Hebrews 2:5-8
The Exalted Position of Man Cp. Ps.8
The insignificance of mankind
I want you to picture, in your mind’s eye, David, still a lad caring for his sheep. One night he lies peacefully on the hillside gazing into the cloudless sky. There are no lions or bears to threaten his flock, though his ears are alert for any trouble. As he gazes at the moon and stars he thinks to himself how great God is to have made the vast heavens and how insignificant he is. These are the sort of thoughts which must have prompted him to write Psalm 8, which Hebrews 2 builds on.
If those were David’s thoughts how should we feel today? He had no real idea of the vastness of space or of the immense number of stars that there are out there. Even today we have little real concept of the distances and numbers involved. Our sun is about 860 thousand miles across, that is 100 times the diameter of the earth and about 300,000 times the weight!
We are about 93 million miles from the sun. It takes light about 8 minutes to cross this distance at 186,000 miles/second. Our Solar System is about 7,000 million miles across, it takes light 10 hours to cross this distance. It takes light over 4 years to travel here from the nearest star Proxima Centauri, one of three stars in the Alpha-Centauri system. That’s 23 million, million miles away 23 followed by 12 zeros! At 70MPH it would take you 40 million years to visit the neighbours! If you were in a hurry you could borrow an old Concord and cut that to only 2m years at a steady Mach 2 (1350mph)!
The number of stars in the visible universe is thought to be 2000 billion billion or 2 with 21 zeros after it. It is a good job God told Adam to name the animals, not the stars or he would still be at it!
When you think about these astronomical numbers we have a very inflated idea of our own importance, don’t we? Realising how small our planet is helps us to get things in perspective. We need to appreciate how small and weak we are but, more importantly, how great and powerful our God is. David didn’t stop at feeling small, he also cried out: O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Ps.8:1
But important to God!
What is surprising, when you think how insignificant we are, is that God is interested in mankind at all. As David said: What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? v4 Why does God take an interest in mankind? Why, above all, did He give His dear Son to die for us when we had rebelled against Him? The only answer can be that He loves us so much.
From the very beginning, God’s purpose in creation was to have fellowship with man. It is evident that in Eden God talked with Adam and Eve, in some way. The fall interrupted this closeness and Adam and Eve hid, because they felt guilty and afraid. The rest of Scripture is the story of how the barrier caused by sin has been dealt with so that this original fellowship might be restored.
Do you feel unimportant, insignificant and unloved? Well to people with power and influence you may be, but to God you are important. Jesus chose to become one of us, our brother He is not ashamed to call them brethren, v11. There are many today who would be delighted to be a brother of a player on the English football team yet that game will be forgotten in a few weeks. How much more wonderful to have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as our brother!
A little lower than the angels
David said that God made us a little lower than the angels v7. What does this mean? We are less powerful creatures than the angels, they can move quickly from one place to another and can do miraculous things. They are spirit creatures, we are physical. We age and die, they do not. Nevertheless God has given us a very special place in creation. He made us in His own image with a capacity to love. He also gave us tremendous intellectual and artistic potential. Endued with these powers He set Adam and Eve over all creation Gen.1:26.
Since the fall, because of the curse, (Gen.3:17-19) there has been a constant struggle between mankind and nature as man tried to impose his will upon it. We can achieve so much. We have reshaped the world in so many ways, yet we are still helpless before hurricanes, earthquakes, and so on. Now, maybe, we are on the verge of a new ice age if the Gulf Stream breaks down due to global warming. On the other hand England could end up with a semi tropical climate with winds and rain to match. In our arrogance and stupidity we are on the verge of ecological disaster. This is the consequence of fallen humanity’s struggle with the earth, driven as it is by selfishness and greed.
There is a day coming, however, when the original relationship between man and nature will be restored. 21 the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now Rom.8. God is going to provide a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away Re 21. What a day that will be!
As we have already thought it is amazing that God loves us. If He were to reward anyone then we would expect Him to reward the angels who supported Him at the time of Satan’s rebellion and have served Him faithfully down through the millennia since. Yet in Heb 2v5 we read that this new earth will be given to mankind, not to the angels. This is confirmed in Rev.5:10 where it says that the redeemed will rule the earth. I take this to be referring to the millennial kingdom described in Rev.20.
There has only been one man who enjoyed the authority over this world that man was intended to have. That was the Lord Jesus Himself. We read how He stilled the stormy winds and waves and walked on the sea. He had power over disease and even death. The writer applies this Psalm to Him. He too was made lower than the Angels when He, the Eternal God, became a little baby at Bethlehem. O What Matchless Condescension!
Jesus is the Lord of all creation, and everything is subject to His will and direction. We do not yet see that in full, as Satan and his hosts are still fighting. Although the war was won, fully and finally, on Calvary’s cross the enemy is still fighting a strong rearguard action. The warfare will not fully be over until Satan and those who follow him are finally cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.20:10-15. 1 Cor.15:24-27). Then the end will come, when Jesus hands over the Kingdom the Father. In that day at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil.2
Perfect through sufferings
On the front of a Christmas card were pictures of many kings and dictators who have appeared throughout history: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin. The caption on the front of the card said: "History is crowded with men who would be gods." Then on the inside were the words: "But only one God who would be man."
Verse 10 tells us that Jesus became a man to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. This doesn’t mean that He wasn’t always morally perfect, but He had not experienced what it was like to face the ordinary trials of human life. Have you ever had someone say to you I know just how you feel! And you have thought to yourself no you don’t! Well Jesus does, because He has faced all the sort of problems that we face and knows just how we feel.
We’ll probably come back to this later in our studies, but it bears repeating:
• Have you had a tough life? So did Jesus! He was born in a stable and lived the life of a peasant.
• Are you homeless? Jesus had no place to lay His head.
• Do family responsibilities weigh you down? Jesus probably had to support His mother Mary and His brothers and sisters from an early age. As He died in agony on the cross He had to think who would take care of His mother. (There is no mention of Joseph after Jesus 12th birthday.)
• Are you snubbed or put down? Those who lived in Nazareth saw Him only as the boy who had grown up among them, the son of Joseph and Mary. When He tried to reveal His true identity they tried to stone Him. Even His disciples could not take in what He told them.
• Do people slander you and make rude remarks? They called Jesus illegitimate and a drunkard. They even said He worked His miracles by the power of demons.
• Are you lonely? At His arrest and trial His closest friends deserted Him. The crowd who had screamed His praises a week before bayed for His death. On the cross even His Father forsook Him.
• Are you unjustly treated? The political leaders saw Jesus as a threat, beat Him, arrested Him, rigged His trial and arranged His execution. The people mocked Him as He hung on the cross dying.
• Do you suffer pain? They beat Jesus, made a crown of thorns put it on His head and hit Him on it, plucked the hairs from His beard, forced Him to carry His own cross, nailed Him to it with jagged iron spikes and left Him there to bleed to death under the hot eastern sun.
Not only does He understand, but He wants to help us! And He is able to help.18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. Often those who can help us don’t understand what we need and those who want to help us aren’t able. He is both able and willing. Hallelujah!
Remember whenever you’re tempted,
Jesus has been there too
From the battlefield you’re not exempted
Jesus has been there too
Strong opposition you’re bound to meet,
Be oft in prayer at the Master’s feet.
And as you kneel at the mercy seat
Jesus will be there too
The Word did not become a philosophy, a theory, or a concept to be discussed, debated, or pondered. "But, the Word became a Person to be followed, enjoyed, and loved!"
From a Christmas Card by DaySpring Cards
He tasted death for everyone
Is this enough to convince you that Jesus loves and understands you? Well, verse 9 goes further and tells us that He, by the grace of God, tasted death for everyone. This means that Jesus died for all types of people; for men, women and children; for rich and poor; for the influential and the powerless; for intellectual giants and those that struggle; for black, brown, white, yellow, and red skinned people! As the old hymn says Red and Yellow, Black and White, all are precious in His sight. Whoever you are; whatever your status in society:
• No one is so good that they do not need this sacrifice: Christ tasted death for every man.
• No one is too depraved to benefits from His sacrifice: Christ tasted death for every man.
• No one is so insignificant that he is left out: Christ tasted death for every man.
• No one is so great or noble that an alternative way should be provided: Christ tasted death for every man.
Think of it, Adam and Eve tasted the appealing, forbidden fruit and death for all was the result. Christ tasted the horrors of death and as a result eternal life is available to all who put their faith in Him. What a contrast! But do you know that He tasted death for you? Will you be one of the many sons and daughters that Jesus brings to glory?
Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me John 14:6. There is only one way to God. It is necessary for all and also sufficient for all. This doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved the next verse tells us that He will bring many sons to glory. As Jesus said: 14 narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Mt.7. God loves us all and commands all men everywhere to repent Acts 17:30. Have you turned from your sinful life to His Son asking Him for forgiveness and salvation? If not do it now and don’t delay. If you don’t know this for sure, then obey Him and be saved today. Don’t reject Him! Don’t neglect this great salvation, for you will not escape His judgement if you do.
1. God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
2. God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
3. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.
Annie Johnson Flint
