Jesus Death Means Life For Us

October 8th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 2:14-15 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, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

The writer of Hebrews has endeavored to show how God took on human flesh and became a living man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. God became like man so that He could suffer like a man and taste death like a man. This was the “fitting” thing to do (v. 10), for in so doing, His death paved the way for man to be holy. After all, man is unable to become holy on his own behalf. Jesus, the Sanctifier, opened the door for the believer to be sanctified. Now both the Sanctifier and the sanctified have one Father. Having become like man, Jesus, the Son of God, can unashamedly call us “brethren.” His atoning sacrifice on the cross accomplished what man cannot do—pay for sin. Yet Jesus satisfied God’s wrath by dying on behalf of man.

That introduction is what the “therefore” in v. 14 is referring to. So, since the children of God now “share” (literally, “have fellowship with”) the same flesh and blood as the Son of God, given that the Son of God took on flesh as a man, and because the Son of God died while in the flesh, Christ’s death is now said to have accomplished the disarmament of the one who has the power of death—the devil (v. 14), or Satan. Satan has the power of death because Satan is the author of sin, which brings death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus called Satan a murderer (John 8:44), and his kingdom is one of darkness and death (Col. 1:13). But Hebrews reveals that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection gives His brethren, believers, victory over death (1 Cor. 15:55-58).

So we can see that there is another accomplishment of Christ’s death on the cross. Whereas man is naturally flesh and blood, Jesus Christ “partook” (Gr. metechō) of flesh and blood. This word has to do with taking hold of something not naturally one’s own. This means that Jesus voluntarily became flesh and blood, adding Himself to man’s nature, in order that man could add to his nature something that did not naturally belong to him—God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Therefore, God became like man, so that man could become like God—in spite of his sins.

Now what this does not mean is that man is God. That idea, held by some, is as untrue as it is blasphemous. Only God is perfect. Yet God Himself has declared man righteous by making him holy through faith in Jesus Christ. The holy are now free from the power of eternal death. The only way for man to be brought to God was for God to render Satan’s power over death null and void. Death has always been Satan’s weapon, knowing that God decreed death because of sin. Satan also knows that once a person dies, he has no chance for salvation. This is why Jesus died for man. In so doing, God trumped Satan’s ultimate weapon: death! Though all die, the death of eternity has no power over the children of God. In fact, death is a sweet release for God’s children into eternal life. Paul wrote: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). “Oh death, where is your victory; Oh death where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55).

Food For Thought
Those who don’t truly know Christ tend to fear death above all else. Why wouldn’t they? There is no hope after death for those that fear death! But Jesus’ death freed His children, those who place their faith in Him alone for salvation. They are now free from the bondage of their slavery to sin which leads to death. Until we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are all slaves of sin and death. But as believers in Jesus Christ, our enemy, Satan, has been rendered inoperative. He might oppress us, but he cannot touch our eternal souls (cf. 1 John 5:18). All glory to Jesus Christ, our God, Savior, Lord, and our Brother! Yes, Jesus became our brother in death.