Hebrews-Jesus Helps the Tempted

[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. [16] For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. [17] Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [18] For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:14–18

I grew up in the 80’s.  In a decade of teased hair, acid washed jeans, and synth heavy music.  One of the best parts of pop culture in this decade was the movies.  Classics like Goonies, ET, and Top Gun all made their appearance, but one of my favorites was the Indiana Jones series.  

In Raiders of the Lost Arc, Indy is in a race against the Nazi’s to find the Ark of the Covenant, which had been buried under the sands in Cairo.  Though he made the discovery, he is captured along with the ancient artifact and Belloq, Indy’s rival, decides to test it’s authentic by performing a Jewish ceremony before presenting his find to Hitler.  In this climactic scene, Belloq and his men dress in the customary robes of the Jewish priest as described in Exodus chapter 28—a breast piece, ephod, robe, turban, and sash.  The scene is mystical, the high ritual and respect due the ark starts the scene, but then God’s wrath emerges from the ark to basically take out everyone that didn’t respect His law.  Even in the Bible, the ark is so sacred, that death was a punishment for those who did not follow His guidelines in handling it.  Indiana Jones and his love interest Marion escape divine judgment by closing their eyes when the ark is mishandled.  

This movie fascinated me for many reasons; I love a good adventure story, and who doesn’t love archeologists finding lost treasure, but I was amazed at seeing a biblical reference in a film.  I had grown up going to church and was familiar with the priests through flannel board stories.  This movie made Jewish culture, though dramatized by Hollywood,  fascinating to me.  Why did ancient Israel have to be so careful in how they worshiped God?  Something in this film communicated to me the holiness and power of God in a way I’d never considered.  

Hebrews 2 describes the power of death that the devil holds over the children of man.  This started in Genesis 3 when the snake tempted the woman to eat the fruit.  In verse 4 the devil lies and says “you will not surely die,” knowing that as soon as break God’s commands, their nature would be infected by sin.  Yes the mercy of God that we read about in today’s passage is evident here too.  Not wanting Adam and Eve live forever in their unredeemed state, after clothing them, He casts them out from the garden so He can set His rescue plan in motion, as “he helps the offspring of Abraham.”

Since those who Jesus came to save were flesh and blood, He took on their same form to destroy death.  1 Corinthians 15:21-26 describes Christ’s power to give life: 

1 Corinthians 15:21–26

[21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

We learn in Hebrews that Jesus had to made like His brothers, like us in everyday for his priestly service to be effective to us.  As I shared in my opening, I was fascinated by the idea of priests when I learned about them back in Sunday school.  They seemed so mysterious with their outfits and blood sacrifices.  The book of Leviticus talks about the role of the priest in detail.  The priest was to offer aa variety of sacrifices before the Lord, one of which being the sin offering.  The purpose of the sin offering was  to make atonement before the Lord for the sins committed against Him.   If the consequence of sin was death, and life is in the blood, then God’s system makes sense. 

God had to destroy death to help Abraham’s dependents, the chosen people of God.  Christ the Son was sent and took on human flesh to “be made like his brothers in every respect.”  The priests that came before could only perpetually offer temporary sacrifices of God to cover their trespasses as well as the sins of the people.  Contrastingly, when Jesus took on the role of high priest He became the sacrifice.  He was merciful; He saved us from a punishment we deserved.  He was faithful; He obeyed the plan of the Father unto death, the service that God had called Him to do.  He fulfilled the Father’s plan to make propitiation for our sins.  

Propitiation may be a hard term to understand so it is worth explaining.  Propitiation is the appealing of wrath by offering a gift.  In simplistic terms, imagine a couple gets into a fight. The next day the husband brings flowers home to appease His wife’s anger.  This illustration pales in comparison to the relationship that has been tarnished because of the sin of man before a holy God.  The appeasement must equal the offense.  Only Christ and His glorious perfection could produce on offering worthy of our betrayal.  

Jesus is a better priest because He did what human mediators could not .  He took on the form of humanity and destroyed the power of death by His perfect sacrifice, appeasing the wrath of God toward sin.  As He took on human form, He is able to understand our weakness.  Though He didn’t give into temptation,  He experienced it fully.  Human priests offered sacrifices for themselves and the people.  Jesus experienced temptation, withstood it’s pull away from God, and gives us the strength to turn to Him in our moment of need.  

This is why Jesus is better.  He offers a better sacrifice but also shows sympathy in our time of need.  When we blow it, which we will, we don’t have to hide from Christ.  We can run to Him openly and find grace and compassion.  God’s plan of salvation always amazes me because He personally took our punishment and handles our sin with such love.  He relates to us because He took on human form to save us.  He is ready to help you in your battle.  

References: 

2 Samual 6:7

Leviticus 6:7

Leviticus 17:11