August 19
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage,” Hebrews 2:14-15.
All of us, as human beings, are partakers of flesh and blood. We have a human body, which was conceived and born in sin, as the psalmist writes: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me,” Psalm 51:5. When we honestly examine ourselves, we must confess with the apostle Paul, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice . . . O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:18-19, 24.
In order for Jesus to deliver and redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil, it was necessary for Him to also partake of flesh and blood. “He Himself likewise shared in the same.” Jesus became a true human being. The Son of God also became the Son of Man. However, He was without sin. When the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of the promised Savior, Mary asked, “‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God,’” Luke 1:34-35. Jesus was without sin because He was the sinless Son of God.
Jesus was not sinless because the Virgin Mary was sinless, as many clergymen erroneously teach. Mary was a sinner like every other person, as she herself confessed: “My spirit has rejoiced in God MY Savior,” Luke 1:47. If she had been sinless, she would not have needed a Savior!
The Son of God had to also be the Son of Man so that He could fulfill the Commandments in our place (the Commandments were written for people), and that He could suffer and die and pay the price to wash away our sins. Peter wrote, “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot,” 1 Peter 1:18-19. Pointing to Jesus, John the Baptist said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” John 1:29.
With His death and resurrection, Jesus destroyed the power of the devil. The devil can no longer hold us in the fear of death and in spiritual bondage. Jesus Christ has set us free through His suffering, death, and resurrection. We shout in the devil’s face, “O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.
“Who knows when death may overtake me?
Time passes on; my end draws near.
How swiftly can my breath forsake me!
How soon can life’s last hour appear!
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray,
Thy peace may bless my dying day.
Help me now set my house in order
That always ready I may be,
To say in meekness on death’s border:
‘Lord, as Thou wilt, deal Thou with me.’
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray,
Thy peace may bless my dying day.” Amen.