Jesus: The Greater Gift
Greater Than: A Study in Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsIn the pursuit of man set into motion by the Lord, God sent Jesus to take on human flesh and live as man that in his death, he might destroy the hold of death on the rest of humanity. But it was not only Christ’s death that is the great gift to man. In Christ’s life, he gives to humanity the hope and promise of life surrendered to God. In his death, we find life, and in His life, we find our eternal hope.
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
The Pioneer of Salvation
The Pioneer of Salvation
In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
It is through the Lord that all of creation was put into motion. Everything took shape, form and function through the direction of the Lord Almighty. In the fall, creation lost sight of their perfect shape, form and function. Suffering and death entered into the picture and man ceases to pursue God and His plan and begins to shape his life in avoidance of suffering and death.
In this avoidance, man built systems of reliance on temporary things, including his own hands. He finds hope and peace in what he can control which in the end is actually nothing.
It is with this backdrop that the greatest gift is given, Jesus Christ. The writer bestows upon Jesus the title of pioneer of our salvation. The word pioneer means one who goes before and leads the way. The implication is that if Jesus had not gone ahead and blazed the way there would be no salvation. In other words, apart from Christ, there is no salvation.
The Way of Salvation
The Way of Salvation
Hebrews 2:11-
Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
This salvation that Jesus blazed the trail toward is not a promised land, but rather a promised nature. Jesus pioneered for us induction into the family of God. Through Christ, we are no longer objects of wrath but our very nature has been transformed and changed. We are called children of God.
In being a child of God, we are first made holy. Even though we do not feel holy, we are holy. And in our new found nature of holiness, we have been set free to return to the pursuit of our form and function. In Christ, we are restored to pursuing God above. No longer to suffering and death have a hold on us.
In Christ, we have been given the example of what a life lived as a child of God looks like. We see how our relationships with one another are reformed and exalted when we no longer are bound to position, status, blood, and all of the other obstacles to relationship.
In Christ, we see what it looks like to trust our Father and believe that what He says is true and right and good.
In Christ, we see how we are to pour into one another and point one another toward the Lord. we see our purpose, given to us in the garden, to tend and to cultivate God’s garden.
In Christ, we see what it looks like to live as free people, no longer enslaved by death and suffering.
The Gift of Salvation
The Gift of Salvation
Hebrews 2:16-
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
This salvation that Jesus pioneered is a gift for us. Every aspect of this gift was intentionally done with us in mind. In other words, in the very pursuit of salvation, God removed any excuse from creation, any doubt that it was not a gift from God to man.
Jesus takes on human flesh and lives in complete dependence just as we do. In every way, He embraced and lived out the human condition. He was tempted as we are tempted. he was hurt as we are hurt. He suffered as we suffer. He died as we die. Every aspect of Christ’s life on earth was lived out in the fullness of His humanity. And yet, He never succumbed to His flesh. He never lost sight of the hand that provided.
In this same vain, our salvation in Christ is the gift of living out our days with this same dependence. We have been given the uninhibited access to the God through whom all things were created. We have been given the perfect example of what a life of dependence looks like and yields. We have been given the living hope and promise of the Spirit that indwells us to seal us and teach us that death is no longer a fear. We have been given a high priest that knows what we endure and is interceding on our behalf before the Father.
Jesus has bestowed upon us the perfect gift of salvation. Are we living as saved people? Are we embracing this gift and living in its truth? Are we still enslaved by suffering and death?