Jump Start # 122

Hebrews 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

  Jesus became like us. He left His world to live in our world. He did this so that in the end, we could live forever in His world. Jesus became flesh and blood. We understand from the Gospel of John and other places that Jesus existed before He came to earth. He was God. But to redeem us, He had to come.

  There are two expressions in our verse today that we need to consider. First, Jesus “partook of the same.” That means He partook of flesh and blood. But I think there is more than that, He partook of the things that come with flesh and blood. Jesus felt hunger. God never got hungry in Heaven. Jesus experienced the elements, heat, dust, cold. That doesn’t happen in Heaven. He experienced pain, especially at the cross. Jesus partook. He didn’t come to earth like a celebrity who travels in limos, waves at crowds and stays in the best hotels and every whim is catered to them. Not Jesus. He was right among the people, all the time. His feet got dirty, His eyes got sleepy, His legs got tired. He did the human experience. Later in Hebrews we are told that Jesus is our High Priest who can sympathize with us. He knows. He’s been there. The only difference is that He never chose sin.

  The other statement to consider from this verse is, “He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Jesus unplugged Satan. He defeated Satan. There is little to fear if the opponent has no power. In a boxing match, the referee will stop the fight if one of the boxes is standing powerless. The match is over. In 1 John, we find, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. How did He do that? It was two fold. First, by living without sinning. None of us can do that. We might go a short while, but not very long. All have sinned, the book of Romans declares. Jesus did it. Satan threw everything at Him and gave Him every reason to sin, but He never did. But secondly, He especially defeated Satan through the resurrection. Jesus declared ahead of time that He would lay down His life and then take it up again. Satan’s greatest tool is death. There is no getting around that. Sooner or later it catches all of us. Everyone resurrected in the Bible eventually had to die again. Except Jesus. He was the first raised, to never die again. He is the first fruits, Paul said in the resurrection chapter of 1 Cor 15. There will be more after Jesus. The resurrection was the death blow to Satan. Long ago in the garden God promised that the seed of woman would crush the serpent’s head—that’s what He had in mind. The resurrection.

  All of this tells us that we know the outcome. We know how all of this will end. We are not in the midst of a drama in which the outcome could go either way. Satan’s power, Satan’s outcome, Satan’s future—all fixed by Jesus Christ. Our task is to walk with Christ. We will win if we do. We know what will happen if we do.

  Jesus was flesh and bones like us. I wonder how your day would be different if Jesus walked in your shoes, kept your schedule, did all the things you have to do today, except, He had His heart? Would He see your job differently? Would He look at people differently? Would He not let things bother Him as much as they do you? The heart of Jesus in you. Give that some thought. It might make a difference, even today.

Roger