Articles
A Little Lower
“We see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” – Hebrews 2:6-9
Have you ever wondered why God decided to come down to earth as a pre-born baby, dwell here to adulthood, and then undergo such tragic betrayal and painful torture and death? If his time on earth was solely about his death, one might suppose Jesus could have come to earth as an adult on Thursday afternoon and die a painless death in his sleep Thursday night.
His death was only one of several reasons the Hebrew writer gives in chapter 2 for the manner in which God executed his plan to become human. Indeed, he came to “taste death for everyone (v9).” The vastness of the pain and suffering he endured is testimony to how wicked I allowed myself to become, and how deeply in need of a Savior I am. He came to “make atonement” for my sins (v17b). But there’s more!
Jesus also became a man because he wanted to be our brother (v11). Imaging that! Someone like Jesus wanting to be a member of my family…I mean, have you seen my family, Jesus? We’re pretty messed up. He joined the family of man to work on our problems from the inside. He wanted to experience all of humanity, as the writer pens, to “share in flesh and blood (v14).” Think of all the mundane, base, and downright disgusting aspects of maintaining, repairing, and tending to the needs of our physical bodies. Jesus said, I want me some of that…just to be my brother.
Jesus became a man to be perfected (v10) for the unprecedented work he planned to perform. By becoming human, Jesus became uniquely qualified to be the one and only perfect mediator between God and Man: A God-Man!
Jesus’ work includes the role of High Priest, and we can be confident that our High Priest is “merciful and faithful (v17a).” We see his long and treacherous path to Calvary, deterred by neither fawning fans, cautious friends nor scheming foes, and we know our High Priest has his eyes fixed on his mission and cannot be swayed from his ministry.
Finally, why did Jesus come to earth and lived thirty-plus years chock-full of temptations and betrayals and disappointments and frustrations and deceivers and mockers and tormenters? So he could “help those who are being tempted. (v18) You can be sure that whatever you’re facing…he faced worse. Ask him to help in time of need.
All the benefits which arose from Jesus’ incarnation are ours. He didn’t need to come…he wanted to…for us.
He knows. He cares. He came!
