Devotional on Hebrews

2014 – Oregon 101 – along the southern coast

My brother is King

Hebrews 2: It’s logical that the savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death.

Once the awful persecution of the ancient Church ended, it turned its attention to formalizing the doctrines of Christianity. What beliefs are required to be “Christian” and what beliefs are outside of the boundaries of Christianity? Creeds were debated, created, and adjusted as Christians tried to better understand what was and what was not “Christian.” It’s no surprise that the main focus in all this was Jesus, himself. Who was he? What does it mean for him to be the “Son of God”? What does it mean for him to be the “Son of man”? Some people focused on his humanity and decided Jesus was a very good man who was picked by God to be the Savior of the world. Others focused on his divinity. They decided that Jesus appeared to be human, but was actually God dressed up in human flesh. Ultimately, the Church abandoned mathematics in favor of faith. It was concluded that Jesus was, at the same time 100% man and 100% God. Never mind that this adds up to 200% — we’d just believe that that’s how it is. Here we are, way down the road and so comfortable with this approach that we don’t think much about it. Today’s passage played a role in this understanding of Jesus. The writer of Hebrews describes one who was so human that he died a very human and real death for all. At the same time, he’s positioned in the loftiest of realms. For human beings, this is good news indeed, it’s great having one we call “brother” also be our Lord and Savior.

Take Away: Jesus is 100% man. He’s also 100% God. This God-man is the Savior of the world.

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