Not Ashamed to Call Us Siblings

May 12

Hebrews 2:10-18

Not Ashamed to Call Us Siblings

Jesus is not ashamed to calls us brothers and sisters. In fact, Jesus was willing to be made just like us so that he could set us apart (“sanctify” us) and redeem us:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things…Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect…” (v.14,17)

What this means is that the Son - Jesus - while here on earth did not utilize / maintain / “keep hold of” his divinity. Another way that this is spoken of in the scriptures is in Philippians 2:5-7:

“…Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Jesus came and lived a life just like ours so that he could redeem us and sanctify us as his brothers and sisters. Jesus knew what it was like to be tempted. Jesus knew what it was like to be tired. Jesus knew what it was like to have to trust God the Father to direct him. Jesus knew what it was like to wrestle with questions of vocation. Jesus knew what it was like to trust God’s timing. ALL OF THE SAME THINGS YOU AND I NAVIGATE… Jesus did as well. He did not cruise around earth “grasping his equality with God”. He did not get a “pass” on having to listen to the Father or trust him because he automatically knew everything already. This is not what the scriptures teach. Jesus “partook of the same things” that we did and he was “made like us in every respect” except one: He was not born in the likeness of Adam. His origin … his source of being was from God, not man.

I think many people presume Jesus was still holding onto his equality with God while he was here on earth. I think the idea that Jesus was walking around wielding his power as a superhero and knowing everything because he was God is pretty common. This is not the case. This is not even how Jesus describes it himself. Jesus says over and over again that he only says what the Father tells him to say and he only does what he sees the Father doing. (cf. John 5:19,30 12:48-50) IT IS TRUE THAT JESUS WAS AND IS GOD, but the reason his life looked the way it looked is because he was perfect in his obedience to saying and doing what the Father was telling him to.

God is welcoming us into this sort of life … the life of Jesus… a life of dependance on HIM… saying and doing what he leads us to say and do. This is how Jesus lived and it is how we live as well. The miracles that Jesus did, he did them not by virtue of being God but by virtue of being perfectly used by God… he wasn’t “grasping his equality with God” for those moments, but rather he was participating with the Father in what he saw the Father “saying and doing”. This is why Peter (and other disciples) would and could go on to do the same things… he learned from Jesus. Look at Peter healing the crippled man:

“But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong… And they (the people) were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him (the crippled man) …And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? …And his name (Jesus)—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:6,7,10,12,16)

You see, Peter was not God, but he performed the same sort of miracles that Jesus did. Why? because he was saying and doing what the Father was telling him to say and do. Peter did not wield divine power on loan from God, he was simply dependent and faithful. My friend Peter Hammond reminded me of this phrase that Ian Thomas would use: “restfully available, and instantly obedient.” This is dependance on Jesus… life in Christ. Jesus is calling us into the sort of life that is actually available to us, not teasing us by calling us to live like him when in reality we cannot because we are not God. His work in sanctifying us as the children of God makes it possible for us to be in relationship with God. In relationship, we are brought into the fullness of life that comes with participating with the Lord in the work that he is doing. When we talk with Jesus, he knows what it is like to live as a human. He is leading us into fullness of life. He is not ashamed to have come here to earth and shared in the human experience! Amen to that! Love you guys. - JDP