[0:00] Okay, Hebrews chapter 2. Stand with me. I'm going to read of the 18 verses. I mean, we're going to go down to verse 18, but I'm only going to read verse 5 to 9. So, for he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels, but one testified in a certain place, saying, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him, but now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, and he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Lord, we thank you again for your word. We pray, Holy Spirit, that you minister to us. You have your way with us, Lord. We want to honor you. We want to glorify you. So we just commit this service to you. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. You can all be seated.

[1:29] And so I entitled the message, Come and See.

[1:34] And you see that in verse 9, but we see Jesus. Come and see.

[1:41] But we see Jesus. Now, the writer of Hebrews, writing again to those Jews who came to a genuine faith in the Lord, and they were very vulnerable to the enemy's attacks there, especially as new believers. But that would go for any new believers to be especially vulnerable to the enemy's attacks. Attacks that are never new. And a perfect example from our Wednesday night's text is the attack against the Hebrew people and God's people. One of the things said against God and King Hezekiah, and again, Hezekiah, godly king. And just one example, besides the many other lies that came against them, we have recorded in 2 Chronicles.

[2:40] Chapter 32, 12, when the enemy comes against them, it says, against them, speaking to the people, has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, speaking about God's high places and God's altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem saying, you shall worship before one altar and burn incense on it. And so the enemy came lying there saying that Hezekiah keeps you from worshiping on God's high places, keeps you from worshiping upon his altars, when in a sense it was pagan altars, pagan high places. And so they came lying to him as if Hezekiah was saying, he only has you worshiping in one place, which was exactly according to God's command. And so that's what the enemy does. And then also, we have another example from the Saturday's men's study, and that was in Acts against the apostle Paul. And that was recorded there in Acts 21, and this is, you know, all that God through.

[4:00] Through Paul and his fellow laborers, he says, and when they heard it, they were sharing about their testimony, they glorified the Lord. That was the church in Jerusalem. And they said to him, you see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed and they are all zealous for the law, saying things are a little bit different here in Jerusalem with these Jews that are zealous for the law. But they have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought to not circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs. And so, again, the enemy, he gives information without explanation. Also, words spoken to deceive. Words arranged to deceive. This is nothing new. You know, it would be like if I was to tell you that I'm driving over the mountain today and I will die. That is true.

[5:07] But that needs a little bit more information. I am driving over the mountain today and I will die one day. Just adding two words changes the whole thing. And this is what the devil does. He leaves out words. He drops words. and then just he doesn't add the two words that brings the meaning.

[5:31] And so the Hebrew people were just a little concerned because the information they were getting, the two words were missing. What Apostle Paul meant, the message of the gospel. There's some stuff missing. And, you know, as believers, we don't want those two words missing. So we study through the scriptures. We want to know what the Bible says. So the same tactics continue in our day against us Christians. And, you know, they say that you believe Jesus is the only way. They say that that's kind of narrow, having a narrow perspective, narrow message.

[6:14] And the thing is, is that our response should be that this isn't my idea. This isn't what I come up with. This is what Jesus said. This is what the apostles penned. This isn't my idea. In other words, when the enemy comes with his lies, You should be to a point where you're not on your heels trying to defend your position. You're moving forward with the truth. Jesus already has given us the victory. He's already given us the word. We have to be confident in it. You know, are we supposed to ignore it? When things like that are said, heavens no, it's God's word. You know, Jesus said this, and he said in John 8, 21 to 24, then Jesus said to them, Again, I'm going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come. So the Jews said, will he kill himself? Because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, you are from beneath, I'm from above. You are of this world, I'm not of this world. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. And then he says, for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. You must believe Jesus Christ is Savior, Lord.

[7:30] And, you know, and again, Jesus says, John 14, 6, He said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. So this is something that Jesus said. And so I believe, and I will not ignore it. And I also will not contradict it. I've come across quite a few people over the years that thought I had tunnel vision, narrow-minded, and they consider that judgmental for people who believe differently and all of that. And so the apostles, you know, had that same message all the way through the New Testament. One example in Acts chapter 4, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, This man stands here before you all. This is a stone which was rejected by the builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be. Very specific, very candid, very clear.

[8:57] You can't miss that. And so be confident as believers what the gospel is, what it means. Don't be back on your heels as if you're in a defensive position. You can be very confidently offensive when it comes to sharing the truth. This attack is only combated by God's Word. This is why, in this book, the writer uses the Old Testament for proof text when he's making his argument and making his point, presenting this truth. And as these Hebrew Christians, as they're reading, and they're getting this letter from Paul, and they're reading this book of Hebrews, it's all arranged by the Holy Spirit in the way it's laid out, in the way it's intended, by his leading. And so by his leading, and as they're reading, questions pop up.

[9:53] And so the next one would be, being that we've been looking at the angels, the question of angels, last couple weeks. And so the next question that would pop up, well, if you're saying Christ is so much better than the angels.

[10:12] You know, he's not even to be compared to the angels, because in fact, he is God's son, who is God himself, all in chapter 1. Then why would he be manipulated by men arrested tried and killed we never read of that happening to an angel in the bible record anywhere angels always triumph over men there are always they are not subservient to these things we know that about angels so why are you saying that jesus christ is so much greater than angels. We've got a problem with that. And so then we pick up with that background, with that in mind there in chapter 2.

[11:01] In verse 5, for he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels. So we're talking about the temporal here, not the world to come. And so that pinpoints what the context is. God has put these dynamics in place concerning the angels. God has put angels in this dominant role for the purpose to accomplish his own will. Notice, not the one to come, not in the eternal realm. Things are going to be different then. We're talking about what's happening now. And then in verses 6 through 8, here's quoting Psalm 8, 4 through 6, where Paul says.

[11:53] But one testified in a certain place, saying, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.

[12:23] And so make note of the writer saying, you know, for one testified in a certain place. Well, they would know exactly who testified. It was David who wrote that Psalm 8. And so that's how the writer is putting it forth. And the wording there, but one testified. Well, anyway, this explains that, yes, in this temporal realm where we exist, in our present state, yes, we are lower than the angels, he's saying there. The angels who are supernatural, and they're in their supernatural state. And so we are in our natural state. But this will all change later. And that's indicated there also in 7 and 8. And, of course, it's also pointing to Jesus Christ in his glory.

[13:25] And so the Old Testament, the snapshot there, tells us what we see in Jesus in that psalm. And so also we know that Jesus Christ is going to pass to us, that we're going to be ruling and reigning with him. And so we receive that from the Lord. And then if you read in verse 9, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels. But you see God's purpose in it. There's a purpose, reason why he was put in that, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

[14:14] And so very specifically, and the whole point of the text that we're reading, We see Jesus, the example of Jesus Christ. He is who this is all about and clearly gives the answer. Jesus subjected himself and submitted himself according to his will, the Bible tells us. And he tells us this over and over again. Jesus said, no one takes this life from me. You know, we have that in John chapter 10, where Jesus says, therefore, my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself, not force, it's my will. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my father. And so in many other places, you know, the same thing. Remember, even Jesus says, I can call, you know, legions of angels, he said.

[15:21] I can call, they say, 12 legions of angels, which would be 72,000 angels. And we know what one angel can do. I can do that. But how am I to fulfill the will of God if I call the angels to help me? And so, no, this is me willing to die, so tasting death for all. And then the Apostle Paul puts it this way, you know, of Jesus' humility, where he says in Philippians 2, 8 through 10, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself.

[15:51] Became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. He's made lower than the angels. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth. Notice, those in heaven. Hey, that all changes. At his resurrection and then his ascension and he's sitting at the right hand of the Father. And now everything is in subjection to him. But he was made to accomplish God's will lower than the angels. So when Jesus first was calling his disciples to follow him, he said, responding to their curiosity, he said to them, two of his disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, seeing them following, said to them, what do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi, which is to say when translated teacher, where are you staying? And he said to them, come and see. And they came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day. Now it was about the 10th hour. And so, come and see. The curiosity is, you know, who's this Jesus? Jesus says, hey, come and see.

[17:14] This is essential that we see Jesus, that we see Jesus in this text. This is essential. We learn who He is. And we come to terms with the gospel. Salvation rests upon Jesus alone. And that's the reason he came and subjected himself and submitted himself to death, even the death of the cross. And so why, you know, in them reading through this, why would be another question as the Hebrew people would ask, well, why does this have to happen? And then you hit verse 10 of our text and it says, But it was fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing both sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. Again, the Holy Spirit anticipating the reasoning of the men of the Hebrew people as they're reading through this, asking questions just like we would ask questions. And so why was this necessary?

[18:27] And so first, by Jesus are all things. From whom are all things. And so you have to consider just the foundation in that statement, because we know in John 1, 3, you won't see it up there. I just jotted this down. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. So you come to terms with that, through Jesus Christ. And that will include bringing us to salvation, all things through Jesus Christ, including our salvation. That happens, notice, there only through his suffering.

[19:10] This is the plan, perfect plan of God through his suffering that he would taste death for each one of us that we wouldn't have to. And this is why we have recorded in Luke 22 when Jesus is praying and he's praying a prayer, but he already knew the answer to that prayer. And you know but for our understanding he prays that prayer in luke 22 just before he's arrested in the garden and placing himself in that very strategic place to be arrested he prays and he was withdrawn from them his some of his disciples about a stone's throw and he knelt down and prayed saying, Father.

[20:02] If it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And so this agony was necessary. The cross and his suffering was necessary. He communicated that time and time again, the necessity of the cross, the necessity of his suffering. But now we also hear his prayer to help us understand there was no other way. This was the will of God. This was absolutely necessary for Jesus to endure. And so this is something that we have to understand. And.

[21:04] Then we see verse 11, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. I will sing praises to you. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children whom God has given me. And so Jesus became as we are. And for our sakes, those who are set apart, it says sanctified, the sanctified one, the believers. And he calls us brothers. We're all brothers because Jesus Christ came like that, brothers and sisters, to Jesus Christ because he became as we are. And then you see there in verse 12, then the writer will quote once again from the Old Testament. He quotes from Psalm 22, that picture of Jesus Christ upon the cross. And so when we read that and we relate to that, we make the connection to that. But also in verse 13, he quotes three more places from the Old Testament.

[22:26] You can read them later. It's 2 Samuel 22, 3, Isaiah 8, 17, Isaiah 8, 18. And this interprets those verses for us where we could say, oh, we know who we're trusting.

[22:41] And that's the idea there. It explains it to us that who we're supposed to be trusting. It's Jesus Christ and the plan of God of salvation through Jesus. And then in verse 14 and 15, Jesus had to take on flesh. You know, 14, again, in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. And so look what's being said there. So Jesus Christ became flesh, And yet, you see how this is unfolding, remember, being a scroll, not chapters and verses, describes completely who Jesus Christ is as God himself, the Son, who came and subjected himself in this body of flesh to taste of death to deliver us who would be in bondage to death, from death.

[24:01] And so this is being shown to them who trusted completely in the things of the Old Testament that is being cleared up here. And so identifying, Jesus coming in the flesh, identifying with us, and then he could overcome death, the death that we had no power over, none whatsoever. But now that has all been changed because all of the devil's schemings failed against Jesus Christ. And he has given us victory over the devil in which we were in bondage to death. But now the Christian, we sleep.

[24:42] These bodies go into the grave, but we go into the presence of the Lord. These bodies, physical bodies, sleep, but we go into the very presence of the Lord. So we're delivered from that, that dread of death because of Jesus Christ. And so the devil failed, and we have been handed this salvation freely based on the victory of Jesus Christ. And in no way, by any merit or effort on our part, can we take credit for that. So we just have to come to terms and yield ourselves to Jesus Christ for salvation. Because he's the one that's completed it. He said, it's finished and it's done. We have to trust him for that. You know, there's, you know, part of us that, you know, dread the thought of dying, maybe.

[25:36] I know that especially when you're young, you know, just the thought of it's like, I got so much life to live. Well, that's an understatement because if you're a Christian, you got more life to live than you could ever imagine. And this life is just that much. And, you know, and I certainly understand, you know, certainly we want to be here for our loved ones. We want to be here for our family. We want to be here to help, especially, you know, passing on the message of life everlasting and all those kinds of things. And so I think that that is correct to have in us that drive for life, because otherwise we'd give up too easy. We have to have the drive to live and to live, you know, for Jesus Christ and be the most alive. And then when he decides our days and our numbers are up, we're okay with that. But, you know, it takes a real drive in us to live and, you know, to keep working hard and to making, you know, life better for others and being, you know, a good example. Yeah.

[26:38] And so in verse 16, for indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. He doesn't help the angels. They don't need any help. Guess who is being helped? Us. You know, the seed of Abraham, the flesh, is the idea. And this he did was not for angels. This isn't to help angels along. Everything that Jesus Christ did was for us. We're the ones who need the help, not the angels. That's the idea. You know, they're already in their eternal state, but we are not represented in Abraham. Because Abraham believed before the law ever came into existence through Moses. Abraham believed. And as Paul puts it, it was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. And Paul's whole argument in Romans chapter 4 was the argument and the basis of salvation. He says in Romans 4, he says, What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about. But not before God, for what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. So they're explaining salvation is not of works.

[28:07] Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It's the same way that we believe God and our, you know, faith is accounted to righteousness. And so that's what Paul's explaining. And then we get to verse 17 and 18.

[28:25] Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren. So Jesus had to be made like us in all ways. You know, the Bible does tell us, right? He was tempted in all points and yet without sin. And Jesus had to endure all of that, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation, that's the acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the people, that's us and our sins, for in that he himself has suffered. Being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. And so he did this so that he identified with us. He was victorious over that. Our perfect representation, who then at that point took upon him the sins of the world, our sins. And then he took the penalty of those sins. And then we confess, and then that penalty that's taken away, is taken away from us. You know, and so Jesus put himself through a literal hell so that we would be delivered from a literal hell.

[29:48] And he did that. Yes, we can experience what may seem like hell on earth, but no matter how difficult or brutal that might prove, it's always just temporal for the Christian. That's just temporal. It may seem literal. I mean, it may seem like a literal hell, but we, for the most part, also, praise the Lord, can experience heaven on earth because we know him. You know, you can't really experience heaven on earth unless you have that snapshot of knowing that you're going to heaven to be with the Lord. Because if you didn't have that understanding of eternal life, then there's always this anxiety that you carry around, even not realizing it, that this life is short and you're going to be dead and there's nothing else left in it or left after that. That'd be depressing, especially when, you know, if you're without the Lord and you realize how short this life really is and you're carrying that around with you, I often think, how do people live without Jesus Christ?

[30:52] And then, you know, you see the world unraveling before our eyes, but you see, we know that the Lord's plan is perfect, and we already see the end time scenario all coming together. We don't know the exact timing of it, but we see it formulating, and all the players are lining up and they're in place. And so we, knowing the scriptures, have a calm assurance, even though we're sitting on, you know, the edge of our seat, wondering what's going to happen next. It doesn't take away from the confidence that we're ready to go to be with the Lord, you know. And, you know, I personally see the United States as a key player until the rapture of the church. And the rapture of the church is just getting absorbed in the whole global system. But until then, there's too many of us here in the United States that are the remnant believers of the church praying, and God's launched us from this great America that we live in to take the gospel message around the world and to be, you know.

[31:59] Delivering nations around the world like we're doing now, because it's God's plan for the gospel to get into these places that the people would hear the gospel coming through, you know, through America. The Christians all of a sudden, it's like, yeah, I got to hear what you have to say, you came and delivered us. And that has always opened the door for the gospel.

[32:23] You know, there's some that's sending the message like we're just supposed to ignore the rest of the world and pretend like people aren't getting killed by tens of thousands. Well, people are getting killed by tens of thousands, but we can go and it opens the door. Even if those that are the leaders aren't realizing it, it is opening the door for us to deliver the gospel message and for people to end up in heaven.

[32:49] And so keep praying. But in conclusion, I would say, don't believe the delusion. In conclusion, don't believe the delusion that there is any other way to be saved or any other way to live life. Jesus says to you and me, come and see. He says, come and see. See where I live. You know, see where I'm from. Hear what I'm about. Come and see.

[33:16] And then choose for yourself. You choose to follow him or not follow him, but come and see. And the last verse in the Bible tells us even angels wanted to look into these things of salvation, but they couldn't. The angels were limited. Peter writes, 1 Peter 1, 10 through 12, Of this salvation the prophets have inquired. Search carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the suffering of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them, it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into.

[34:22] So here was the prophet bringing the word. The prophet's bringing the word of God's grace and the gospel message, scratching their head, not being clear on what it all meant, but still having faith in God, even though they're scratching their heads. And now the message comes to its fullness, and we get all the details. Now, we scratch our heads for the end times, which is the details of that is still not clear. But the prophets were scratching their head to this whole idea of salvation. And so even the angels are thinking, why is God doing this? What's this all about? The angels. And so this is clearing the air. Now, that was only two chapters. And so he's just going to keep unloading these answering questions all the way through the book of Hebrews, which I believe will answer our questions as well. Shall we stand together? If you need prayer, come forward. Keep praying.

[35:28] Lord, we thank you for blessing us with your word. Thank you, Lord, for directing our lives. We thank you for the hope that we have, that it is a blessed hope. Because we know, Lord, that it's not so much what happens from here until there, other than the fact that we know that we're experiencing your presence and we're experiencing your counsel and we're being directed by you. So I ask for all that are here, Lord, that we would follow you. We would see you high and lifted up, Lord, and that we would follow you from this day forward all the way into heaven, Lord. And I just ask that, you know, each person here would have that confidence in their faith in you, Lord, and trust in you and look around and see the tinsel town that we live in, Lord, and see the temporal components of it all and not be fooled by it, but completely enjoy the people because the people around us are eternal. And so thank you for that, Lord. And so I ask for your blessing upon your people, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you.