Hebrews series

The reading this morning is from Hebrewus chapter 2.

We must pay more careful attention therefore to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment. How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Spirit distributed according to his will. It is not to angels, but he has subjected the world to come about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified. What is man that you are mindful of him? The son of man that you care for him.

You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet. In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present, we do not see everything subject to him, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of god, he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, It was fitting that god for whom and through whom everything exists should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Both the 1 who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, I will declare your name to my brothers. In the presence of the congregation, 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 destroy 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. For surely, it is not angels that he helps, but Abraham's descendants.

For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers 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. Thank you, Shalini. Well, good morning, from me. My name is Rory Kanard.

I'm 1 of the members of staff here, at Cornerstone. And, we're starting this new series in Hebrew. He was just looking at this chapter of chapter 2, and you might be thinking why why, Rory? Well, I'll tell you for why. Often around this period of time, we wanna we wanna celebrate Christmas, but It can often be the case that, all all we sort of think about is a nice little baby Jesus.

And we wanna say why does Jesus come? What are the reasons for him? And in many senses, there's no there's no better books than the book of Hebrews. For the author of Hebrews, although we don't know who he is. His his real purpose is to show us Christ.

He wants to show us just how incredible the lord Jesus Christ is, in order that we revel in him, in order that we don't move away from him, you'll see at the start of chapter 2, he says, don't drift away. In order that we don't go to other things to try and get ourselves right with garden, and so we stay firm into the lord Jesus Christ. And so that's why, really, we wanted to do a few, sessions in Hebrews too. We're only gonna be really looking at verse 5 to 9. You'll be glad to know.

So let us let us get into this. Let's pray first, and then we'll have a think about what it says to us. Father, we thank you so much, for your words. We thank you for this incredible book. Off, Hebrews.

It just has so many riches. And as we look at, chapter 2 over these next few weeks, as we look at this, short section today, we pray father that you will help us So easy to take our eyes of the lord Jesus Christ. And so we pray that this morning, you will put them back on him. Now let us see just how incredible our savior is. Let us revel in the great salvation that you have won for us.

And so we pray that you will help us this morning, get rid of all distractions, and let us see with clarity, Christ. And so we pray this in his name, amen. I wanna start by asking you a question. What is mankind? What is mankind?

If you're gonna define humanity, what would you say? What would you say is the definition of a human? Self distracted brain? Didn't think it was a it was more of a rhetorical for you to think, but but thank you. Self destruct is good.

Yeah. We'll we'll go with that. I think you get a whole host of answers. You'll get a host of answers from, very positive to to very negative, apparently, which which isn't far off off the mark. Some people think that the humanity is the highest point of civilization.

Whereas others may just go down the line of saying, well, we're just a a a a species that has evolved gradually throughout millions of years, and we're now sort of this sort of humankind thing. Or we're just a a clump of cells that somehow walk and talk and interact with 1 another. There's many there's many negative views about about humanity. Evil, the evil that humans do to 1 another. I mean, I I I came across, you many of you will have know the comedian Ricky Jervais.

And he says this about humanity. If you agree, humanity is basically a parasite killing its host. Green with that? Or humanity is a plague. We're a disgusting narcissistic selfish parasite, and the world would be a better place without us.

Thank you, Ricky. Really, cheer the soul this morning. Yeah. Merry Christmas. Shall we pray?

No. People might and people people generally have have issues with what humanity is and and what is my what is my meaning? What is my purpose? What is my my role? Is it there's a desperate search for understanding who we are, what we are, what's our role in this in this world?

Is there any is there any point? And so I think that the the the the verse 5 to 9 show us what it is to be human. So look with me at this. Look firstly at verse first, my first point, sorry. The pinnacle of creation.

It's not a parasite, Ricky. It's the pinnacle of creation ruling. First 5 starts, it is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come about which we are speaking. He's he's linking back into actually chapter 1 to 5 to 14. He's been talking about angels.

And a ended verse 14 of chapter 1, you might see that if you look back. Are not all angels ministering spirits, senses serve those who will inherit salvation? And then he's and then he sort of got sidetracked. Apparently, the writer of Hebrews has the smoothest of transitions says 1, commentator that it's so smooth, so, so smooth that you can't actually see or understand that you're in him. And then suddenly you realize, oh, we were talking about something else a second ago.

Which is kinda what he's done in chapter 2 verse 1 to 4. And then he's like, actually, no, let's go back to angels. Let's let's go back. Do you remember when we talked about angels? You remember when we're talking about them?

Let's come back to them. Right. You see those angels? They're not the rulers. They're not the ones to rule.

So who then is it that is ruling? Well, look at verse 6, but there is a place where someone has testified. What a lovely way to talk. Don Carson speculates that this writer is a man of seniority, because he seems to have forgotten what he's meant to be quoting here. It's a there's a somewhere somewhere.

Someone who what's his name? I mean, if you've ever been around Pete for more than 2 seconds, you'll find out that he forgets not just the names of you guys, but also the names of his family members. You know, it's a bit of a it's problematic when you forget both your wife's name. And your daughter's name. But maybe that's what that writer of Hebrews is doing here.

Some like, I know someone said it somewhere, but maybe the point of this is is not that so much that someone said it, but, actually, this is god's word saying this. And so who does he quote? But he quotes, Sammy, King David himself. This is a Psalm in which David has been really starting to say how majestic god is because he is the creator god. And that's and as as as David thinks about creation, and he and he thinks about the sun and the moon and the stars, and he he's sort of thinking, wow.

I mean, you think about it. You think about these these these heavenly things that just radiate light and beauty. It's it we don't really get this do we in in London, sadly. When you look up in the sky at nighttime, and it's just filled with stars, But but we do have seen beauty in the sky. I I actually love driving home by the river on a cold, sunny day, and you just look at the sky.

And you think, wow. It is breathtaking. I was once, on the beach with Chris and Bernadette Tillion for those who remember them, Ben and Carrie Reed, and we we looked out at the sky, and it and it was all sorts of color. And Chris just says, that's declaring. It's declaring god.

And you think, whoa. Creation is stunning. You look at the animals and you look at the flowers so beautiful and so intricate and so incredibly made. And and David is thinking about these these things, and he's looking at them. And yet, what is it that amazes him the most?

Well, you'll see verse 6, what is mankind that you are mindful of them? A son of man that you care for him. Of all the creation, of all the beauty, of all the intricacies that the creator god has made. Who is it he thinks of? Us.

Wow. Us. It's incredible when someone thinks of you, isn't it? Someone someone's a a young lad gave me a present today. Because I'm such a fantastic youth leader, apparently.

It's lovely when they think of me. It's lovely when someone says, oh, how you they text you and just say, I've just been thinking of you. Oh, that is that is lovely. But the god of the universe, Thinks of you. You are his most precious and valuable thing that he has created.

That's who we are. And he goes on in verse 7. You made them a little lower than the angels. You crowned them with glory. It should be him because it's, I think, it's about the son of man.

It's about Adam. You crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet. So we're a little lower than the angels. Now what does that mean to be a little lower than the angels? Well, it doesn't mean that they are better than us in a sense.

It means that we are positionally on this world on this habitable Earth, but the angels, they're there in I mean, you think about angels. They're in heaven, 24 7, basically. Aren't they? Just stare at the face of god. You know, you think about Isaiah 6.

They're they're in the very presence of god radiating light, radiating light, they're they're involved in the revelation of god's word in the Old Testament chapter 1. They're involved in creation. They're involved in so much that the the splendor is shining out. They're the glorious beings. They are incredible beings that god has created.

Yet those angels are not the ones who are ruling this world. Who is put in charge? It is the son of man who is crowned with glory and honor. You are the pinnacle of creation. It isn't the angels in Genesis 1 who is made in the image of god.

You are. You are. If you look to the person to the left or to the right, you don't have to because it might be a bit weirded out, especially if they're pulling their face, probably, Drew. You will see someone who bears the image of god. Stunning.

You are the 1 who is crowned with glory and honor. You are the 1, Vercee. Adam was everything was put under his feet. He is the ruler of this of this world. He is the 1 who's giving dominion.

He is the 1 who subdue. He is the 1 to go out and be fruitful and multiply. He is the 1 who who all the animals come by. I mean, what? Imagine seeing this, each animal comes past him and he decides to name.

Yes. That must be a giraffe. Look at its neck. Draft fits. Yeah.

And then it comes to the little cockroach, definitely a cockroach. Yeah. And he comes up with all the names. That's his job. He is ruling.

He has dominion. It's not the angels as glorious and as splendiferous, I don't know where that word came from as they are. The fact, even though they they are in the presence of a mighty god, it isn't them that bears the image of god. It isn't them crowned with glory honor. It isn't them in which in which the world is subjected to them.

It is Adam. It is humanity. And so we are supremely valuable. We are not parasitical. You are.

So so precious. For you, bear the stamp of god. Does my world need to hear that? The world that fixes parasitical, a world that struggles with identity, the world that struggles with mental health and purpose and meaning. And god comes in and says, look, you have all the purpose in the world.

You are so valuable to me. I've created you in my image. You have purpose. You have meaning you have role. You wear the crown of glory and honor.

Now This might not be ringing through anymore. Doesn't feel, does it? Doesn't feel like I'm that we're ruling, does it? Does it feel like we're ruling? And look with me at verse 8 then at the end of that, Yet at present, we do not see everything subject to them.

And here's my second point then, the problem of sin, ruined. The problem of sin, ruins. I think it wouldn't take long for us to demonstrate, would it, that we are not completely in control. Where the created order used to be ruled by Adam. Now we just need to I mean, look this morning, this weekend.

The created order feels like it's fighting back at us and say, no. We're in control. Thank you. My name's Storm Dara. I'm the boss.

But we we we look time and time again throughout my lifetime. Why have seen constant natural disasters as the created order wages war it feels like upon humanity? Since the turn of the twentieth century, I don't think there's been more bloodshed than ever before in history. World War 2, the holocaust. Millions's debt.

Stalin, mao, millions and millions dead. And when we get into the 20 first century, does it get much better? I think not. We only need to turn on the news this morning, and you see Syria as suffering conflicts, We look at Ukraine and Russia. We look at Gaza with, Israel and Palestine, and we see that this world is not in the control.

It's not humans ruling their their fighting with 1 another. We look in the in politics, and we see that leaders cannot keep control of their own countries as as France kicks out their prime minister as South Korea has a an impeachment attempt. We see in our own lives relationship breakdown and and and a struggle for power and authority we see in this world's sickness and disease. And so we understand that this is a broken world order now. Why is it broken?

Because our forefather, Adam, our representative, our leader, our heads, disobeyed. 1 act of disobedience brings death into the world. And so where there was a crown of honor and glory, we now have death and humiliation. We have a world that is wrong and broken. We have the greatest enemy, death itself.

Bible says for the wages of sin, for the wages of Adam's sin, for the wages of our sin, there is death. And death is entered into this world, and it is the great thief. It is the great enemy. It feels like it is the 1 that has power over us all. For Adam has fallen, and we too with him have fallen.

So when we look at Adam, the son of man, The 1 who was created in the image of god, who was crowned with honor and glory, we see our heads, take us down, and we fall with him. And all there is is death, and all there is is darkness. See, this isn't just like a a little trip up. It's just a fall down a ledge so you can climb back up. It's not just like there's a ladder that you can just quickly jump up.

This is, like, falling down a well with no robo ladder. This is, like, those those kids that got trapped in that, that mine, not in that cave, sorry, and and couldn't get out. This is, like, those chile miners. Do you remember them in 2010? They were stuck.

They were trapped. They were in darkness. That's Jorge Galla Hayos. He was 1 of the Chile miners, and he's thinking it's so dark in here. And as we look at Adam, there is darkness.

Can you feel the darkness? It says it's a darkness that that sort of wraps around you and engulfs you that you can almost feel the darkness. It's the darkness that rubs you off your breath. It turns your your stomach into knots that makes your your your heart and pulse rate increase dramatically. It's so dark.

It's so gloomy. It's so So broken but verse 9. But we do see Jesus. So imagine you were in those minds and when Finally, the the rock starts to be removed. You'll see that glimpse of a light come through, and that is what this first does for us here.

We felt the darkness, and then suddenly it's pierced with a light. But we do see Jesus. And so this is my third point. The perfect pioneer rescue. The perfect pioneer rescue.

And here's the solution. And this shows you that you are supremely valuable. And this shows you that you are the most precious of beings because we see Jesus. What do we see about Jesus in this verse. It's jam packed full of stuff, did you see?

But we do see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while. He was made lower than the angels for a little while. But we just saw that use that that verse used, didn't we? He was used that mankind humanity was made lower than the angels to be crowned with a glory on and how Jesus comes, the eternal son of god, the creator god. This is absolutely stunning.

And if you think you can nod your head and understand this, you can't understand this, but we'll try and understand this. Shall we try and understand this? Yes. Let's try and understand this. I'm having an in apparently, I'm having a monologue with myself.

But god, the eternal god takes on flesh. In Garnett, in flesh. He's god. Yet he becomes human. That's what Christmas.

That's what Christmas is about. It's it's it's that that god who's just so big could become so small who would come and come to send to this world and be born in the filth of a manger. That he himself would become an image bearer of himself. And so, you know, we get to sing these glorious Christmas carols that I just love. Verse 2 of heart, the herald angels sing says Christ by highest heaven adored Christ.

The everlasting lord, these can say it back to me, late in time behold, come, offspring of the virgin's womb veiled in flesh the godhead sea Hail the incarnate deity. Please with us in flesh to dwell. Jesus, our, immanuel. God with us. What?

The guards would become man. But there's more here, but he doesn't just come stay, as we said, as a little baby, lovely old baby cheeses and eat lovely. Oh, no. It's more than that. It's more because look what happens to him, he's now crowned with glory and honor.

Did you see that he's now crowned with glory and honor? What was Adam in the garden of Feed and he was crowned with glory and honor? It was lost though, but that which is lost. That which was us with that that that which was ours got there in the end. Is now that was lost has now been reclaimed by the lord Jesus that he has said no.

I wanna give you back your crown of glory and honor. And how does he do that? Why does he do that? Well, keep on reading with me in verse 9 because he suffered Death. That's how he gets your crown of glory and honor back.

See, Adam fell low. Didn't he fall low? Wasn't just a wee relegation or a lack of it. It fell to the pits of despair. Jesus goes lower than Adam.

Jesus goes lower than Adam and that he lives in this this world and he goes to the darkest of days and hangs upon a cross. And has nails driven through him and experiences the wrath of god he takes the cup of wrath he says and drinks deep off it. The wages of sin is death. And Jesus takes those wages that I have earned. My self destruction, as you rightly said, whoever shouted it out.

Jesus takes upon the cross. He takes the punishment. He goes lower than Adam. Why? To be crowned with glory and honor.

To rise to resurrection glory. To rise. No no longer I mean, it's amazing we can say this. He doesn't just ascend to god just as as the son of god. I mean, isn't it amazing we can just say just the son of god?

But he's not just the son of god anymore. He's now the son of god who is a man. He is the eternal god man. He is the 1 who sits at the right hand of the father as humanity. A new humanity, a new leader, a new heads.

He takes the place of highest honor. Chapter 1, look at chapter 1 verse 3 to 4. The son is the radiance of god's glory, and the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by his powerful words after he had provided pure vocation for sins. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

This is the place of highest honor. No longer is a human lower than the angels, he is higher than even the angels. He sits at the very right hand of the father. He is in the highest place. We sing glory to Jesus with those kids.

That every every tongue will confess that he is lord. Every knee will now bow for he is the greatest. There is none greater. See, he went lower than Adam, but he has gone even higher. It's the night tick.

When you see night this week, when you see that night tick, because everybody wears it, even myself today, you see that he goes low. He goes, starts high and he goes low, but the night tick goes even higher than before. And Jesus has taken the highest position, but he isn't just taking the highest position for himself. Look at the end of that verse so that by the grace of god, he might taste death for everyone. That alien, that thief, that enemy, Christ tastes of death so that we don't have to.

Verse 10, it talks about him being the pioneer. The leader. He's the 1 who has punched a hole through death. It's like we're all in that cave and he's gone. He's punched the hole through the cave so that people think he's gone out, people can just follow him through so that if we trust in Jesus, if we look at Jesus, we can go through with him into resurrection life.

Hark the herald angels sing verse 3, hail the heaven born prince of peace, hail the son of righteousness, light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Miles, he lays his glory by. Born that we know more may die. Born to raise us from the earth. Born to give us second birth.

The lord Jesus Christ comes to be a new Adam, to be a new head, to be a new leader. So infinitely precious are you. So supremely valuable are you that Jesus was willing to become man to dine across to rise again to ascend on high to the highest position to bring you with him. And so Romans chapter 5, verse 18 to 21 says just as 1 trespass resulted in condemnation for all people of first Adam. So also 1 righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

For justice through the disobedience of the 1 man, the many were made sinners. So also, through the obedience of the 1 man, the many will be made righteous. Take your eyes of asim where there's darkness and there's death. Put him on the lord Jesus Christ, be united to Christ, get into Christ, let him be your leader be your head, be united to him. And the amazing thing is wherever he is you are, and wherever he is is at the right hand of the father, and that means colossians helps us with this is that we are seated at the right hand with the lord Jesus Christ ourselves, which means that we too are above the angels.

That is incredible. And so how should we respond? How should we respond? Have you seen Jesus today? Have you seen him?

Might not through my words, but just look at the passage. Have you seen him? My goodness. He's gorgeous. Look at him.

First 9, we do see Jesus. Do you see him? If you see him, trusting him. Trust in him. Look at him.

See, look, this world has all sorts of things that it wants you to look at. All sorts of distractions. All sorts of things that are pinging up. All sorts of adverts, all sorts of messages, all sorts of things to listen to, all the all sorts of things to look to. By the way, all of those things are dull in comparison with the glorious light of the lord Jesus Christ.

He is the only 1 who is worth looking at. Listen to the angels. Don't don't look at the angels. Listen to them. They come in Luke, and they go glory to God in the highest.

They say go and look at the Jesus. Go and look at Emmanuel. The angels sing of the glory of Christ listen to their song and learn to look at the lord Jesus Christ. Look at him who can take you out of death into life. Look at him who comes to deal with the brokenness of our world.

It's so broken this world. Look at him for he is the only 1 worth looking at. And if you're a Christian today, brothers and sisters, keep looking. Keep looking. Don't take your eyes off him.

There's nothing more important than him. Your education is not more important. Your career is not more important. Your family is not more important. Nothing is more important than keeping your eyes on the lord Jesus Christ.

That's why I love that song. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Why? Because I realized that the rest of this world is not worth looking at. Only Christ.

Keep looking at him so that you don't drift verse 1. You know, apparently, when you wanna draw a line in on a pitch, You're not meant to look down at the ground. You're meant to look at a fixed point, and you're meant to walk to that in a straight line, and it'll be a straight line. If you look down at that jolly thing I don't know why it's jolly. But it is.

And then you look back, you'll see a jolly line that is all squiggly. But if you look at the you fix your eyes on the the author, the perfecter, the pioneer of your faith, of of life, then run to him. Don't drift off. Don't ignore him. Don't ignore him with any area of your life.

Give it all to the lord Jesus Christ. Listen to the angels. Look to the lord Jesus Christ, revell. Will you revell? Don't ignore, so greater salvation verse 3.

Revel in it. Reveling it, reveling it. Christ, the eternal son of god, comes to be a man. To taste death for us so that we may have life in him. Now that is something worth singing about.

Crown him the lord of life who triumphed over the grave and rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save. Here's glories now we sing. Will we sing? Will we sing his glories? Will we sing of them?

His glory's now we sing who died and rose on high, who died a eternal life to bring and lives that death may die. Hallelujah, praise the lord. No spend. A couple of moments now. Thinking through those things, and then Tom will bring us back together.

We're going to, continue to respond to those remarkable truths now by taking the lord's supper together. First 9, we do see Jesus made lower than the angels for a short time. So that by god's grace, he might taste death for everyone, crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. As the bread and the juice come round, we will all have a moment where we taste just bread and just juice in our mouths. That's all it is.

It's nothing special in that sense. It is just bread and juice, and we will taste it in our mouths. But as we do, let's remember that Jesus Christ when he hung on a cross tasted death. He tasted death for us, and he tasted the bitterness of our sin in his mouth as he bore it. We taste bread and juice.

And it reminds us that he tasted death and sin so that by god's grace, we might rise and we might reign with him as a new humanity. If you're a Christian, you're very welcome to take this meal. If you're not, then we would encourage you just to let the bread and the juice pass you by. While you take some time to think on what you've heard. When the bread comes to you, you can take that straight away.

And the way we do it here is then we take the juice and we all then wait and drink the juice together. Remembering the blood of Christ shed for us. If you've got any allergies to gluten or sesame, there's a little pot on each board, which you can take. And as that bread and juice comes around, remember Jesus. We tasted death for us all.

Father, we thank you very much for what you have said to us through your word this morning. We thank you for Jesus Christ who came to redeem a glorious and yet fallen people for himself. We thank you lord Jesus that you have tasted death for everyone, that you have tasted death for the liar, for the gossip, for the hypocrite, for the idolater, for the 1 who has looked upon impure things, for the hateful person, for the boastful person, for the divisive person, that you have tasted death for us all. And lord Jesus, we thank you that as we have taken the bread and are about to take the juice. We remember that on the cross, you tasted death and sin for all of us.

And yet we thank you that we take this meal in hope because Christ has risen. And that we have risen with him to a new humanity, and we praise you for that in Jesus' name, amen, the blood of Christ shed for us.