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Hebrews 2:14-18
Being brothers and sisters in Christ, and being in bodily form “in flesh and blood” living in a world that has been overtaken by sin which prevents this world from reflecting Jesus as it was intended, Jesus came to us in taking on the form of man “of flesh and blood” (Hebrews 2:14) to, as we learn from Hebrews 2:9b (NKJV), “for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” For as we are subject to the sufferings of sin in this world, and Jesus came to “taste death for everyone”, He too must be subject to the sufferings for which He came to heal. He came to set us free from the bondage of sin that the devil holds us all in throughout our physical lives (Hebrews 2:15). To set us free from this bondage, He Himself had to experience it as do we, that He submitted Himself to the pain and suffering of sin while being without sin Himself so as to put Himself in position to conquer it (Hebrews 2:17-18). This is what God had to do to, “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14c, ESV). The author of Hebrews keeps with his theme of showing that Jesus is above the angels in authority as he states in Hebrews 2:16 (NIV), “For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.”
This raises the question that is the separation of Judaism and Christianity, and is the argument of the New Testament: Who is the descendants of Abraham? Judaism claims the direct descendants of the bloodline of Abraham – the Jews; Christianity claims the text of Genesis 15:6 as the basis for the descendants of Abraham being through faith. This verse, as quoted in the (ESV) states, “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” This claim to salvation through faith is argued by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians. He states in Galatians 2:16 (NKJV), “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Some would say that James disagrees with this statement making the Bible contradict itself and thus not believable, but we must take each passage in the proper context: Paul is speaking of how to receive salvation, which is through faith. James is speaking of doing good works as a result of our salvation, not to gain salvation but after being saved which shows one’s faith as being authentic.
This is a promise that Jesus came to us to save us from sin, death, and the devil.
The Law was given to Moses by God to show man that he is sinful – to make us aware of sin and the fact that we cannot save ourselves from the punishment for sin which is death (Romans 3:23, 6:23), but to also put within us the reality of the need for a Savior, which God provided for us in His one and only Son Jesus. This brings the victory in the second part of Romans 6:23 (NIV), “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We believe that Jesus died for the sins of all humanity, and that we should not try to limit God’s almighty power by making the sacrifice of Jesus in His death and His resurrection only capable of redeeming those of a particular race. Just before Jesus was arrested, He prayed these words as recorded in John 17:20-21 (ESV), “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Dear LORD,
Thank You for this wonderful lesson from Your word that gives us the promise that Jesus came to be in human form so that He could without doubt be our Redeemer as He experienced the sins of this world while being free from sin and yet paying the price due to sin for each of us that we all may inherit eternal life through Him. Please help us to understand that it is not what we can do to gain salvation but that it is through faith and a sincere heart to Jesus and asking of His forgiveness that sets us free from the bondage of sin – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.