We are continuing our series today, “Christ Supreme in All Things.” And we come to the last of what you might call the “Jesus is greater than the angels” texts of Hebrews. But what we really have in this passage, Hebrews 2:10-18, is a theological exploration of Jesus’s incarnation. 

And as part of that Jesus is described in some very meaningful and relational ways. The most striking of which is the term “brother.” Jesus in fact calls us his “brothers.”

I remember a few years ago I was preaching through the book of James in the NT. And I spent some time speculating about James growing up in the same household as Jesus. James was Jesus’s little brother. They shared the same mother, Mary, but of course, not the same father, since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And can you imagine what it must have been like to grow up in a household where your older brother was sinless and virgin-born? 

So let me ask, how many of you in this room have an older brother? Okay! How many of you are the older brother? Okay? That’s me too. I’m an older brother. Now let me ask you this, how many of you have an older brother that was virgin-born without a sin nature? How many of you have a brother who is God incarnated into human flesh? Anyone? Honestly, I would love to hear from my little brother on that question. He would say “no” so fast, it would make your head spin. 

Well James grew up with Jesus. He was Jesus’s little brother, as was Jude, by the way. Jesus also had little sisters according to Matthew 13:55-56. As protestants we don’t hold to the Roman Catholic view of the perpetual virginity of Mary. That just doesn’t square with Scripture. So we believe that Jesus had little brothers and sisters born after him to his mother Mary and to Joseph. And what the author of Hebrews is saying here is that, there’s a sense in which, they weren’t Jesus’s only little brothers and sisters. Jesus is our Big Brother too. And that’s not all. Jesus is more than just our Big Brother according to Hebrews 2:10-18. He’s also our Deliverer and Helper.

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The title of our message today is “Brother, Deliverer, Helper.” Jesus is indeed our brother, deliverer, and helper. Let me add three adjectives to those titles. Here’s the first. 

1) Jesus is our purifying big brother (2:10-13)

The author of Hebrews says this in verse 10,

10 For it was fitting 

In other words, “It was proper.” “It was appropriate.” 

that he [God the Father], for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 

Now that is a breathtaking sentence right there. And it comes on the heels of a breathtaking sentence in verse 9. “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” That’s the passage that describes that great doctrinal truth—substitutionary atonement. 

Now the author says, “It was fitting” that God orchestrated it this way. It was appropriate for God the Father to do this. And why did he do it this way? So that he might bring many sons to glory. Do we have any sons in this room? 

By the way, ladies in this room, please don’t be offended by that language. In the ancient world the “sons” were the heirs. Sonship was a prestigious category. The ESV did not translate this word “sons” (Greek: υἱός) here with “children” or “sons and daughters.” And that’s a good thing. I’ll tell you why. In the ancient world, the sons were the ones who received the inheritance from their fathers. That was true in the ancient Roman world. That was true in the ancient Jewish world. That was true even in Mother England not that long ago! 

So in terms of metaphor, ladies, you are “sons of God.” You have an equal inheritance with the men who follow Christ. That may feel odd to you, but it shouldn’t. Men are called the bride of Christ; they shouldn’t be uncomfortable with that metaphor. And women are included among the “sons” of God, because that means you are an heir to Christ’s kingdom. And you will follow Big Brother Jesus’s path to glory. 

So Jesus was raised to new life in a glorious new body. You will be raised to new life in a glorious new body. Jesus will reside in eternity in a glorified state. You will reside in eternity in a glorified state. Jesus is bringing many “sons” to glory as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). That includes both men and women in this room. And that was fitting says the author of Hebrews. 

And this was also fitting according to the author Hebrews. It was fitting that Jesus, the founder of our salvation, was made perfect through suffering. That is a loaded statement right there. Let’s take it apart. 

The word “founder” is the Greek ἀρχηγός. It’s a word that is translated “author” or “pioneer” or “originator.” Etymologically the word means “arch-leader.” It’s a word that used in the ancient world for “hero” or “champion.” I think that’s probably the right nuance here. Jesus is the champion of our faith. And he was made the perfect champion through his suffering. He came to earth and suffered and died. He paid for our sin and rescued us like a true hero does. And through that heroic work of suffering and dying to self, he brings many sons (i.e. you and me and the countless other believers throughout history) to glory. 

And not only does he save us, but he also sanctifies us. Look at verse 11. 

11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. 

The “he” in that verse is not God the Father. This is Jesus. Jesus sanctifies us. To be more precise, Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to enact this work sanctification, but Jesus initiated that. 

And the Sanctifier and the sanctified have the same source. They both are sons of the Father. Jesus is the Son. And he’s the only “the Son” in the Scriptures. Don’t forget that. But because of what Jesus (the Son) has done, we can be called sons of God too. We can call God “Father” too. We can call God “Abba” too. We can pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven” too. 

And since the Sanctifier and the sanctified have the same source, look at the end of verse 11.

That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 

I remember riding in the car with my roommate in college. This was near Tyler, Texas where I went to college. And my roommate made a comment about Jesus being our Big Brother. And I remember being shocked by his language. I said, “How dare you!” “You can’t call Jesus your brother. He’s our Lord. He’s our King. He’s the God of the Universe!” Well then, he took me to Hebrews 2 and showed me this passage. And I was totally gobsmacked. Jesus actually calls us brothers. In fact, look at the verse. He’s not ashamed to do that. He’s not ashamed to call us brothers. 

And that’s because we have been purified by him. Our sin has been removed by him. God sees us as he sees his only son. Jesus’s righteousness has been imputed to us undeservedly.

Now to be fair, this passage doesn’t say that we call Jesus our brother. It says that Jesus calls us his brothers. But I don’t think it’s an unbiblical inference to say that Jesus is our big brother, as long as we keep in tension that Jesus is also our Lord, our God, our Messiah, and our King as well. Right? 

Now watch what this author does in verses 12-13. This is a familiar M.O. for him. He makes an amazing theological statement, and then he uses OT Scripture to back it. That’s what he does here. He says Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. And then he backs that statement up with Scripture. 

And the first Scripture is Psalm 22. 

12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 

Now really quick, let’s talk about this psalm. Psalm 22 is an awesome passage of Scripture. It is expressly messianic from start to finish. It starts out “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34). Then in 22:6-8 it prophesies how Jesus will be mocked by a callous crowd (Matt 27:39-44). Then it describes Jesus’s agony on the cross in 22:14-15: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.” And then in 22:16-18, it describes the crucifixion, “a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me… They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (cf. John 19:23; Matt 27:35). 

And near the end of that psalm, in Psalm 22:22, it says, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” This is the transition in the psalm from lament to praise. And the far-reaching prophecy of this psalm involves Jesus saving his brothers so that they can sing praises to the God of the Universe. That’s the foreshadowing in Psalm 22 that the author of Hebrews picks up on here. 

But then he quotes from another passage of Scripture—Isaiah 8. 

13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 

It’s significant here that the author of Hebrews quotes from Psalms and Isaiah. Those are the most frequently quoted books of the OT. And they are the most messianic too. And in Isaiah 8, we have a section of Scripture that is also richly messianic. And the author of Hebrews is linking Isaiah 8:17-18 to this concept that Jesus is bringing many sons to glory.   

I know we Gentiles aren’t as familiar with these OT passages as we should be. But in the first century world, this is all they had as Scripture. They had the OT and the testimonies of the apostles that were still being gathered and canonized as Scripture. So the Christians in the ancient world, especially these Christians with a Jewish background, they knew Psalm 22 and Isaiah 8 well. They knew what those passages said about the coming Messiah. And what the author of Hebrews is doing is saying, “This is that. This reality that you are experiencing was prophesied in the OT. This is that. Your identity as a son of God the Father is wrapped up in what Big Brother Jesus has done for you. It was prophesied in the OT. It was testified to you by the apostles. It is who you are; don’t forget it. Don’t lose sight of your identity in Christ.”

And remember, these first century Jewish Christians are suffering right now. And part of what he’s saying here is, “If you are suffering for Jesus, don’t lose your nerve in that. Jesus suffered too. Jesus, your big brother, the founder of your salvation, he was made perfect through suffering. His suffering made your salvation possible. So don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. Don’t lose your nerve. Stay faithful to Jesus Christ, the founder and finisher of your faith.” That’s the message for us this morning too. 

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And speaking of suffering, go ahead and write this down as #2. Jesus is our purifying big brother. He is also our participating deliverer.

2) Jesus is our participating Deliverer (2:14-15)

The author of Hebrews says this in verse 14,

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, 

By the way, there are these heresies that pop up from time to time that speak of Jesus being less than human. These have been denounced by the Christian church for centuries. One of those heresies is called Docetism. It’s the false understanding that Jesus’s physical body was an illusion. He just appeared like a phantom being and pretended to be human. He pretended to suffer on a cross. He had no real corporeal flesh and blood. 

Well if that’s the case, how do you explain Hebrews 2:14? 

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, 

There’s another similar heresy called Apollinarianism. It’s the idea that Jesus had an actual human body, but him mind was divine and not a human mind. That view is heretical as well because it denies the truth of Jesus’s hypostatic union. The church father Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 329-390) said, “whatever is not assumed is not healed.” So if Jesus didn’t assume a human mind, then our minds aren’t healed. That’s ridiculous. Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He did only appear to be human. He was not only “partially” human. He was fully human. 

The reformer Johannes Oecolampadius (AD 1482-1531) explained Jesus’s full humanity this way. “Because he has assumed the nature of the seed of Abraham, not of angels, hence it is that he is our true brother, like us in every respect. He was born, he was swaddled in strips of cloth, he was laid in a manger, he was fed, he was circumcised, he was taken up in [Simeon’s] arms, he matured, he grew strong in the Spirit, he increased in wisdom and stature, he was hungry, he was thirsty, he wept, he became tired, he was pleased, he was moved by anger and indignation, he was troubled, he was saddened, he was tempted. At length he was tempted by every weakness, along with us; he even underwent death for us of his own accord, and an ignominious death at that.” 

Jesus was fully human, and by the way, he is still fully human. And he shared with us in flesh and blood. And why did he do that? Why did Jesus do that? Well, look at verse 14.

that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

There are two great enemies of the Christian. Let’s just get those out on the table now. There is death, and there is the devil. Those are our enemies. Please don’t go through life thinking life is bunch of sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows as a Christian. That’s not true. That’s not biblical. We are at war until Christ comes back. And our enemies are death and the devil.

Now here’s the good news. The good news is that the power of death and the power of the devil has been broken. Christ has destroyed their power. The Greek word for destroy here is καταργέω. And the idea here is not that death and the devil have been obliterated. They have not been. But their power has been nullified. Their power over us has been invalidated. And their days are numbered. The devil’s clock is ticking, and he knows it. That’s why he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 

And why is his clock ticking? How can we speak of the power of death as defeated? Because we have been delivered from death through the work of Christ on the cross. He is our deliverer. He took on flesh and blood, he lived among us, and he died the death that we deserved in order to give us the eternal life that we don’t deserve. John Owen speaks of the death of Christ as the death of death. And that’s correct. Christ defeated death by his death. And his death made it possible for us to not fear death. In the words of Hebrews, Jesus delivered, all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

And so now, we can say like Paul does in the book of 1 Corinthians, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (15:55-57).

Woody Allen said once, “I’m not afraid to die; I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” The great reformer, Martin Luther said once, “You cannot live any longer than the Lord has prescribed… nor die any sooner.” Take that, cancer. Take that, heart disease. Take that, COVID-19! 

The great Baptist Missionary, Lottie Moon said once, “I have a firm conviction that I am immortal till my work is done.” That’s a woman who has no fear of death. That’s a woman who was gallivanting all throughout the Chinese countryside in a very dangerous time. She could have died at any moment. People probably warned her that she might die. And she said this. “I have a firm conviction that I am immortal till my work is done.” That’s a woman who understand Hebrews 2:15. That’s a woman who has been delivered from the fear of death by her great Deliverer, Jesus Christ. 

In his poem “A Psalm of Life,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave. 

Our hearts are beating funeral marches to the grave. Isn’t that a cheery notion? Happy Halloween, kids! It’s like that old kids’ song we used to sing, “Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down.” What a weird and creepy song we sang as kids! 

Speaking of creepy, I read someone say once that, “All our lives are like the unfolding of a murder mystery in which we ourselves turn out to be the victim.” Yes, we all die. Yes, our hearts are beating funeral marches to the grave. Yes, our clocks are ticking. But we don’t have to fear death. We don’t have to be afraid. The worst part of death is dying, honestly. But death, death is easy. We just fall asleep in Christ Jesus and go into the presence of the Lord. 

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Go ahead and write this down as #3. Jesus is our purifying big brother. He is also our participating deliverer. And finally, he is our propitiating helper. 

3) Jesus is our propitiating helper (2:16-18)

The author of Hebrews says this in verse 16,

16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 

By the way, this is the last mention of angels until Hebrews 12. So in chapters 3 and following, the author is not going to mention angels again. He’s covered that ground already. He’s made it quite clear that Jesus is greater than the angels. 

But in this last passing reference to angels here, it’s not so much that Jesus is better than angels. It’s that humans are prioritized above angels. 

16 For surely it is not angels that he helps,

In other words, Jesus didn’t become an angel to save fallen angels. There is no hope for redemption among Satan and the demon hoard. Their fate is sealed. It was sealed when they rebelled against the God of the Universe!

But Jesus did become a human to save humans. Jesus did become the offspring of Abraham to help the offspring of Abraham. Not just ethnic Jews but adopted sons too. Right. Because… 

Father Abraham had many sons

many sons had father Abraham

I am one of them and so are you 

so let’s just praise the LORD.

Look at verse 17.

17 Therefore he [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, 

He was fully human. He was like his brothers in every respect. In other words, Apollinarianism is foolish. Docetism is unbiblical. Don’t fall for that!

17 Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful

Speaking of this verse, Kent Hughes said the following: “Jesus’ experiences in human flesh made him a mediator who is first and foremost merciful. Mercy is more than an emotion. For example, suppose you were driving in the country and came across an accident in which a victim was lying in the road with no one to assist him. You ache for the person, you feel a surge of compassion, but you do nothing and drive on. Why? Because you are unmerciful! To be merciful, one must act to alleviate another’s pain.” 

Hughes goes on to say, “All good husbands are compassionate and merciful when their wives give birth. But how much more merciful would they be if they first had the experience of giving birth! Made like their wives “in every way” (in body, in hormones, in the pain of childbirth) they would be merciful indeed!” 

17 Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 

The Greek word here for “make propitiation” is ἱλάσκομαι. And it’s related to the noun ἱλασμός which means propitiation (1 John 2:2; 4:10). Listen, hear me on this. This is so important. Propitiation means both sin atoning and wrath averting. Everyone with me? It’s not just the atoning of sin. That idea is captured in the word expiation. But Christ’s death on our behalf isn’t just expiation. It’s propitiation. It’s sin atoning and wrath averting. 

So when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, not only did he pay for our sin. He also absorbed the wrath of God into himself so that we don’t have to experience that at our death. That’s what it means that Jesus makes propitiation for our sins. “Our hell he made his, that his heaven might be ours. Never was there such mercy, never such faithfulness, as this!” 

And Jesus could only have done that as a human being. He couldn’t become an angel to pay for the sins of humans. He couldn’t become half-human to pay for the sins of humans. He couldn’t even stay God the Son and pay for the sins of human beings. He had to become like us in every respect. He had to become fully human in order to fully pay for the sins of humans being like you and me. This had to be done. 

Could God have saved us another way? No! Not according to Hebrews. This is the way. And by the way, there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). This is it. You don’t get saved through Hinduism. You don’t get saved through Buddhism. You don’t get saved through Islam. You don’t get saved through modern-day Judaism. You definitely don’t get saved through humanism or atheism. Those worldviews don’t even have a category for salvation. They don’t even know they need saving! 

This is the only way. Jesus is the only way. He’s the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by him, the Son (John 14:6). He is the propitiating helper. 

And as part of his helping. Look at verse 18. 

18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

That’s good, right there. In other words, because Jesus suffered as a real human being, he knows what temptation is like. He knows what human suffering is like. He was tempted in every way like us yet without sin, therefore… here’s the argument… He’s able to help those who are being tempted. 

In fact his help is greater than you realize. Phillip Hughes says it this way, “It is a fallacy also to imagine that the fact that [Jesus] did not fall into sin means that he knows less about temptation than those who have given in to it; for his conquest of temptation, while ensuring his sinlessness, in fact increased rather than diminished his fellow feeling, since he knows the full force of temptation in a manner that we who have not withstood it to the end cannot know it. What good would another who has failed be to us? It is precisely because we have been defeated that we need the assistance of him who is the victor… The help, moreover, which Christ offers to him who is struggling in the midst of temptation is offered not merely as man to man, but as Redeemer to sinner.” 

Anyone ever get tempted in this room? Anyone struggle with temptation? Can I let you in on something? Jesus knows what that’s like. Jesus has been there. He sympathizes with you in that temptation, and he can help you. In fact, he sent his Holy Spirit to permanently help you. So when that Holy Spirit inside of you convicts you and presses you towards holiness, that’s good. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to do that. That’s a little reminder to you in your soul that you are a blood-bought child of God, and you are no longer a slave to sin. Jesus did that for you. Jesus knows what you’re going through. Jesus suffered himself when tempted and he is able to help those who are being tempted. 

Now some of you might say, “Pastor Tony what about this high priest language in verse 17? What’s that all about?”

17 Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God…

“What does that mean? Jesus as our High Priest?” Well, we’ll get there. We won’t even get there next week. The author of Hebrews just kind of teases us with this term and then doesn’t really pick it up again (completely) until the end of chapter 4. But we’ll get there. 

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Let me close with this. Let me close talking about death. Halloween is coming up in a few weeks. So let’s talk about death. Some of you might be familiar with the great author Elizabeth Elliot. She and her husband Jim Elliot went down as missionaries to the Auca Indians in Ecuador. Her husband and three other missionaries were speared to death by those Indians in 1956. But instead of returning to the 

States, Elizabeth Elliot stayed in Ecuador and was instrumental in leading those Indians along with many other tribespeople to Christ, including the men who murdered her husband. 

Well Elliot speaks about a moment when she was crossing a dangerous ravine in the Amazonian jungle. She watched as her guide jumped up on a log and crossed over that ravine without any fear. Well, she couldn’t bring herself to do that. So her guide came back for her and walked her along that log. And he said to her, “Senorita, just look at me. Don’t look down. Just look at me.” And he led her across that ravine to safety. 

Well, listen up Verse By Verse. Jesus has already led us across the log of death to safety. In the words of George Guthrie, Jesus has broken the back of death. He has already received his glorified body. And he will lead you across the log of death to safety and glory and eternity on the other side. Just keep your eyes on him. Just keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He’s our Big Brother. He’s our Deliverer. He’s our Helper.