The
Brethren
God gave his Son a name that's above
every name—the name of Jesus—a name that means 'salvation'. But what
would be the significance of that name if there was no one to SAVE?
Jesus is Emanuel, which means 'God with us'. But what would that mean
if there was no US with whom to share his presence? Jesus is the
Redeemer. But he would cease to be the Redeemer if there was no one to
redeem. In Hebrews 1:2, we are told “God in these last days hath spoken
unto US by his Son.” Hebrews, a book that magnifies the person and work
of Jesus, the Son of God, is intended for US. If there was no US to
receive it, there would be no reason for God to give it.
In Hebrews 2-3, the writer uses brethren five times
(2:11, 12, 17; 3:1, 12). The word is ἀδελφός (adelphos),
a combination of ἄλφα
(union) and δελφύς
(womb). It signifies those who come forth from the same womb. For
believers, who are brethren, the womb from which they come is the womb
of Christ himself, who is the way, the truth and the life. It's the
womb all believers have in common. But when we consider Jesus, who said
we are his
brethren, what womb do Jesus and his brethren share? In terms of physical birth,
Jesus and believers came from the womb of a WOMAN. That's not the same
womb, but rather the same 'kind' of womb.
Jesus and believers, in spiritual terms,
came forth from the same womb of PROMISE. Galatians 3:14-22 makes this
truth abundantly clear. Paul uses the word promise eight times
in these verses to teach that both Jesus, as the promised Seed, and
believers like Abraham are all the fruit of promise. The covenant of
which Paul speaks is the blood covenant the Father (“smoking furnace”)
and the Son (“burning lamp”) entered into while Abraham was is a “deep
sleep” (Genesis 15:9-18). The physical birth of Christ was the fruit of
the womb of covenant between the Father and Son. The
spiritual birth of the believer is the fruit of the womb of promise
given to Abraham by both Father and Son as they walked between the
blooded pieces of heifer, she goat, ram, turtledove and pigeon. This is
the womb Jesus and his brethren share in common—the womb of promise!
The first use of brethren in Hebrews
is in 2:11: “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified
are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren.” The verb sanctifieth
is ἁγιάζω
(hagiazō), meaning “to make holy, purify or consecrate.” Sanctifying
something is literally 'holy-izing' it. Scripture portrays Jesus as the
Holy-izer of his brethren. The phrase he that sanctifieth
is a present active participle. Literal translation: “The one who is
continuously holy-izing.” The phrase they who are sanctified
is a present passive participle. Literal translation: “The ones who are
continuously being holy-ized.” The goal of Jesus for his brethren is to
make them more like him. They are predestinated to that end (Romans
8:29).
There will never be a moment in the life of a child of
God when Jesus ceases to sanctify him or he ceases to be sanctified.
Even when a Christian is backslidden, as wayward as the Prodigal, his
elder brother, the Lord Jesus, is about the business of sanctifying
him, perhaps with chastening. But according to Hebrews 12:5-11,
chastening is part and parcel to God's sanctifying work, which yields
the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” in those “exercised thereby.” If
one is not making progress in holiness (i.e., being holy-ized), it
calls into question whether he's ever established a relationship with
the Holy-izer. Jesus is not ashamed to call them brethren because he and his brethren are “all of one.” The preposition of is ἐκ (ek), meaning “out of” (as denoting origin). The one
is God the Father. The Father is the womb that Jesus and believers have
in common. The Father, according to Messianic promise and the work of
the Spirit, gave physical birth to his Son (incarnation). The Father, according to the promise of life in Christ and work of the Spirit, gave spiritual
birth to believers (regeneration). The Father is the common origin
(womb) for the God-Man and born-again men. It is a profound truth that
Jesus sees believers as his brothers who share a common paternal origin.
Our text is Hebrews 2:17:
“Wherefore in all things it behoved
him
to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
In this one verse, we have a logical
progression of thought that addresses four major Bible themes integral
to the 'so great salvation' Jesus provided for us.
I. Obligation
The word behoved is ὀφείλω (opheilō),
meaning “to owe, to be in debt to.” Vine's says: “ It indicates a
necessity, owing to the nature of the matter under consideration.” The
phrase it behoved him
in 2:17 is the same verb, tense and voice
translated it became him
in 2:10. Twice in Hebrews 2, scripture tells
us Jesus was under obligation to provide for a perfect salvation for
sinners. The verb in both cases is an imperfect tense, active voice.
The active voice signifies that Jesus willingly took on this
obligation. It was not imposed upon him, which the passive voice would
have indicated.
The imperfect tense signifies
continuous action in time past. This
'behoval' activity ended with the incarnation of Christ. It officially
ended on the cross when he cried: “It is finished” (John 19:30). But
when did it begin? If one answers, “Before the foundation of the
world!”, he would be correct in terms of eternity. But can
we identify
the beginning of that behoval in terms of history? I believe
we can. As
I see it, the obligation came over him as he prepared “coats of skins”
for Adam and Eve and sent (drove) them from the Garden (Genesis 3:21).
In his heart, I can hear him saying: “I owe you better clothing. But
those skins are the best I can do...for now. Even as I have made coats
of skins for your physical
need, one day I will become like unto you,
and secure for you the spiritual
clothing prefigured by the
substitutionary death of those animals. I will clothe you in my own
righteousness. I will become like you so you can be like me!” That
first bloodletting began his sense of obligation to become sin for us,
who knew no sin. The imperfect tense depicts a behoval that endured for
four-thousand years until Jesus finally paid in full the debt for our
sin.
II. Assimilation
The word assimilation is one
we apply
to immigrants as they seek to
conform to American culture. Conformity includes (1) compliance with
Constitutional Law, (2) the ability to communicate in English, and (3)
acquisition of employment, making one a self-sufficient wage earner and
taxpayer. Assimilation denotes full immersion into the American
experience.
The words made like unto
suggest our Lord went through a process of
assimilation when he took upon himself a human nature and
traversed Israel for thirty-three years. He “learned obedience” by the
things he suffered (5:8). The verb is ὁμοιόω (homoioō),
meaning “to
assimilate, to be similar, to liken.” It's passive voice, “to become,
to be made similar.” While Jesus' obligation to sinners was embraced
willingly, his incarnation imposed on him the need to grow into perfect
manhood. Jesus fully assimilated EVERY aspect of the human experience
(including compliance with Mosaic Law) EXPECT where sin was concerned.
Jesus “KNEW no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), “DID no sin” (1 Peter 2:22)
and in him “IS no sin” (1 John 3:5). In every other aspect of humanity,
as God in the flesh, he fully immersed himself in the human experience
and assimilated
humanity. The result was a perfect sacrifice for the sins and the basis
upon which God could raise him from the dead for our justification. It
is critical to note that Jesus' full assimilation of the human
experience, including fulfillment of Mosaic LAW, did NOT include
assimilation of the TRADITIONS of the scribes and Pharisees, a
continual point of contention between him and them.
III. Intercession
One of the goals of the incarnation
was establishment of Jesus Christ
as our High Priest. Inasmuch as Jesus was and is the fulness of the
Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9), he transformed the role
of high
priest. In the OT, God and the high priest (intercessor, mediator) were
TWO distinct persons. The incarnation enabled God to combine those two
roles into ONE person, the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:20). His
full, sin-free assimilation of human experience rendered him
fully
qualified to represent man before God and God to man. There is no
circumstance a believer could ever endure without Jesus being
well-acquainted with it.
The scripture tells us Jesus is a
“merciful and faithful” high priest
in things pertaining to God. It is said mercy is God withholding from
us what we deserve whereas grace is giving to us what we do not
deserve. But I wonder if we should restrict mercy to withholding
activity. Oftentimes a believer comes to the Father through the Son
with needs unrelated to sin. There are decisions to make, wisdom to
obtain, the need for longsuffering in dealing with others and divine
supply for any number of other needs that prompt feelings of
inadequacy. It's the mercy of God administered by our
merciful high priest, that meets the need. The fact that he's a
faithful
(dependable) high priest means the brethren will NEVER be disappointed
when they come to Jesus in need of divine supply.
The context here is one of intercession where
Jesus is portrayed as
High Priest. A comparative text in 1 John 1:7-2:2 portrays Jesus as our
Advocate. His role as Advocate for (defender of) the brethren is one of
intervention.
In Hebrews 2:17, Jesus the High Priest is “merciful and
faithful.” In 1 John 1:9, Jesus the Advocate is “faithful and just.”
When it comes to Jesus' dependability in meeting the NEEDS of the
brethren, he is MERCIFUL. When it comes to his dependability in
forgiving the SINS we confess, he is JUST. In a manner of speaking,
Jesus lets us OFF the hook for sins (forgiveness) because he put
himself ON the hook for those sins on the cross (justice). We should
always remember that every divine act of forgiveness is backed up by a
divine act of justice!
One more thought about intercession.
In the OT, only the high priest,
God's designated intercessor, was allowed to enter the Tabernacle's
holiest place. This he did once a year on behalf of the people by
bringing the blood of atonement to sprinkle on the mercy seat on the
Ark of the Covenant. Hebrews 9:8 tells us: “The way INTO THE HOLIEST of
all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet
standing.” In the next chapter, we are given this assurance: “Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter INTO THE HOLIEST by the blood of
Jesus” (10:19). In the OT, the high priest entered the holiest once a
year with Israel hoping he would COME BACK OUT. In the NT, Jesus our
High Priest bids his brethren “COME ON IN” with the expectation they
can come boldly into the holiest as often as the need for mercy and grace
requires (4:16). The English language is incapable of expressing the
enormity of this sacred privilege!
IV. Propitiation
The word reconciliation is ἱλάσκομαι
(hilaskomai), meaning “to be or
become propitious, merciful.” It is used only twice in the NT. The
other usage is Luke 18:13, where Jesus told the story of the publican
who beat upon his breast, and cried: “God be merciful [propitiated] to
me a sinner.” The other NT word for reconciliation is
the Greek
καταλλαγή
(katallagē), “a restoration to agreement.” Its noun and verb
forms are used seven times in the NT to describe the work of Christ in
bringing sinners back into agreement with God by imputing to believers
his own righteousness as a free gift.
In the Septuagint (OT Hebrew
translated into Greek), translators used
ἱλαστήριον
(hilastērion) for each instance of “mercy seat.” NT writers
used it in Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 where it is translated
“propitiation." The scriptures declare Jesus is THE propitiation for
our
sins and those of the whole world. The mercy seat, the place where the
high priest sprinkled the blood of atonement, was “the place of
propitiation.” In Jesus, the PLACE of propitiation became the PERSON of
propitiation. Whereas the place provided TEMPORARY satisfaction, the
Person provided satisfaction that is ETERNAL. In terms of the sins of
all mankind, Jesus IS the satisfaction.
Every aspect of atonement prefigured
in the Ark of the Covenant was
fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, especially the Mercy Seat.
Jesus
provided satisfaction for sin ONE time for ALL time. Based on his TOTAL
satisfaction for our sins, Jesus can provide ETERNAL redemption for the
believer. Propitiation enables God to be merciful, faithful and just in
ALL his dealings with the believer.
Jesus and his brethren are all of One. He
is continually sanctifying them,
and they are continually being sanctified by him. His mission to bring
many sons into glory was born of obligation, which required full
assimilation of the human experience, enabling him to provide both
intercession and propitiation for them that believe. What a mighty God
we serve! And what a great salvation he has provided!
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