Hebrews 2:14-18 • Romans 5:12 • Romans 6:12-13
The Rev. Dr. Israel Ahimbisibwe
The Epistle to the Hebrews says that we are just flesh and blood, and Satan wields the power of death only insofar as he induced mankind to disobey God and put us under the penalty of eternal condemnation. Our passage today says: “Since God’s children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death…For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that … He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
It is the same thing that Saint Paul wrote to explain to the Romans that, “Just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, in this way death came to all people, for all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
In another passage, Paul recognizes that sin reigns in people’s bodies, making them to obey its evil desires and allowing parts of the body to become instruments of wickedness. In Romans 6:12-13, he admonishes us: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”
Jesus wanted to change all this for our own good, so He became a pure human with flesh and blood in order to identify with us in our weakness but then change us back into those who are pleasing before God.
That is why today’s Collect is asking God to let Jesus present us with a pure heart and spirit.
Jesus became human like us in order to change us back to the status we had before Adam and Eve became sinful. The Bible says that they had been created in the image or likeness of God. To have the likeness of God is to have His righteousness and holiness.
The righteousness and holiness of God are the two most important characteristics that we get from Jesus after He has identified with us and after we have cooperated with Him to accept that identification.
The second thing is that Jesus did die, but when He rose again he destroyed the power of death.
So, what does the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews mean?
It means that Jesus became a person with flesh and blood to identify with our weaknesses and give us back the holiness and righteousness of God. His resurrection means that those who die in the holiness and righteousness of Jesus will also be resurrected, as He was.
This passage is good news for us because God knows us so well and indeed, He knew us before we were born because He is the one who formed us. He knows our areas of weakness and would like to make them areas of strength. He is the perfect gift for our salvation because if we live with Him now, we will live with Him when He comes again.