3. A Little Lower Than The Angels, Hebrews 2 :1-9

[Music] as I read this morning's text in its entirety we're gonna take a look this morning at Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 through 9 ready therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away for if the word spoken through angels prove steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him God also bearing witness were both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will 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 honour and set him over the works of your hands you have put all things in subjection under his feet for in that he put into in all in subjection under his feet 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 the dead of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone amen you may be seated in the first chapter of this letter to the Hebrews the writer of the Hebrews is very careful and very eloquent to demonstrate that Jesus is supreme that Jesus is greater than any creature in the universe including what we might think of as being the pinnacle of God's creation I mean I don't know exactly how you would measure it but you might say that the pinnacle of God's creation are these mighty majestic glorious angelic beings after all so often in the Bible whenever there's a human encounter with an angelic being the immediate tendency is for that human being to bow down and worship and to have an inordinate fear and reverence towards that angelic being so much so that so many times the first words out of a mouth of an angel in the book of in the Bible when they appear is to say to the human fear not stop being afraid so if you take these amazing majestic mighty powerful beings and if we establish Jesus is supreme over them that's what he's so powerfully and so carefully established there in Chapter 1 now you and I might be content to just sort of let that rest with us as a fascinating theological truth okay here we are we've got all these boxes of good theology and we put it okay we can check off the right box we know the answer is Jesus greater than the Angels we know to check out check out the answer yes he is this is the amazing thing about this letter to the Hebrews because it's really a letter to us as well is it we'll let you stop there did you see the first few words of chapter 2 verse 1 therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away you see this use of the word therefore makes it very plain and very established that he's building on what he said before therefore because we know Jesus is supreme because we know he's greater not only than the Angels but anything that's living in this world because Jesus is supreme I'll just put it to you simply you better listen to you must give the more earnest heed to the things that you've heard it's not just an angel who's spoken though might I say if an angel were to appear visibly on this stage we would listen to him you'd have just just this innate sense within you I better listen to that being but do you realize that we have something more significant more powerful more supreme than even an angel from heaven speaking to us we have God the son who has spoken to us Jesus himself has come and has given us this glorious amazing revelation that's why he says there in verse one we must give the more earnest heed that's what you have to do I mean if you would pay attention to an angel if they spoke to you how much more should you right here right now say Jesus has spoken every once in a while we talked about it we'll use the phrase and modern speak comes something being a game-changer some fact some condition some event that changes everything after ladies and gentlemen if God the Son has come down and lived among us and spoken to us and demonstrated not only with his words but his life a message of love and salvation of mankind that's a game-changer it changes everything and we have to listen to it we have to give heed to what God has said you know there's people today and it's a very common idea that listen I appreciate Jesus I honor him what a great guy you know I'll put him on the list of my of my mental list of good guys of history you know they're there there's Jesus and there's a Mahatma Gandhi and there's Martin Luther King jr. and there's some other great guys of history and Jesus right up there with them maybe he's at the top of the list but you see what she's telling you to do do you saying forget that list I speak to you now he goes on here if you notice here verse one to say what the danger is if you don't listen to him he says lest we drift away if we do not give the more earnest heed you're gonna drift away and the writer had in mind here the idea of the drifting of a didn't you know how that is even if you don't know anything about about nautical things or ships and boats and all the rest of it which I know very little about but look I do know this that if you just leave a boat on the water and if it's not anchored to anything it's not tied to anything if you just let the currents of the water have it swim if you just let the wind have its way on it it's gonna drift away to some place or another and probably it's not gonna drift to a desirable place and this is what the Rite of Hebrews is exposing to us he's saying if you don't pay attention to who Jesus is and what he is and what he can if you don't have the supremacy of Jesus very high in your heart and mind you're gonna drift off to a place where you don't want to be this what's important to remember nobody deliberately drifts I mean drifting is something that happens almost by accident now you could say well yes they're deliberately drifting because they're not deliberately anchored well that's true in a way my friends do you understand what I'm trying to say the drifting just happens and if we are not securely set in the truth of the supremacy of Jesus we're gonna drift away into the danger of currents of this world of our own sinful nature and of the devil himself you don't have to do anything to drift away you just have to be unattached you have to just let go of that anchor by which you hold fast and departure from the faith usually comes from slow drifting not a sudden departure that's usually how it happens when somebody departs from the faith now I know sometimes it seems like a sudden departure your your kid comes home from college and suddenly they're saying things about Jesus and they're virtually denying who Jesus is and what he came to do and it's just pretty much mom dad I don't to have anything to do with your faith and you're shocked you're like I sent my little child off just as beautiful believer and now look what they're coming back to me as it's easy for to think that that happened in a moment but probably not probably there was a drift and this is why in all the aspects of the ministry that we do here in this congregation we have it is such a vital passion of our heart to anchor people in Jesus Christ in who he is and in what he's done and listen there's a sense as a congregation that all we can do is provide the opportunities for that and reinforce it in the ministry that we do over and over again but look let's face it it has to be an individual choice for each and every one of us you have to say I'm gonna pay attention to the supremacy of Jesus and I'm gonna anchor myself in him that's something that you have to if I could impose it upon you I probably would the friends I can't you know how that is you can't impose it upon your children oh you can guide them you can teach them you can direct them and well you should mom and dad but at the end of it all it has to be something that they say I will recognize the supreme even Jesus Christ I will anchor myself in him I want you to remember what the Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16 asked Paul do you remember what he said to him he used a great phrase he the Philippian jailer in the desperation of his moment he said to the to Paul he said what must I do to be saved it's a great question isn't it and there's a sense of it I'd love to spend a lot of time answering that question this morning let me turn it around though how about if we asked another question sort of the opposite of what the Philippian jailer what must I do to be saved and Paul told him he said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you and your family in your household you will be saved that's what he told the Philippian jailer let's turn the question around what must I do to be lost I'll tell you what you have to do be lost nothing just do nothing just drift just drift with the current drift with whatever way the wind of this world pushes you drift with whichever way the current of your own sinful nation guides you just just drift with the world the flesh and the devil drift in that way don't do anything and you'll end up lost for sure now do you see why the right of the Hebrews has such a urgency to speak to you and I and he says listen it cannot be that way for you therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we've heard lest we drift away that's why we need to be anchored in who Jesus is and what he did for us and if you want to take the ship metaphor a little bit further it's not only an anchor although that's part of it we have to hold fast to the anchor but we also need Jesus as if you could use the expression as a rudder that which will guide you and steer you along the way as well he serves both functions in the life of the believer and going on here now to verse 2 where he's going to reinforce this very same point he says for if the word spoken through angels proves steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will you see here in verse 2 when he mentions the word spoken by angels he's making a reference there to the law of Moses because both by biblical indication and by Jewish tradition in some way angelic beings had a role in delivering the law of Moses to mankind well if the word spoken through angels if the law of Moses proved steadfast if it was strong if it was secure if the law of Moses mattered how much more will the word spoken to us by the son of God proved to matter this is the whole point of it if people listened up when angels delivered something with the law of Moses how much more should we listen up because Jesus Christ the Son of God has brought us a message for us right here right now and then he really nails the point home in verse 3 did you notice that where he said how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation if we've got to take a word that came through the delivery or the intermediary work of angels seriously how much more do we need to take seriously the word that came by the son of God since the son of God is proven to be greater than the Angels so the message that he brings should be regarded by us as greater as well let me put it to you this way a greater word Bob Bryar greater person having greater promises it's gonna bring a greater condemnation if you neglect it man that's a heavy word isn't it but it's one we need to hear I'm not delivering to you something like the law of Moses which is glorious but inferior to the message brought to us by Jesus Christ I'm bringing to you a high and exalted message by Jesus and I have to say and I don't you know it's not like I'm all happy about saying this but if you want you to I please as me and my responsibility as a minister of Jesus Christ as a preacher of his word to tell you it's dangerous for you to hear this word and reject it or neglect it it's dangerous there is a condom look I'll just read you the words again so sometimes I'm so aware at a moment like this that my own words fail this says it clearly enough how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation how how can you escape if you neglect so great a salvation did you notice what he's saying here it's a word that was given to those who had this great salvation yet they neglected it ladies and gentleman this is a word to believers this is a word to those who had given their lives to Jesus Christ and they said yes I have the word of Jesus and now the word given very much when the writer of Hebrews is are you neglecting that word as for those among us you haven't yet given your life to Jesus Christ will speak to you later well I'm glad you're here and I want you to listen in on this but we have to admit that what are the right of the Hebrews is saying this is an in family discussion he's looking at you and he's looking at me and he's saying he's saying are you neglecting this great salvation came to you from such a great Savior you see knowing the greatness of Jesus there is no excuse for us to neglect so great a salvation and there's an inescapable price that we pay for neglecting it and the reason why look at it right there he uses that phrase in verse 3 where he talks about so great a salvation when you consider that something's great you're gonna pay attention to it you're not not gonna neglect it you know if you just received something that's really wonderful an amazing house an amazing car and amazing this or that you're not gonna gonna it you're gonna rejoice you're gonna be happy about it you're gonna invest your time and attention in it but it's it's telling that if you ignore it it shows that you don't think it's very gray your friends this is a so great salvation we're saved by a great Savior we were saved at a great cost we were saved from a great penalty and this is the rescue that Jesus Christ has given us by the way I want you to notice that from so great a salvation this is the problem with many people who would consider themselves to be followers of Jesus Christ they don't think of what Jesus is brought to them as truly salvation they think of what Jesus is brought to them as sort of self-improvement friends there's a very big difference between self-improvement and salvation what salvation says is I'm drowning I need somebody to rescue me if somebody does not rescue me I perish and therefore when somebody rescues you in that situation you're pretty grateful aren't you you're very I don't want to neglect that that's a wonderful thing but if the message of Jesus is merely how you can be happier how you can improve the life that you have that Jesus will help you to fulfill your dreams and desires by the way you just keep all your dreams and desires Jesus just helps you to fulfill it if that's the message well then no wonder people neglect it I've got the great pleasure here to tell you that we're called to something greater than that we're called to receive this rest that Jesus Christ gives us it's like this if you're on the ground and looking at a parachute you go yes well parachute great how about if you're an airplane that's diving and is about to you know lose everything suddenly that parachute becomes much more precious to you doesn't it because you realize I need this I need this so how should we escape if we neglect so great a salvation he continues on here in verse three which was spoken by the Lord and confirmed by these many witnesses you see this word was spoken by Jesus and confirmed by eyewitnesses those who had heard him it was confirmed with signs with wonders with miracles with gifts of the Holy Spirit given by God now by the way this is one reason I just get off on a little side point here this is one of the reasons why personally I think it's likely I can't say positively I think it's likely that the letter of the Hebrews was not written by the Apostle Paul that Paul was not the author why look at this phrase right here Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3 and was confirmed to us by those who heard him in other words the writer of the Hebrews is saying I didn't hear Jesus directly but I heard about him from those who did hear him Paul would never speak like that not in my estimation matter of fact if you go to other places especially first Corinthians chapter 15 Paul was very firm about the fact that Jesus spoke to him directly he didn't get the gospel from Peter he didn't get it from the Apostle John he didn't get it from anybody else but Jesus himself and here the writer of the Hebrews seems to describe himself as what I would call a second-generation believer now please understand the word was true and it was just as true if it was delivered by a eyewitness as it would be delivered from the Lord himself yet I think this is an indication that Paul the great apostle did not write the letter to the Hebrews you're free to disagree with that if you please now notice here starting now at verse 8 he's gonna sort of shift gears but do we have the point through the first few verses here Lisa Gemma God has delivered something great to us in Jesus Christ there's a price not only for rejecting it and I pray that nobody here this morning rejects it there's a price for rejecting it but there's not merely a price for rejecting it there is also a great and terrible price for neglecting it and that's what God does calls you not to me now can I just say it's a positive thing that you're here this morning wanting to worship God wanting to pray with his people and wanting to hear his word that that is an indication in your life that you do not want to neglect this great thing that God has given to you that's a wonderful thing but I would just say build on it build on what God has given you every day of your life that you would say I do not want to neglect this great thing that God has given to me I don't want to just put it on a shelf I just don't want to set it aside no I'm gonna interact with the Living God and have a real living following of Jesus Christ every day okay now verse 5 but 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've made him a little lower than the Angels you've crowned him with glory and honor and has set him over the works of your hands you've 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 I left off there in the middle of verse 8 but notice here what he's talking about now is shifting on to another argument about who Jesus is I think pretty categorically in the first chapter he established very powerful that Jesus is supreme over the Angels that Jesus is God and it was such a powerful thing that we saw last week in Hebrews chapter 1 telling us that Jesus is God now the right of the Hebrews in chapter 2 it's going to tell us another thing about Jesus in a sense I'm just gonna introduce it this week and we'll get into it in greater depth the next time we're in the book of Hebrews but friends that's what I want you stan is now he's gonna tell us that Jesus is not only God Jesus is also man and this is what we have to understand about Jesus sometimes there's a tendency in Christian circles to exalt the deity of Jesus so much that we forget that he's a man and then other times there's a tendency in Christianity to exalt the humanity their option he's fully God and he's fully man that's what the Bible presents to us that at one point in time God the Son the second member of the Trinity he added humanity to his deity that's why it's important understand that when God became man it's not an issue of subtraction that he took anything a well from away from self no it's not subtraction it's addition he added humanity to his deity and from that point forward God the Son the second member of the Trinity is forever fully God and fully man well in the first chapter he talked about the deity aspect now in the second chapter he's going to emphasize the idea of the humanity of Jesus but he begins by talking about the fact that God has put this world in the world to come not in subjection to angels but in subjection to man did you see it there in verse 5 where he says he has not put the world to come in subjection to angels God never gave angels the kind of Dominion that he originally gave man over the earth with God gave that great command to Adam in the Garden of Eden have Dominion multiply over the earth dominate the earth when he gave him that commander in the garden meat he never gave that command to angels God commissioned mankind humanity to take care of to steward to manage over the earth now understanding that now he's going to begin to quote from Psalm 8 starting at verse 4 where he talks about this great thing where he considers what is man that you are mindful of him or the Son of man that you take care of him you've made him a little lower than the Angels and this is the thing playing off in the mind of the writer of the Hebrews this great fact that man is lower than the Angels and status and like I say if we had our imaginary angelic appearance right here on the platform you would see how much lower that I am than an angel so we have this idea of mankind being lower than the Angels at the same time God has given authority God has given an honor God has given a dignity to mankind that he has not even given to angelic beings and this blows the mind he says what is man that you're mindful of him instead you've made him a little lower than the Angels but he's given in this great dominion over the earth and now in verse 7 he speaks saying you have made him a little lower than the Angels now he's talking about not only humanity but that humanity that Jesus embraced and when Jesus became fully man and fully got there's a sense at least a certainly by appearance on this earth that he came and appeared to be a little lower than the Angels isn't that crazy can you imagine that humble spirit in Jesus that would say Here I am God in heaven yet I'm gonna come to earth and I'm gonna take on this humanity I'm gonna embrace it I'm gonna live it I'm not gonna come down as a Superman I'm gonna come down and by every indication as I walk among humanity I'm gonna appear to be a little lower than the angels and so verse 8 he says this is just the beginning part of verse 8 he left nothing that is not put under him that the writer to the Hebrews emphasizes the point that God put all things under subjection to human beings then this shows that Jesus had to become human because as God gave Dominion to man not to angels it's through the humanity of Jesus that this authority is going to be exercised now he's really just ramping up and this is what we're gonna get into the next time we're in Hebrews we're gonna develop this in much greater way and I believe in a much more beautiful way to talk about the humanity of Jesus but this thought of all things being subjected to man and to Jesus Christ raises a bit of a problem for the ride of the Hebrews this is the bread problem we see look now starting at the middle of verse 8 he says this 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 that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone rather Hebrews reads his Bible and in his Bible it says that mankind though lower than the Angels has received an authority above the Angels to have dominion over the earth and he goes great mankind has all this theoretical dominion over the earth all things are put in the subject subjugation under him and then he looks around in the world and goes how much does it seem that man has subjugation over about a friends anybody feel like crime is subject to you in other words it no no crime can touch me does anybody feel like economic downturn can't touch them that you have authority over that that you're it's a subject under you that all things are under your feet you think of war you think of disease you think of age you think of cancer you think of all these things that we battle at man and it's easy to stand back and just sort of sniff your nose and go then seem like we're in charge of much of anything that's why that first line of the second part of verse eight rings so true to me where he says but now we do not yet see all things put under him this is a promise it's not yet fulfilled Jesus you said we'd have dominion over everything but I don't yet see it fulfilled Jesus what am I gonna do with this what am I gonna do when the economy turns down what am I gonna do when the cancer strikes what am I going to do when weak encroaches what am I gonna do when man practices some terrible crime against his fellow man what am I gonna do in the midst of all of this did you see the beginning of verse nine but we see Jesus as if he looks out in the world he says I don't see the answer to all the theological problems out in the world but I'll tell you what I do see I see Jesus you see this promise of man having dominion over all the earth it seems pretty weak right now but I tell you where it's fulfilled perfectly it's fulfilled perfectly in the person of Jesus this promise is fulfilled in Jesus who is lord over all and through Jesus man fully regains his humanity and he can remain again that Dominion originally intended for Adam and his descendants this is the pathway folks this is how God gives us a place in this world once again and you look around at the world you look around at the confusion in the chaos of your own life and it might not make a speck of sense to you you may see it all and it seems senseless but I tell you what I want you to look away from all of that and say this but I see Jesus I don't see anything else that makes sense but I see Jesus you know there's many things that we don't understand until we see Jesus and many of us think that the answer to the perplexing questions of life is to figure out the why Lord why did I lose all that money Lord why did that person hurt me Lord why did that cancer come Lord why there's why and the whys can go on forever friends let me tell you something the most powerful comforting answers for your life are not going to be found in answering the why the most powerful comforting answers in your life are gonna come from knowing who and the who is Jesus himself you could look at the cancer you could look at the poverty you can look at the pain all day long but once you take your eyes off that and see Jesus look at him I can imagine stirring and but he's so right now I wish I could see Jesus I wish I could get in a time machine and go back 2,000 years then I would really believe no that's what I want to I want to see Jesus with my natural biological eye that would give me faith friends no that wouldn't give you faith do you realize how many people who saw Jesus with their natural I rejected him and mocked him and looked away from no I'm telling you to do something that's even more important than seeing Jesus with your natural eye I want you to a pretend him by faith because faith right now is is is a likened to sight in many ways faith is the sight of the inner man we see things we apprehend them we gain them it's the sense of the inner being and so right now you can see Jesus you can put your faith upon him you can say yes Jesus I trust you and I know for something that seems so impossible seems hard how could I put my faith in how can I trust him listen I tell a problem I see more and more today his people are just simply overthinking faith they want a schematic they want a diagram they want this they want that can I just stop overthinking it and just believe he release it Jesus didn't even tell you to try to believe in him stop trying to believe and just believe just put your trust in him and if it helps you just say it Jesus I believe who you are and I believe what you did for me on the cross just say that just say it and say Lord believe I believe I want you to help my unbelief see friends this is a very powerful thing to be able to say that we see Jesus to look unto Him for the eye of faith and as imperfect as our vision is we can see him with this eye of faith you can see him as the one who loves sinners and who died for them you can see him today as your Savior you can see him today as your master the one who has the right to tell you what to do you can see them today as your friend you can see Jesus today is your forerunner you can see Jesus today as your healer you can see him at work you can see him at home you can see him out and about in the world today you can see him surprised you can see him more than just here at worship times yep who Jesus is and what he says in our life it works out there too it really does let's see see this is the whole point to bring our attention back to Jesus time and time again now in verse 9 he speaks about Jesus being made a little lower than the Angels keep that in your mind and we're gonna talk about that again but notice this verse 9 says made a little bit lower than the angels were little lower than the Angels for the suffering of death if God the Son did add humanity to his deity and in his humanity he became a little lower than the Angels then he could experience the suffering of death on our behalf but that's not where the story ends look at where it ends it's right there at verse 9 crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone you see how wonderful this is I think there's two very wonderful things about the end of verse 9 the first wonderful thing is that Jesus didn't stay dead instead he's crowned with glory and honor and listen we love to talk about what Jesus did for us on the cross it's very important it's a central place in the Christian life and matter of fact a little bit later we're gonna have communion together as a congregation what a perfect morning for us to have community together to remember through the bread and the cup what Jesus did for us on the cross so we never tire about talking that but we never want to forget he didn't stay dead he's crowned with glory and honor he's exalted because that great work of sacrifice that he did on the cross was the most loving and powerful thing ever done so he's crowned with glory and honor and we understand that but here's the second thing and don't you love how it says it at the end of verse 9 it says that he by the grace of God might taste death death for everyone he tasted death for you he died for you but you reject him he died for you but he died for you now it's a comment upon you to receive you receive that work on his behalf so friends can you prepare your heart for it right now prepare your heart to come to the Lord's table to receive what he has for you in the bread and in the cup and to lift up this exalted Jesus all as we do it I want you to think about it want you to think he is that anchor for my life he's my anchor he's my rudder Jesus I look to you I look to you in all that you are in all that you've done I see you with the eye of faith right now doing that you'll never drift away you'll stay right where you should be in him father that's my prayer I pray now as we come to worship you in song again as we put our focus upon you once again I pray Jesus that you would move now in that spiritual aspect Lord has um as faltering as I may be able to do it I've sought to present Jesus and who he is and what this text explains him to be but Lord I know that there's an aspect to this that can only work by the work of your spirit in the individual life so Jesus now as we come and as we wait before you won't you prepare us to receive from your table and once you prepare us to worship you in spirit and in truth we love you Jesus and I pray that you'd speak to each heart that maybe neglecting this great salvation persuade them Lord to something high or something better do it in us by the work of your spirit we pray this in Jesus name [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: book of hebrews, hebrews, jesus, david guzik, guzik, enduring word, hebrews 2, lower than the angels

Id: F__lEJ3A0GM

Length: 37min 16sec (2236 seconds)

Published: Sat May 04 2019