S6 || Jesus Became Like Us So He Could Save Us || Hebrews 2:10-18 || Session 6

What if the center of the universe isn’t a concept but a Person? We walk through Hebrews chapter 2 to explore a claim that reshapes everything: all things are for and through Jesus, and He is not distant. He took on flesh, embraced suffering, and finished a rescue that breaks the fear of death. That is more than doctrine—it is a new way to live with courage, purpose, and a salvation you did not earn but can freely receive.

We trace how Scripture stacks its case. Jesus is fully God—sinless, sovereign, sustaining creation—and fully man—born, tempted, tired, and yet without sin. That union isn’t a theological curiosity; it is the only way salvation makes sense. As the author or captain of our salvation, He leads where we could not go, completes what we could not finish, and calls us brothers and sisters without shame. Sanctification becomes tangible here: to be set apart is not to become rarefied, but to be made useful, pruned for fruit, and aligned with God’s purpose.

We also tackle the hard questions around suffering. The cross did not improve Jesus; it completed the mission. And because the resurrection robbed death of its sting, the enemy’s leverage is broken. Fear loosens. Hope rises. You are invited into a story where the Creator is your kinsman redeemer, the high priest who knows your weakness and helps you in the moment of need.

If this conversation stirred your faith or sparked a question, share it with a friend, subscribe for the next part as we look at Jesus our high priest, and leave a review so others can find the show. Your voice helps this message reach those who need it most.

Chapters

• 0:20 Lifting Jesus Above All
• 0:50 Hebrews: Jesus Fully God
• 2:10 Hebrews: Jesus Fully Man
• 3:21 All Things For And Through Christ
• 6:42 Why Creation’s Purpose Matters
• 10:21 Perfected Through Suffering
• 13:45 The Value Of Suffering
• 16:40 Captain Of Our Salvation
• 20:48 Set Apart: Sanctification Explained
• 24:09 Jesus Calls Us Family
• 28:09 Old Testament Proofs Applied To Christ
• 31:44 Above Angels, Close As Brethren

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:20

In the New Testament book of Colossians, it lifts up Jesus Christ to as high as he can be lifted. The book is really a glory of Jesus book. And we're right in the midst of it. We're talking about who Jesus is and why he should be lifted up. If you have your Bible open to the book of Hebrews, chapter two, and we're today we're going to start in verse 10. If you were with us last time, we saw in chapter one, it goes over and over showing that Jesus is God Almighty. And through that, he is worthy. He is greater, superior to the prophets. And in chapter two, we've seen here that he is also man. That's what is so amazing is that our Lord is both God and man. Well, today we're gonna see even more ways to lift up Jesus, how he is increasingly important. Steve, can you start in Hebrews chapter two and read from verses 10 through verses 13?

SPEAKER_01: 1:29

For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise, and again I will put my trust in him, and again, behold, I, the children whom God has given me.

SPEAKER_00: 2:11

With this, verse 10 tells us that Jesus is the most important being. All things are made for him and through him. He is the purpose of creation. Steve, when it says all things, how many things are included?

SPEAKER_01: 2:28

I think that it means that all things are. I think that goes to the universe, it goes to creation itself and to the small things of the one-celled bacteria all the way up to the grand things of the universe, as I just mentioned. All things are all things. Everything was created by him and for him. I think that he has a vested interest.

SPEAKER_00: 2:52

He says several times now in this book that Jesus is the purpose and the means by which things were created. Chapter 1, verse 2, the world was made through Jesus. Chapter 1, verse 3, Jesus upholds all things. Here in 210, all things were made for and through Jesus, for whom and through whom all things exist. The next question is then what is the implications of all of creation being for Jesus and through Jesus?

SPEAKER_01: 3:30

I mentioned a little bit at the end of my last part of a vested interest. It says in a little bit further in verse 10 of bringing many sons to glory and to perfect the author of their salvation. To me, it's a picture of him having a vested interest in this creation that he has made. He has made us, he's given us as mankind dominion over the creation, or at least that was the original plan. As he mentioned earlier in the chapter one, we don't have that dominion right now. But he's making the case that Jesus is above everything. First, he's talking about angels. Here in a little bit, he's going to talk about Moses. I think, Glenn, it's just a picture that it's a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. His appearance and the implications that it has with it and everything is that he wants to have a personal relationship with us, with his creation. And he wants to redeem the rest of creation and redeem the nations. All of those things that his sacrifice achieved and the things that we're looking forward to in the future, to me, it's just all speaks of a God that wants to have a personable relationship with not only mankind, but the rest of his creation as well. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00: 4:54

Oh, it makes a great deal of sense because Jesus is indeed worthy of this. He's saying here something that is repeated over in the book of Colossians, namely that Jesus is the creator and the sustainer of all things. Jesus is the ultimate purpose for all that is. The heavens and the earth are focused on Jesus as the purpose. Jesus is the creator of all things, He is through which all things are made, and He is by which all things are made. He sustains all things. Why? Well, we've already seen it here in verse 10. Then bringing many sons to glory, which just means so that people who are made in the image of God that walked away from God can be reconciled again. It's a love relationship. What is the purpose for the universe? It's to love Christ, and so he can love us. How amazing. Later in this same book, Hebrews 12, 2 says, quote, Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the one that is not only the creator of the heavens and the earth, by which and through which all things are made, but he is the beginning, the author and the completer, the finisher of our faith. Our salvation is through Jesus. How wonderful that is. Verse 10 also says it says there that bringing many sons to glory to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. It's saying Jesus is to be made perfect through suffering. The sense here of the word perfect is that he completed or finished everyone's salvation. Someone had to die because of our sin. So therefore, when he died, then he perfected or completed our salvation. Jesus' sufferings here completed two very key things. He completed the act of providing salvation, then he brought glory and honor to himself. Remember his last words on the cross? They were, it is finished. He completed what he set out to do. When it says here that he was made perfect, it's it's not the sense that he was imperfect and did some work and now he was perfect again. His divine nature cannot grow, but his human nature can. It talks here about suffering and how Jesus was completed or made perfect through suffering. Are there any benefits to suffering? Humans end up suffering. Is there any benefits to suffering?

SPEAKER_01: 8:17

I think, Glenn, through this, the word suffering itself, it brings up a connotation that not good things are happening. I think in general, there's all different types of suffering from minor ones to pretty serious ones that will possibly affect our physical life here on earth. But through those sufferings, whichever kinds that we're going through, I think that in general, they bring us closer to God. Because in many of them, that's who we immediately turn to, especially if we're believers, when we find out we're in some sort of a situation that is out of our control or is impacting us in a different way, we go directly to God. Yes, there can be some great things that come out of sufferings. The main thing is a closer relationship with God and Jesus Christ, of looking to them and praying with them and going with them every day. We have a recent example of a hostage that was taken by another group of people, and he was there for almost two years. Whenever he was released back to the nation that he came from, he s told the people as a witness in his press briefing that the one thing he missed was his daily activity with God, that every day that he would pray to God and reach out to God, now that he's found himself free, that he hasn't gone away from God, but yet he has other people now. He has his friends and family around him. Whereas when he was in captivity as a hostage in an underground tunnel, as I said, for almost two years, the only contact that he had of really consequence was his his daily talk and walk with God. Yes, there are good things that come out of suffering, mainly getting closer to God.

SPEAKER_00: 10:15

If we ask the question, is there benefits to suffering? The answer is most definitely yes. It's never any fun. It's by definition painful. But we get things like patience. We wouldn't learn patience without going through things where we need patience or sympathy for others. If we were just happy and everything's going fine all the time, that's very difficult to have sympathy for others. Suffering makes us stronger in some areas so that we can be useful for God's service. The New Testament says those that God loves, He prunes. When I think of pruning, I used to grow grape vines. To make grapes, you have to prune the grapevines. Well, sometimes those vines would bleed sap, sometimes for a week or two. It seemed to hurt them, but it made them stronger so they could grow more fruit. Suffering is indeed beneficial, and God will take his children through what he needs to do to build us up and to teach us things. We learn those through suffering. It also says in verse 10 that he is the author of our salvation, the author of our salvation. The old King James says captain of their salvation. The term here is used as a representative head or a trailblazer, one who makes a way for others to follow. In this sense, Jesus led the way in our salvation. He caused our salvation. Jesus is worthy because he is the one who is the author or captain of our salvation. Through his sufferings, his actions made our salvation complete. He did it all. He is worthy because of that. Note that this verse is not saying that Jesus was imperfect and then suffered and was made perfect. But for example, when God created the world, he became creator. Before he created the world, he was not creator. After the world, he was creator. Well, God's being didn't change, even though he became creator. Same sense here. Jesus was perfect before he suffered and died. But through the suffering and the death, he became our sacrifice. And to that he perfected our salvation. He became perfect in that sense because that was his role. Now, verse 11 uses the word sanctification. It says, for both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified. So, Steve, what is this term sanctification?

SPEAKER_01: 13:00

Sanctification means to set apart. We have done a topical study on justification, sanctification, and glorification. We go into a little bit more detail of what sanctification means. In general, for us as believers, it's just that. We are set apart once we become a believer and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation. We're justified at that part. Then we have this process of being sanctified or set apart for Him, where we go and become more Christ-like. In Hebrews, the author says, for both He who sanctifies, who sets apart, and those who are sanctified, us are the ones, the believers in Him, who are set apart. That's in general what the sanctification process is.

SPEAKER_00: 13:51

That's exactly correct. We think of today, churches will have a church building, and when they first build it, they'll have a sanctification or sometimes it's called consecration ceremony. It just means that building is now going to only be used for God's purpose. It's to be used for God's glory. The building's just a building, but when it's set apart for God's purposes, then it's sanctified. When our lives and our work is set aside for God's purposes, then we are sanctified. It says there that he is the author of our salvation, but he is also, he sanctifies those who are following him, who are in Christ. In that sense, we are set apart. God is pruning us, setting us apart, making us special, not because of anything in us, but just because we are set apart for his service. It also says here at the end of verse 11 that Jesus can call all Christians brothers and sisters, brethren. He is not ashamed to call them brethren. I find this interesting. Steve, have you ever thought about that? What it means to be called a brother or sister of Christ?

SPEAKER_01: 15:03

I have a little bit. One of the things comes to mind with me is that he called Abraham his friend. So I think when he calls us as brethren, that's a little bit of the same type of sentiment that he has. It's a personal thing. It goes back to what I mentioned earlier. You get this sense of Jesus wanting to have a personal relationship with his creation. What better way than is to call them brethren, to call them fellow family members? I think it's a term of endearment, which I kind of get a pleasure out of. And I'm glad that we can be called brethren.

SPEAKER_00: 15:42

Think of it. He also made all of the sub-cell creatures, all of the small things that are microscopic in the universe. He made all the diversity of life. He made all of the chemical structures and all of the wonderful things in science. He made all of that, but yet he also lowered himself to be human, lowered himself below the angels, took on humanity in the full sense of the word. He's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. With all of our fallibility, he was the perfect one. He was the glorious one. He is the unspotted lamb that became human and was in our place and became like us in the full sense of the word. With all our faults and sins, he cleans us up and calls us family. How wonderful that is. As much of a sinner as I was and I am, and as much of a sinner as you are and you were, he still lowered himself down to be humanity, picks us up out of the mud, washes us off, invites us up into his table, and gives us a kingly meal and calls us brothers and sisters, calls us family. How wonderful Christ is. Then in verses 12 and 13, they quote three different passages from the Old Testament. Again, the author of Hebrews is intimately familiar with the Old Testament. He uses it at will to draw out important things. The first quote takes a psalm of David and uses it of Christ. It says, I will tell of your name to my brethren. David used it as telling God that he would tell people about God. Hebrews takes that statement from David and uses it to show that Jesus considered us brothers as sisters and he proclaimed God to us. Jesus told Philip in the Gospels, if you have seen me, you've seen the Father in John 14, 9. Jesus takes the things of God and reveals them to us. He considers us as close personal family. Think of that. We are brethren. This shows us the tender personal parts of Jesus. He reveals himself to us because we are close personal family. Steve, how wonderful is Christ.

SPEAKER_01: 18:20

It's just really tremendous when you start thinking about it because this is in the section where he's saying that Jesus is above the angels. And here he is, though, saying that us, mankind, is worthy to be called his brethren. He uses the examples here from the Old Testament to back that up. I think it's really saying through here, the author is telling the people that he's writing to that we're above the angels and that there's this special relationship between us and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, that is beyond a relationship that we would ever have with angels, meaning that we really don't have relationship with the angels. There's no angels that we interact with on a regular basis, and we're not told through scripture that we're going to be interacting with angels in a regular basis, and they're not created like us. We're a separate creation from them. Here it is, the author is making his case. Not only is Jesus above the angels, but we're brethren to him. We're family to him. I think it's just great and tremendous that we have this status among the other things that were taught through other scriptures, epistles, that we get by being in Christ. Here we are. We're also to be included as brethren, as family members with Jesus Christ Himself. I think it's just really mind-boggling in a sense.

SPEAKER_00: 19:50

Hebrews chapter one told us that Jesus was God Almighty, that he was superior to the prophets. Here in chapter two, he's begun to tell us that he was like us. Starting in verse 14, it goes even further to say that Jesus was fully human. I'm reading in Hebrews 2.14 says this. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly he does not give help to angels, but he gives help to the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. The first part of verse 14 makes a conclusion about Christ's humanity. Jesus and people share in humanity.

SPEAKER_01: 21:18

Mentioned in an earlier session that there's an introduction in a way of the idea or concept of the kinsman redeemer. You can read about that story in the book of Ruth that gives it out. Now, this was a provision that was supplied in the Mosaic Law that if somebody sold themselves into indentured servitude, that they could be redeemed out of that by another family member. There were three conditions. One is that they had to be an actual family member. A second one is that they had to have the means to be able to do it, to give that redemption. And the third one was that they had to be willing to do it. Here in an indirect way, I think the author is making this case because he's writing to Hebrews people that would know these laws and the conditions for a kinsman redeemer and to be redeemed. I think it's making an indirect connection that he is our brethren. He calls us brethren. He is human in that regard. He then has an association with us and knows about us and can in turn redeem us. He can be our kinsman redeemer because he is not a God that's just off at a distance somewhere, but he is a God who has come in the form of a fully man and fully God and can associate with us as mankind and as human beings. And through that, he can provide this satisfactory sacrifice that he talks about a little bit further in the verses down below.

SPEAKER_00: 22:54

In this section, Hebrews chapter one and two, what it's building a case for is that Jesus is fully God and fully man. And Christian theology from the very beginning has always taught that Jesus is fully God in the full sense of the word, and he's also fully man in the full sense of the word. These two natures are distinct, but they're not mingled together into some third thing that's neither God nor man. He has both a divine nature and a human nature, and he has to be both of those in order to be our savior. Why? Well, there's several reasons. If he were not fully God Almighty, he would have inherited a sin nature and not been capable of living a sinless life. If he were not fully human, he would have not qualified to be the sacrifice to die in our place. If he were not fully human, he could have not been the high priest that represents mankind to God. If he were not fully God, he would have not been king sitting on the throne of heaven, granting righteous judgment. Because Jesus was both God and man, he could be the author and finisher of our salvation. Hebrews is going to go on to represent Jesus as both king and high priest. These first two chapters tell us that Jesus is both God and man and lay the groundwork for later in the book for Jesus to be both king and high priest. Steve, how wonderful is Jesus?

SPEAKER_01: 24:31

I think you can't describe him in words to think that he would go to this length in order to associate himself with us and to be that satisfactory sacrifice. It puts it into perspective as to what he has done. I'm always moved at the first part of John when it says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Then a little bit later in some verses, it says, and he came and dwelt among us, and the people didn't recognize him as he was here. I just think it's a tremendous thing, and it speaks to who Jesus actually is and the length that he has gone to in order to associate with us, learn about us, and know who we are, and be able to be that satisfactory sacrifice for us.

SPEAKER_00: 25:24

Jesus is both high and lifted up like God, but he's also down to earth and approachable like a regular man. Is he worthy of our worship?

SPEAKER_01: 25:36

He's absolutely worthy. We see in Revelation when John is there in the throne room and in the heavenly spaces, that that's one of the things that the angels and others cry out. He is worthy. He's worthy of the Lamb of God. And that it's going to be something that we're going to be singing for eternity in many ways, is that Jesus Christ is worthy.

SPEAKER_00: 26:02

At the end of verse 14, it speaks about rendering the devil powerless. It says he might re Jesus might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. Here, many people mistakenly take that phrase and think that this means that before Jesus died, Satan had a lot of power. Now, after he died, he's been rendered totally powerless. That's not what this is saying. And that's really sort of a false conclusion. Instead, this verse is saying the devil is now powerless over death. So the devil had power. He just was extremely limited by God. He was on a leash and could only go and do what God in his permissive will would allow. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, the devil no longer has power over death. The devil is the author of sin, and sin brings death. Well, in that sense, the devil had the power of death. By tempting people to sin, then he could cause their death. Since all people fell for sin, then the devil had the power over sin. Well, he still has the power to tempt. Then this passage is not saying that the devil has no power at all. What it's saying is that through Christ's death and resurrection, we no longer have to fear death. The power of death is gone. Because it's said in the New Testament, oh death, where is your sting? So the power of death is gone because of Jesus' resurrection, he conquered death. Therefore, the power of death has been taken away from the devil. In that sense, he's powerless. God has always been sovereign. At no time in the past could the devil operate outside of God's knowledge and permission. In that sense, the devil can still do what he always did, which was tempt people, but he's powerless over death today. Then in verse 60, Christ took on the nature of a man being the descendant of Abraham. Christ came to help mankind, not angels, it says.

SPEAKER_01: 28:57

We have the stories of him. He traveled through regular means of a boat across the Sea of Galilee. He walked where he went. Now, there were other things where he calmed storms and he proved his ability to be over nature and things like that. But he was very much a common man in the activities that he did and the way that he went about going through the Judea's Samaria area, Jerusalem, and the Upper Galilean area.

SPEAKER_00: 29:28

Jesus is fully man. That's what it's saying here. He was like us in all things. He had to go through all the same daily activities that you and I do. He had the same bodily functions. If he stood up too long, his feet hurt, he had to bathe just like everybody else. It says here he was tempted in all ways, just like we are, yet without sin. Jesus was born in a stable, raised to a common family that made a common income, and he did manual labor. He was just like us. In all sense. The word here, tempted, also means tested. Jesus was really tempted and really tested. He was truly tempted because he was fully human in every sense of the word. But at the same time, he was not able to sin because he was fully God. As man, Jesus could go through real temptation. It was a real temptation. But as God, he could be tested to prove he would not sin. That was the purpose for the temptations. They were really tests to prove that he would not sin. Hebrews 4.15 says Jesus was tempted in all things, just like we are. The temptation had to be real because just as we are, it says, and to quote, be made like his brethren in all things. Therefore, the temptation was real, what his divine nature was incapable of sinning. His human nature was tempted, what his divine nature was incapable of sinning. Angels have never had to suffer or had to deal with human weaknesses, but Jesus has. Because Jesus was just like us in all ways, he could identify with us more than any other being in heaven. Steve, how worthy is Jesus?

SPEAKER_01: 31:21

That's a tremendous listing that you went through there of him. Even going back to that the Satan no longer has the power of death over us, it says there in verse 15 that he might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery. What does that mean? I think it means that death before him coming and being worthy to be our sacrifice is that when we died, physically we had eternal separation from God in our spirit. But now that he has become that satisfactory sacrifice and is worthy to be able to do that, that now we have the ability in belief and trust in him to be able to have fellowship with God and Jesus for eternity. Therefore, death no longer has any type of bind, a fear with us. We're not a slave to the fact that we're fearing that we're going to die and have that separation from God anymore. I think that speaks to Jesus' worthiness to the extent of how worthy he is, that he is that satisfactory sacrifice that could provide us the ability to have eternal life and spend eternity with him.

SPEAKER_00: 32:39

Isn't it comforting to know that our Jesus was like us in all ways, in the sense that we can know him. He's not a God that's distant, he's a God that's close by. He suffered like all humans suffered. Our God can identify with us in all ways. He's close to us. And I just find that greatly comforting.

SPEAKER_01: 33:05

Yeah, and earlier I mentioned that he went to the extent where he could be a human being and learn about us. Obviously, as God, he knows us and he knows our ways. What I meant by that was that he could experience the things that we experience and that he can become closer to us in that regard. It's a picture of God reaching out to us and not just us reaching out to God. So many other stories from other cultures and civilizations are the people desperately trying to reach God, to reach out to the God and get his attention through various ways and means. But we have such a great and wonderful God that he himself came, became human, and dwelt among us. It just once again shows to me the length that he goes through in order to know us and to give us assurance of reaching out to us to provide a way of sacrifice and a way of salvation rather than just leaving us and abandoning us and trying to always look to try and get a hold of him. He's that close. All you have to do is reach out and take the free gift that he is offering through his sacrifice.

SPEAKER_00: 34:23

We trust that you will reach out and take that. If you haven't done it already, the gift is free and it's available. He is close to us. We'll stop there for now because of time, but be whack with us next time because we're going to introduce this concept of Jesus as high priest. Because of that, he can represent us before God. Please come back with us next time as we continue to reason through the book of Hebrews. Thank you so much for watching and listening.

SPEAKER_01: 34:51

May God bless you.