HeBrews: A Better Blend
In the summer I love to watch the hummingbirds that visit my feeders upon their return from South America. They fly around seeking delectable nectar for their food. These tiny birds are fiercely territorial, often dive-bombing another hummer who encroaches upon their feeding site. As they hover above the feeders they perform an almost hypnotic dance, swinging back and forth until the decision is made to perch and feed. Their tiny wings that beat at amazing speed, as well as their unique chirp, make them easily identifiable.
At least once each year, I find a hummer who has flown by accident into my large living room windows and met an unfortunate end. Occasionally they will fly into the window and simply addle themselves. When this happens they sit on my deck for a long while regaining their senses and then fly off. When I find them after their crash, I am sad and think, ‘Oh little hummy, if only I could speak your language and warn you about those big ole’ windows. If only I could become one of you.”
In the second chapter of Hebrews the writer reminds his readers that Jesus did, in fact, become one of us. He did this so He could not only warn us of the dangers of flying in Satan’s territory, but also provide a way to escape Satan’s clutches. Please take time right now to read Hebrews chapter 2 and pay attention to the section headings, if your Bible has them. Don’t have a Bible handy? Go here to read Hebrews 2.
As this chapter opens, the writer is saying to his readers, “Listen up. Pay attention. Remember you have a great salvation, but you are in danger of being rebuked because of your neglect of it.” He was, in effect, saying to the Jewish Christians that if they thought the penalties for not keeping the Old Testament law were bad, they better wake up, because failing to cling to their salvation would bring even worse punishment or rebuke.
After using chapter one of Hebrews to establish Jesus as the Son of God, the writer utilizes his second chapter to establish the humanity and suffering of Christ as He came to earth to provide salvation. A great question to ask at this point might be ‘was the God-ness of Jesus more important than the human-ness or was the human-ness more important than the God-ness?’ when it comes to salvation. My answer would be ‘both were critical’. Let look to four verses in chapter two in order to sort this out.
Recall that we established Jesus’ divinity in chapter one. He is God; He is the Son of God. Therefore that means He is perfect and holy; completely sinless and totally righteous. Keeping that in mind, consider again verses 14-18 of Hebrews 2.
MEDITATION MOMENT: Read Hebrews 2: 14-18. Now, let’s talk about what those verses say about Jesus becoming one of us. What did those verses mean to you personally?
