People get their theology in a variety of places. Some listen in on conversations around the coffee bar or "other" bars and come up with their belief system. Others deduct their theological framework by what they read in the media. Still others rely on visual media to pin particular beliefs upon the issues of life. None of these, to no surprise, are reliable for building one's theology!
Take for instance a very good and popular movie that I found quite enjoyable, done in animation: "Ratatouille." The story is about a rat that loves to cook and eventually achieves status by one critic as Paris' top chef. I'm not sure what that does for the ego of other chefs! While focusing on the rat, the human counterpart of the movie focused on a young man named Alfredo Linguini, the son of a renowned but deceased, Parisian chef, whom the "little chef" directed through the rigors of culinary delights. Early in the movie, Linguini gave a letter from his mother to the cruel master chef. The impatient and uninterested chef asked how his mother was doing. Linguini replied, "Well, oh, fine, I mean okay, I mean not so good." Another chef behind him spoke up, "She's dead." "Yes," said Linguini, "but that's alright because she believed in heaven; so it's okay." She believed in heaven so everything will be okay. So much for Disney Theology!
Though merely an animated film, that kind of statement mirrors something of what is thought by countless people in our country. One of the speakers at the recent Building Bridges Conference pointed out, if anyone dies in a tragic situation, whether weather or warfare or terrorist related, then he has a "free pass" to heaven. As long as someone believes that a thing is so, then that's all one needs. So, if you believe you will be in heaven then don't worry about it, the logic goes, you'll be in heaven. If you believe that there's no hell or eternal punishment, well then, don't worry about it, whatever you believe will be so. That kind of post-modern, fairy-tale thought seems to be shaping our world.
The problem is that this kind of illogical, non-revelatory thought has gripped many professing evangelicals. How many professing Christians understand why Jesus had to die on the cross or why He had to become a human being or why all stand condemned apart from the gospel? The answers might surprise us. We might find that media venues and coffee bar chatting have informed thought more than the revelation of God's Word.
The Scripture does not fill in every detail of what we might ask or want to know. But it more than abundantly fills in enough details to intelligently inform our understanding that we might believe and live in faithfulness to Christ. I've never thought there was a lack of information in the Bible; just the opposite, there's so much that it's often difficult to get our minds around all of it! What we do find in the Scripture is very clear, concise language concerning Jesus Christ in His person and work. The Scripture never casts shadows or doubts over the Incarnation of Jesus Christ; it declares it and applies it for us. That's what we see in our text this morning. It may appear to be an odd "Christmas text" but I think you'll see, as we investigate it, that it fills in important details to our understanding of the gospel and application of the Christian faith. Why did Jesus have to become like us? That's what the writer of Hebrews addresses in this passage.
Hebrews exalts the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all. He is God's final revelation; He made the world; in the Incarnation, He is the radiance of God's glory and exactly represents the divine nature; He holds the world together by the word of His power (1:1-3). He is superior to the angels; they worship Him (1:4-14). He is superior to Moses and to the Aaronic Priesthood and to the whole of the old covenant. He has brought an eternal salvation through His redemptive work. So the question is posed, "How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" How can we look for religion and satisfaction in other things or other religions or in substituting something for Christ?
The writer goes to great lengths to explain Jesus Christ's identification with all whom He would redeem. He was made for a little while lower than the angels. The One who is God was made low through the Incarnation when He became a human being so that "He might taste death for everyone" (2:9). Though being the Son of God, He still learned obedience by the things which He suffered (5:8). He endured the cross, despised its shame, and ultimately, was seated at God's right hand as Lord of lords (12:2). Yet we are to remember the path that He took: He existed eternally, was conceived in the virgin's womb by the Holy Spirit, became a real human being, and actually suffered temptation and affliction and death as a man. Why did He have to take that path? That's what our text answers.
Only a few times in the New Testament do we see this term propitiation in reference to Christ. We find it here (Heb. 2:17), Romans 3:25, and 1 John 2:2, 4:10; yet its truth is scattered throughout both Old and New Testaments. I've stated in the heading the view of propitiation, that Jesus Christ propitiated God with reference to our sins. He did not propitiate our sins, as we shall see; but He propitiated God with our sins in view.
The writer of Hebrews aims for that term as capsule for the grand work that Christ accomplished on our behalf. He explains the necessity of the Incarnation as prerequisite to propitiation. "He had to be made like His brethren in all things…to make propitiation for the sins of the people." The Greek term, hilasmos as a noun, and hilaskomai as the verb, is used numerous times by the Old Testament Septuagint translators which helped to shape the New Testament meaning from the ordinary, non-biblical usage. In early Greek language, it was used to describe the act by which a god was appeased; or his anger or wrath averted; the gods would be placated through the act of propitiation [Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 145]. Obviously, in that kind of system the fickleness and contrariness of the gods made various acts necessary to avert their anger. But the Old Testament presents a totally different picture of God the Creator; that understanding lays foundation for what this term means.
In 2 Samuel 21, the story is told of a severe famine in Israel that had lasted for three years. David inquired of the Lord the reason for the famine. "It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death." Many years before, Joshua and the leaders of Israel had made a covenant with the Gibeonites—who were Amorites, not to harm them. But when Saul became king, in his misguided zeal, he killed many of the Gibeonites in violation of the covenant. Therefore, God's wrath was against them through the famine. David asked the Gibeonites what might be done to atone for this sin. They did not want money but justice; that kind of justice could only be satisfied if Saul's sons died to propitiate God with reference to Saul's sin. Consequently, David hung seven of Saul's descendants and the wrath was averted. The sons of Saul were substitutes for the whole nation that had broken covenant with the Gibeonites. The rest were spared because of the satisfaction gained by the substitutes.
But we have something much larger: the human race stands condemned before God. No one is exempt except one without sin. That one person, Jesus Christ, averted the wrath of God from us as He absorbed the wrath as our Substitute at the cross. All of the wrath due to all whom Christ would redeem, He bore in His own body at the cross, and therefore, Christ propitiated God with reference to our sins.
But, as our text points out, this could not be done apart from the moral necessity that Jesus Christ become part of the race that He came to redeem. "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things." Though cumbersome, we could more appropriately translate this, "Therefore, by moral necessity, in all things He became like His brethren." The emphasis in the text is upon how there was no way around this. God's wrath would not and could not be averted any other way. Jesus searched out this issue in the Garden, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39). The cup of wrath lay before Him; but Jesus Christ could drink it only if He was one of our race. He identified particularly with us—"made like His brethren." He was not insulated from humanity or isolated from it; He became one of us with all of the physical needs and limitations that we have "yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). God the Son, Creator of the world, Sustainer of the world, infinite in power and wisdom and might, in "the fullness of time" God sent Him forth "born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5).
Throughout history, some objected to this exactness in the Incarnation, insisting that Jesus was not truly a human being (as in Docetism) or that He was neither human nor divine (as in Gnosticism) or that He was a very good man adopted by God as a son (as in Adoptionism) or that He merely appeared to be God and was but the highest order of created being (as in Arianism) or that He constituted a new hybrid mixing the human and divine (as in Eutychianism). But our text contradicts all of these heretical views. "He," that is the One who is the radiance of God's glory and in His humanity, the exact representation of His nature, "had to be made like His brethren in all things." Nothing was left out in the Incarnation. The Creator had to be carried and nursed as a baby, He had to eat and sleep throughout His life, He felt the whole range of human emotions, and He ultimately, suffered as no one else in humanity has suffered. If He would propitiate God, then "He had to be made like His brethren in all things."
Our writer adds a purpose clause to this statement of the moral necessity of the Incarnation: "so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God." What did a good, effective high priest do? First, he had to be from the Levitical tribe and particularly, a descendant of Aaron. So he had to have the right lineage to be high priest. He also had to be faithful to God as a divine representative to men, carrying out every detail of his office with precision. When Nadab and Abihu decided to take matters in their hands and offer "strange fire" on the altar as God's priests, fire leaped out from the altar and consumed them. Faithfulness to God mattered! The high priest must also be merciful to those he represented before God, realizing that he too needed God's mercy. He must never become cocky or arrogant but humbly hold his office. Even though he functioned as high priest, he still needed a high priest to mediate for him.
Jesus Christ was that high priest who never needed anyone to mediate for Him—because He had no sin. He never had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins first, as did the Aaronic priests. The Incarnation provided the necessary requirement for Jesus Christ to be a "merciful…high priest" in His dealings with "His brethren." Like the Aaronic priests, Jesus represented His brethren; but unlike them, He had no need for anyone to represent Him. Ever sympathetic with our need, having suffered as we have and even more so, He mercifully represents us before the Father. Mercy is not simply a disposition but the benevolent compassion that moves one into action to bring relief [cf. Kent Hughes, PTW: Hebrews—An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, 83-84]. Such is His mercy.
The Incarnation preceded, out of necessity, Christ's faithfulness as high priest. "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a… faithful high priest in things pertaining to God." He could not be a high priest representing us before God without being one of us. No angel can serve that office or else God would not have sent His Son to face such hostility by the hands of sinners. "Faithful high priest" speaks of the way that Christ fulfilled His high priestly office "in things pertaining to God." So, someone may ask, "How do we know that Jesus actually atoned for our sins and that He actually met God's requirements for our salvation?" We answer quite simply, because He is a faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. He alone fully understands God's demands and the human dilemma as no other priest did; therefore, His priesthood was distinct from the Aaronic priesthood (cf. chap. 7). Hear the way that this writer sums up the superiority of Christ's priesthood and His faithfulness:
The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever (7:23-28).
This merciful and faithful high priest has not only propitiated God with reference to our sins but He assuredly comes to our aid when we face temptation. He is able to do this because He was "made like His brethren in all things." Why do we need His aid in temptation? Christ alone has passed through this life without succumbing to temptation. He is "One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (4:15). "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation" (2 Peter 2:9). We face temptation daily—that's an understatement! It comes hour by hour and moment by moment; we struggle with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). "Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust," James tells us (1:14). Though regenerate and now renewed in the mind, we still struggle with the old patterns of sin; we still live in "the body of this death" (Rom. 7:24). So, in our daily walk, we must depend upon the Lord to come to our aid: "For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."
John Owen pointed out three things that we stand in need of when we face temptation: (1) strength to withstand so that the temptation doesn't prevail against us; (2) consolation to lift our spirits while under the strain of temptation; (3) a timely deliverance for us. By His high priestly office, Jesus Christ is able to come to our aid. Owen adds that Jesus does this (1) "by his word or promises" so that we find direction, deliverance, and strength in what He has spoken in the Word; (2) "by his Spirit" supplying grace and strength, giving "strong consolation," and "rebuking [our] tempters and temptations; (3) "By his providence disposing of all things to [our] good and advantage in the issue" [An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, vol. 3, 481; cf. John Owen, Overcoming Sin & Temptation, edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor (Crossway)]. The text insists on Christ's ample qualifications and readiness to come to our aid.
Early in Matthew, Mark, and Luke's Gospels, we're confronted with the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, as the devil tempted Him for forty days. There we find a summary of His response to the tempter, in every case relying upon the authority of Scripture and keeping the honor of the Father (cf. Matt. 4:1-11). But some object, thinking that since Jesus was perfect that He really doesn't know how intense and difficult temptation can be. Yet, just the contrary is true. It is one that does not give in to the temptation that knows how strong and powerful the temptation really is. Those who easily give in do not wait out the lashes and blows of the temptation. As Christ resisted at every point, He felt all of the stinging realities of temptation. "He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered." Philip E. Hughes offered a helpful comment in understanding the thrust of this clause. "The sense of the Greek…is effectively conveyed by Phillips' rendering: "For by virtue of his own suffering under temptation." The use of the perfect tense…[peponthen] serves to emphasize that, though the temptation Christ suffered in the flesh is a thing of the past, yet its effect is permanent, the effect, namely, of compassion and understanding as he aids us in the hour of our temptation" [A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, 123, fn. 126]. Christ remembers with compassion and comes to our aid.
The language is so simple and clear. In light of Jesus Christ, our high priest, having suffered under temptation, "He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." The phrase, "come to the aid," simply means "to help someone in need" [C. Rogers, LEGNT, 521; cf. translations of the same word in Matt. 15:25, "Lord, help me"—the Canaanite woman; Acts 21:28 "Come to our aid"—the Ephesian Diana worshipers calling for help to counter the impact of the gospel]. He has the strength of omnipotence to assist us in temptation. No lack of power can shorten His arm or delay Him. He has the strength of moral character as One altogether holy and righteous. He does not compromise God's righteousness in aiding us but brings us to proper deliverance. He has the strength of endurance which He demonstrated as He faced temptation, so He is able to hold us up in His strength. He Has the strength of faithfulness so that when we are in temptation, He does not leave us or forsake us.
"He is able," so there is nothing lacking on His part; "to come to the aid," so there is the appropriate assistance in our sanctification while under temptation; "of those who are tempted," so each of us on a daily basis must look to Him who endured temptation as a man and never sinned. One doesn't look to a prostitute to lead in moral purity or a drunkard to teach self-control. Rather, we look to one that has endured temptation, who remembers its intensity, and yet has come to the other side without disobeying the Lord. Who qualifies in this? It is Christ alone!
Apart from the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, we would have no merciful and faithful high priest that has propitiated God with reference to our sins or that can come to our aid in temptation. So, pause and glory in Christ's humanity; thank Him for His faithfulness to God as a human being so that He might represent us before God as our great high priest. Look to no other mediator, no other priest but Christ the Lord.
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