30 December 2007 6:30PM
Jean-Pierre Joubert

Heb 2:10-18

In order for Jesus to relate to us, He had to suffer so that He could become a faithful and merciful High Priest.

Now communion is not just about us having our wine and bread, it is about Him that had to do it first so that we could do it with Him. It is not a one-way action – it goes both ways. He had to partake of our suffering, so that we could partake of His.
From Adam until now, man had to suffer under the form of sin. Jesus had to take the form of a man, a servant, in order to be able to associate with us.
For Him, even coming in the flesh was suffering, being limited in the form of man, not being able to do what He is able, as God, to do. He was also tempted by sin, to miss the mark, to not do God's will. If He couldn't associate with us, He wouldn't be able to be merciful to us, sitting at the right hand of the Father.
He faced the cross, even though none of us deserve it, in order to be merciful to us. He wanted to associate with us, that is why He came in the flesh.
We are one with Him as He is one with us. This is why He is able to sanctify us, because we are one.
Jn 15:7-8
We are to abide in Him, and His Word in us so that the Father may be glorified.

1. What did He get out of suffering for us?

Heb 2:10 – He brought many sons to glory. How? When he died, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mt 27:51). The veil separated the holy of holies from the outer court. Once a year the high priest could go into the holy of holies to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Now that the veil is torn, anyone can go into the Presence of God and experience His glory.

Heb 12:2 – He was made the Author and Finisher of our faith. We don't have to chase faith and wonder how to get faith. We already have it when we believe in Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom10:17).

Heb 2:10 – He was made perfect by suffering. Moreover, He has perfected forever, those who are being sanctified (Heb 10:14). He has already perfected us.

Heb 2:14 – He has destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. As a result of this, we have been released from captivity or the bondage of fear. We don't have to fear anything anymore.

Heb 2:17 – Because He can relate to us, He has been made a merciful and faithful High Priest, so that He could make atonement for our sins. Jesus took our place for suffering for sins on Himself. Jesus understands what we face. He was tempted, just as we are tempted. If we can't see Jesus being tempted, then we'll kick ourselves every-time we find ourselves tempted. He was tempted in all things, just as we are.

Anytime we go through sufferings, there will be benefits in the end, the least of which, if nothing else, is experience. We go through sufferings for the benefits of others, so that we can teach and help them.

We have assurance of God's reward in our own lives.

Heb 2:16 – He aids those who are of the seed of Abraham. We don't have to born a Jew to be the seed of Abraham (Rom 2:28-29 & Gal 3:7 & 29).
If we believe in Christ, we are Abraham's seed. And if we are Abraham's seed, we can expect aid from Jesus anytime we need it.

2. What kind of aid?

Heb 2:14 – Freedom from death and the devil. Jn 10:10 – Jesus came that we might have life more abundantly. We are free to live as He has called us to live with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, living in His kingdom.

Heb 2:15 – Freedom from the fear of death. This freedom was resulted in atonement and sanctification of sins.

Heb 2:18 – Aid in and a way out of every temptation. 1 Cor 10:13 – He gives us the power to bear temptation, to deal with it and take the way of escape. There is no other religion that gives a way of escape from temptation and freedom from fear and death. 1 Cor 4:20 – His kingdom is not in word, but in power. This power we received when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. It is the power to be witnesses.

3.How did He keep His perspective in suffering?

Heb 2:13 – He put His trust in God.
Lk 22:42 – He didn't feel like dying on the cross, but he submitted to the will of God.
We are led by Him to do His will. When we submit to God, it keeps us humble. It keeps everything in perspective. We know that when we submit to a situation in our lives, that is what God wants for us. It may not be easy, but we know that we will be better off when we have gone through it.

Heb 2:12 – He declared God's name to us.
He preached. How can anyone hear if no-one preaches? His own family rejected Him because they didn't recognize Him as the Son of God; even His own disciples denied Him when He was taken to be nailed to the cross. This didn't deter Him, He kept speaking the truth. Stephen did the same in Acts 7.

Heb 10:12 – He praised God.
Praise is an enormous key in the midst of suffering. David understood this. He wrote a book of Psalms expressly praising God. He expressed the bad situations he went through, but he always ended the Psalm with perspective. We need to understand that it's O.K. that we speak to God about the bad and negative things in our lives. We need to be honest with Him, but then we also need to recognize Him in it and praise Him even though we're facing tough times.

Heb 12:1-3 – …who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He saw the end from the beginning.
Sin means to miss the mark. We need to have something to aim at. Jesus had something to aim at: our salvation.
We need to keep perspective and focus on Jesus, to accomplish our goal: to make disciples of all the nations… (Mt 28:19-20)

All the negatives we have, He can change into positives if we let Him. If we seek Him, He will give the solution. Go through the suffering so the He can produce a positive, and develop things in our lives.
Rom 8:27-28 – we are those who love God and are called according to His purpose. It is singular. There is only one plan: to make disciples of all the nations.
When life throws you curve balls, look to Christ and those who came before you for examples. Remember those in the body. It's not you and God, it is us and God. It is the body of Christ and Him as the Head. Being part of the body means to recognize when someone else is going through a rough patch and to help them.
When you're struggling with something in your life, don't neglect to go to church! This is the sanctuary. Run to church! The body is the safety, and without the body, you will not make it.