1.3.21 Hebrews 2:10-12
10 Certainly it was fitting for God (the one for whom and through whom everything exists), in leading many sons to glory, to bring the author of their salvation to his goal through sufferings. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have one Father. For that reason, he is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says: I will declare your name to my brothers. Within the congregation I will sing your praise.
Jesus Goes to Church, And It Is An Amazing Thing
My mom used to read me a children’s book called Bedtime for Frances. It was about a badger being put to bed. Most would look at such a title and say, “Who wants to hear about that?!?” But I wanted her to read that one and “Bargain for Frances” all the time. It was exciting to me I guess.
It might seem like a strange and boring thing to have a worship service talking about someone going to church. What is the big deal? We go to church all the time, sit in the pew, sing some songs, and head home. It’s not worth writing about. But when 12 year old Jesus goes to church, here is a kind of a profound thing. God is right in the pew next to us, singing to Himself in a sense. It’s kind of a strange but beautiful phenomenon. What’s He doing in the pew with us? What does it matter to us?
Well, let’s start here. Christmas first of all brings us this profound truth that God HAD to come down here and become one of us in the first place. Think about it. We live in a very humanistic society. We like to hear about how we can do anything we want to do. Even in the realm of popular Christianity, they like to claim that we have a divine spark within us and that there is some divinity within, if we just follow ourselves and discover ourselves then God will accept us.
Biblical Christianity realizes that we can’t just divinely figure out who we are, discover ourselves, find our destiny, and then live out our truth to get to heaven. The Fall into sin makes that impossible. Adam and Eve had a child in THEIR sinful image, in THEIR likeness. The divine image was lost. So some changed the narrative a bit - changed to make God in the flesh more palatable. Jesus becomes the example of the super-Christian. God comes down here to show us HOW to do it RIGHT.
So is that why Jesus went to church? To show us how to worship with more vim and vigor? The writer to the Hebrews said that Jesus had to SUFFER. For some people going to worship is tantamount to suffering. They put in their hour of time, but it’s like an eternity! Jesus did so too! He paid attention and even asked questions! If, with the eternal LORD, a day is like a thousand years, then what would one hour of the day be? 41 and ? of a year in one church service! Jesus was there for at least three days! That’s like 3,000 years in church to God. Oof! That’s a long time to be in church! But He’s going to do it and show us how to do it right! So pay attention! Worship like Jesus did, right?
I don’t think so. The Bible says all our righteous acts are like filthy rags, even our worship. We can’t follow in His steps. Even if we spent day and night in the worship area as Anna did, and even if we tried to praise God as best we could, and even if we stayed awake through every boring sermon, we still wouldn’t do it right. Our worship is always sinful even when it is at its best.
So why does 12 year old Jesus go to church? Well, the Gospel says that He is asking questions. What kind of questions is He asking? What kind of answer is He giving? We really don’t know. We know that Jesus came in humility, which means He didn’t use His power. We know that the first miracle He performed was the turning of water into wine at the wedding of Cana. What else is there? If Jesus is in true humility, how MUCH does He know about His own mission and His own purpose at 12 years old? Imagine Him reading through Isaiah -
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. . . . it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
In His public ministry He KNEW that the disciples would find a donkey in the town ahead. He knew He would rise on the third day. Did He always know that He would die on the cross from the start? Or did He learn it through Bible study? We don’t know. Either way, think about it. All of this Bible study would have been PERSONAL for Jesus. He Himself said that all of the Scriptures talk about HIM. The betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, the division of His garments, the lifting up on the cross, it all was predicted in the WORD, and Jesus would have read it and studied it Himself. Jesus was going to temple for us - so that He could end up being the pinnacle and foundation of the temple for the entire world.
The Bible is meant to be personal for YOU too. And so is going to worship. You’re involved in this whole process and your future depends on this history. Think about what the angels said to the lowly old shepherds. Luke 2:10–11 says, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born TO YOU; he is Christ the Lord. When you receive the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is personally coming for you too, giving you His body and blood to you for the forgiveness of sins.
Sitting through a worship service wasn’t painful for the 12 year old Jesus. Here is the PERFECT student. He wants to know all of the Bible and He wants to know it well. Why? Not to be a show-off. Not to win a trivia section on Jeopardy. “I’ll take obscure prophets for 100.” No, it was so that He would perfectly fulfill God’s will all the way through His life, all the way to the cross. When Peter and the disciples would try to talk Him from the cross, Jesus would know it was the way that was DESTINED for Him, written in the WORD. It’s no coincidence that Jesus was praying through Psalm 22 from the cross. He had studied the Word. This is what the Word pointed to. This is what the sacrifices pointed to. This is how SERIOUS our condition was and how serious God’s WRATH was.
it was fitting for God (the one for whom and through whom everything exists), in leading many sons to glory, to bring the author of their salvation to his goal through sufferings. Why is suffering the “fitting” way for God to bring the author to the goal? It was fitting because God is holy. He couldn’t make people holy - he couldn’t bring us to holiness - without a payment for sin being made. Think of Stan Lee who always appears in his movies, does these goofy little cameos for people to get a chuckle at. Jesus doesn’t do a goofy cameo. He becomes the main character in the story, the hero who comes to save us through suffering, death, and resurrection. HIS WHOLE LIFE leads to that place of the cross. It’s all important for us.
Another way of translating “author” is “pioneer.” I like that word. When you think of the word “pioneer” you think of a trailblazer - someone who is clearing the way for other people to come and know where they are going. The picture I get in my mind is Lewis and Clark, trekking their way across America for the first time, facing the danger of Indians and rivers and wild bears: trying to see what we had actually received with the Louisiana Purchase. There’s danger and intrigue involved in going where no man has gone before. Think of Jesus as our great Pioneer, the one who comes to trail blaze the way to heaven. The pioneer leads the way in order to bring other people along - to settle the area for others to move there and stay there.
Jesus has come to trail blaze the way and write a new story for humanity, start a new class - the class of the holy. The river of sin has blocked the way. The devil has gotten in the boat and is blocking anyone from crossing. And our own sinful nature makes it impossible to swim across as we are loaded down with guilt. Jesus came here to open the way back up, to build a bridge from this world to heaven. I think of the movie the Lord of the Rings, where Frodo needs to be protected and escorted throughout the dangerous journey to Mordor. The Nazgul were constantly attacking and trying to keep them from getting to their destination. Were it not for his protectors he never would have made it. Jesus has come to take us to heaven. He has built the bridge. He puts us on the pathway through baptism. He keeps us on the pathway through faith. We stay focused on the goal through the Lord’s Supper.
Where is he taking us? In bringing many sons to GLORY. What does that mean? Think of when the angels sang over the night sky of Bethlehem, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. This is what Jesus wants us to see and experience forever in heaven. We sing the hymn,
Lord, when your glory I shall see, and taste your kingdom’s pleasure.
Your blood my royal robe shall be, my joy beyond all measure.
When I appear, before your throne, Your righteousness shall be my crown. With these I need not hide me.
And there in garments richly wrought, as your own bride I shall be brought to stand in joy beside you.
Think of the joy you see in a child who paints the painting, takes it to his mom, and hears his mom say, “This is great!” Her eyes beam forth with joy! Imagine the glory of hearing God say to you when you die, “Welcome home, my child!” This is what Jesus wanted for us to experience on Judgment Day!
But what does Jesus’ going to church have to do with all of this “pioneer” work? Within the congregation I will sing your praise. God isn’t just up there cheering us on. He came down here to carry us in. He’s coming into my ears as we sing of Him in our hymns. He’s coming to me in the bread and wine. He’s pouring Himself on me in the water. He’s not way up there - way out there. He’s right here with me. He’s been in this world. He knows what it’s like. And He’s come here to get me out of here - to take me home to glory. I don’t have to climb my way out, because He has climbed His way in here to CARRY me out on His bloody back.
When Bekah and I went to Mexico for our anniversary years ago, we had to sit through a sales pitch in order to get to go on an extra excursion. One of the rules we made was “Don’t ask any questions! Show NO interest!” You don’t ask questions if you’re not interested in something. We enjoyed Mexico, but we didn’t want to pay the price of a timeshare. So we didn’t ask questions. We didn’t show any interest! The Word of God is different. It gives you forgiveness. It gives you hope. It gives you salvation in Jesus - with many pictures and promises of a gracious God! It shows you the power of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. How many are out there that don’t go to Bible study because they are EMBARRASSED that they don’t know the Bible very well. It’s not just learning the Bible for trivia’s sake, so you know how many tribes were in the north vs. the south or what year the captivities were. It’s so you can see your salvation in Jesus in hundreds to thousands of ways!
If you had heard that a great celebrity was going to come to worship here at Trinity, most people would be excited about it. Imagine if Miggy Cabrera retired and came to worship here. Now, if he fell asleep, it might be a bit disappointing. But if he went through Bible Information Class and joined? I imagine we’d have a lot more visitors who wanted to come to church and see him.
When the 12 year old Jesus came to the temple, everyone took notice. It wasn’t because he was a celebrity. Nobody knew Him. But when someone is good at something, really good at something, you can’t help but just watch and admire. You see a budding artist drawing pictures at 10 years old, and even the rudimentary drawings can be a thing of beauty. When Jesus came as a genuine student of the Bible and took such an active interest, the people couldn’t help but be impressed.
Thanks be to God Jesus went to church. He entered the sanctuary. He learned. He studied. He came to fulfill all that the Word prophesied. He didn’t come to just go to church. He came to be the foundation and the pinnacle of the church. He’s come here to bring us to glory, to plow the way, and author us into heaven, a part of the invisible and eternal church. It’s a beautiful thing.
Here’s another beautiful thing. Jesus is still here right now as we wait. He’s the center of our music. He’s the center of our liturgy. He’s the power of our baptism. He’s the body and blood of the Supper. Jesus is still here with all of His powerful grace and mercy. God still comes to church! What a strange and beautiful phenomenon! Isn’t that an amazing thing? Amen.
