1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:02,760 For Abel, would you please remain standing for the reading 2 00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:06,680 of God's Word? This morning I'll be reading the 3 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,880 letter to the Hebrews. First we'll be reading from 4 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,920 chapter 1 and then from chapter 2. 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,160 Hebrews chapter one, verse 1. Long ago, at many times and in 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:23,160 many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:28,640 these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,720 the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. 9 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,120 He is the radiance of the glory of God in the exact imprint of 10 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,320 His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,480 power. After making purification for 12 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:49,440 sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,320 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,760 inherited is more excellent than theirs. 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:03,880 A chapter 2, verse 9. But we see him who for a little 16 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:08,600 while was made lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, crowned 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,800 with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. 18 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,760 So by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 19 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,160 For it was fitting that he for whom and by whom all things 20 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,440 exist, and bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder 21 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,040 of their salvation perfect through suffering. 22 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,720 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one 23 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,880 source. That is why he is not ashamed to 24 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,640 call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my 25 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,240 brothers in the midst of the congregation. 26 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,160 I will sing your praise, and again I will put my trust in 27 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,000 him. And again, behold, I and the 28 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,320 children God has given me. Since therefore the children 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,960 share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the 30 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,880 same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,400 the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who 32 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,720 through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 33 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:14,480 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the 34 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,560 offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like 35 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,240 his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a 36 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,560 merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to 37 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,160 make propitiation for the sins of the people. 38 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,560 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, is able 39 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,000 to help those who are being tempted. 40 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:41,880 This is the word of Lord. You may be seated well. 41 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,280 During the season of Advent. We focused on the doctrine of 42 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,880 the Incarnation and more importantly, why it matters for 43 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,280 us as Christians. In these past several weeks, 44 00:02:54,280 --> 00:03:00,360 we've seen how the Incarnation helps us understand who Jesus is 45 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:06,640 as the Son of God. In his Gospel, Apostle John 46 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,080 tells us that in John One that Jesus is the Word, that the Word 47 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,000 became flesh and dwelt among us. These last two weeks we've 48 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,280 turned our attention to the book of Colossians. 49 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:21,560 Colossians 1, the apostle Paul tells us that Jesus is the image 50 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,600 of the invisible God, the first born of creation, that in 51 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,120 everything he might be preeminent. 52 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:34,280 And in Colossians 2, Paul tells us that in Jesus the whole 53 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:41,560 fullness of deity dwells bodily. We've also looked at the Nicene 54 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:46,920 Creed, the words that the Church of Jesus Christ has used to 55 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,040 profess what it is that we believe about Jesus in his 56 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,440 incarnation for centuries. We profess that we believe in 57 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:59,120 one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of 58 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:04,440 his Father before our world's God of God, light of light, very 59 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:10,520 God, a very God, begotten, not made the nice. 60 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:15,920 And creed teaches us that Jesus it's fully God and fully man, 61 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:23,920 that he is 2 natures, the divine nature and human nature united 62 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:30,760 and one person, and that 2000 years ago he was Incarnate by 63 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:38,400 the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin named Mary, and was made 64 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:43,440 man. This is why we celebrate 65 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,520 Christmas. But why? 66 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:55,920 Why the incarnation? Why did Jesus take on flesh? 67 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,920 Why did God become man? You see, because the doctrine of 68 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,160 the Incarnation not only helps us to understand who Jesus is, 69 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:13,080 but the doctrine of the Incarnation explains what Jesus 70 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,080 came to do. Without the Incarnation there 71 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,600 can be no cross. Without the incarnation there 72 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:25,480 can be no atonement for sin. Without the Incarnation, there 73 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:30,800 can be no gospel. And so on this 4th Sunday of 74 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:36,160 Advent, we're now turning to the letter to the Hebrews and what 75 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:42,840 we find. The union of God and Man United 76 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:48,200 together in the incarnation of Jesus is the very source of our 77 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,880 salvation and it's the foundation of our union with 78 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,920 him. First thing that Hebrews teaches 79 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:01,160 us is this, that Jesus is both God and Man United in one 80 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:02,560 person. I want you to look with me at 81 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:08,360 Hebrews one verse one. I wish we had time to get into 82 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,720 every part the passage that I read for you this morning, but I 83 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,280 want to just pick out a few verses for us as we begin to set 84 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:21,320 our sight on the Manger and Christmas Eve later this week. 85 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:27,160 The preacher of Hebrews says that long ago, at many times and 86 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,440 in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in 87 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,320 these last days He has spoken to us by His Son. 88 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,080 Now, though this passage is not always associated with 89 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,400 Christmas, it's one of the great and I would argue, key texts for 90 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:50,640 the doctrine of the incarnation. You can almost hear the apostle 91 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,120 John first words of his gospel in the background. 92 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,720 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. 93 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,680 The Word was God, and here the preacher of Hebrews says that 94 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,920 long ago and many times, many ways, God spoke to our fathers 95 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,680 by the prophets, but in these last days he's spoken to us by 96 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:14,480 his Son. God speaks to us by His Word, 97 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,320 but also through His Word, Jesus Christ. 98 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,600 What Hebrews is telling us is that the Bible is not simply the 99 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:31,800 revelation of God about Jesus, but that Christ himself is in 100 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:37,760 his person, in his flesh, the very revelation of God. 101 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:45,800 He is embodied, God revealed to us, and out of his grace and 102 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,240 mercy God has always revealed himself to us. 103 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:54,200 And that is gracious because in our sin we are so far from Him. 104 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,080 But God has always cut through all of that to show us who He 105 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,040 is. In the beginning, He did this by 106 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,160 the work of His creation. Psalm 19 tells us the heavens 107 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,880 declare the glory of God. The sky above proclaims His 108 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,840 handiwork. And then as we move into the 109 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:18,520 Pentateuch and read the story the Giving of Law in the book of 110 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:23,280 Exodus, we see that God revealed Himself to us through His law. 111 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,000 And then as we turn the pages of Scripture to the prophets, we 112 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,800 see that God revealed himself to us through the prophets. 113 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:36,559 And now the author of Hebrews is declaring that now, after all of 114 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,760 this waiting and all of this revelation, God has now finally 115 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,000 revealed himself through his Son. 116 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,600 Jesus is the fullness of God's revelation. 117 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,600 What does that mean? Well, it means that Jesus is the 118 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:56,520 center of the story. He is the hinge of all of human 119 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:00,440 history. He's the fulfillment of every 120 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:06,120 promise and every prophecy. And the author of Hebrews wants 121 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,800 us to know where we are in that story. 122 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,800 He says verse 2, in these last days. 123 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,960 He's spoken to us by his Son in these last days. 124 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,280 What does that mean? What does it mean that we are 125 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:28,040 living in the last days now? We often say that now, hoping 126 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,960 that Christ will come back, but here is the author of Hebrews 127 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,640 saying this some 2000 years ago. What does it mean to be living 128 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:40,440 in the last days? I've always loved a CS Lewis 129 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,840 ended the Chronicles of Narnia. The very final paragraph, the 130 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,200 last words of the last battle, goes like this for us. 131 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,080 This is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly 132 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,480 say that they all lived happily ever after. 133 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,760 But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. 134 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,680 All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia 135 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:07,600 had only been the cover and the title page. 136 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,880 Now, at last, they're beginning chapter one of the great story 137 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:16,360 which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, and which 138 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,800 every chapter is better than the one before. 139 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:27,920 The incarnation of Jesus is the turning page of history. 140 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:36,680 The first advent of Christ's birth marks the end of 1's, but 141 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:41,400 it's just the beginning of another as we wait for the 142 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,800 second Advent, when Christ comes again to fulfill every promise 143 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:49,520 and make all things new. Until then, we are left waiting 144 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,920 and wondering, how can the promises of God be true when the 145 00:10:54,920 --> 00:11:03,680 waiting seems and feels so long? As we struggle and sin and 146 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:11,200 temptation, as we grieve and suffer and experience loss and 147 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:16,560 disappointment, when the waiting seems long, how can God be 148 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,520 trusted? The author of Hebrews reminds us 149 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:28,040 God has spoken to us by his Son through Jesus. 150 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:36,800 God is saying you can trust me. He goes on in verse 3 describing 151 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,920 Jesus with three words. First, he says he is the 152 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:45,120 radiance of the glory of God. The word radiance is used 153 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:49,120 nowhere else in the Bible. It means shining or brightness. 154 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:53,160 It's the way that the light might radiate from the sun. 155 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,160 It's where we get the words of silent night. 156 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,640 We'll sing this Christmas Eve. Silent Night, Holy night, Son of 157 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,320 God loves pure light. Radiant beams from thy holy face 158 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,920 with a dawn of redeeming grace. It's one of the reasons why we 159 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,200 put lights up throughout Christmas. 160 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:19,120 The picture of light shining in the darkness. 161 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,920 And if your family's like mine, one of the great Christmas 162 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,600 traditions that we have is to go around and look at all the 163 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,400 lights throughout our city. And by now we've been doing it 164 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,520 so many years that we have our route. 165 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,160 You probably have your own. You got to go down Beverly Drive 166 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,200 and go slowly behind all the carriages. 167 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,520 You got to make your way over to the Santa House. 168 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,880 But last year we added a new house, maybe you know the one. 169 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,480 My kids call it the Unicorn House because that was the 170 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,160 theme. This year, the theme is How the 171 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,360 Grinch Stole Christmas. Some of you know what I'm 172 00:12:58,360 --> 00:12:59,480 talking about. We went. 173 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,400 It was such a sideshow that the police were there. 174 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,280 They had shut down the street. Once you want to be their 175 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:11,400 neighbor, you had to walk in order to make your way to see 176 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:16,440 the most unbelievable display of lights. 177 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,640 I promise you can see it from space. 178 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,000 The author of Hebrews is saying here is that the radiance of 179 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,600 Jesus is no decoration. It's not a sideshow. 180 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,560 That's not a gimmick. That in the brightness of 181 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:39,240 Christ, who is the light of the world, we see the very glory of 182 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,120 God. And he doesn't stop there. 183 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,800 Later in verse three, he says that Jesus is the exact imprint 184 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,160 of his nature, just like radiance. 185 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,600 The word imprint is used nowhere else in Scripture. 186 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:55,000 It's like a stamp or a seal, like an image on a coin. 187 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,160 In other words, the author of Hebrews is using two different 188 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:03,640 words to show us the paradox of the incarnation, that Jesus is 189 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:09,120 the brightness of divinity, the glory of God, but in his 190 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:15,480 physical form he's also the imprint of the very nature of 191 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,880 God. It's the question that remains 192 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,040 for us, the question we've been asking in this season of Advent 193 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,640 is this. Well then, how can that be? 194 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,800 How can Jesus be both fully God and fully man? 195 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,480 He uses a third word. It's the word nature. 196 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,360 Now stay with me here. This is important. 197 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,600 The Greek word for the word nature is the word hypostasis. 198 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,080 It's where we get a theological term that's called the 199 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:50,040 hypostatic union. I told you stay with me because 200 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:55,400 this is split entire churches. What the hypostatic union 201 00:14:55,400 --> 00:15:01,520 teaches is that there are two natures, 2 distinct natures in 202 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:08,920 one person, Jesus Christ. Those two natures are God and 203 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:15,840 man, divinity and humanity, and what's important for all of us 204 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:20,520 to understand is that these two natures are full. 205 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,520 In other words, Jesus is not part God and part man like 206 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:31,680 Hercules or something. He's not 5050 somehow split. 207 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:39,680 No, He's 100% God and 100% man, and these two natures are united 208 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:47,560 together in one person, and this union is the foundation of our 209 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:49,320 salvation. It's the second thing that 210 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:55,360 Hebrews teaches us, that Jesus went before us as our Savior. 211 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,680 I want you to turn to chapter 2. Find it there in your bulletin, 212 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,640 or again you can turn there in your Bible. 213 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,880 Hebrews chapter 2. The author of Hebrews goes on to 214 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,440 describe the divinity of Jesus by making reference to Psalm 8. 215 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,720 Psalm 8 tells us it's a messianic Psalm, that yet you've 216 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,840 been made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and 217 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,400 crowned him with glory and honor. 218 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,680 Yet you've given him dominion over the works of your hands and 219 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:29,240 put all things under his feet. By pointing back to Psalm 8, the 220 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,320 author of Hebrews is saying Jesus is the promised Messiah. 221 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,440 He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 222 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:39,800 Everything has been subject to him puts under his feet. 223 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:47,920 And yet in Hebrews 2 verse 8, the preacher acknowledges that 224 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,000 the world that we live in does not reflect that reality. 225 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,760 This is at present. We don't see yet everything in 226 00:16:54,760 --> 00:17:00,160 subjection to Him. We feel this, don't we, that we 227 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,720 hear that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of Lords. 228 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,720 We hear that He is reigning and ruling over all things. 229 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:12,000 We look around our world and we say, but it doesn't feel like it 230 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:18,079 doesn't look like it. Parts of our world have 231 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,079 completely rebelled against Him. Parts of our own hearts have 232 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:25,800 completely rebelled against Him. And So what do we do? 233 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,720 What do we do with this dissonance between the 234 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:34,920 proclamation that Christ is king and a world that has turned its 235 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,720 back on him? Where do we turn our gaze? 236 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:48,120 Verse 9, the author's Heber says, see Jesus in the midst of 237 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,160 a world that is being unravelled by sin. 238 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,800 Look at Jesus verse 9. But we see him for who a little 239 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,560 while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus crowned 240 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:02,520 with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that 241 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,240 by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 242 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,480 This is why the incarnation is such good news, because Jesus 243 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:16,400 Christ and His divinity did not stay that he came down, and 244 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,160 though he is King of kings and Lord of Lords, and everything 245 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,160 has been placed under his feet, for a little while he was made 246 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,360 lower than the angels. And then notice what the 247 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,320 preacher says. He's crowned with glory and 248 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:36,640 honor, not in spite of his suffering of death, but because 249 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:42,920 of it. This is why Jesus took on flesh. 250 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:49,680 Why did God become man? Jesus was born in a Manger that 251 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:54,720 he could die on a cross, and that is why He is worthy of all 252 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,000 glory and honor and worship. This Christmas season. 253 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,720 The author goes on verse 10. For it is fitting that he for 254 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,000 whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to 255 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,040 glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect 256 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:17,640 through suffering, calls Him the founder of our salvation. 257 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,160 That word founder he will use again in Hebrews 12 verse 2 258 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:27,320 recalls us to look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our 259 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,000 faith, who for the joy was set before him endure the cross, 260 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,920 despising the shame, and his seat at the right hand of the 261 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,000 throne of God. That word founder, it's an 262 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,320 amazing word. It was used in Greek mythology 263 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,800 to describe a champion, somebody who would go into battle before 264 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,320 the people and fight on their behalf. 265 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,360 That is who Jesus is for us, and that is what he has done for us 266 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:58,320 in his incarnation. He stepped down into the misery 267 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,000 of our sin and into our grief and our suffering so that he 268 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,800 could go before us, so that he could be our champion, so that 269 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:12,360 he could fight our every battle and he could defeat sin and 270 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:16,960 death once and for all. But it also means pioneer. 271 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,600 It means forerunner, my personal favorite. 272 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:29,960 It means trailblazer. Jesus has gone before us to 273 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:34,720 death on a cross, but now he goes before us. 274 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:41,960 He is blazing the trail, making a way of salvation for us. 275 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,480 The Dutch theologian Herman Bobbing points out that every 276 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:53,720 worldview, every philosophy, every world religion is a self 277 00:20:53,760 --> 00:21:00,000 salvation project, a way at trying to save ourselves and get 278 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,680 to God. The gospel is the only story, 279 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:09,160 the true story, but God came down to us. 280 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,160 Jesus in His incarnation made His way down to us and order 281 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,840 that we could make our way to Him. 282 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,280 This brings us to the third thing that Hebrews teaches us, 283 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,760 that Jesus is with us as our brother. 284 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,840 I want you to look with me. Hebrews 2 verse 11. 285 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:36,480 The author goes on, and he says that he who sanctifies and those 286 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,200 who are sanctified all have one source. 287 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,360 He's continuing to help us to understand why the incarnation 288 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,440 matters. And earlier in chapter 1, we see 289 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:56,320 how Jesus, the radiance of the glory of God, is one with God. 290 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:03,200 But now we see that in his deity and his humanity, Jesus is one 291 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,120 with us. Notice what it says. 292 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,080 For he who sanctifies, who is that? 293 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:10,440 Well, that's Jesus, the one who sanctifies. 294 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:13,640 And then he talks about those who are being sanctified. 295 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,960 Well, who are they? Or those are all who trust in 296 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,760 Jesus Christ for their salvation. 297 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:24,000 Followers of Jesus, those who've trusted in his death and 298 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,360 resurrection. And notice what he says. 299 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:29,240 He says they all have one source. 300 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:34,200 Literally, it says that they are one, that Jesus in his 301 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:40,280 incarnation has become one with those whom he saves. 302 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,760 This is what we call union with Christ. 303 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:52,200 You see, in the union of the incarnation, fully God, fully 304 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:58,360 Man United in one person, we have the source of our union 305 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,560 with Jesus. If there was no incarnation, if 306 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,600 Christ did not take on human flesh, there's no way that we as 307 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,160 humans could make our way to him. 308 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:16,960 Throughout the Bible we see the story of God coming to us again 309 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:21,800 and again and again, and then suddenly in the Gospel of John, 310 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,520 we're told that now God dwells with us. 311 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,520 And then throughout the writings, the apostle Paul, 312 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:36,720 we're given this amazing reality of the gospel that because 313 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,200 Christ dwells with us, we are one with him. 314 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,320 We've been united to him. He uses the phrase in Christ 315 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,760 more than 160 times. Just going to give you a few 316 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,680 examples. Ephesians 2 verse 10 Paul says 317 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,640 we are created in Christ. Galatians 2 verse 20 we are 318 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,760 crucified with Christ. Colossians 2 verse 12 we are 319 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,960 buried with Christ. Romans 6 verse 3 we've been 320 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:09,400 baptized into Christ. Romans 6 verse 5 we've been 321 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,720 united with Christ in His death and His resurrection. 322 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,960 Ephesians 2 verse 6 We've now been seated with Christ in the 323 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:20,320 heavenly places in Ephesians 3 verse 17 and now Christ dwells 324 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:21,720 in our hearts. What does that mean? 325 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:24,360 Means because of the Incarnation. 326 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:29,640 When Christ died on the cross, we died, and our sin died with 327 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,600 them. When Christ came out of the tomb 328 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:38,000 on the third day and rose in his body from the grave, we rose 329 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:42,720 with him. And now Christ, seated at the 330 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:47,320 right hand of God to the power of the indwelling of Holy 331 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:53,760 Spirit, now dwells not just with us, but in US. 332 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,680 And if this seems so high and lofty and too hard to wrap your 333 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,800 mind around, it's because it's getting at the union of the 334 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:12,760 incarnation. How is it that humanity can be 335 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:21,240 indwelt by the divine? So Paul, I'm talking about union 336 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,560 with Christ again and again and again shows us that it's the 337 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:30,920 heart of the gospel. And here the author of Hebrews 338 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:37,200 shows us that the way that this lives out in our daily lives is 339 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,440 something that we if this seems high and lofty experience every 340 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,200 single day. Look at the end of verse 11. 341 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:51,720 He says that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. 342 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:59,680 See, to be one with Jesus is to be included in his family in the 343 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,800 same way that each of you and your own families are one with 344 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,840 your family. We call it flesh and blood. 345 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:11,400 And what's unbelievable about the incarnation is that we who 346 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:16,440 once orphaned by sin, have now been adopted into the family of 347 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,600 God because Christ came down to us, The Son of God came down to 348 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:29,920 be one of us. We are God's children because 349 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:33,520 God is our Father. And what that means? 350 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,000 Get this. Jesus Christ, that same King of 351 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,880 kings, that same Lord of Lords, that same radiance of the very 352 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:49,240 glory of God, is our brother. He's not just our Savior, He's 353 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,000 our brother. He's one of us. 354 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:58,360 And not only that, He is not ashamed to call us his brothers 355 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,480 and sisters. I don't know if you've ever been 356 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,440 ashamed of any of your family members because that might be 357 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,880 too painful of an illustration. Let me give you a different one. 358 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:13,400 Yesterday I went with a different kind of family and I 359 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:18,280 went to the Texas A&M playoff game and we stopped at you 360 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,160 Woody's gas station on the way down. 361 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,680 And of course, we're all decked out in our Aggie gear. 362 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,720 And let me tell you, it felt pretty good to walk around 363 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,320 decked out and Aggie maroon and white and see everybody else. 364 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,160 And they're like, yeah, we're all going, we're doing it. 365 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:38,840 We're going to the game. And after the game, we stopped 366 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,520 at Woody's on the way back, and I'm supposed to never be ashamed 367 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,880 to be an Aggie. But I'll tell you, it felt a 368 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,160 little different to where Aggie maroon Woody's gas station after 369 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:55,640 the game. Jesus is not ashamed of you. 370 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:03,640 And if you this morning are so overwhelmed by the shame of your 371 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:08,200 sin and can't believe that Jesus is not ashamed of you, look no 372 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,160 further than the incarnation, because he was not ashamed to 373 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,680 put on human flesh. He wasn't ashamed. 374 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,440 He's not ashamed to call you brother or sister. 375 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:31,000 And now He is with us in every respect, verse 17 and every 376 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,200 respect made like his brothers in every way, bearing our 377 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,600 griefs, carrying our sorrows when he suffered and he was 378 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,600 tempted. He is able to help us when we 379 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,040 suffer and we tempted. Whatever you face, whatever you 380 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:53,400 experience, Jesus knows. Not only does He know, but in 381 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,440 His incarnation He laid His life down for it. 382 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,160 He was born in a Manger. To die in your place on the 383 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,840 cross. He rose from the grave as our 384 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,680 trailblazer to make a way for us in our resurrection. 385 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:16,760 And now in him, the fullness of his incarnation, He dwells with 386 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:23,760 us, not ashamed to be with us as our older brother. 387 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,840 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, I pray that as 388 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:32,600 we now turn the page to Christmas Eve, that you would 389 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:37,720 fix our eyes on Jesus. As we look around this world and 390 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,560 even look at our own families and our own hearts, we are 391 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,800 overwhelmed with temptation and sin and grief and sorrow. 392 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:51,040 Help us to see Jesus. Help us to gaze at the Manger 393 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:56,440 and see the One who came down to dwell with us so he could die 394 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:01,680 for us, so he could rise on our behalf, so now he might be with 395 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,440 us and walk with us as our older brother. 396 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,960 May we follow him into this Christmas Eve. 397 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:14,400 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Let's stay on the scene.