Hebrews: The Daily Discipline of a Devoted LifeSample

Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, said that his most moving moment did not come on stage at a concert, but quietly in the pews of a Dublin church, thinking about the Son of God becoming a baby. He said, ‘The idea that God … would seek to explain himself is amazing enough. That he would seek to explain himself by becoming a child born in poverty and straw … I just thought: “Wow!”’*

Jesus is great not just because he is the Son of God, but especially because he became fully human. Jesus the man is:  

• Our pioneer. Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 8, which teaches that man’s ultimate destiny is to rule the world. Christ has blazed a trail for us to follow. His death and resurrection mean he has destroyed the powers of sin that frustrate this current creation (Rom. 8), and he will rule over a future new heaven and new earth as a ‘second Adam’. And if you follow him, the amazing truth is that you will rule at his side in a new world. Whatever struggles you are facing right now, keep your heart fixed on the glory to come.  
• Our brother. Jesus was not 50% human. He was 100% human (and 100% divine). He experienced all the emotions we face, and was ‘made like his brothers in every way’ (v. 17). He opened himself to pain and temptation, to tears and frustration. Jesus is no ‘deist’ god who stands aloof from his creatures, but a God who knows us thoroughly – trial for trial, bruise for bruise, tear for tear. Draw near to the God who has drawn near to you.  
• Our deliverer. We need more than a God who can sympathise with us. We need one who can rescue us from death, this power that the Devil holds over us (v. 14). But to rescue us from death, the eternal Son of God had to die himself. His death has a unique power to ‘free’ (v. 15) those who are paralysed by a fear of death. We don’t need to fear death anymore, because he has conquered its power over us. Hallelujah! 

Reflection

Consider these words: ‘He [Jesus] became like us, so that we could become like him’ (Athanasius, a fourth-century bishop of Alexandria). 

*Bono: in conversation (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 124-5.