JESUS KING AND CHAMPION

(INTRO) IF JESUS IS POWERFUL, THEN WHY?

[1]WELCOME: Good morning church family! So glad to be with you and worshipping Jesus together. If you’re new with us this morning on campus or joining us online, we’re glad you’re here. My name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone. We are in week 2 of our…

SERIES: on the book of Hebrews, called Anchored. [2]That title comes from chapter 6:19 where the author of Hebrews says that “19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” [Heb. 6:19] The writer of this letter is telling us, we can deal with the uncertainty of this life because of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. In chapter 1 he says here are 7 things that show us how glorious Jesus is. [3]He owns it all, he created it all, he’s the perfect picture of God’s character and power, he’s holding the universe together, he’s made forgiveness possible, he’s seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and he’s exalted above everyone and everything. Then he says he’s higher than the most powerful angelic beings. Now imagine hearing all of these things about the power and strength of Jesus, and looking at your circumstances where you are hurting, you may be poor, you may be hated by everyone around you, and persecution might be in your future and saying…[4]

· THEN WHY HASN’T HE DONE ANYTHING TO FIX THIS MESS?: This letter that we’re reading is actually written just like it’s a sermon. A good preacher, as they write, is going to be thinking about the possible questions people might have or objections they might raise. It’s like the writer of Hebrews knows that if you talk about the power of Jesus, the next natural question is going to be, then why isn’t he working in my situation? Why hasn’t he stepped in and done something about this mess? Doesn’t he know what I’m going through? Seems like those might be questions we are still asking today? If Jesus is so powerful, why is he not doing something? Does he understand what it’s like to live in such a messed-up world? [5]And the author of Hebrews says: Yes, you have a A KING, AND A CHAMPION: A King who joined you, a CHAMPION to lead you. So, if you’ll turn to [6][Hebrews 2:5-18] in your bibles, that’s where we are going to meet God and to hear his speak today. Let’s pray for ears to hear, hearts to change, and strength to be obedient. [7]

(TEACH/APP) A KING AND A CHAMPION

BACKGROUND: As the author of Hebrews begins to address what Jesus has done about the mess we’re in, they want us to look at why this world is a mess in the first place. They say, let’s go back to the first half of our bibles before Jesus came, the Old Testament. Let’s look at a famous song lyric from Psalm 8. [8]It says “6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” This psalm says that Humanity was made just a little lower than angels. That we are not simply insignificant creatures, but that we are just below angelic beings. Then it says that everything was put under our feet, under our control and our authority. This psalm is telling us about our place in the universe. That when God originally created this world, he put these amazing creatures who were just below the angels on it and then gave them authority over the entire world. God made us kings and queens over creation, but we had to serve him and rule his way. [9]Does this look like the world we live in? Absolutely not! Turning on the news or browsing social media for 5 minutes reminds us that things are very much out of our control and not subject to our authority. The writer of Hebrews would ask us, Who’s responsible for this mess, God or us? Before we go wondering about the goodness and power of Jesus, we need to be reminded of who caused the badness that made this mess in the first place. It’s when people refuse to serve God and place themselves as the highest authority that this world became such a broken place. The prevailing thought of the last century was that if humanity could just gain more knowledge, grow in its ability to harness medicine and technology, that we could fix this world and make it heaven on earth. If we could just pass the right laws, we could bring peace and order. Then a couple of world wars shattered that thought process. Oh, we’ll just use science, technology, information to oppress and kill each other more efficiently. So, our culture basically said, okay, that didn’t work. Let’s try there’s no such thing as truth. Just follow your heart.That’s worked brilliantly. We’re now manufacturing viruses that turn into pandemics and confused with basic biology. Anger, sickness, and death still run rampant no matter how smart or sophisticated we get. So, we’re left looking around going, Jesus what are you going to do about this mess? The answer is that… [10]

1. THE KING HAS JOINED US: The writer of Hebrews says, when you read Ps. 8 and you see that humanity was supposed to rule and bring shalom (wholeness and abundance) and we’ve obviously not done it. Then is this passage true? It’s not true of us, but it’s true of Jesus! He looks at the Old Testament and sees that it’s meant to point us to Jesus. King Jesus, ruler and creator, powerful and glorious, for “a little while” became lower than the angels. Or as one of Jesus’ followers named John said it “the word became flesh” [Jn. 1:14] Why did Jesus do this? Because we failed in our mission! We were supposed to serve God by bringing peace and flourishing as his rulers. But we instead were selfish and brought brokenness into this world. We didn’t want to be kings who served the one true king. We wanted to reign alone with no authority over us. So Jesus came to accomplish what we failed to do! The king became one of us to do what we could not do! He came and lived a perfect life. He showed us what it meant to live a truly good and human life. A life free of hatred, envy, and selfishness. A life of love, forgiveness, and restoration. Everywhere he went people started to see glimpses of how the world was intended to be. A life without sickness, or disease, or division. He stepped into the role God intended for us all to live in, living in humble submission to God and then ruling in a way that brought heaven to earth. So, the first answer to the question of Jesus why haven’t you done anything about this mess is, I have, I came and have begun to set things right that humanity itself broke. The King came as a human to fix the problem that humans created as a human. That’s not the only reason that the incarnation is so poweful! One of the reasons I am so grateful for the incarnation is that it means…[11]

· OUR KING UNDERSTANDS OUR PAIN AND FRUSTRATION. Our King understands our pain because he himself experienced it. Have you ever noticed how frustrating it is when powerful people make laws that don’t apply to them? Our King both told us how to live, and then came and lived exactly as he himself commanded. He applied his own laws to himself. He commanded us to love our enemies. Oh yea, easy for you to say Jesus, you love everyone. No, not easy to say. He said it and did it as people hammered nails into his hands and feet, shoved a crown of thorns on his head, spit on him and mocked him. He followed his own commands. He prayed for us as we killed him. So, he knows how hard it is to follow the commands he has given us. Have you ever been upset by someone telling you they know what you’re going through when they clearly haven’t been through what you’re going through? We have a king who has felt everything we have. Ever felt rejected? So has Jesus. Ever felt alone? So has Jesus? Ever been bone tired? So has Jesus. Ever felt like God was far away? So has Jesus! Ever lost someone you loved? So has Jesus. Ever gone through excruciating pain? So has Jesus. So when he says, I understand, he really does. Our King has felt our pain. And he came to do something about it, because he’s also…[12]

2. OUR CHAMPION WHO LEADS US: [2:14] says “10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” The word “archegos” that is translated as “founder” can also be translated several different ways. It can mean pioneer, trailblazer, or initiator. There is a commentary by William Lane that makes a compelling case for it to be translated as “champion”. The original hearers of this word would have heard it and had images of a powerful hero who showed up at just the right time and won a battle that they couldn’t have won on their own. The author is writing to them and saying, humanity had failed in its mission to rule this world and bring peace. They were suffering and ultimately had enemies that they could not defeat. [13]Our great enemies are Satan, Sin, and death. The author of Hebrews says in [v. 14-15] “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” When we failed in our mission, death entered into God’s creation. In the beginning of the bible, the Devil told the first humans, don’t worry about death! That’s not going to be a problem. Pay attention to what you think will make you happy! And the first part of our lives, Satan does everything he can to get us not to think about death. Live for the moment. Do what makes you happy. The problem is that subconsciously we know that death is coming. But we ignore it and try to live like we’ll never die. However, death keeps popping up and shattering that illusion. Whether it’s the death of babies, children, a friend, spouse, parent/grandparent, neighbor or co-worker, it shocks us out of complacency. It’s the shadow that’s always been there but we just chose not to look at until we couldn’t avoid it. Then in the second half of life it becomes the enemy lurking behind us waiting for its time. It’s no longer something we can ignore because our bodies tell us it’s coming as they age. The great fear is, what is the point of my job, of my hobbies, my legacy, if eventually I die and everyone I know does to and no one remembers me. Whether we ignore it, or we fixate on it, we’re terrified of it. And when it breaks into the light, we say, Jesus! Why? What are you going to do about this? And the answer is…[14]

· [ Z:UNDERSCORE] OUR CHAMPION HAS BROKEN THROUGH THE WALL OF DEATH FOR US TO ESCAPE THROUGH!The King came, the king understands, because the king suffered. The king also died. But he rose again. Death is no longer the barrier that no one gets through or comes back from! And our champion fought death and won! C.S. Lewis in his book “the Weight of Glory” said, “A cleft has opened in the pitiless walls of the world, and we are invited to follow our great Captain inside.” Jesus made a way through the wall of death and invites us to follow him. Yes, there may be pain and suffering, but it will not be the end. Let’s get real practical here…[15]

(JC) HOW DOES THIS HELP ME IN MY SUFFERING? (JC)

We are often still wondering the same things that the first hearers of Hebrews were wondering. If Jesus is so powerful, why am I going through such hardships? I’m grateful that my King stepped down into this world and understands. I have hope that death is not the end because my champion has defeated death. But we still find ourselves hurting.Let’s go back to verse 11. It says that Jesus was made “perfect through suffering.” Does that mean Jesus wasn’t perfect? No, Jesus was sinless. [16]A little later in the letter the author gives us more insight. They say in [5:8-9]“8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”. Because of sin, this life will always include suffering, there are no exceptions. [17]The question is, WILL YOU FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS AS YOU SUFFER? Will you trust God and still follow him obediently like Jesus did, or will you suffer and turn from God in anger and bitterness. If anyone had a right to complain about things being unfair it was Jesus. Yet he chose to suffer alongside us. He showed us that God loves us enough to experience the consequences of sin, even if it leads to death. We will probably not get the answers we want to those questions this side of eternity. But we can trust that if God can take the crucifixion and use it to defeat death, then we can trust that he is able to use what we’re going through to transform us more and more into who we were meant to be. And if we endure to the end, we see that Jesus will…[18]

· LEAD ALL HIS PEOPLE TO GLORY: Jesus makes Psalm 8 possible. One day, because of the love of Jesus, his perfect obedient life, his suffering, and his resurrection, the earth will finally one day be placed under perfect obedience. Everything will be made right. And we will be given back our positions as rulers and caretakers of the world. The promise of 2 Tim. 2:12 is “If we endure, we will also reign with him!”