Why the Incarnation
REVISION: The Jews who had converted to Christianity were under great pressure from their families and communities. The author wanted to encourage then to be true to the Messiah Jesus, who was superior to all the types and shadows of the OT. To do this, he takes the pillars of Judaism and shows how Jesus is superior to each of them. Jesus’ office is superior to the office of the prophets and Jesus is superior to the angels. Hebrews Ch 2 includes a warning in the beginning. Then, anticipating the question ‘If Jesus was superior to angels, how could He be a man?’ the author gives his answer.
Today we will see WHY THE INCARNATION, In other words, WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO BECOME A MAN
1. He is our SUBSTITUTE Vs 9b He had to take on flesh, he took on the nature that could die, so that He could die. Why did he have to die. Through Adam’s sin all of us are guilty and living in a Genesis3 world. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
God would save the elect, His sheep, out of the world. Jesus would come to earth and take our punishment on Himself. He would bear God’s wrath. For this He had to be a Man to appease God by bearing God’s wrath on man. The Jews thought they had killed Him. Satan must have thought he had won. But Jesus, becoming our substitute had saved us. Look at the cross and see how much God loves you.
2. He is the ARCHITECT OF OUR FAITH Vs 10 How was He made perfect by suffering? Was He not perfect already. By suffering, He was perfectly fitted for the role He had to play. He became the captain of our salvation, the pioneer of our salvation, the architect of our salvation. He went first. He opened the door of our salvation through suffering.
3. He is the SANCTIFIER Vs 11
He is also the author of our sanctification, the cleansing that came with our justification. The Son of God sanctifies the sons of God. He took our sins on Himself and took our punishment. By this He justified us before God because He covered us with His righteousness. We now all come from the same stock; He became our Brother. He was not ashamed to call us brothers because His righteousness covers us. He called His followers sheep, disciples etc. but He never called them brothers before He was crucified. But after the resurrection, the first word He uses of them is ‘brothers.’ This would have been very shocking and surprising for the Jewish believers as they held God with such respect. Ps 22, Isa53 had already hinted at this relationship of Brother, by His sanctification of us.
4. He is our DEVIL&DEATH DESTROYER Vs 14 This was why He became Man in order to die. He was deserted and abandoned by His friends. He even cried out to God, saying “Why have You forsaken me.” But by His death He had disarmed the devil. His disciples did not fear death anymore. This change from fear to boldness was starkly visible in the lives of the disciples after the resurrection. For this to have to happen, Jesus had to take on our nature. The devil likes to use the fear of drath to keep us captive. Death is the king of terrors to those who are unsaved sinners. But for the children of God, it is the vehicle to go from this life to the next. He has defeated death and given us the victory.
5. He is the MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST Vs 16-18 As children of Abraham we do need help. Even though we have been cleansed and justified we are still weak and in need of help. It is only someone who has been in our situation who would be able to help us. This is another reason Jesus had to become a Man. He was made like us in every respect. And so He is able to identify with those who are tempted and with those who are suffering.
The author has thus given us five reasons why Jesus had to become a Man. These reasons filll us with thankfulness and joy. In every other religion, people have to do something to appease their god. Only in Christianity, God has become a Man who died to save us. What a Saviour!