creation, namely man.
What a great blessing we have in the gift of salvation. Those who are saved, have been given the power to be called sons of God. We do not have to sin, but we do when we walk in the flesh. The Bible commands us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We can only do that when we are saved and the Holy Spirit indwells us. He never leaves the true child of God, but sadly, we grieve Him at times. That will change when the saints get to Heaven.
In Verse 12 we are further taught of the willingness of the Saviour to declare His name among those who are saved. God is drawing from Psalm 22:22 here as a reference. That Psalm speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 22 we find the word “congregation”. In our text, we find the word “church”. The general definition of the word “church” is “a called out assembly”. In the Biblical context, it is a called out assembly unto God. The saints are called out for a specific purpose. They are different and they are called brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at Psalm 22 we see that this “congregation” is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. When a person is saved, they are taught to join a local church. We do not need Jewish churches and Gentile churches. All those living in a certain area that are saved join the same true church. They worship and serve God together. That is one of many blessings provided in true salvation. There is a unity that is brought about by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the captain. He leads and He is the provider of this unity.
It is a great blessing to be a child of God. It is great to consider the greatness of our Saviour in that He was willing to give Himself for us. He did that because of His great love for mankind. How important to know Him and serve Him. In heaven all those who are saved will gather around the throne of God and all will be blessed in one body. On earth we are in local churches, but those that are part of a true local church will have a common bond with those of any other true local church. We are not talking about the ecumenical movement which seeks for unity at the expense of holiness and true doctrine. We are talking of those who are truly saved and thus sanctified in Jesus Christ and who love the doctrines of God.
I trust that each one who reads these devotionals has been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the greatest need of all of mankind.
If you are lost today, why not turn to God right now in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. Be careful not to just “try” this. A person does not try salvation. It is a gift of God that is received by the repentant sinner by faith. It is life giving and if a person is saved, they are changed by God. You are given a new nature at the moment of salvation. It will not be a “manufactured” change. It will be genuine and it will be noticeable by others as well. It is a work of God!
If you have been saved, you have been sanctified. You have been made holy. God does not make our sin holy. He removes the sin. That is what happens at salvation. From there, when a true child of God sins, he or she confesses that sin to God and is forgiven and is strengthened to be able to serve God more faithfully. True Christians grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why we come together on the first day of the week in a true local church. Those who are saved desire to be where the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is the Head of every true local church. He leads His brethren to be in a true local church on the Lord’s day. We are praying for each one receiving this devotional, that you would obediently follow the Lord’s leading today to a true local church in your area. We trust you will be obedient to the Lord today and know His blessing in doing so.
Pastor Bartel
