HELP IN TEMPTATION

January 03, 2021

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Psalm of the Day; Psalm 148

Old Testament Lesson; Micah 5:2-5a

Gospel Lesson; John 7:40-43

Sermon Text; Hebrews 2:10-18

This is a reading from Hebrews, chapter two, verses ten through eighteen.

Certainly it was fitting for God, (the One for whom and through whom everything exists), in leading many sons to glory, to bring the author of their salvation to His goal through sufferings. For He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have one Father. For that reason, He is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says: I will declare your name to my brothers. Within the congregation I will sing your praise. And again: I will trust in Him. And again: Here I am and the children God has given me. Therefore, since the children share flesh and blood, He also shared the same flesh and blood, so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil) and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For surely He was not concerned with helping angels, but with helping Abraham's offspring. For this reason, He had to become like His brothers in every way, in order that He would be a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, so that He could pay for the sins of the people. Indeed, because He suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Heavenly Father,

I pray that you would guide the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, that they may be pleasing in your sight.

Amen

I am not sure if you are aware that there is a famous orphanage in Omaha, Nebraska called Boys Town. A catholic priest by the name of Father Flanagan started Boys Town back in 1917, when he opened up this house, a big, old, multi-story house. He started with just five orphaned boys.

In 1918, there was a little, orphaned boy who was dropped off at the front steps of that house. The mom and dad of this little, orphaned boy had not died, but for some reason, they abandoned him at that house, at that orphanage. Either they didn't want him, or they didn't think they could care for him, anymore. His name was Howard Loomis.

When he came into this orphanage, he was a little boy, who was nine years old. And, Howard Loomis had polio. He had to wear braces, because he was not able to walk properly. So, he had these heavy braces on his legs, and he could not bend his knees.

The older boys in the orphanage, realized it was very difficult for little Howard to walk up and down the steps, because he could not bend his knees, and he had these heavy braces. So, they got into the practice of getting Howard up on their shoulders. Then, they would take him up and down the steps of the orphanage. This went on for several months.

Finally, one day, Father Flanagan pulled aside one of the older boys, who had been doing a lot of the carrying of little Howard. He said, “I have a question for you. Are you guys getting tired of carrying little Howard around?”

To which this boy famously responded, “Oh no, Father. He ain't heavy. He's my brother.”

He ain't heavy. He's my brother.

Father Flanagan liked that statement so well, that he adopted it as the slogan of Boys Town. The slogan of Boys Town to this day is,

“He ain't heavy. He's my brother.”

-There was a movie made, called Boys Town. Spencer Tracy is in it. That line was used in that movie.

-There were some song writers who heard that phrase, “He ain't heavy. He's my brother.” They wrote a song. The group called The Hollies, in 1969, took that song, and they made it extremely popular, worldwide popular. It is entitled, “He Ain't Heavy. He's My Brother.” There are a couple lines in there that go this way.

His welfare is my concern.

He will not encumber me.

No burden he'll be.

It is this picture of a big brother who, no matter what is going on in his little brother's life, is not going to be burdened by that. He is going to take care of his little brother.

I bring that up, because in our scripture reading today, our scripture reading is talking about the fact that Jesus became a human being. He took on human flesh. So, God and Man in one person. But, it is so enduring that when The Bible, in this passage today, talks about Jesus taking on human flesh, it makes a very strong point of then saying that when He did that, He became our brother. Our brother! And certainly, we believe Jesus became our bigger brother. He became our bigger brother to watch over us, and defend us.

How many of you have a bigger brother, an older brother? I have an older brother. When I was a little kid, he was a lot bigger than I was. I was very thankful to have a big brother, especially on some occasions. We both had a paper route. And, on our paper route there was this mean, snarly, vicious dog. He would come running at us. He terrified me. I was always a little embarrassed of myself, because I would run screaming, away from him. I would run right to my big brother, Tim. Tim would stand right in front of me, and in front of that dog. He would protect me from that dog. I was so happy I had a big brother. Probably in his heart he said, “He ain't heavy. He's my brother.”
Jesus is our bigger Brother. He came to defend us. He is not ashamed to call us His brothers, The Bible says. He came to defend us from the 'worst, snarling dog' you can possibly imagine, the thing that terrifies not just little paperboys, but it literally terrifies everybody in the whole world.

Look at what our passage says here.

“Therefore, since the children share flesh and blood,”

(So, you and I have flesh and blood. We are human beings.)

“...He also shared the same flesh and blood...”

(He took on human nature just like us. Why? It says,)

“...so that through death

He could destroy the one who had the power of death,

(that is, the Devil),”

(and listen to this,)

“...and free those who are held in slavery all their lives,”

(by what?)

“...by the fear of death.”

I am guessing most of you would raise your hand, if I asked you, “Did you pray this prayer, as a little kid?” I know, when I was a little kid, we did. Every night we would pray:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

I love that little prayer.

Then, one night my mom changed it up on us. She said “You know, we are going to pray it differently now. Now it is going to be:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

May angels watch me through the night,

And wake me in the morning light.

Amen

And so, we started praying it that way.

Then, I heard my mom and dad have a conversation one evening. My dad asked my mom, “Why did you change the words of that prayer, for the boys?”

My mom said “I read this article. The article said when you teach children to pray, 'If I should die before I wake', that is probably really scary. I don't want to scare the boys.”
But you see, she was putting her finger (and that article was putting its finger) on something about death. Death can be very terrifying. It can be frightening. Here, The Bible says it is like we are in bondage to this fear of death.

By the way, when I was praying that prayer, “If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”, as a kid, that didn't scare me at all. In fact, it made me feel really comfortable, because I knew I had a big Brother who could protect me through death.

Anyway, The Bible here says the Devil had the power of death. That is what is so terrifying. It says he HAD the power of death.
Now, what was the power the Devil had at death? Here is the power he had, and why death is so scary. Death, for sinners, is the doorway straight to Hell. That is terrifying.

Death,

for sinners,

is the doorway straight to Hell.

So, we had a big Brother who came. His goal was to defeat this thing that made us so afraid, that could make us so afraid. The Bible says how He did it. It says,

“...through death He could destroy

the one who had the power of death...”

So, our big Brother came, with the purpose.

Why did He become Man? (That is one of the questions we have in our catechism.) Why did Jesus become Man?

The answer is: So He could die.

Jesus took on flesh and blood. Our big Brother could face that same fearsome enemy we have to face. He faced death head on.

-Jesus had to have flesh, blood, and bones so He could have His hands nailed to a cross.

-He had ears so He could hear the jeers of the people, as He was dying.

-He had eyes, human eyes, so He could see the hateful look on their faces.

-He had a heart so His heart could be broken by the abandonment, the betrayal, and the denial of His friends.

-He had a human heart, with human nerves, and feeling so He could feel the blood running down His arms and legs, so He could feel the pain, and all that goes with death.

So, our big Brother faced death, and by doing so He destroyed the one who had the power over death.

When it says He destroys, it doesn't mean He annihilated the devil, but it means it is like He put Him on a chain. It is like a dog on a chain that just can't get to us anymore, and can't scare us, anymore.

But, here is the question. How did Jesus, being one of our brothers, who faced death in our place for us, how does that take away the fear of death? That gets us to another part of this passage. There is really one thing that Satan has that can be absolutely terrifying. In The Bible, he is called The Accuser. That is one thing he has, that can be absolutely terrifying. He can take God's written record of God's Law, and The Ten Commandments. He can say, “Here are The Ten Commandments.” Then, he can hold up a record of your life, and show you so many accusations that are true and accurate that you have committed against God's Ten Commandments. He can point at them and say, “Look. Look at what you thought. Look at what you said. Look at what you did.” He can point to things that we might not even be aware of. But, then he can say, “Look. You broke God's written record. And, the soul that sins shall die.” He can point to things that would be very troubling to us. You probably know, and can think of things on your written record that Satan can say, “Look. Look at what you did. You sinned against God, and on the day you die, you are going to stand before God with that record.” That is terrifying.

So, why does Jesus' death take away the fear of death? Look at what this passage says.

“For this reason, He had to become like His brothers (you and me) in every way, in order that He would be a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, so that He could (here it is) pay for the sins of the people.”

When Jesus died, He was not just experiencing and facing death. Something was happening. I like how this Colossians passage says it.

“God erased the record of our debt brought against us

by His legal demands.

This record stood against us,

but He took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

That is one of the most comforting passages in The Bible. Whatever accusations the devil has against you, and there are plenty of them, and they are terrifying, what does this passage say? It says that God erased that record. He took it away from the devil, and He nailed it to the cross with Christ. Your accusations against you stood on the cross. And, there on the cross, we believe, Jesus, as our High Priest, made the ultimate sacrifice. He suffered the judgment against our sins. So now, the devil has nothing to hold on to. If you are in the courtroom of God's justice on the day you die,

-the devil has no record to hold up.

-He has no accusations he can hold up.

-There is nothing he can point to.

-He can't pin any sin on you.

-He can't accuse you, literally, of anything, because it says

-that record has been erased.

-It has been taken away,

-and it was nailed to the cross!

And so, because of that, as Christians, when we face death, we have nothing to be afraid of, anymore. Death now is not the entryway in to Hell. It is the entryway in to Heaven. The Bible tells us,

“Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?”

Can anybody charge you with any sins? Can anybody accuse you of any sin? Who can bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

Then it asks this question.

“Who is it that condemns?

No one.

Christ Jesus died and rose again.”

The Bible says,

“He is at God's right hand, interceding for us.”

So, our big Brother, our big Brother faced these terrible enemies that you and I cannot face on our own. He took our sin. He took it away. He removed our guilt. He defeated death so that we don't have to be afraid of death, anymore. That is why we can say,

“Where oh death is your sting?

Where oh grave is your victory?

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory

to our Lord Jesus Christ.”

That is why we can say,

“For me to live is Christ

and to die is gain.”

That is why we can say,

“I desire to depart and be with Christ,

which is far better.”

That is why we can say,

“I have fought the fight.

I have run the race.

I have kept the faith.

And now there lays,

stored up for me a crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous Judge,

will give to me on that day.”

As God's people, as brothers, little brothers of our bigger Brother, Jesus, who has defeated these terrible enemies,

we have nothing to be afraid of.

Then, our passage says,

“For He who sanctifies

and those who are being sanctified

all have one Father.

For that reason,

He is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

Jesus is the One who sanctifies us. He makes us holy. And, we are the ones being sanctified. Our sins are forgiven. We don't have anything to be afraid of.
That again is one of the most comforting passages in The Bible. When it says Jesus is not ashamed to call you His brother, to put it in simple parlance, it is like Jesus looks at you, and says, “He ain't heavy. He ain't heavy. He's my brother.”

-It does not matter what your weakness is.

-It doesn't matter what Jesus knows about you.

-It doesn't matter if you have no other friends.

-It doesn't matter if you have health conditions that make it very difficult for you to make it through, from day, to day.

-It doesn't matter whether you have been rejected by a million people.

-It doesn't matter whether you have all kinds of idiosyncrasies that make you odd, and weird.

-It doesn't matter that Jesus knows every single one of the sins you have committed.

Jesus says, “I am not ashamed to call you my brother. He ain't heavy. He's my brother.”

Jesus says, “I am going to take you on my back, and I am going to carry you up and down those steps.”
And so, again, as God's people, what a comforting thing that is. In fact, look at what it says in the last verses.

“Indeed, because He suffered when He was tempted,

He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

It is like Jesus, our big Brother, was in 'the orphanage' with us. He knows what it is like to be in this world. He knows what it is like to 'walk up and down the steps'. He knows what it is like to be in all of these troubles. Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, when you are suffering. He knows what it is like to be tempted, when you are alone, or fearful, or nobody likes you, or you are being abandoned, or you are in deep pain. He knows what all of that is like. He has been through it. He has endured it, for us.

And yet, He is able to help us, because of that. It is like He takes us up on His shoulders, and He carries us up and down those steps, as His little brother. We don't have to be afraid, when we are facing temptation.

Look at what He has given us.

-Our big Brother has given us His Word. Through The Word, He guides us, directs us, and keeps us.

-He has given us The Holy Christian Church. Our big Brother has given us our fellow believers, who are here to help us through any temptation, or trial we are going through.

-He has given us His Sacraments, Baptism and The Lord's Supper, to help us through trials.

-Our big Brother has given us prayer.

And so, I love how this passage describes Jesus as our Brother, and not being ashamed to call us His brothers.

There is one of the most famous hymns in the world - Praise God from whom all blessings flow. The same gentleman who wrote that hymn wrote another hymn that is an evening hymn. It has this line in it. I love this line!

Teach me to dread the grave,

as little as my bed.

Teach me to live

that I may dread the grave,

as little as my bed.

With Jesus, as our big Brother, we don't have to fear anything, not even the grave. That is why we can pray with a happy heart, standing behind our big Brother:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Martin Luther wrote a Christmas hymn. The name of the Christmas hymn was, From Heaven above to Earth I Come. It is fifteen verses long, and people started to complain to him, “That hymn is too long.”

And so, he wrote a shorter Christmas hymn. The shorter Christmas hymn he wrote is entitled, “To Shepherds as They Watched by Night.”

Listen to the last four verses. I think Martin Luther had to be looking at this text from Hebrews, when he wrote these last four verses.

“To Shepherds as They Watched by Night”

Oh, then rejoice that through His Son

God is with sinners now at one;

Made like yourselves of flesh and blood,

Your Brother is the eternal God.

What harm can sin and death then do?

The true God now abides with you.

Let Hell and Satan storm and rave,

Christ is your Brother - - you are safe.

Not one He will, or can forsake;

His cov'nant He will never break.

Let ev'ry scheme the tempter try,

You may his utmost pow'rs defy.

You shall and must at last prevail.

God's own you are; you cannot fail.

To God forever sing your praise,

With joy and patience all your days.

Amen