Praise the Lord, if you have a Bible with you, would you turn
with me please for our Scripture reading to the Epistle to the
Hebrews and chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2, and we're
just going to read the first 9 verses of this chapter.
Hebrews chapter 2 commencing to read at verse one.
The Apostle says, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we
should let them slip. For if the words spoken by
angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if
we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that
heard Him? God also, bearing them witness,
both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and gifts
of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will.
For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to
come, Whereof we speak that one in a certain place testified,
saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the Son
of man, that thy visitest him? Thy amazed him a little lower
than the angels, Thy crownest him with glory and honour, and
that set him over the works of thy hands.
Thy hast put all things in subjection under His feet.
For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left
nothing that is not put under Him.
But now we see not yet all things put under him, 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.
Amen. May the Lord bless to us the
public reading of His own inspired and His infallible Word
of Allah. Now we're turning again to the
Epistle to the Hebrews and the Hebrews and chapter 2, and I
want to draw your attention particularly to verse 9, the
last verse that we read in that chapter this morning throughout
the events of the week that has gone by into eternity with the
assassination of that dear man, Charlie Kirk, in the United
States of America. And we think about God's people
in many parts of the world where there is great persecution and
hardship and difficulty, and those who would seek to name the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many have been imprisoned and
others have given their lives for the cause of Christ.
But persecution and opposition has always been the lot of the
children of God. And the apostle writes to the
people who are described as the Hebrew Christians, men and
women, young people, boys and girls who were Jewish, who had
received the Lord Jesus Christ as their own and personal
Saviour. But now much opposition was
taking place, and the apostle says here in verse one.
Therefore we ought to give them more earnesteed to the things
which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
In the opening chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul
gives a number of warnings Lest the people of God should let the
things of God and the word of God, and their faith and their
profession of faith in Christ, lest they should let them slip
and go back into the beggarly elements of this world, and to
encourage them. As he writes these words, he
says in verse 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. And the apostle is writing to
the people of God, and he says, we, we need a fresh to see our
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to think of him and what he
has done and what he has accomplished, and how he left
the heavenly glory and committed this world, and was made in the
likeness of sinful men, and was made a little lower than the
angels. And that who was who would
suffer death on the old rugged cross of Calgary, but now is
crowned with glory and honour. And the apostle is telling us to
look to Jesus, as he says in another verse, lest ye be
wearied and faint in your minds. You know, the apostle could tell
the people that we have something they, they, they were
well used to persecution and opposition.
God's people, his ancient people, people of Israel all
down through time have been persecuted and hounded and
haunted. But here's people, and now, not
only because they were the Israel of God, but now because
they are redeemed by precious blood and their professing faith
in Christ, then there's more opposition coming to them.
And so the apostles trying to encourage them in their walk
with God and in their faith day by day, lest they become tired
and weary, As I said, he quotes that verb in their minds.
He says so consider the Lord Jesus Christ and through one of
the keywords, of course, in the Epistle to the Hebrews is the
word better. And as the apostle writes to
them, he, he tells them how much better the gospel is and that
Christ is even than the, the, the, the foreshadowings of that.
We, we have a better than the rituals that they went through
in the Tabernacle and then in the temple.
We have the Redeemer himself, our Saviour.
We have something that's far better even than the altar of
the Tabernacle or the temple. We have the one who is the
Almighty, the Christ of God who came into the world and bore our
sins and his own body on the tree.
We have more than all the sacrifices that were offered and
all the sacrifices of the old, hymn says.
Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could give
the guilty conscience peace or wipe away the stain.
But Christ the Lamb of God, we have something better than all
the sacrifice. We have the Son of God himself
and this man, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
After he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he
could say it is finished and the work is complete and the price
has been paid once and for all. The old Gospel hymn says once
and for all, O Sinner, receive it once and for all.
O brother, believe it, Cling to the cross, your burden will
fall, for Christ hath redeemed us once for all.
We have something even better than the veil, the veil of the
temple. You remember on that day when
our Saviour died upon the cross, the veil of the temple was rent
and twain from the top to the bottom.
God, as it were, tore it apart. But we have the one who is the
victor of Calvary and the one who rose triumphant over sin and
death and hell and the grave. We have something better even
than the Testament. We have the one who is called
the testator himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who
accomplished it all at the place called Calvary.
And so the apostle is encouraging the people.
He says we see Jesus. He wants them to look to the
Lord Jesus Christ. You remember those people, They
were Greeks. And when the apostles were with
the Lord Jesus and Jesus was teaching, the people came and
they said to the disciples, Sirs, we would see Jesus.
And that's the great prayer of our heart.
Sunday by Sunday prayer meeting, night by prayer meeting night
Bible study by Bible study that we would see Jesus.
Remember the words of the apostle John in the book of the
Revelation when he had that glorious vision of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he turned, he said, to see
the one who spoke with him. And he said, I fell at his feet,
as if they had. Isaiah could say that in the
year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up.
What must it have been for our first parents, Adam and Eve, to
walk with God, to talk with him in the beautiful paradise of
Eden, to see him? It's our prayer that even as we
think about this verse for a moment or two, that we might see
afresh the Lord Jesus as He has revealed in the world.
I want you to notice that we have here the obedient or the
observance of Christ is encouraged.
Paul is encouraging them to look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the one who came into the world in his wonderful
incarnation. He says we see Jesus who was
made a little lower than the angels.
Now when you read in the 1st chapter of this Epistle to the
Hebrews, we have a wonderful exposition of the the Person of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And the Bible says that God in verse one, who at sundry times
in diverse manners speak in time passed unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath on his last days spoken unto us by his Son.
Listen, And his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, whom he hath appointed, who also he made the world's.
And verse 3 says, who being in the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person. And verse 4 says, being made so
much better than the angels. And we're reminded that the Lord
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the Son of God, Co equal, Co eternal
with the Father. He is so much being made so much
better than the angels. And he he hasn't obtained a more
excellent name than the his name.
The name of the Lord Jesus is more excellent.
The angels are created beings, their existence depends on the
will and the word of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he is
Co equal and Co eternal, very God of very God.
And so as you read down that chapter, the Bible says in verse
6, let all the angels of God worship him.
And the apostle says, you're just imagine the Lord Jesus
Christ, his name, his person, everything about it is better
even than the angels, because God never said to the angels in
verse 8, but unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is
forever and ever. A sceptre of righteousness is
the sceptre of thy Kingdom. Verse 13 of chapter 1.
But to which of the angels said he at any time Sit on my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
And the apostle Paul says Christ the Son of God, who is greater
than the angels in his incarnation, in his humiliation
he was made a little lower than the angels.
Verse 16 of chapter 2 reminds us, for verily he took not on
him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
And so we see the Lord Jesus Christ, and round about the
Christmas season we often sing about the little town of
Bethlehem. We think about the one who was
born and wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in the feeding
truck in the Manger, and hire the angels of God sang at his
birth, and our the shepherds came and worshipped at his feet
the Lord Jesus Christ and His incarnation.
He was made a little lower than the angels, and he took upon
himself a body formed in fashion like a man, but yet without sin.
And in that incarnation he came in to the world.
I remember reading a quote by the great Charles Haddon
Spurgeon, the great English Baptist preacher, and Mr
Spurgeon said when he talked about Christ coming into the
world, and there are so many beautiful hymns that describe
it. I love that hymn that says out
of the ivory palaces into a world of woe.
Only his great eternal love could make my Saviour go.
But Mr Spurgeon said if you can think about a man with all his
faculties, in all his power, in all his prowess, he said if that
man could become a worm of the dust.
Spurgeon said that's what it was like for the Son of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ, to leave heaven's glory and to be formed
and fashioned as a man in this world, in his incarnation.
And Paul says we need to observe the Lord Jesus Christ, look to
the Lord, see the Lord Jesus Christ in his incarnation, think
about him in his great act of redemption.
It says there we see Jesus, who has 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. We think about that great act of
redemption that the Lord Jesus Christ suffered, suffered death
upon the cross of Calvary. He didn't deserve to die,
because he who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in it.
But the Lord Jesus had no sin of his own.
He never thought a wrong thought.
He never said a wrong word. He never performed a wrong deed.
He was the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
And yet thereupon the cross of Calvary, God Almighty had to
turn his face away. And Calvary was shrouded in
blackness and darkness. And the Lord Jesus cried out, My
God, my God, why hast thy first? Because God's Son.
And he was still God's only begotten Son.
He was still the darling of God's bosom.
He was still the apple of God's eye, But he took upon himself
your sin and my sin, and he bore our sins and his own body on the
tree. All our iniquities on him were
laid, says the hymn writer. He bore them all to the tree and
Jesus the death of our sins fully paid.
He paid the ransom for me and I create act of redemption when he
shed his precious blood to wash away our sins.
Thank God there's still power in Jesus blood to wash away every
sin and every stay. And the weak chorus says every
sin had to go, the cleansing flow ruled away, ruled away, and
the burden my heart rolled away. And we think about how he
brought about reconciliation of sinful men to a holy God as he
died upon the cross of Calvary. And we think of course too about
his resurrection. We see Jesus who was made a
little lower than the Angel for the suffering and death crowned
with glory and honour. He did not remain in the tomb.
We were singing in the heaven. He could not.
Beholden of death. One day the stone rolled away
from the door, and he arose triumphant over sin and death
and hell and the grave. And thank God, he lives forever
in the power of an endless life. As reading recently there said,
there are 4300 religions in this world at least.
But beloved, there's only one way to heaven.
There's only one mediator between God and men.
There's only one saviour, there's only one door, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And there's many religions and
rituals and rites and ceremonies and all the other things
associated with empty dead religion.
But thank God, Jesus Christ, he conquered sin and death and hell
and the grave, and up from the grave heroes with a mighty
triumph, or his foes. He's the only one who conceive
from sin. And of course his exaltation is
spoken of there. He's crowned with glory and
honour. So the apostle tells the people
for your encouragement, he tells the the Hebrew Christians there
are some people, and he says they have not yet resisted unto
blood. In other words, there's a
possibility that some of these people to whom Paul was writing,
some of these people to whom he had preached that they could
suffer death on account of their faith in Christ, we say some of
you have not yet resisted unto blood.
They're other believers and they have resisted unto blood and
they have stood fast even though they were martyred for the cause
of Christ. And so he says, we need to look
to the Lord Jesus. May God help us to look to Lord.
The observance of crisis and courage, you know the obedience
of Christ is exhibited here. Says we see Jesus who was made a
little lower than the angels. When was he made a little lower
than the angels? As we have said in his
incarnation? And you remember the words of
the Apostle Paul there when he wrote to the church at Philippi
about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but the one who was
equal with God and he thought it not robbery to be equal with God
in Philippines chapter 2 and verse five and six, he says, let
this mind be in you unless we should get above ourselves, as
they say, unless we should think more highly about ourselves.
And we ought to think we ought to have that spirit of
submission and willingness and yieldedness to God.
And there was problems in the church and people were trying to
score points over one another. But Paul says, let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Verse 6 of chapter 2 of Philippines, who being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation took upon him.
The form of a servant was made in the likeness of man, and
being found in fashion as a man, and he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, Paul says.
Think of the poverty that he endured to to come out from the
the place where the streets are paved with gold, and come out of
the ivory palaces, and go through those.
Gates and. Walls of glory and come into
this world and to be rejected and despised among men.
Became for the. Suffering of death.
And he humbled himself, and became obedient even on to the
death of the cross. Not just any death, but the
death of the cross. And the apostle says we ought to
see the Lord Jesus encourages the people to look to him, so
that in seeing Him we too might be obedient.
I always remember at some baptismal services we had in in
Banbridge and used to sing and we chorus, when someone went
through the waters of baptism. And it was Be thy faithful unto
death, be thy faithful unto death.
Why, if we see the Lord Jesus Christ, like John on the Isle of
Patmos, when we see Jesus, he was able to endure the
persecution. He was able to endure being an
exile. He was able to endure the
hardship and the difficulties, as the apostle writes to the
Hebrews as seeing him who is invisible.
And then the apostle not only speaks here about observing
Christ, he encourages us to do that.
He says, look, the obedience of Christ is exhibited here, but
you'll notice there that the the offering of Christ is a factual
and is affected here. He for the suffering of death.
And then it says that he might taste death for every man what
Christ did upon the old rugged cross.
Is he factual? It works, It really works.
It saves men and women from their sin.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me holy here? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
And the Lord. Jesus came into the world.
He was born of the Virgin. He lived a perfect, sinless
life. He poured out his soul unto
death on the old rugged cross of Calvary, that he, by the grace
of God, should taste death for every man.
He suffered the awful agonies of Calvary.
He suffered the indignities he suffered the shame.
He suffered the spitting. He suffered, the mocking.
He suffered the the crown of thorns being beaten into his
brow. He suffered the his back being
like a ploughed field with the Roman whip.
He suffered the the kneels in his hands, the spear in his
side. He died that we might be
forgiven. He died to make us good, that we
might go at last to heaven. See him by His precious blood
and and the offering of our Saviour is one word that the old
Puritan is used to use the oblation, the the sacrifice, the
the the the giving of oneself, the sacrifice of sin forever.
It was affected. It was real works.
It saves the soul and then you'll notice just in closing,
the apostle says the omnipotence of Christ is emphasised here.
He is now. Crowned with glory and honour.
We see Jesus who was made a little more than the angels.
We see Jesus who suffered in, bled and died at the cross of
Calvary. But we see Jesus, who is crowned
with glory and honour, as what the Apostle says, whereby God
hath given him an name that is higher than every other name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow every tongue.
Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. Kings and Queens and Princess
and potentates and presidents will all bow the knee to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Dictators, evil men and women,
those who have fought against the Gospel of Christ all down
through history, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The Ayatollahs and the Buddhists, the Muhammad's this
world. The leaders of the.
Cults. And those who have?
Been against our God and his Christ.
Every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ as Lord. So the apostle says, beloved,
don't be discouraged. Beloved, don't get downhearted.
Beloved, look to Jesus, the one who came into the world, who
died for our sin, who rose again, who has ascended to the
right hand of the majesty on high.
And one day he's coming in power and in glory.
And the dead, small and great, and the nations of this world,
like the seas, will stand before him, and every knee will bow,
and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
I love that week chorus. Maybe we'll sing it tonight.
He is Lord, He is Lord. He has risen from the dead, and
he is Lord. And thank God, we can say that
He's my Lord, He's my Lord. He has risen from the dead, and
he is Lord. Wherefore he is able to keep
that which I have committed unto him against that day.
What a wonderful Saviour we serve.
The old hymn says, I serve our risen Saviour.
Buddha's dead, Muhammad's dead, Confucius is dead, but Jesus
Christ is alive, and he's alive forever more.
So may the Lord help us to see Him afresh, to follow Him, to
look to Him, and to take encouragement in our
discouragement, to take soccer and help from Him in our
weakness, and to press on toward the mark of the high calling in
Christ Jesus. May the Lord bless these simple
thoughts from His Word to our heart for His namesake.