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The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (Hebrews 2:5-18)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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  Amen. And if you would take your copy of God's
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  word. Maybe one that you brought or one that's
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  in the pew back there in front of you and open
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  up to Hebrews chapter two. Looking at five through
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  18. And as choir members are finding their seats
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  and you're finding the scripture, I want to point
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  out something here that in verse six of what
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  we're looking at, it says. It has been testified
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  somewhere. And then the author of Hebrews proceeds
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  to share a scripture with us. But the testified
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  somewhere within this passage is a curious thing.
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  We may wonder, why doesn't the author of Hebrews
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  tell us where all of these scriptures are from
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  that are listed within the passage? And I think
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  the reason for that is because once again, we
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  are reminded that the author of Hebrews does
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  not give his name within this book, and he is
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  keeping the authorship focused upon the true
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  author, that of God. And so let us see God's
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  word now, Hebrews 2, 5 through 18. For it was
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  not to angels that God subjected the world to
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  come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified
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  somewhere. What is man that you are mindful of
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  him or the son of man that you care for him?
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  You made him for a little while lower than the
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  angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor,
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  putting everything in subjection under his feet.
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  Now in putting everything in subjection to him,
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  he left nothing outside his control. At present,
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  we do not yet see everything in subjection to
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  him, but we see him who for a little while was
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  made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned
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  with glory and honor because of the suffering
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  of death, so that by the grace of God, he might
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  taste death for everyone. For it was fitting
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  that he, for whom and by whom all things exist,
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  and bringing many sons to glory should make the
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  founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
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  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified
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  all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed
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  to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of
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  your name to my brothers in the midst of the
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  congregation I will sing your praise and again
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  I will put my trust in him and again behold I
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  and the children of God the children God has
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  given me. Since therefore the children share
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  in flesh and blood he himself likewise partook
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  of the same things that through death he might
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  destroy the one who has the power of death that
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  is the devil. and deliver all those who through
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  fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
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  For surely it is not angels that he helps, but
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  he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore,
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  he had to be made like his brothers in every
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  respect so that he might become a merciful and
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  faithful high priest in the service of God to
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  make propitiation for the sins of the people.
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  For because he himself has suffered, when tempted,
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  he is able to help those who are being tempted.
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  This is God's word. Let's pray. Father, your
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  word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our
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  path. Your word is true. Your word is living
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  and active, sharper than any two -edged sword.
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  And so I ask, Lord, that as it is all these things,
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  would you now help us to understand and apply
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  what is here for our sanctification, for our
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  growth in Christ, these things we ask in his
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  name. Amen. Why did Jesus die? Why did Jesus
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  die? It's a simple enough question, right? One
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  that a child, maybe a non -believer, maybe even
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  a mature believer may ask from time to time,
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  why did Jesus die? Well, there are several answers
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  that we might give towards that question one
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  Jesus died to save me from my sins. Yes, that's
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  true Of course it is Jesus died to satisfy the
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  wrath of God. Yes again, very very true Jesus
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  died because the religious leaders of his day
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  put him to death because they hated him Yes,
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  that's true. And finally we might say Jesus died
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  to fulfill prophecy Yes, all of those are true
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  and very much so, but on a very basic level,
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  drawing from the text, Jesus died to kill death.
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  Jesus died to kill death. That, we might say,
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  is the theme of this passage. But this passage
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  does something interesting. You've seen all of
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  the quotations that are in here as it draws upon
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  all of these other texts to tell us the story
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  of the death of Jesus. Other than maybe Matthew,
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  Hebrews is the greatest New Testament book for
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  interpreting the Old Testament. And here as we
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  consider the death of Jesus, we should be taken
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  back to Genesis chapter 3. For you remember what
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  happens in Genesis chapter 3. There's this interaction
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  between the serpent and between Eve and And what
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  does Eve say? She tells the serpent what God
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  has said Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge
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  of good and evil for the day that you eat of
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  it You shall surely die, right? You will die
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  It was a promise that God gave to man if man
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  ate of the tree and we know that Adam and Eve
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  did. But here what we are getting at is that
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  Christ reverses the curse. And how does he do
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  it? How does Christ kill death? He does so by
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  dying. In 1647, the Puritan pastor and writer
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  John Owen wrote a very important book called
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  The Death of Death and the Death of Christ from
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  which I have gotten my sermon title today. The
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  Death of Death and the Death of Christ. It is
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  a masterpiece on what Christ's death does for
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  those who trust in him. And as John Owen wrote
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  that book, a lot of what he's reflecting upon
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  is found in the book of Hebrews. No doubt, John
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  Owen's commentary on Hebrews is one of the best.
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  And so I'll be quoting from John Owen a couple
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  of times, but as we move through this text about
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  the death of the death of Christ here, I have
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  three things I want us to ponder. One, there
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  are questions. What did Christ do in his suffering?
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  When did Christ suffer and for whom did Christ
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  suffer? Now notice with those points, I am talking
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  about the death of Jesus, but specifically I'm
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  talking about the suffering of Jesus because
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  Jesus didn't just die. There are a lot of ways
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  that people die. Sometimes they go peacefully.
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  We know this is not Jesus, right? He did not
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  die peacefully. No, even before his death, he
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  was sweating drops of blood and he was beaten
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  and they mocked him and they put nails through
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  his hands and his feet, the agony of the cross,
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  but ultimately the greatest suffering that Jesus
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  experienced. was suffering the full wrath of
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  God put upon him in order to redeem us from our
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  sins. The suffering of Jesus was in being forsaken.
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  For he cried out, my God, my God, why have you
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  forsaken me? And so we need to understand that
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  as we talk about his death, we are talking about
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  the most painful death anyone could ever experience,
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  the wrath of God for all of us placed upon him.
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  And so let us understand what Christ does in
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  his suffering. Look at verse five. It says that
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  God has not subjected the world to angels. And
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  then it quotes Psalm eight, which we sang earlier.
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  As we read Psalm 8 and as we read the text quoted
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  here, we should be reading this with our minds
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  upon Christ, how God subjected all things to
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  Christ and yet at the same time, Christ has been
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  made lower than the angels. Isn't that mind boggling?
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  For a time Jesus is made lower than the angels
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  and yet. At the same time, all things have been
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  subjected to him. If you didn't know what Christ
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  did in his suffering and in his exaltation, you
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  might say, this is absolutely mind -boggling.
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  This is amazing what Christ has done, but sometimes
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  we've heard it so many times that we are numb
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  to it, that it doesn't have an impact upon us.
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  But look at verse nine and let it have an impact
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  on you. But we see him who for a little while
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  was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus,
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  crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering
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  of death, so that by the grace of God, he might
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  taste death for everyone. This has a kind of
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  first shall be last last shall be first idea
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  to it the humility of Jesus in the incarnation
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  to take on flesh and Ultimately to go all the
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  way to the cross for us Friends, I want you to
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  know this Christ did not come against his will
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  He came willingly he came in humility to suffer
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  and to die for you. He became incarnate to identify
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  you with you in every single way, yet without
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  sin. Look at verse 14. Jesus takes on flesh and
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  blood. Jesus is not made from something that
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  we are not made from. Jesus has the flesh and
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  the bones and the blood flowing through his veins.
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  He is fully God and yet fully man. But also look
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  at verse 18. He was tempted as we are. He was
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  tempted as we are and in that way Jesus does
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  something that no other sacrifice could do, right?
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  He was tempted, yet he didn't sin. Friends, Do
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  you understand today that you have a perfect
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  Savior? A perfect Savior in every single respect?
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  I think the danger is that we sin so often that
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  we can't even wrap our minds around what perfection
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  looks like. We get so used to our own sinfulness
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  that I think we give very little thought to the
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  perfection of Christ. The Westminster Confession
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  of Faith says that we sin daily in thought, word,
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  and deed. Can you conceive of a day without sinning?
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  Maybe if I'm in a coma. Maybe. Can you conceive
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  of a Sunday morning and which you don't snap
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  at your family member? Can you conceive of a
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  day where you don't grumble against the providences
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  of God? Can you conceive of an hour without doing
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  that? Friends, I want you to know that you can.
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  You can because Christ who is perfect has atoned
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  for your sin and he has released you from enslavement
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  to sin and you have the indwelling of the spirit
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  within you. This is all possible because of the
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  suffering of Christ, his humility to come and
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  take on flesh and live perfectly. never breaking
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  a single commandment. Jesus never had an impure
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  thought. Jesus never gossiped. He never slandered
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  anyone. He never grumbled against the providence
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  of God. Every single day of Jesus, his earthly
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  ministry was the same in this respect. He never
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  ever sinned. No sin. And that glorious truth
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  can help us with verse 18. Look there. For because
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  he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able
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  to help those who are being tempted. Here's where
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  we should remember 1 Corinthians 10 -13. No temptation
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  has overtaken you that is not common to man.
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  And God is faithful and he will not let you be
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  tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation,
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  he will provide the way of escape that you may
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  be able to endure it. Jesus's suffering helps
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  us in this way. But when did Jesus suffer? This
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  seems like an obvious point during his incarnation
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  and especially on the cross. But the timing of
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  this matters because it gets at the glorious
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  truth of the resurrection and the ascension.
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  Look at verse seven. as it quotes from Psalm
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  8. You made him for a little while lower than
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  the angels. This refers to both status and to
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  timing. That this was not for all of eternity.
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  Why? Because Christ didn't stay dead. He rose
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  and he ascended up to the right hand of the Father.
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  So this points to the temporary nature of the
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  sufferings of Christ. Not to the temporary nature
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  of his incarnation for he is still fully God
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  and fully man and still bears the marks of his
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  suffering But this points to that Jesus came
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  in the fullness of time and at just the right
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  time died for your sins Because Jesus proclaimed
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  what it is Finished there's nothing left to do
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  it was once and it was for all who trust in him
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  but friends as Christ had a limited window in
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  which to suffer So you have a limited window
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  in which to repent You have a limited time Before
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  either you die or before Christ comes back you
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  have a limited window to turn from your sin and
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  turn to Jesus Christ. As Ecclesiastes says, there
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  is a time to live and a time to die. You do not
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  have forever on this. And so today, if you are
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  indulging in unrepentant sin, this passage demands
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  that you leave your sin in the dust and turn
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  to Christ. Verse 17 says, he makes propitiation,
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  which means that he satisfies the wrath of God.
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  And that's good news because you don't have to
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  bear the full wrath of God because Jesus already
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  took it. Jesus has had the iniquity of us laid
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  upon him, but you do not have forever on this.
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  You might not even have the rest of the day.
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  You might not even have the rest of this worship
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  service today is the day of salvation right now
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  and Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the
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  word of Christ and you're hearing it right now
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  So do not remain in your sin turn to Jesus And
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  this helps us answer the third point today For
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  whom did Christ suffer? Did he suffer for you?
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  If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and
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  the Savior of the world, then you can be assured
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  that you are numbered in the company of the elect.
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  I've already mentioned John Owen. He wrote that
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  book to speak about and against the erroneous
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  teaching that we have free will to exercise faith
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  on our own. rather than being drawn by the Father,
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  John 6, rather than it being all of grace, Ephesians
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  2, rather than it being ordained before the foundation
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  of the world, Ephesians 1, and rather than being
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  predestined according to Romans 8, J .I. Packer
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  said here, where the Arminian says, I owe my
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  election to my faith, the Calvinist says, I owe
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  my faith to my election. And so really then what
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  this passage is getting at as we consider for
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  whom did Christ die, this is getting at particular
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  atonement. You all have heard of tulip before,
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  total depravity, unconditional election, limited
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  atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of
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  the saints. I for one do not. care very much
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  for the term limited atonement. I prefer particular
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  atonement because we recognize that God has given
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  people to Jesus for him to die for. And yet,
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  as we consider particular atonement, we may have
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  a question regarding verse nine. Look there.
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  Look towards the end of it, at least within the
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  ESV. It's at the end of this. as it says that
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  he might taste death for everyone. He might taste
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  death for everyone. That everyone word might
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  trip us up. We might wonder what's going on here.
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  We need to read this in context because Jesus
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  has lived and died for the many sons of verse
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  10. He has died for those sons who are called
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  brothers in verse 11. He has died for those who
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  are called companions in chapter 1. He has died
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  for the congregation in verse 12 and verse 13
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  for God's children and verse 16 for the offspring
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  of Abraham. You see this is painting a picture
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  of particular atonement. It's painting a picture
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  of God's sovereignty in salvation. that those
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  that Jesus has died for might be made holy and
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  perfect with consciences made clean. Here again
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  then from John Owen who said, there is enough
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  in the death of Christ to save everyone that
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  shall so do, meaning belief. leaving the purpose
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  and counsel of God on whom he will bestow faith
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  and for whom in particular Christ died. Friends,
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  there is enough in the death of Christ to save
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  every single one that the Father has given to
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  the Son. Every son and every daughter of God
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  will be brought to glory and it's made possible
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  by the death of Christ. Jesus' death destroys
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  the one who has the power of death, the devil,
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  it says. And yet, even as we think about that,
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  perhaps we are perplexed here. Because as you
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  remember what the people were shouting about
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  Jesus or to Jesus, they were shouting, crucify
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  him, right? And you must think that as people
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  yelled, crucify Him, this must have put a smile
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  on the face of the wicked devil. Surely he could
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  want nothing more than for Jesus to be made a
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  curse. But didn't Jesus pray? Forgive them, Father,
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  for they don't know what they're doing. Friends,
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  they didn't know. True words have never been
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  spoken. Augustine said, he used a phrase called
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  Felix Colpa to capture this idea, which means
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  the blessed fall. It was better that Adam fell,
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  for in it we experience something better, something
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  greater. Look at verse five. And I don't mean
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  to relegate a doctrine like the new heavens and
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  the new earth to just the last couple of minutes
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  in the sermon, but there is more here than I
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  could imagine. Look at verse five. For it was
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  not to angels that God subjected the world to
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  come. Jesus has gone to make a place for us,
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  hasn't he? And yes, he's inaugurated these things
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  now. He's set the ball in motion. He has said
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  it is finished, but he has something glorious
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  planned for us. And in his death, he secures
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  for us something far better than we could ever
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  imagine. Christ killed death so that the curse
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  would be reversed. Lest you die now means lest
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  you live and live in the world. to come. Now
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  what do we do with all of this? Friends, an application
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  of this that we can say is very simple, profound,
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  straight to the point, and yet with everlasting
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  implications. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
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  and you will be saved. His suffering was for
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  you. If you hear nothing else today, hear that.
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  Believe in Jesus. But if today you are in Christ
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  and you are looking for sanctification, look
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  at verse 11. When you consider your sin and misery,
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  how you as a redeemed man or a redeemed woman,
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  sometimes you feel like you can't get out of
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  your own way in your sin. Well, Paul said it
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  like this, I do not do what I want. I do the
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  thing that I hate. The evil I do not want is
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  what I keep doing. Paul can't seem to put his
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  finger on exactly why he does these things, and
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  we can't either. Yes, it's sin, but do you ever
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  just wish or do you ever wonder why am I not
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  further along in my sanctification than I am?
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  Why do I continue to sin in these ways over and
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  over again? Why do I still struggle with this?
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  And what does God think of me? Friends, there
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  is so much shame and so much guilt that we carry,
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  like a backpack full of cinder blocks. And we
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  think, I don't even want to show my face around
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  the church. I don't even want to show my face
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  around those people. What do they think of me?
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  Will they ever talk to me again? Am I loved?
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  And what about God who is all -knowing? He knows
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  everything that I do and say and think. Sometimes
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  we might think Christ must be utterly repulsed
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  by us. But friends, particular atonement isn't
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  about Christ dying for the cream of the crop.
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  Paul called himself the chief of sinners. Particular
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  atonement is about the glory of God and his love
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  displayed on those who had no hope whatsoever.
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  Because he suffers in your place, he calls you
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  brother. He calls you sister. Again, verse 11.
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  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified
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  all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed
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  to call them brothers. Friends, Christ is not
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  ashamed of you at all. He died for you. How could
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  he be ashamed of people that he died for? He
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  calls you brother. He calls you sister. He died
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  on the cross to bring you into his family. But
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  because that is true, The reverse also must be
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  true. Christ is not ashamed of you. Are you ashamed
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  of him? The same word that is used here when
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  it mentions this word ashamed is the same as
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  Romans 1 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
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  for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone
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  who believes. to the Jew first and then to the
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  Gentile. And so the application, friends, is
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  this. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Let it
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  be ready on your lips. Be ready for the reason,
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  for the hope that is within you. Since Christ
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  has defeated sin and death and the devil, you've
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  been brought into the family of God. Let us put
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  our faith into practice by proclaiming the gospel
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  to dying people. I like to quote Richard Baxter
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  on this. See, you get two Puritans in one sermon.
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  Richard Baxter said, Preach like a dying man
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  to dying men. Friends, we are all dying. Our
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  outer selves are wasting away, but though we
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  die, because of Christ's defeat of death and
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  the devil and sin, we will live. John Owen. knew
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  the heartache of death. John Owen had 11 children.
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  10 of them died in infancy. And the 11th, he
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  still had to bury that child too. And he had
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  to bury his wife. We are all acquainted with
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  death. We are all suffering through the realities
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  of the curse. We just celebrated, no we didn't
• 29:17
  celebrate, sorry. We just remembered 9 -11. and
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  the 25th anniversary, and all of those who died.
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  Friends, people are dying today because of terror,
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  of war, of cancer, of all sorts of reasons. What
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  can get us through such a tragic life in which
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  there is all of these things? Friends, you who
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  are acquainted with death, must be acquainted
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  with Christ in order to receive the benefits
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  of his death, to have the benefit of eternal
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  life with him, resurrection, and the world to
• 30:02
  come. Christ has defeated death. Let's pray.