V. 9 – We see him clearly, without blurring. And who is he, who are we seeing? Jesus isn’t a vacuum or a blank canvas that we can fill or project our ideas onto. Most cultures have their idea of who Jesus is. Islam, Judaism, “good” people… they all have an idea of who Jesus is to them. However, even apart from Scripture, historically, there are many facts we know about Jesus. He can never be “anything.” He has given us parameters on who he is and his essential character. The author here, picks a few different aspects of Jesus’ character/history. In his humanity, he was made lower than the angels. He was less physically powerful and less apparently glorious.

His name is Jesus – the Savior

He is now crowned – he is given glory/ascribed honor.

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Because of – not in spite of the cross, the Father exalted him. This is not a sense of making him “more” God. Rather, it is a public acknowledgment of his role as Messiah. By the grace of God – because God so loved. Because he chose from the foundation of the world to create mankind even though he knew it would cost his Son his life. The collaborative decision to create this creature was made all the way in Genesis one. God so loved – John 3:16. So he tasted death for all mankind.

In this case, taste has the idea of to experience/partake in. It does carry the idea of for each and all – nothing about the elect here. This is such a great verse to teach that atonement is available for all of mankind. They still need to accept his offer of salvation. He will not force anyone to be saved, but it is there waiting on them. He carried our sins and bore our sorrows – Isaiah 53. He became the suffering servant. He fulfilled prophecy and his role in the eternal plan.

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He died, not so that we would not die physically, but so that we would not experience the second death of separation from God. You may not be facing persecution or death, but he has already gone to those extremes. He is the forerunner/pioneer – which is what we are getting ready to discuss.

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V. 10 – Fitting – it is proper, right. Comely

For whom and by whom - It all goes back to him. – Eph. 1:7-14. From eternity past, the plan has been for redemption. It has been through his holy blood which is the only thing able to remove sins instead of just covering them.

He has lavished – not given sparingly, to superabound, excessively. He revealed his plan fully in the New Testament. It is no longer a mystery how everything will conclude in the end. He will unite all things in him. All dominion will be given to him – and wonder of all wonders, we have obtained an inheritance in him. Those who have been adopted. That is possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son. And not only have we obtained an eternal inheritance, but we have been predestined to praise him and glorify him – not only for us to ascribe him praise and glory but actually the idea that our lives would be such a testimony of grace that they reflect his glory. And we have been sealed – fully secure in the Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance. The proof that all that is promised will be fulfilled. Until we are fully glorified when he unites all things at the end.

This word “Founder” is such an awesome word! It is “archegos.” This is the prince, captain, pioneer, and author – the chief leader. The prince or ruler who leads us into battle and victory. He is the author of life, joy, peace, love – everything that makes life worth living. We have never faced something that he did not experience. I don’t necessarily mean each unique circumstance, but I do mean types of suffering (i.e., loss, pain, joy, uncertainty, financial insecurity, etc.). There is an amazing verse in Ps. 77:19 that I want us to look at. The nation of Israel was led through the Red Sea on dry ground, but they were walking through walls of water. Nothing like this had ever happened and knowing how much they complained, I am convinced that if there had not been an army at their back, they would never have chosen that path. Yet it was not just their path – it was God’s path for them. He had walked through those waters. He was the pioneer. Yet they did not see his footprints.

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They were unseen and unknown which is what that word really means. Nothing they were experiencing, the uncertainty and strangeness screamed “God is here” – there were no angels escorting them through (that we know of). Yet God had been there. I think in those moments when we are facing total uncertainty and we genuinely do not know what to do moving forward, it is so encouraging to know that not only does he stand with us in the fire, but he has already gone there. Star Trek was not prepared for Jesus – there is no place we can go that he has not already been. However, we have to trust that – we can’t rely on our feelings, and we have to obey despite our pounding hearts. Israel faced this challenge ~3500 years ago, and he is still leading us to place our faith in him today.

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Make perfect – the idea of fulfillment – to complete the task at hand. Not that he was lacking, but that through suffering (through the cross) Jesus fulfilled his purpose as the Messiah.

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V. 11 – Who sanctifies – the one who makes us holy does so by giving us his very life. He doesn’t give us an inferior holiness. This is a wild thought that should make us pause – literally we have the same holiness. Also, note that this act of sanctification is ongoing. This points to the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in our life to transform our behavior to match our person. The one who sanctifies and the ones who are being sanctified have one source of life, joy, peace, fulfillment, wisdom, love, patience, kindness, so anytime we don’t feel that those expressions towards others are possible ask yourself if they are possible for Christ. If the answer is yes (and it is), then it is also possible for us.

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Because we all come from one source, he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. We have his very righteousness and God sees us as being in Christ eternally. If he is not ashamed of us why should we be? Now, that doesn’t negate the fact that when we sin, we should repent and abandon that sin. Conviction that leads to change is always from the Holy Spirit. However, shame that simply pushes us to wallow in our misery and speaks lies about our identity are not of Christ.

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V. 12 – This is a quote from Ps. 22:22 – this is probably the most obviously Messianic Psalm in Scripture. He will tell of his name – tell of his character. When he said he “manifested” his name in John 17:6, it has the idea of to reveal/to show. Jesus was a walking revelation of God’s character. Jesus literally proclaimed the Father in the congregation over and over – from the countryside to the Temple. Can you imagine the journey to Jerusalem for the feasts? The Psalms that Jesus would have sung with the disciples and other pilgrims? Even right before the cross, Jesus and his disciples sang a song after partaking of Passover. Praise was an active part of Jesus’ life, even in devastating circumstances.

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V. 13 – This is a quote from Isaiah 8:17-18 – this chapter, overall, is about the upcoming Assyrian invasion and the call to fear God/honor him. Don’t seek the empty/foolishness of substitutes. You have God himself, yet you seek everything else.

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However, I want us to look at Isaiah 8:20 for a minute. The standard of truth is the Word of God. This is such a truth for today’s relativistic society. If they won’t speak according to truth, they have no dawn. They have no light, no hope, no sight, no insight – no wisdom. Why would we listen to someone so unwise who has no future? The Bible is full of proclamations that Jesus is light – this was so often associated with God in Scripture. The Romans wanted glory, the Greeks wanted knowledge – 2 Corinthians 4:6 promises that Jesus has shined out of darkness, he called himself the Light of the World and promised that if you followed him you will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life – John 8:12. Jesus never brings darkness and confusion – he illuminates our path through his Word, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and godly counsel of other believers

 

V. 14 – He became a man and dealt with all of the struggles of being a man. He not only experienced loss and pain, but also think about the little details – the flu, headaches, sore feet, annoying mouth noises 😊 He partook and fully understood/understands our needs.

Through death – think about this, death is the antithesis of God who is eternal. Death is the ultimate result of sin. Yet Jesus used Satan’s trump card. He used a tool of the enemy to defeat the enemy! Resurrection life is stronger even than death.

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V. 15 – To deliver them – to rescue or release them from chains. I want us to pause here for just a minute. The word deliver here is very multifaceted. It means to change, to make different, to release, to deliver, to depart, to complete, to cease, a reversal – this is not a minor or partial deliverance. Flip over to Romans 8:1-4. The thing that we have to ask ourselves when we are not feeling very delivered or sanctified is, was Jesus’ sacrifice insufficient? Is the Spirit’s life defective? We would never say those things, and yet that is how we live when we operate out of anything less than the freedom to obey, love, serve. We have been removed from our old home. We were in chains and bondage, in darkness, but we are now in his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). We are seated with him (in the present) in heavenly places (Eph. 2:1-10 – esp. v. 5-6). This is not some future state of deliverance. If someone were living in the dungeons and were adopted by the king, given all of the privileges and responsibilities of a son or daughter, but they insisted on returning to the dungeons because that is what they feel they deserve or they feel that is where they belong, we would call them foolish. However, that is what we often do. Take the lie that says this is what I deserve or who I am, or I can’t help it and meet it with the truth of who Christ is in us – not our power, but his deliverance.

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We can do nothing on our own. Our inability to do anything for our own deliverance is actually the most reassuring thing – because if we couldn’t rescue ourselves, then we are not the ones responsible for keeping us secure. He is the all sufficient one. He is the eternal Savior. He is the ever-reigning king and there is no one who can capture the castle – no one who can dethrone him, but we do choose where we live on a daily basis. Are we going to return to the dungeons and the place of our captivity or are we going to live based on the truth of what Christ has done for us? I love, love, love the verse in O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing that says, “He breaks the power of canceled sin – he sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the vilest clean, his blood availed for me.” The sin has already been canceled on the cross, and yet on a daily basis he delivers us from the power and temptation of sin if we will let him – if we will surrender.

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Fear of death – notice death itself wasn’t actually the thing that kept them in slavery. It was the unknown, the anxiety surrounding loss – the questions about what came next. No one wants to lose someone we love and none of us want to experience a painful death, but he removed the fear. This was a question that a lot of believers had in the early New Testament church. Paul addressed it multiple times in his writings, but never more poignantly than with the Corinthians. Flip over to 1 Cor. 15:47-58. Paul has been talking to the Corinthians about resurrection, and perishable vs. eternal things. You get to the end and Paul is like, let me tell you what it is going to be like. It isn’t a mystery – you have born the image of Adam (the man of dust). You have known the perishable, but you now bear the image of the eternal – those words, "we shall," should really be translated let us – it is a reality that we bear his image, but let us live in light of this truth.

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Act like your identity because – only transformed delivered people are getting into heaven. Only those bought with the blood of the Lamb who bear his likeness are going to inherit eternal life. And if you’re wondering what that will be like – let me tell you! We are going to be changed. Our physical bodies will match our spiritual identity – no more power of sin. We will put on immortality. Death is swallowed up in victory. See, death came into the world as a result of sin, but thanks be to God – and God alone because he has already given us the victory through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. So be steadfast. Don’t wonder about the fear of death. Don’t be drawn into bondage. Know the truth of what waits on the other side. He took the keys of death after the cross, and he is still the one holding them in the end (Rev. 1:17-18). It isn’t separation, it is actually the first step into an eternity with our Savior and best friend. It is a righting and aligning of our identity and our physical senses/experiences. This should be motivating because we obviously want everyone to experience death with the hope of heaven. We don’t want anyone to be judged and condemned to hell. It was intended for Satan and the fallen angels, but those who refuse to repent will also go there. We know the truth – we know the deliverer. Share that truth – share that person.

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V. 16 – He didn’t die for fallen angels, but for man. This could literally be translated, “The seed of Abraham he took on.” He became our kinsman redeemer. It is so important to understand that the role of the kinsman redeemer was all about the initiative of the redeemer. In Leviticus 25:23-34, we are introduced to the legal framework of a kinsman redeemer. It is pretty clear in v. 25-26 that the natural state would be for the nearest redeemer to come and purchase/buy back the land. However, they could say (like the 1st relative in Ruth), that they couldn’t redeem the property – financially, personally, etc. Redeeming the land was the norm, but there were times when the potential redeemers did not step in. In some cases, the person who had a debt could be sold into temporary slavery (indentured servitude if you will) while they worked off their debt and the land would eventually revert back to the family at the year of jubilee (every 50 years). This is also interesting because v. 15 has just finished saying it was a lifetime of slavery. In Israel, the longest period of “slavery” or indentured servitude was 50 years. A bondservant was the only one who served for a lifetime. That was a deliberate choice made by an individual to serve a master that he loved. We would never say we love bondage, but this gets to the truth of the fact that remaining in bondage is a choice. It is a decision to serve because we love our will and way more than we want to be delivered. This decision for a lifetime of slavery could not be redeemed by a physical savior - we needed an eternally perfect person to save us from our own choices.

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As noted, potential redeemers could allow their relatives to experience the natural consequences of their actions. As Israel drifted farther and farther away from God, they began charging interest to their relatives and definitely not operating under this commandment of love and redemption. However, Jesus chose to redeem – he volunteered to pay the penalty. Like Boaz, he intervened on behalf of those who could not work their way out of their circumstances. Think about Ruth's story:

Ruth had been working hard but could not care for herself/Naomi without Boaz’s generosity. She went to him to ask for his protection, but he did all of the actual providing and the work of redemption. Look at Ruth 3:9-11. She offered her obedience and asked for redemption. If that is not the purest form of salvation, I don’t know what is. I am your servant; you are a redeemer. Ruth would have been absolutely foolish if Boaz offered to redeem and she said, I have this denarius (a days wages) saved up, please take it. No, she went to him because of her need and allowed him to provide abundantly above what she could ask or think. At every turn, Boaz provided more than Ruth asked for. Now, that didn’t negate the pain of losing her husband, but it did give her a new future. We repent in faith and trust that Jesus is sufficient to meet all of our needs and remove all our sins.

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V. 17 – The redeemer had to be a relative – he had to be a sinless man. I don’t know about you guys…but I haven’t found any of those 😊. He had to be a descendent of Abraham and we need to be spiritually grafted in as children of Abraham so that we can reap the rewards of his redemption. That whole section of Romans 11 that talks about grafting becomes less about botany and more about the vivid process of salvation when we think about this in terms of salvation being extended to Abraham’s children. It is also a pretty clear indicator that the church has not replaced Israel – indeed, there is no salvation without Israel in a sense. There is definitely no second coming without Israel.

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He is merciful and faithful – he shows mercy and remained faithful despite death. You have the faithful one residing in you, so you too can be merciful and faithful. Now, it is interesting to think about Jesus becoming the high-priest. He was already king, and in a sense, he was a prophet because he was the one who gave the prophets their message, but we often think about him becoming our High Priest. Scripture does say that he was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), but there is a real sense that he stepped into time and made propitiation for our sin. He made atonement. The primary task of the High Priest that separated him from a standard priest was the act of propitiation on the Day of Atonement, providing an advocate between God and man, and providing spiritual guidance. We are going to look at this extensively in a few chapters. However, for now, just know that the High Priest always had to start the Day of Atonement by making a sacrifice for his own sins before he could make propitiation for the sins of the people. That is why Jesus is so unique. He was the sinless lamb and had no need to make an offering for himself. He was able to be the sacrifice that put us into right relationship with God.

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V. 18 – He can help those who are tempted – us! If you are human, you are being or will be tempted. Yet Jesus has been there. He walked through it for you – certainly not for his own benefit. He is the light in darkness, he is our hope, our advocate, our redeemer, our deliverer, he has gone before us, dwells in us, empowers us, transforms us, and stands ready to help. However, we need to seek him without the thought that we can aid in our own redemption or sanctification. We do not get to set ourselves up as having more authority to speak truth regarding our identity or circumstances than Jesus. He is the one who redeemed, adopted, and purchased us with his blood. He is the one who gets to decide our new address and our new identity. All that is required is our obedience and an acknowledgement that apart from him we can do nothing. I am your servant, you are the redeemer.

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