## Born to Die

## Hebrews 2:9-18

On that very first Christmas, earth was oblivious to all that was happening, but heaven wasn't! The angels were waiting with anticipation to break forth in praise and worship and adoration at the birth of Christ. The angel told Joseph, "...For He shall save His people from their sins." This came as no surprise to Jesus Christ. He knew that He was born to die. Note: Heb. 10:5-7 The important issue of Christmas is not so much that Jesus came, but why He came. There was no salvation in His birth. Nor did the sinless way He lived His life have any redemptive force of its own. His example, as flawless as it was, could not rescue men from their sins. Even His teaching, the greatest truth ever revealed to man, could not save us from our sins. There was a price to be paid for our sins. Ro. 6:23a, "For the wages of sin is death..." And only Jesus could pay that price! Jesus came to earth to do many things. He came to reveal God to mankind, to teach truth, to fulfill the Law, to offer His kingdom, to show us how to live, to bring peace, and to reveal God's love to us. But His ultimate purpose in coming to this earth was that He might die! Here is a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told. Those tiny hands and feet of the babe in the manger were formed so that one day nails might be driven through them on a rough hewn cross on Calvary. That warm and soft little body that was wrapped in swaddling clothes would one day be ripped open with a spear. Jesus was born to die. The shadow of the cross was there from the very beginning. Note: Hebrews 2:9-18

I. He Became a Substitute for Us. v9

A. "That He by the grace of God should taste death for every man"

1. It was a suffering death.

2. Too often it is neglected or passed over because He was God, but He suffered on Calvary!

3. He took our place on Calvary and suffered the agony and excruciating pain of the cross for you and for me.

4. He did it voluntarily...that's what the Scripture means when it says, "Christ died for our sins." cf 1 Co. 15:3

B. Death was not God's plan for mankind in the beginning...it is a part of the curse of sin.

1. Adam disobeyed God and introduced sin into the world and death to the human race. cf. Ro. 5:12

2. The prophet Ezekiel wrote that "The soul that sinneth, it shall die".

3. Sin inevitably brings death, and there is no reason for death except sin.

4. Jesus chose to die as a substitute for us, bearing our sin...the perfect One became the punished One.

C. We benefit from the grace of God.

1. We certainly didn't deserve Jesus' intervention!

2. Jesus didn't come because we asked Him to come.

3. He willingly chose to be our substitute on Calvary. cf John 10:17-18

II. He Sanctified His People. v11

A. He solved a theological dilemma.

1. How could a holy God communicate mercy and grace to a sinful people?

2. It could only be through Jesus Christ.

3. Sin demands death, if God accepted us as we are and ignored our sin, His own holiness would be tainted.

4. On the cross Jesus satisfied the demands of both God's mercy and His justice.

B. Sanctify means to make holy or to separate.

1. That does not mean that we are sinless!

2. But since Christ paid for all of our sins, past present and future; He can deal with us as if we were sinless.

3. Based upon the work of Christ on our behalf, He declares us to be holy and without blame.

4. This sanctification cannot be marred, or destroyed! cf. Hebrews 10:14

III. He Conquered Satan. v14

A. One of the main reasons for Christ's incarnation was to overcome the enemy.

1. The first prophecy ever given about Jesus predicted that He would crush the serpent's head.

2. Now in the New Testament we see the fulfillment of that prophecy.

3. Satan's great power is death, if he can keep a person enslaved by sin until death, he then has that person for eternity!

B. To conquer the enemy, his weapon had to be destroyed.

1. That is exactly what happened when Jesus Christ arose on the third day.

2. Jesus said, "Because I live, ye shall live also." cf Jn. 14:19

3. We can say along with the apostle Paul, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Co. 15:55

IV. He became our High Priest. v17-18

A. The high priest is a mediator between God and man.

1. Every high priest of Israel was a type of the great High Priest who would come.

2. Jesus became the perfect mediator because He was both man and God.

3. There is only one who can do this..."For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Ti. 2:5

B. He is a sympathetic High Priest.

1. Note: Hebrews 4:15

2. He was made like us in all things as we are yet without sin.

3. Jesus Christ came into the world to become our High Priest.

4. "...He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb. 7:25

Conclusion: This year let's look beyond the tender manger scene and see that Jesus was born to die. He died for you and for me.

He bore our sin, and purchased our salvation with His own blood. He sanctifies all who believe in Him. He has destroyed our enemy and is our great High Priest. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior today? Do you realize that it was His death and not His birth that brought about the redemption of man? Will Christ be the center of your Christmas this year?