Sermon preached on 12/27/09 at Our Savior for 1st Sunday after Christmas. The text was Hebrews 2:10-18. http://ref.ly/He2.10-18
In the Christmas Manger...
1. Lies one born just like you
2. Lies one born to save people just like you
Christmas day is over. Sure, it was just a couple days ago. Sure, we've still got all the decorations up here at church, and you've probably got your tree and other decorations up at home. But at this point, the presents have been opened. The boxes and wrapping paper have been thrown away. The all-Christmas music on the radio has already changed back to no-Christmas music. Our minds and attitudes show the same signs. For a lot of you, it's going to be back to work tomorrow -- back to the real world. Sure, the students out there may have some more time off, but it's no longer time off waiting for Christmas. That's already come and gone. The shine and sparkle and glory of Christmas have already started to fade in our minds and hearts.
That can be kind of a let-down, can't it? We get ourselves all worked up to celebrate, to wrap presents, cook food, have our parties and special services, and then like that, it's done. Gone.
And it can be easy for that spark of the incredible, amazing wonder of what God has done to disappear from our hearts, too. When we get ready for Christmas, and when we celebrate Christmas, it can really remind us of God's love, that he sent his Son for us, and that he did something amazing for us on that first Christmas. We get that spark of joy in our hearts, we feel the glory of what God did when he came to that manger in Bethlehem.
But does that spark get snuffed out when Christmas is over? Does the glory fade? Was that really all it was? Is our faith really that wrapped up in special music and certain days on the calendar? Is being a Christian really worth it during the rest of the year? Does Christmas still matter once Christmas has ended?
It does! Christmas always matters, whether it's the 27th of December or the middle of June. Christmas gives us the assurance that our life 
So while our world may have moved on and moved past Christmas, don't let that happen to you. Never hesitate to take the time to look into that Christmas manger and see what God has done for you. Because there in the Christmas manger lies one born just like you, who came to save people just like you. His glory will never leave us.
You see, Jesus' glory isn't just a warm, fuzzy feeling you get at Christmas. His glory is what he came at Christmas to give us. Our text from Hebrews mentions this. "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering." (Heb. 2:10) .
That verse deals with the most important topic there is: how we get to heaven. That's what true glory is. Heaven will not have the pain and suffering and problems and troubles that we have now. Those things will be gone forever, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. (Rev. 7:17) We wait for that true glory of heaven while we suffer now.
But the Bible tells us that our getting to heaven directly involves suffering. Do you remember the very first promise of a Savior in the book of Genesis? It's actually pretty violent. God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Gen. 3:15) Enmity is a strong animosity or hatred. Then you've got crushing and striking going on. It's not really the prettiest picture. There's anger and violence there.
So it makes sense, since that's what God promised, that violence and suffering is exactly what Jesus got. You cannot separate Jesus being born in the manger with Jesus being nailed to the cross. You can't have one without the other. Jesus was born so that he could suffer and die. Jesus couldn't have suffered and died unless he had been born of the virgin Mary and put into that manger. The quiet cries of a newborn baby were foreshadowing the cries of pain of a true man suffering and dying.
We might be thinking, "Sure, yes, Jesus had to suffer and die. I get that. But why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to hurt and struggle? I thought Jesus was supposed to cover that! Why do I still have to die some day? Why do I have to lose people I love? Why do I have to live in a world where someone would want to blow himself up along with everyone else in an airplane? Why does there have to be all the anger and hate and problems and suffering? If the goal of all this was to bring us to glory, it sure doesn't seem to be working."
When we start to feel that way, it's easy to think that we somehow got it all wrong. Maybe this whole being a Christian thing isn't worth it. Maybe those things we stopped doing because we somehow got the idea they were sinful -- maybe we can just keep doing them! If God wants everyone to suffer, maybe I don't want any part in that God. Maybe I'm just better off on my own, doing what seems best to me.
Those thoughts might not hit us all at once. They might hit us a little bit here or there. They might come into our minds in these days after Christmas. But recognize when those thoughts come, and don't be fooled. The devil wants those thoughts in your heads, because they're sinful and they lead to sin. They don't lead us forward in our faith, but they bring our faith down. They could eventually destroy our faith altogether.
So when those thoughts come, remember the words our text says next. "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." (Heb. 2:11) There is some amazing comfort in this verse when you think of Christmas. Jesus knows the exact suffering that we go through. He went through it! He didn't just suffer and die on the cross; he felt all the normal pains and sufferings of everyday life that we do. That pain we feel doesn't mean that God has left us, or is being cruel to us. It means we're part of the family. Jesus isn't ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters.
In the manger lies one born just like you. The Christmas story isn't a fairy-tale. It's how a real child was really born. That child just happened to be the Savior who would go on to die for us. But he was born just like us! He suffered like us! He made us children of God, guaranteeing that we would never be separated from him.
And because he is just like us, a true human being, it meant that he could do the thing we need the most: bring us true glory. Listen to some of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible: "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy 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." (Heb. 2:14-15)
Yes, Jesus became one of us so he could save all of us. Remember, God had promised punishment for sins, the most severe punishment possible. That means that all your sins, those thoughts you have of thinking God doesn't have your best interest at heart, sins like those deserve death, they deserve hell. They don't just deserve it, God promised that punishment came with those sins.
So then what could be done for sinners like us? Jesus did the only thing that could be done. He came and lived the life we couldn't live -- the life without sin. Then he came and suffered and died a death and a punishment that should've been ours, that we deserved! But he took it all. He could take it all because he is a true human being like us, and he is the true and holy God. As our text says, "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." (Heb. 2:17)
Old Testament high priests would go into the most holy place once a year to offer a major sacrifice. They'd take blood from an animal they'd sacrificed and sprinkle it on top of the ark of the covenant there. They did this because God commanded it to take away sins. This offering made atonement for the people, and God's forgiveness made them at one with him again.
That's what Jesus did for us as our high priest! But he didn't have to give his offering year after year, for his own sins and ours. No, he did it once on the cross, for our sins. It was the perfect sacrifice. And it took our sins away. They are really gone. We're forgiven! And without Christmas, that would not have been possible. There, in the manger, is our salvation! In the Christmas manger lies one who was born to save people just like you. And that's what he did. And because he did, heaven is ours!
Now, I know. We're not in heaven yet. We're still on earth. So we still deal with all those hurts and problems and suffering that I talked about earlier. Those will still be there, until Jesus finally takes us to our true home of glory. But until he does, I want you to recognize when you're having those problems and see them in a different way.
Recognize, first of all, that your problems are temptations. They are temptations that the devil wants to use to pull you from your faith. When you've remembered that, then remember the last verse of our text: "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. " (Heb. 2:18) Jesus suffered, too! He was tempted, too! Remember, he is our brother; he is truly one of us. And this verse reminds us that he can help us!
So when you are suffering, go to your Savior! Return to his Word, go back to his altar, remember your baptism. When you do that, Jesus will help you through your suffering. And when he does, he will also build up your faith. So you can see your suffering and problems, not just as temptations, but also as an opportunity that God wants to use to increase your faith, to increase your trust in him, your dependence on him.
You wouldn't normally think that a newborn baby would be something we would depend on. But that's exactly what Jesus is. Christmas day might be over, but its joy never ends. We might suffer and hurt in our life, but Christmas reminds us that Jesus did, too. In the Christmas manger lies one born just like you. He's your brother. He's made you God's own child. In the Christmas manger lies one who came to save people just like you. And that's what he did. Remember that! Rejoice in that! And look for his love and strength at every turn, every temptation and trial you face. He won't let you down. He will give you his glory.
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