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Main point summary

The Son took the form of man in order to deliver God's children from slavery of fear of death.

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Hebrews 2:14-15

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Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,

Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός,

Therefore, since the children share in 1 a flesh and blood,

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,

he himself likewise h partook of the same things,

καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχεν τῶν αὐτῶν,

b He Himself likewise also partook of the same,

he likewise shared in 25 their humanity, 26

that i through death

ἵνα διὰ τοῦ θανάτου

that c through death

so that through death

he might j destroy k the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

καταργήσῃ τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸν διάβολον,

He might render powerless d him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

he could destroy 27 the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

and deliver all those who l through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.

and might free those who through a fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.

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Alternative Arc

Hebrews 2:14-15

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Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,

Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός,

Therefore, since the children share in 1 a flesh and blood,

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,

Since therefore the children are human beings,

he himself likewise h partook of the same things,

καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχεν τῶν αὐτῶν,

b He Himself likewise also partook of the same,

he likewise shared in 25 their humanity, 26

he himself likewise partook of the same essence,

that i through death

ἵνα διὰ τοῦ θανάτου

that c through death

so that through death

for the purpose of suffering death,

he might j destroy k the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

καταργήσῃ τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸν διάβολον,

He might render powerless d him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

he could destroy 27 the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

that he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil

and deliver all those who l through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.

and might free those who through a fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.

in order to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery

Introduction

Many today are preparing to celebrate Christmas for different reasons, but most don't even know the reasons why the first Christmas ever occurred. My prayer is that the people who will hear this message will not let this season pass by without receiving the greatest gift of all, namely Jesus. Also I pray that those who does believe in Christ would experience inexpressible joy in knowing the reasons why Jesus came.

Exposition

What is Christmas? Christmas is basically the coming of the Son of God in the flesh. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Hebrews 1:3 tells us that this Son is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature, and the one who upholds the universe by the word of his power. That's a way of saying that the Son of God is himself God. Or as Hebrews 1:8-10 put it, "But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands”" So when we're talking about Christmas, we're talking about the incarnation of God the Son, the Second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. But why is there a need for incarnation? What made Christmas necessary? Hebrews 2:14-15 gives us at least 4 reasons why: The Son likewise partook of the same things... because the children share in flesh and blood for the purpose of suffering death in order to destroy the one who has power of death so that He might deliver those who are enslaved through their fear of death But instead of looking at it in that order, let me state it in the reverse order and in a different way. Christmas happened... in order that the Son of God might deliver those who are enslaved through their fear of death by destroying the one who has power of death through death as a man because the children are humans Reasons and Causes Before I continue, this is a good time to discuss different ways of looking at "reasons" or "causes", because some of you might be scratching your heads when I list purposes and means as a reason or a cause. I'm using the word reason or cause or necessity here in more than one sense: 1. Final Cause - It is the end, that for the sake of which a thing is done. This is the purpose of the action. 2. Efficient Cause - It is the primary source of the change. We can say that this is the agent of an action. 3. Instrumental Cause - It is the instrument, the means by which the change is wrought . This is the means of an action. Or the means to an end. 4. Formal Cause - It is the form, the account of what-it-is-to-be. This is the basis of the action. Deliver The Slaves of Fear So let's look first in verse 15, Christmas(i.e incarnation) happened in order to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. This is what we might call the final cause of Christmas given at least in this passage. The Son partook of the human essence in order to deliver those enslaved by their fear of death. Universally human beings fear death. But in what sense it is enslaving? It is enslaving in that it hinders our coming to a holy and just God. We all know, even those who deny the existence of God, that one day our evil deeds will be accounted for. This fear is not that which causes us to run toward God for mercy but to run away from him as fast as we can. That is why the message of the angels in Luke 2:10 is "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Christmas is an invitation to enjoy the King Jesus in his glory. That is, if you turn away from your sins and receive Him as He really is, the bringer of great joy. Destroy the Devil Now the second reason or cause for Christmas is in verse 14, Christmas happened so that Christ might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. So we may call this an end or final cause of Christmas as well, but notice that it is also a means or the instrumental cause to the ultimate end, namely deliverance from slavery of fear of death. You can see this from the logical order of this two purposes. First, the one who has power of death must be defeated, then second, by it God provides deliverance from fear of death. But what does the author of Hebrews mean by "power of death". Isn't it that God alone has the power of life and death? Yes, God alone has the final say whether we live of die, James 4:15 says, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” Living and dying is in the hands of God. So in what sense does the devil has power over it? Let's look at Colossians 2:13-15. We can see from this passage that Satan has power of death in this way; he keeps a record of debt that stood against us in judgment day. It says in Colossians 2:15 that the rulers and authorities were disarmed. Who are the ruler? Satan and his demons. What's their weapon against us that was removed from them? The record of debt, the record of our sins. This is Satan's deadly power that's being referred to in Hebrews 2:14. And Christ came to destroy him and his weapon. Colossians 2:13-15 says that we are forgiven for all our sins by cancelling the record of debt, with all its legal demands, which is death. And as a result the rulers and principalities are disarmed and put to open shame. Death of Death in the Death of Christ The third reason for Christmas is so that the Son of God might die and his dying is the instrumental cause that disarms the devil of his power over death. Verse 14 says, "through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil". In Colossians 2:13-15 we can see this as well when Paul said, "made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." In Christ's death, our record of sins was also nailed with him. The title of John Owen's book rightly states this fact, "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ". Or better yet as 1 Corinthians 15:54 says, "Death is swallowed up in victory." So Christmas, that is incarnation, is necessary because being God, the Son cannot die, and so he must put on the form of a man in order to suffer death. Usually when we talk about death, it cast fear to people, and rightly so, but in talking about the death of Christ, it is meant primarily to remove fear and bring us joy. Therefore without the cast shadow of the cross in our celebration of Christmas, we robbed it of its very essential meaning. Jesus was born in order to die for sinners like you and me. Children Share in Flesh and Blood The fourth reason given is in verse 14, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things". Take note of the word "since", this tells us that the first half of this verse is the ground or reason and the second half is the inference or conclusion. It means then that because the children are human beings, therefore the Son must become a human as well. That is to say since those who are in need of deliverance are human beings, therefore Christmas should happen. This is further reinforced in verse 16, "For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect". Now notice that the Son took on flesh because his brothers are humans.But not all are his brothers right? Meaning though there's a general invitation, God's intent for sending His Son is to save, redeem and or help his people, namely Christ's siblings. So the children being referred to here are the brothers in verse 17, and the offspring of Abraham in verse 16. This is made explicit by the preceding verses. In verse 13 we read, "Behold, I and the children God has given me." God gave to the Son children, and this children He calls, brothers in verse 12, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." So the Son, the Word was made flesh not because of some generic faceless human beings, he was made flesh in order to redeem the elect of God. Now lest you think that this is an isolated case, look at Matthew 1:21, it says,".. you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins." Christ came to save a specific group of people, namely the children God has given to Him, these are his people. Or as Jesus put it in John 6:39, "Now this is the will of the one who sent me--that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up at the last day." Also look at Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Peace is given only to those whom God is pleased. So if you belong to him, that is you are God's children, Christ's brothers and sisters, favored by God, then Christmas is for you in a very special way. But if you're asking how will I know that I belong there, receive Him. Meaning turn from your sins and receive Jesus for who he really is, for without faith no one can please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." This is the only way for you to know if you are his.