Hebrews 2:14-18
One of the things that makes Christmas and Epiphany a special time for many people is that we get to see Jesus as a little child. From the manger in Bethlehem we see Jesus as an infant. One of the comments that we often hear after the Boar’s Head Festival presentations is how cute the baby Jesus was. It seems year after year, the opportunity to have a new born baby portraying Jesus just brings a special touch to the whole production. It is a reminder to us that Jesus, who was true God from all eternity, came down to earth and took on human form in order to be our substitute. This is something that we talk about all the time but it is really brought home to us when we are able to remember that He was a tiny infant, just like we all were at one time. That idea continues to be presented as we see Him at other times during the Epiphany season. This week we hear about an event that took place forty days after Jesus was born. It was required in the law that the first male child was to be dedicated to the Lord. In the Gospel lesson we heard how Simeon and Anna responded to the presence of the One who was promised by God. Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would see the promised One before he died. His song of praise continues to be part of our Communion liturgy yet today. Anna was overjoyed and told everyone about the child. As the infant Jesus is presented at the temple, we see another aspect of His life being shown forth. His life is dedicated to serving His heavenly Father’s will. Simeon spoke of that when he told Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for sign that is opposed and a sword will pierce through your own soul also so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” This was a bit of prophecy regarding the things that would happen later on in the life of this child. Once again, we are given a glimpse of why Jesus came into the world. The rest of the Gospels make clear to us how Jesus would be our Savior and what things would happen that would bring about the great reconciliation between God and man. The writer to the Hebrews, in our Epistle lesson, goes into greater detail about how the life of Jesus, true God and true Man, touches our lives yet today.
As you grow in your faith and learn more and more about Jesus, one of the things that begins to stand out is how important it was for Jesus to be not only true God but also to be a human being. His whole purpose in coming to the earth was to be our substitute, to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. In verse fourteen of our text, the writer says that He shared in their humanity. That means that He took on our human form so that He could experience life in this world as we experience it. That meant that as the son of Mary, from the tribe of Judah, from the house and lineage of David, He would be subject to God’s Law, just like we are subject to God’s Law. The writer goes on to speak of His death. In order to die, He had to be a human being. He also carried out His office as a merciful and faithful high priest. The priests in the Bible were expected to live a life that would be an example for the people. Jesus was more than just a good example. He lived a perfect life. The priest also prayed for the people. Jesus did that as well and continues to do that for us today. Perhaps most important and the most visible part of the priest’s life was carrying out the sacrifices for the people. Those sacrifices would make atonement or satisfaction for their sins. What makes Jesus’ role as our priest so important is that He, Himself, was not only the priest but He was also the sacrifice for the sins of the people. When He died on the cross, He was the one, final sacrifice.
He was also true God. He never stopped being God when He came down to earth. The only reason that He could keep the Law perfectly in our place is that He was true God who had power over sin. He also had to be true God so that His sacrifice would be the sufficient price for the sins of the whole world. Because He was true God and true Man, we have a Savior who was not only promised by God, but also the One who fulfilled all the promises through His life, death, and resurrection.
It would be easy for us to think that Jesus’ job is done once He gave His life for us and then was raised again on the third day. Of course we also think about the fact that He will come again on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. We say that every time we confess our faith in the words of the creeds. But there is something else that Jesus does for you that is also very important every day of your life that is easily forgotten. Think back again to the words of the Apostles’ Creed. “He rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.” The part that we often forget is that He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. To be at the right hand is to be in the place of greatest influence. Not only does He carry out His priestly role as He intercedes for us, speaking to the Father on our behalf, but He is also watching over us. Remember, He is still true God and true Man. He is not restricted to one place. He is true God and He is present everywhere. He told His disciples, “I am with you always to the very end of the age.” He is with us to watch over us and provide us with those things that we need to live out our lives here on earth doing His work.
The writer to the Hebrews in the last verse of our text brings us something very important. “Because He Himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” All human beings face temptation. Even Jesus faced temptations. The best known are the temptations that He faced when He was in the wilderness, preparing to begin His earthly ministry. The devil came to Him and tempted Him with three universal temptations: greed, fame, and power. I say those are universal temptations because you all face them from time to time in your lives. Jesus recognized the temptations for what they were and used the power of God’s Word to fight them off. We can certainly imagine that Jesus faced other temptations during His earthly life. As He thought about the agony of the cross, you would think that He was tempted to turn His back on the whole thing and refuse to submit to the pain and death. As He became very popular among the people, He may have been tempted to take advantage of His popularity. Whatever the temptations may have been, He did not give in to them. He lived a perfect life because He knew it was for us.
Since He faced temptations, He knows what it is like for you to face temptation to sin. He knows how difficult it is to say no when your sinful nature and the world around you are egging you on to do what feels right. He knows what you face and He is able to help you overcome your temptations. The fight can be difficult and many times you are simply not able to stand up against the influence of the devil, the world and your sinful nature, but you have the assurance that you are not fighting the unholy three by yourself. One who knows what it is like is there to help you. He helps you by reminding you what God’s will is. It can be easy to forget that in a world that continues to drift farther and farther away from the truth of God’s Word. He also helps you by sending the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith so that you have the armor and the weapons to defend yourself against the devil. The Spirit uses the Means of Grace to strengthen you and support you in the fight against the enemy, the old evil foe. Not only is He there to help you stand up to the temptations but He is also there to help you when you fall. He offers you the blessings of forgiveness when you give in to those temptations. The forgiveness that He gives is yours because He gave His life for you. With the assurance of that undeserved love, you can be encouraged and strengthened the next time that temptations come your way. You know they will. They come at you all the time. Every hour of every day, the temptation to sin against God stares you in the face. St. Paul talked about this in Romans and said, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through our Lord Jesus Christ.” He will rescue you. He knows what you face. He will help you when you are tempted. He will rescue you when you fall. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
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