Like Us in Every Way

Hebrews 2:10-18

Will you pray with me? Precious Lord, may your spirit enter into our awaiting hearts. You know where we are and the joys and trials we face. Grant me the gift of preaching, that your Word would become a reality for each of us, that it may reach out and touch all of us at our point of need. We pray this with confidence and faithfulness in the name of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

I know it has come and gone, but I love Christmas and the Advent season. All the decorations, the wreaths, Christmas trees, houses covered with lights and figurines in the yard, the giving of gifts to family and friends, the parties, the special church services, the commemoration of the birth of Christ and preparing for his return: what a special time of year it is! And with the birth of Jesus the Christ, God becomes a living, breathing human being. We’ve heard about it. We’ve sung about it. We’ve prayed about it. But what does it all mean and why did it happen this way?

Why did God in Christ come to earth in the first place and as a human being? Couldn’t God, the creator of the heavens and the earth and all its inhabitants, have been perhaps a little more creative in His approach? God can do anything: anything is possible with God. Why couldn’t God just clap his hands and make things on earth work right and help all humanity to get along with one another. Why couldn’t he just declare that the sin of humanity is erased forever and that’s it? Why did God in the person of Jesus Christ come to earth as a human?

Once upon a time a man was walking through a trail in the woods. After hiking for several hours, he stopped for lunch along the trail. As he was eating he noticed a huge anthill nearby. He watched the ants scurrying along in and out of the anthill. The man began to wonder to himself how he could communicate with the ants, talk to them, and find out what all the rush was about. At first he blew some air on a few of the ants who got caught in the breeze, rolled across the ground, and kept right on walking like nothing ever happened. The man tried to fill in the hole at the top of the anthill with some dirt. Within moments the dirt was moved away and the ants went back to their regular routine as if nothing ever happened. The man thought, “These ants don’t see me here. They probably thought my breath was a hurricane force wind and the dirt in the hole in their anthill junk falling from the sky. I loom over them with my shadow and their day becomes night. But I can’t talk to and communicate with them like I would talk to my friends and family.” It finally occurred to the man that in order for him to talk with the ants and tell them about humans and other animals and what causes the rain and wind and more, he would have to become an ant and live among the ants. To communicate with the ants, he would have become an ant. In order to understand firsthand what it was like to be an ant, to experience the sufferings and hardships as well as the joys of being an ant, he would have to become an ant.

In a similar way, God came to earth as a human being to communicate directly with us. God tried the flood, spoke through the prophets, and worked through the ancient judges and kings of Israel to communicate with us. God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ so that he could directly speak to us about Himself and the Kingdom of God. God also came to earth to experience what we experience: suffering, hardship, joy, happiness, sadness and other human conditions. God came to earth as a human being and was like us in every way.

Why is it so important that God in Jesus Christ share in our humanity as he did? We can find three reasons why in today’s scripture reading:

1) The first reason is that in living and dying as a human being, he could free us from the power of death over humanity. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, he died like any other human being. He entered into Hell. But because he was of God and had no sin, he conquered death and the power death has over human beings. He literally broke down the gates of hell for you and me, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin and death. So when we say we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are saying that we believe that Jesus has saved us, that is freed us, from the power of death over our lives.

2) The second reason is that Jesus, by becoming the final sacrifice for the sin of humanity, he could reconcile us to God in himself. Jesus became the final and perfect sacrifice for the sin of humanity past, present and future because even though he was tested and tempted like you and I are every day, he did not sin and fall into temptation. He is able to sympathize with us because Jesus has experienced what we have experienced: sufferings, hardships, temptations, as humans, but did not sin. Jesus was not tainted by sin as you and I are. Thus, he became the perfect sacrifice “who bore our griefs and carried our diseases…wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”(Isaiah 53:4-5)

3) The third reason why it is so important that Jesus share in our humanity is in experiencing temptation, Jesus can better help us with our own temptation and challenges. Jesus is our teacher and our mentor as well as our Lord and Savior. Because Jesus was like us in every way, he is qualified and certified to help you and me as we continue to be tested and tempted every day. It is similar to a parent teaching a child. I remember my mom and dad, when I had troubles growing up, would always start with the same words: “I remember when I was your age I went through the same thing. Do you know I handled it?” And they would go on and explain it to me. It was always a teaching moment where I learned from someone who had similar hardships and sufferings at one time in their lives. Jesus knows our sufferings and hardships. He knows what tempts us to follow our own way rather than God’s way. He knows because he was like us in every way and experienced the same temptation and challenges we do. Jesus stands right beside us, step by step, walking with us giving us the strength and endurance to meet our temptations head on.

What does this mean for you and me? It means that we have a Savior who can relate to us on our level. If you wanted to communicate and identify with an ant, you would have to become an ant. So God in Christ Jesus came down from his heavenly throne and became a mortal human being who lived and dwelt among us. It teaches us what it means to be in a relationship with other human beings, other living creatures and with God. Through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, freeing us from the power of death, identifying with all humanity completely and fully, you and I are reconnected to the Living God of the universe. We are reconnected so that we can be in relationship with true life and true freedom. May we always remember the meaning behind Christmas as the beginning of God reconciling humanity to Himself. Jesus was like us in every way so that we may become brothers and sisters in the family of God. Amen.