Jesus, The Man Sent by God (Hebrews 2 : 10 – 18)
Sermon Summary
Pastor David Yan
17 November 2019
You believe in Jesus once; you must believe in him always. This is the message of Hebrews.
Some Hebrew believers were moving away from the Christian faith. The message to them was clear – continue in the faith! This message is relevant to our nation today for many people in our land have believed in Jesus but for various reasons have moved away from following him.
In Hebrews 2 : 10 – 18 the writer talks about Jesus, the man sent from God. He extols the virtues of Jesus and gives three characteristics of Jesus which are presented to urge people not to forsake Jesus.
Jesus is the perfect man. God did not send an angel to save humanity (for angels cannot identify with us). Neither did he choose the best person living to be the Saviour of human beings for the best human being is still a sinner. (A sinner cannot save fellow sinners.) Rather, from heaven the Father sent the one who is perfect – Christ Jesus.
Because Jesus is perfect, he is able to offer a perfect sacrifice to God and give salvation to imperfect people. He reconciles people to the creator and in doing this he brings into being a body of believers. He is not ashamed to call these believers brothers and sisters.
One day he shall present this body of believers to the Heavenly Father and will be able say: “here am I and the children whom God has given me”. These children are saved and sanctified by Christ and have the same heavenly Father as Jesus.
Jesus is a real man. We consist of flesh and blood. Jesus by his incarnation took upon himself flesh and blood. He became like one of us – a real human being. Jesus shares our humanity.
We die because of the sin of one man – Adam. We are delivered from death through the righteousness of one man – the second Adam who is Jesus. By one man came death. By one man came victory over death.
By his death Jesus took all that the devil could throw at him. Jesus died on behalf of his people. But Jesus also rose from death which is something the devil could not prevent. Jesus has defeated the devil. He has triumphed over death.
Jesus has delivered people who throughout life feared death and were in bondage. We must all pass through the valley of death, yet we need not fear because Jesus was raised from death and gives victory over death.
Jesus is the priestly man. He became like one of us (apart from sin) and is therefore qualified to represent us before God. He is a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. He makes propitiation for our sins. He has appeased God and has paid the penalty for our iniquities.
Because he has suffered, he is able to aid you when you are tempted. We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with us. When you are under pressure be assured Jesus understands and is with you. He has tasted all suffering for you and he, our great High Priest, is able to help you.
In summary, Jesus is the man sent from God to save us. Do not turn from him. Keep believing in him. By him we are reconciled, redeemed, and represented before God. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?