Why Jesus Died, Part 6

If you've got your Bible, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 5 to 18, answering the question: why did Jesus die? This is part 6. We'll have part 7 next week. Hopefully, there won't be a part 8, but we'll see. Why did Did Jesus die? That's the question. And the writer of Hebrews is answering that question for us very clearly, very concisely, very completely, very compellingly, and very cheerfully. There's something compelling about his answer because he does it in a way that we necessarily wouldn't do it, but we're not Jewish.

This is a Jewish writer writing to Jewish people, helping them to understand why Jesus died. It's imperative that they understand that. Because for them, if Jesus is their Messiah, And the Bible says, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

Why would God curse his son, the Messiah? That's their question. And that's a great question. And yet, that has to be answered. And you'll find that every time the apostles preached, they would talk about this one instance because the cross of Christ is central to the gospel. For instance, in Acts chapter 17 Acts chapter 17, the Apostle Paul says these words It says, As according to Paul's custom, verse number 2 of chapter 17, he went to them, those in Thessalonic, For three Sabbaths, reason with them from the scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming.

To you is the Christ. The question is: what scriptures would Paul use? He would use Old Testament scriptures because he didn't have the New Testament scriptures. So he would go back to the Old Testament to prove that Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, would come, die, and rise again. That's exactly what the message was. As he spoke to Jewish people. And so, as we look at what this writer is doing, and maybe the writer of Hebrews is the Apostle Paul.

A lot of people do believe that. I don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us, so I'll just leave it at I don't know. But the bottom line is: what he does is he compellingly gives the argument as to why Jesus d. Why is that important? Our salvation is based on the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Who he is and what he did. So, the writer of Hebrews, what he does, is he uses chapter 1 to prove the identity of the Messiah. He uses seven Old Testament passages. To pro who the Messiah is and what the Messiah would do when he came.

So he demonstrates to us the identity of the Messiah. That 's all in chapter 1. In chapter 2, verses 5 to 18, he gives us the ministry of the Messiah. This is the work of the Messiah. He came to die. This is who he is. This is what he did. In between, there, chapter 2, verses 1 to 4, he gives the responsibility of man. He had the identity of the Messiah, chapter 1, the ministry of the Messiah, chapter 2, verses 5 to 18, and in chapter 2, verses 1 to 4 He gives responsibility to man in light of who he is, in light of what he's done.

This is your responsibility. And so he says these words in chapter 2, verse number 1. For this reason, what reason? Based on who Jesus is. We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it. So, in other words, pay attention. Listen carefully. Don't let this go by without you responding. For if the words spoken through angels proved unalterable, verse 2, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, and what was that? Death? Every transgression received a just penalty based on the law of God, and if you broke the law of God, the penalty was death, he says.

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard.

In other words, How should we escape? Escape what? The judgment of God if we neglect such a great salvation? And that's why his argument is so compelling. Because he realizes the beauty and the glory of the Christ. And so, you need to understand how it all fits together, how the inspired Word of God truly is so logically put together in such a way that we can truly understand exactly what's happening. And so, this writer wants them to understand who the Messiah is, his identity. Chapter 1. What the Messiah did.

His ministry, chapter 2, verses 5 to 18, because our salvation is based on the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Whenever you talk to somebody who's from a cult, two questions. Who is Jesus? Right? Who's the identity of Jesus? What is his identity? And then, what must I do to be saved? Because when you talk to people, those are the two questions that matter. And the right of Hebrews answers that who Jesus is, chapter 1. What must I do to be saved? Chapter 2. It's based on the ministry and work of the Messiah.

See that? The Bible so clearly demonstrates to us the greatness of our God. Let me read to you these verses that we're going to talk about today.

Put them in your mind. Chapter 2, verse number 5: For he did not subject to angels the word world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, What is man, that you remember him, or the son of man, that you are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with the glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands. He will put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him.

But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see him, who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

Saying, I will proclaim your name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation. I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I And the children whom God has given me. We'll stop right there because we're not going to get past that this morning. I'm hoping to get to verse 13 today. But here's the point. We told you there are five words that you can hang on as we go through these series of verses that will give you an outline to follow through. The first one was Substitution, sir.

So two people here last week. Substitution, right? Second word, sanctification. Third word, liberation or emancipation.

Fourth word, satisfaction. Fifth word, partic. Five simple words. To hang this chapter on to help you understand exactly why Jesus died. And remember, the writer of Hebrews. Is going to do it differently than we would do it as Gentiles because he's a Jew writing to Jewish people. And we told you last week, let me review for you because this is very important: that Jesus died.

For the purpose of substitution, he would die in your place in mine. Very important to understand that. Substitution is a critical element to understanding the saving work of Jesus Christ. Our Lord. And he begins by taking these people back to Genesis chapter 1 to show him how man now is made a little lower than the angels. Not he was created lower than the angels. But no, he was made lower than the angels because God designed man to have dominion over the birds of the air, the beasts of the field.

Over all things in the earth. Read Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 and 31. It's all about man's dominion. But man lost that dominion when he sinned. And the penalty for that sin, of course, is de. So now Jesus Christ is made a little lower than the angels. Because in the inc, in his humiliation, in his condescension. There was the crucifixion, and that crucifixion provided a substitute for your life and mine. And through that substitution came the resurrection, then of course the glorification and the exaltation of the Son him.

So the writer of Hebrews wants them to know that God's original plan for man, okay, was marred by sin. It's not that God didn't know sin was going to happen. He knew that. Because Christ is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. So the plan was already in motion. And yet, how is man's dignity ever going to be restored unless his iniquity is removed and his enemy is destroyed? And so it all comes through the cross of Christ. This Jesus, we see Jesus, and how you see Jesus is absolutely critical.

Sometimes we don't see him with a spiritual eye. We don't see him the way the scriptures portray him. But we see Jesus. Made a little lower than the angels. He uses the word but as if to say, Behold, look at this.

Man was made lower than the angels at the fall, but this Jesus, this Messiah, He too, who created angels, He said that in chapter 1, He's the creator of all things, was made l than. The angels for a little while. Why? For the suffering of death. The suffering of death. Crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Why did God do this? Because of his grace. His lo kind. It's demonstrated for us in Ephesians chapter 1. If you've got your Bible, turn it with me.

If you would, Ephesians chapter 1. The Apostle Paul says this: Verse 3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise, the glory of His grace. which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

And in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and ins. John said it this way in 1 John 4, verse number 10, Hearing is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation or the satisfaction. For our sins. Over in Romans 5, verse number 8, the Bible says that God commended his love toward us, and that while we had sinned as Christ died for us.

The writer of Hebrews says, Look, it's God's loving kindness. It's God's free love that's been bestowed upon us. It's all been prompted by his grace. And so the right of Hebrews explains to them that this Jesus would taste death for every. Which speaks to the sufficiency of Christ's atoning work on the cross. I love what Paul would say in 1 Timothy 2. If you your Bible turn there with me, if you would, please. 1 Timothy chapter 2. Verse number three says, This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.

Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? God desires all men to be saved. God does not decree that all men be saved. But he does desire that all men be sa. That 's the ultimate desire of our God, who is defined as a savior. And then it says, For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. If it's his desire that all men be saved, then there has to be a way to get to the Father. And the only way to get to the Father is through the Son who became man to die for the sins of you and me.

So he says there's one mediator between God and man. That's the man, Christ Jesus. The only way to get to the Father is through the Son. That's why he came to die. Then he says, This, who gave him a rans for all. Do you understand that? He gave his life a rans for all. Redemption is that which frees us from the bondage of sin. That we might truly serve the true living God. That's redemption. But in order to have redemption, there must be a ransom. That's paid. That payment, listen very carefully, was not given to the devil.

That payment was given to God the Father. That's the ransom that was paid. And it wasn't that Jesus Christ would pay the ransom out of what he had. He paid the ransom with who he was: his life. The word ransom, Lut. Has a preposition at the beginning of it, anti-leut, which intensifies the meaning of it. It wasn't just that there was a ransom paid, but that the one who paid it gave himself in order to accomplish it. That's why he desires all men to be saved, he says, because he gave him as a ransom.

For all, speaking once again, like Hebrews 2:9, the sufficiency of the death of Christ on Calvary. Why do we say that? Because while the death of Christ is sufficient for every man, it is only efficacious to those who believe. It only works with those who believe. It doesn't work with those who don't believe, although it's sufficient for all men. It only works for those who truly put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Our Lord, because not everybody's going to be saved, right? We know that. People die, and unfortunately, they pay for their own sins in eternal damnation.

But Christ came and paid the ransom so that we would understand the beauty of his sacrifice. The just Is sufficient for every man, but efficacious only to those who truly believe what Christ did. That's why the argument in Hebrews 2 is so compelling. That's why he gives the warning in Hebrews 2. Don't let it drift away. He's going to give another warning in chapter 3. If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the day of provocation. T is the day of salvation. Don 't put it off. You need to understand that.

Therefore, Listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you. The death of Christ was sufficient for all. That is, it was unlimited. But it's only efficacious to those who believe, making it limited. People say, Do you believe in an unlimited atonement or do you believe in limited atonement? I say, I believe in the limits of an unlimited atonement. And that just confuses everybody. But I like people confused in that area. Because sometimes we can get caught up in word games and phraseolog. If we understand the sufficiency of Christ's at, William Shedd said these words in the 19th century.

He said, the atonement is sufficient. in value to expiate the sin of all men indiscriminately. And this fact should be stated because it is a fact. There are no claims of justice not yet satisfied. There is no sin of man for which an infinite atonement has not been provided. Therefore, the call to come is a universal call. And while we make the call to all men, why do you think we go to Argentina and Russia and Ecuador and Uganda? Why do we do that? Why do we take trips to go there and preach the gospel?

Because the call is a universal call. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Lord shall be saved. And we want people to understand that. But we also know Jesus said: many are called, but only a few are chosen. Not everybody's going to be saved. That's unfortunate. It doesn't mean that God does not desire all men to be saved because He does. He wants all men to be saved. And we have a hard time understanding the desire of God. But I want to kind of walk you through that this morning to help you understand exactly the desire of our Lord.

In his death. Because I think that sometimes we look at the cross from only a human perspective and not from a divine perspective.

So, I want to walk this through with you very carefully because I want you to understand this. It's important to understand the cross from God's perspective. We understand, the Bible says very clearly, these words in Romans chapter 5.

It says, verse number six, Christ died for the un. We get that. Right? We understand Romans chapter 5, verse number 8: Christ died for us. We understand 1 Corinthians:, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. We get that. We understand that. Christ died. In order that we might be saved from our sin, Christ died in order for the fact that we might have the eternal benefit of living with Him forever. We understand that we get that, but what we don't necessarily understand. Is that Christ primarily did not die for you and me?

He died for God. He died for his father in heaven. Not that his father in heaven needed to be atoned for. No, not at all. The whole purpose in the coming of the Messiah was to fulfill the will of the Father. So, in all reality, Christ died for God. Christ, who is God, died for his Father, who is God. He provided himself as a substitute for God, for his Father in heaven. He did that. And so many times we miss that. So let me explain it to you through what the Bible says.

The Bible says in Galatians chapter 1, verse number 4. Christ gave himself for our sins according to the will of God and according to the will of his Father in heaven. The Bible says in Romans 8, verse number 3, what the law could not do, that it was weak to the flesh, God did by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin.

And then, of course, Romans:: The Father did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all. And if you understand the Gospels in John chapter 4, where Christ says, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

John 6, 38, I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And then John chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, My Father loves me because I laid down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down. I have the power to take it up again. This comm I have received from my F. In other words, God sent Christ to earth to die. Because God sent Christ to earth to die, what Christ accomplished was the will of his Father.

Now, please understand this. Remember Romans 11? Romans 11? Sometimes we forget this. Romans chapter 11, O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, unfathomable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became his counselor? Or who is first given to him that it might be paid back to him again.

For from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever and ever. To him Through him and from him are all things. What things? All things. Everything is about God. Nothing is about us. We've reversed that and made everything about us and nothing about God. But in Scripture, everything is about God. Everything is from Him. Everything goes through Him. Everything ultimately comes back to Him for His glory and for His honor. So, Romans chapter 1, verse number, states very clearly these words.

Concerning the Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, verse 4, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of Hol, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his name's sake. Do you know that Philippians 1:2 says, It has been granted for Christ's sake that you believe on him and that you suffer for him. You believe in Christ not for your sake, primarily, but for his sake.

It's all about. Christ. It's all about His work. It's all about who He is. It's all about God the Father. Salvation is a work of God about God. Remember back in Luke, we talked about when they came and asked the question, Lord, are there many being saved? Remember the question? Because Very few people were following the Christ. And we asked and answered the question: what does it mean to be saved? Saved from what? Saved from what? If you go to ask someone, are you saved? And they say, yes, I'm saved.

Ask and answer this question: What are you saved from? The answer is God. God came to save me from God. God came to save me from the wrath of God. God came to save me from the judgment of God. I've been saved by God from God Himself. What an amazing, amazing love is that. And so here we understand that we believe in him for his name's sake. We suffer him for his name. Sake over in 3rd John, it talks about we spread the gospel for his name's sake. Why do we do this? For Christ. Now, the byproduct of that is our salvation.

Salvation is a by. It's a byproduct of the proclamation of the gospel for Christ's name's sake. It's all about him. That's why we say Christ died. For God. Put it this way. The Bible says these words in John:.

I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do, Christ says.

I finished the work. I came here to do something specifically for my Father in heaven. Now I've finished it. In John chapter 7, verse number 18, he never sought anything other than the glory of his Father. In John 5, verse number 30, I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me. Me, in other words, Christ died For God the Father. That's why it pleased the Lord, Isaiah 53, to crush his Son. Why would it please him to crush his son?

Because his son came to die for him. That's very important. We need to understand the cross from a divine perspective, more so than a human perspective. One author said this: We tend to think too much of what the cross means to us and too little of what it means to God. In order for the cross to mean anything to us, it must mean everything. To God. The better we understand this, the more clearly we understand the cross. So true. So, the writer of Hebrews says, I'm going tell you why Jesus died. Because he came to taste death for every man.

He came as a substitute because there's a penalty. It's called death. The wages of sin is death. You can't pay that penalty, but there's a perfect sacrifice who can pay the penalty. And that's Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's substitution. Next word: sanctification. Sanctification. Why did Jesus die? And what I'm going to show you in Scripture is unlike anything you might think of. But Christ came to set us apart, to make us holy. Now I know we don't always act holy. Okay? He came to make us righteous, but we don't always act righteous.

But know what the great thing is about that? Positionally, we are righteous. Positionally, we are holy. That's why we can approach the throne of grace. We're priests in God's kingdom, right? So, positionally, we are righteous. Positionally, we are holy. But while on earth, we make it our ambition to match practice with position, to match our lifestyle with who we are in Jesus Christ our Lord. And Satan, all the while, comes along and tempts us, and there's all kinds of difficulties along the way, but that's the purification process that we might live for the glory and honor of God.

Why did Jesus die? Number one, substitution. Number two, sanctification. Turn back to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. For it was fitting for him. In other words, it was in line with his character. It was consist with his Character. Whose character? The character of God the Father. It was consistent with his character. The character of God, meaning the attributes of God, his wisdom, his love, his power, his knowledge, everything about who God is. The reason he did this is because it's consistent with who he is.

It's consistent with his character, he says. For whom are all things, and through whom are all things. Same things Romans 11 said: For from him, and through him, and to him are all things. He is the cause of all things, he is the channel of all things. So everything is about God, and it's fitting for Him who is all-wise, all-knowledge, all-powerful, all-love, all grace, all mercy. The sovereign God of the universe, it was fitting for him, for whom all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory.

Wow. It's consistent with his character to bring many sons to glory. He wants to glorify those he saves. Wow. To perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings for both he who sanctifies, who sets apart, and those who are sanctified, those who are actually set apart. Are all from one Father, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. This is so good. Why does the L set us apart? Sanctify us. Israel was set apart. They were a holy nation. And they were set apart, specifically, if you were here on Wednesday night.

By their diet, right? Their diet set them apart from all the other nations of the world. A diet that nobody likes, even the Jewish people. But that diet sets them apart, right? We're not set apart by a diet. We're set apart by the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. He sanctifies us through his death. He sets us apart through his death. We're set apart unto God from the world. Listen carefully. We are set apart, we are sanctified. For what purpose? So you and I can be a part of a family. That's why we're set apart.

So we can be, as we say, for both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father. For which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Can you imagine Christ not ashamed to call us his brothers? Have you ever been ashamed of Christ? Where you go to work and someone starts talking about something, and you know you need to say something, but you don't for fear of what they might think? O you go to school and you're sitting in the classroom and you know evolution is completely wrong, but you don want to say anything because of what people might think about you or say about you and you might not know everything about it, but you want to say something, but you don't say something because you're a little bit ashamed, maybe?

Say, well, I'm not ashamed. I just don't know. No, no, no, you're really ashamed of the gospel. Paul said, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is a power of God unto salvation to the Jews first, also to the Greeks.

But so many times we're ashamed. But isn't it interesting that God's not ashamed to call you his brother? Oh, by the way. We were never called brothers. No one was ever called a brother before the resurrection. Only after the resurrection are we called brethren. Did you know that? When the resurrected Christ told Mary in John 20, he said, Go tell my brethren. First time.

That have risen. They were called disciples? Yes. Followers of Christ? Yes. Called many things, but never called brothers, sisters. But now, after the resurrection? Because he set you apart that you might be a part of a family, the family, the family of God. But this isn't new to the New Testament. This was all a part of the plan, even in the Old Testament. And that's why the Jewish writer. Writing the Jewish people proves that this has always been the plan. I mean, this is so rich. I mean, it's just over the top inc.

Look what it says. It says. He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified, remember, he wants to bring many sons to glory. Why? Because he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Same. Now remember, the writer of Hebrews does not tell us where he quotes from. It doesn't give us the author. It never does. Seven verses in chapter one, right? He's already quoted Psalm 8 in chapter 2, but he doesn't tell us. He just says, But one has testified somewhere. Didn't say where, but he knows where. Don't think he doesn't know where.

He does know where. He's a Jew. He knows the Old Testament. He knows the Psalm 8. But he doesn't say Psalm 8. He doesn't say D David in Psalm 8 said this because he wants to point them what? To God as author, not man as author. He wants them to see that God is the author of the scriptures. He's very, very specific on how he says what he says. And it's so beautiful because he doesn't say, well, Isaiah said this, and David said this, and no, he just quotes the Bible. Which is very important. Why? Because we talk to people.

You just need to use scripture to prove your point. Just need scripture. Your opinion doesn't matter. Nobody really cares about your opinion. Your own wife doesn't care about your opinion. Okay? And certainly, God doesn't care about your opinion. But God does care about His Word. And so, when you share the Word of God, their argument's not with you. It's with God. I like that. I don't want to argue with anybody. My argument's not with God. My argument's not with man. I just preach what God says so that their argument now is with God and not with man.

I'd, look, I didn't write this. I just quote this because this is what God said. So the writer of Hebrews, who's speaking to Jewish people, Who are in the synagogue every day, who know the Old Testament because they read through it every day. That's what they do. They read through the Pentateuch, they read through the Old Testament, the laws of the prophets. He says it in these words, I will proclaim your name to my, what's that? Brethren. Where's he quoting from? Psalm 22? Verse number 22? Which is a messianic psalm, which they all knew was messianic.

Because they're Jews. And they knew it was Messianic because it talked about the crucifixion of the Messiah. But at the crucifixion came a resurrection. In Psalm 22, he's speaking about the aftermath of the crucifixion. He's speaking about The Messiah's life and says, I will proclaim your name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation. I will sing your Praise. In other words, the Messiah is going to dec, dec his brethren. In front of his father. This whole family thing was just not made up in New Testament thing.

This was an Old Testament plan. So he takes them back to Psalm 22 to prove Messiah and his resurrection and his affiliation with the brethren. This is this. He goes to Isaiah 8, verse number 17, in verse number 13, and Isaiah 8, verse number 18. He says this. And again, I will put my trust in him. In other words, the Messiah is putting his trust in his father. Behold, I am the children whom God has given. Me. Wow. This whole family thing was always a plan. We talk about sanctification being set apart unto God for His purposes.

Yes, we are. We are to be as holy as He is holy. 1 Peter 1, verses 15 and 16, because He is a holy God, He demands that we live His life. That's true. He died that we might be a part of a family. And that's why we tell you that in salvation today, we only think of it as a personal salvation, not a corporate salvation, not that we all get saved together. But we forget. Remember when they came to Jesus and said, Mark 3, your mother and your brothers are outside. Your mother wants to talk to you. And Jesus said, Who are my mother and my br?

But those who believe in me. What did he do? He elevated the spiritual over the physical. He elevated the family of God over your own personal family. Because the family of God is going to last forever. And so he wants to give them a perspective. On his finished work. We are a family. We're placed into the family of God. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and he is not ashamed to call us brethren. Back in Hebrews 11, all the way back in chapter 11. He says this in verse number 16. But as it is, they desire a better country.

Who was that? These people in the hall of faith? People like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Noah and Abel and all those people who wanted to follow the Lord? He says, but as it is, they desire. Better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a stud for them. Isn that great? God is not ashamed to be called their God. I'm not ashamed to be called Abraham's God. I wonder if God would say that about us. I don't know about that guy. I don't know.

I love Jack, but I'm not sure I want to be called as God. He would never say that. He would never say that. Because he's not. They desired a better country. They lived for the glory of heaven. They lived having not received the promises, but in anticipation of the promises. And they were so anticipatory in their nature that God says, you know what?

I'm not ashamed to be their God because they live for me. They live for me. And I'm not ashamed to call them my brothers. That is so rich and so beautiful because we're joiners with Christ. Right? We one day will rule on the throne with him, it says in Revelation 3 and Revelation chapter 5. But that is just so incredibly beautiful. The Bible says, we've got a couple of minutes here, in Hebrews chapter 2, for it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, through whom are all things, in bring him into glory.

To perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. How do you perfect that which is perfect already? How do you perfect the divine nature of God? That's very important. To perfect the author, author, originator, leader, pioneer, captain, tra is a good word. The trail. He is the trailblazer. He is the leader. You know, the Lord didn't stand up in heaven and say, Hey guys, follow me. Stand up in a cloud and say, Follow me. No. Through the inc, he became man, the infles of God, and called for men to follow him.

Didn't write us a letter. He just came to man. He didn't stand behind and try to push. He's in front. He's a trailblazer. He's a pioneer. He is the originator of salvation. He is the author of salvation. But in his incarnation, he was made perfect, complete through his sufferings. In other words, how do you know? That Jesus the Messiah can provide for us eternal salvation because in the inc, in his infles as a man. He was made complete because he was tempted at all points, like we are, yet without what?

Sin without sin. He paved the way when it comes to obedience. Remember Hebrews chapter 5? Hebrews chapter 5, verse number 9, it says, And verse 8: And although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered, and having been made perfect or complete, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation. His life paved the way for us to understand obedience, for us to understand suffering. 1 Peter 2, verse 24, I believe it is. First to understand life, death, and resurrection, because I live, you too will live.

This author, this trailblazer, this leader. Christ, who was made for a little while lower than the angels in the inc, came to die. Why? As our substitute, in our place, to pay the penalty for your sin for mine. Having paid the penalty, now He sets us apart, He sanctifies us. He sets us apart to be a part of something great than ourselves. He puts us in the family of God. And all that. All that was something that was pro in the book of Isaiah and in the messianic psalm, Psalm 22. Where the Messiah him will have his children with him.

It 's all about being part of a family. Jews are big on families, right? Jews are big on families. Don't have so many kids. I'm not Jewish. Well, I guess I am. I'm a Jew inwardly, I guess. That's why I got eight kids. But they're big on family, really big on family. So he approaches the sanctification process from the family background to show that all this was prophesied. You think your families are great? There's a greater family. It's not the family of Abraham. It's the family of Jesus. Are you a part of that?

You didn't set a part under that. This is such a rich passage of scripture that will help us grow in the knowledge of Christ. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. You are so great, so good, so incredibly awesome to show us your wor and what it means. Lord, I pray for every man, every woman who is here today, those children that are on our campus, those youth that are in youth ministry, those others who are in elective classes being taught at this very moment. If there be one who does not know you, may today be the day of their salvation.

May they put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ our Lord alone. And believe in your finished work on Calvary's cross and come to you broken over their sin, saying, Lord, I have nothing to bring, but to your cross I cling. That's our prayer. We love you, Lord. Thank you for our time in Jesus' name. Amen.