Jesus: Tasted Death For Everyone
Hebrews 8b-9 But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. 9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
So mankind lost what was originally his in Eden after Adam and Eve sinned. God gave Adam authority over His creation, putting everything in subjection to him. Adam, however, gave it away. As a result, Adam’s offspring struggles with Satanic forces (Eph. 6:12) for control over what is rightfully his. This is one of the reasons that God appeared on earth as a man, Jesus of Nazareth. He came to reverse the curse and fulfill what man, because of sin, was unable to fulfill.
When Jesus walked the earth, He overcame all temptations to sin, even conquering death. He was tempted by the devil for 40 days (Matt. 4:1-11) and prevailed. Though Jesus was tempted in every way that man is tempted, He was without sin. His life was one of perfection even though He was fully human—God in flesh. This is what qualified Jesus to die as the perfect Lamb of God. He suffered as man suffers and was tempted as all men are tempted, yet He was without sin. For that reason Jesus was qualified to represent man at the cross and die on his behalf. But since Jesus was also God, He was qualified to make the perfect atonement for mankind’s sins. So when Hebrews 2:8 says, “We do not yet see all things subjected to him,” the author is leading the reader down the road to salvation. In v. 9 he contrasts that with Jesus: “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
The reason it is important to see Jesus in light of all of man’s failures to govern God’s created order is because Jesus represents man by standing in man’s place. It is true that man does not currently rule over God’s creation. But Jesus does, sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3). Jesus was “made for a little while lower than the angels” just as man was, by simple virtue of being a man. The fact that it is for a “little while” means that it was temporary both for Jesus and man. Yet it was necessary for God to become a man and be lower than the angels in order for Him to accomplish what man was unable to accomplish. Jesus did what man could not, and although man gave up his own crown of glory and honor (2:7) by sinning, Jesus gained it back for him by suffering death on behalf of all mankind. In so doing, Jesus removed the curse!
The phrase “taste death for everyone” means death (cf. Matt. 16:28; John 8:52). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), and Jesus’ death paid that penalty! Although we do not see all things in subjection to man now, but we do see Jesus who paid our death penalty. He is crowned with glory and honor because of what He did. Now in God’s plan, man too is crowned with glory and honor insofar as he identifies himself with Jesus Christ through faith (Rom. 6:5-11).
Food For Thought
Professional sports franchises compete each season for a national championship. There’s the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Championship, and a host of others. Fans that identify with a championship team are also seen as champions as they, having done nothing to help their team win, chant “We won! We won!” As they identify with their team by cheering them on and wearing the team paraphernalia, they too are regarded as champions. So it is with Christ. Believers did nothing to win the battle Christ won. He did it all! All we must do is identify with Christ and take His name as our own—“Christian,” which means “little Christ.” So when people look at us, or when we look at ourselves and see a miserable sinner, we can say as Hebrews says: “But we do see Jesus.” He won the battle we could never win, even tasting death for us all. All we need do is trust in Him by faith. In the end, Jesus reigns. And we reign right next to Him!
So mankind lost what was originally his in Eden after Adam and Eve sinned. God gave Adam authority over His creation, putting everything in subjection to him. Adam, however, gave it away. As a result, Adam’s offspring struggles with Satanic forces (Eph. 6:12) for control over what is rightfully his. This is one of the reasons that God appeared on earth as a man, Jesus of Nazareth. He came to reverse the curse and fulfill what man, because of sin, was unable to fulfill.
When Jesus walked the earth, He overcame all temptations to sin, even conquering death. He was tempted by the devil for 40 days (Matt. 4:1-11) and prevailed. Though Jesus was tempted in every way that man is tempted, He was without sin. His life was one of perfection even though He was fully human—God in flesh. This is what qualified Jesus to die as the perfect Lamb of God. He suffered as man suffers and was tempted as all men are tempted, yet He was without sin. For that reason Jesus was qualified to represent man at the cross and die on his behalf. But since Jesus was also God, He was qualified to make the perfect atonement for mankind’s sins. So when Hebrews 2:8 says, “We do not yet see all things subjected to him,” the author is leading the reader down the road to salvation. In v. 9 he contrasts that with Jesus: “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
The reason it is important to see Jesus in light of all of man’s failures to govern God’s created order is because Jesus represents man by standing in man’s place. It is true that man does not currently rule over God’s creation. But Jesus does, sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3). Jesus was “made for a little while lower than the angels” just as man was, by simple virtue of being a man. The fact that it is for a “little while” means that it was temporary both for Jesus and man. Yet it was necessary for God to become a man and be lower than the angels in order for Him to accomplish what man was unable to accomplish. Jesus did what man could not, and although man gave up his own crown of glory and honor (2:7) by sinning, Jesus gained it back for him by suffering death on behalf of all mankind. In so doing, Jesus removed the curse!
The phrase “taste death for everyone” means death (cf. Matt. 16:28; John 8:52). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), and Jesus’ death paid that penalty! Although we do not see all things in subjection to man now, but we do see Jesus who paid our death penalty. He is crowned with glory and honor because of what He did. Now in God’s plan, man too is crowned with glory and honor insofar as he identifies himself with Jesus Christ through faith (Rom. 6:5-11).
Food For Thought
Professional sports franchises compete each season for a national championship. There’s the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Championship, and a host of others. Fans that identify with a championship team are also seen as champions as they, having done nothing to help their team win, chant “We won! We won!” As they identify with their team by cheering them on and wearing the team paraphernalia, they too are regarded as champions. So it is with Christ. Believers did nothing to win the battle Christ won. He did it all! All we must do is identify with Christ and take His name as our own—“Christian,” which means “little Christ.” So when people look at us, or when we look at ourselves and see a miserable sinner, we can say as Hebrews says: “But we do see Jesus.” He won the battle we could never win, even tasting death for us all. All we need do is trust in Him by faith. In the end, Jesus reigns. And we reign right next to Him!
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Our mailing address is:
Harvest Bible Church
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Cypress, TX 77433
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