Why Did He Come As A Baby? Series

Bethlehem and Beyond - # 1

Why Did He Come As a Baby?

Hebrews 2:14-18

December 2, 2001

Introduction

This will not be your typical Christmas message.

Normally during this time of year, we would look at those wonderful passages in Scripture from Luke 2, or Matthew 1, where we find the Christmas stories.

But today we are going to look not at the story of Christmas, but rather what it put into motion, and particularly what His death did for us.

What? This isn’t Palm Sunday or Good Friday, Preacher! Get a grip!

I know, but you need to understand that without Calvary, Bethlehem loses its significance. And vice versa. Without the miracle of Bethlehem, Calvary is stripped of it meaning.

So I want to put our minds into the context of not the event of the birth, but rather what that birth made possible for our eternal salvation.

My purpose this morning is to show you that His life on this earth served two main purposes, and those purposes were to secure our place in heaven, and to relate to us in our journey through life.

And I want to do that by looking at Hebrews 2:14-18. Please turn there with me. If you are using the Bibles in the seats, this can be found on page 847.

By the way, since Christmas is a time of gift-giving, I would like to tell you that if you do not own a Bible you can readily understand, we would like to give you one. Please feel free to take home one of the Bibles in the seats, and you will absolutely thrill our hearts.

When we started to provide Bibles in the seats, the board did so with the understanding that we needed to allow them to go to homes that need them.

And we decided to not only allow that, but to encourage it! We absolutely love to see that one of these Bibles has been taken to a home. So you feel free to do that if you need one, okay? Okay.

Now, to our passage.

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

In my attempt to discuss what Christ accomplished during His life on earth, I want to point out three reasons from this passage about why Christ came to earth as a human baby, and the first reason was…

I. To deliver from fear of death.

3 Buddies were discussing death and one asked the group: What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?

 "He was a great humanitarian, who cared about his community."

 "He was a great husband and father, who was an example for many to follow."

 "Look, he’s moving!!"

Darrin Hunt – Sermon Central

Jesus came to eliminate the fear of death.

Please look again at verses 14 & 15:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Death is a fact of life. That sounds ironic, but it is true. The statistics are amazingly telling. Death claims one out of every one persons. Unless the Rapture comes during our lifetimes, everyone in this room will die.

There is no one alive today who will not die. And if you remember from Genesis, death is the result of sin.

Don’t look at me like that! I told you this wouldn’t be your typical Christmas message!

The power in death lies in not only its sure coming, but also in the uncertainty it brings. For instance, we don’t know for sure what goes on in a person’s mind at the moment of death. Is there a final struggle to hang on, a resignation to your fate, or a joyous anticipation of meeting the Savior?

I hope it’s the last, but who can say for absolute certainty?

This uncertainty is given momentum by certain media personalities who claim to communicate with the loved ones who have departed, making us wonder what happens on “the other side.”