Now, I wonder when the last time was that you
had one of those kind of cold sweat moments that
makes you stop and pause and just think, what
was I thinking? What was I thinking? How did
I get into this? It could be that moment when
you press click, buy, and suddenly wonder, was
it a scam? What was I thinking? It could be one
of those moments where you get that email confirming
a place on a half marathon or an Ironman. I don't
know that particular example of that, but I could
imagine the confirmation of the place comes through
and you go, oh, yikes, what was I thinking? It
could be when you're on a walk in the Lake District
that was meant to be fun with all your mates
from the first year and you find yourself being
led by Tom Mishley saying, no, seriously, it's
fine. And you're clinging to the cliff edge going.
What was I thinking? It could be any of those
moments. I had a moment like that, less dramatic,
when Martha, my daughter, had a friend round
to play. And that wasn't a disaster. That was
fine. But we decided that we'd go to go away
because that'd be like a really fun thing to
do. And it always looks fine from below. It's
fine from below. And then you get up top and
they clip you in and you're stood there on the
platform. I said, what was I thinking? because
there I am there's the height and it looks so
much further and all I've got is like this little
piece of metal attaching me to the thing and
it looks so far and I said what was I thinking
you know particularly as I was responsible now
not just for me but for my daughter and her friend
I was like why couldn't we just have gone bowling
like normal people so we get up We get that moment,
we feel that fear in all kinds of different ways,
in all kinds of different moments, but it also
kind of sets in. As Christians, we have that
cold sweat, what was I thinking kind of moment.
And it could be like a very clear moment in our
lives, like that moment when we just... We're
thinking to ourselves as we maybe leave university
and head into the world of work, like it was
all fine when I was a student, when I was at
my student church and things, but now what was
I thinking? Or we hit that phase of life when
we go, it was all fine when everything was fine,
but now it's not fine. What was I thinking? I
was really... Struck by Dan's honesty on Monday
when he shared about that experience of stepping
into such an other strange Muslim context and
thinking, well, kind of all those truths that
I trusted then still true here today. Now, in
this place, we could be those kind of moments
or it could be just the kind of pattern that
keeps cropping up. It happens when I'm with that
family member. And it suddenly feels like, really?
Committing myself to Jesus, giving myself to
his ministry. What was I thinking? It could be
when I'm with that group of friends or it could
be as I look at where my friends have got to
and now where my family is and the choices that
we've made and think, really, what was I thinking?
What is this book of Hebrews and this chapter
of Hebrews is written to people like us, people
like that, people having that same fear, that
same thought. What was I thinking? Because they,
like us, they'd heard about Jesus. They believed
in Jesus. But then the pressure begins to build.
The reality sets in. And a bit like me on that
platform at GoApe, starting to think, like, will
this hold me? Will this hold me? As I look around
the people I'm responsible for, will this hold
them? What was I thinking? And it's a question
that's really the context for this whole. That's
sort of provoked by this whole book, particularly
by the context of these verses, because throughout
Hebrews, we get that message again and again,
cling to Jesus, cling to Jesus because there
is no one greater. And particularly this passage
itself was framed just before and after by that
call to cling to Jesus because he's so much greater.
You just glance up to two, one to four or glance
across to three, one to seven, one to six. Those
sort of paragraphs present us with Jesus and
say, cling to Jesus. Look at his greatness. He
is greater. He is greater than the angels and
greater than the whole mosaic system that those
angels represent. Cling to Jesus because he is
greater. But then it's like the doubt sets in.
Because when I look to Jesus. And when I look
to myself. All I see is foolishness and all I
see is frailty. It's a bit like wondering whether
I clicked on an offer that seemed too good, that
seemed so good, and it turns out to have been
too good to be true. Because when I look to Jesus,
see that foolishness, when I look to myself,
see that frailty, it's as if my grip on Jesus
begins to slip and I begin to wonder what was
I thinking? And these verses speak into that
moment. These verses speak into that fear and
they speak into it saying, look to the crucified
Jesus. Look to the crucified Jesus, because there
you will see the truth of who he is. There you
will see the truth. of who you are as you look
to jesus crucified you will see jesus the glorious
and loved son and us as his precious beloved
brothers verses five to nine um at the first
chunk of these verses they hold up to us jesus
As the glorious son. And the very place that
provokes the world's contempt, the various the
very place that the church, these Hebrews, that
we ourselves might find discouragement. That
is the place that Hebrews calls us to look for
our confidence. That is the place that these
verses call us to look for our comfort and our
security. Because we say, look, he can't be great.
Just look at the foolishness of him crucified.
And the writer of Hebrew says, he is great. Just
look at his humiliation as he is crucified. See,
verses five to nine, it's as if they teach us
how to see. They teach us how to see so that
we can recognize the truth that's revealed. in
the cross and it teaches us how to see by like
adjusting our vision in verses five to eight
by showing us first of all adam and seeing the
principle there and showing what is true for
adam and then turning an eight to nine and saying
now we've learned to see now we've tuned our
vision and sharpened our vision now we can recognize
the truth of jesus so in verses five to eight
we marvel at the fact that salvation or glory,
dominion over the earth was to come to this one
made of dust. What is man that you are mindful
of him or the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor, putting
everything in subjection under his feet. It marvels
at the fact the one who is made lower than the
angels. has had everything placed in subjection
under his feet. And then as we turn from 5 to
8 and look in verses 8 to 9, we see that what
was pictured in Adam and what was squandered
in Adam and spoilt in Adam is truly and gloriously
achieved in Jesus. Verse 9, the one truly made
low. is the one ultimately exalted. We see him
now, who for a little while was made lower than
angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and
honor because of the suffering of death. Jesus
is crowned with glory, not despite, but because
he suffered in the very place of his shame. We
find the very heart of his glory. Jesus is the
greater. Jesus is greater than the angels because
he is the glorious son. But where do we see that
he's the glorious son? We see it in the cross
of him crucified. I mean, it's a bit of a silly
example, but you could imagine me with one of
those instructors kind of, no, I didn't do this.
I didn't panic. I held it together. This is what
I was thinking, you know, because obviously my
daughter's there. So when they're explaining
here, you'll be fine. I go, yeah, yeah, cool,
cool, cool, cool. But in my head, I'm thinking
like, how can I be sure? It's just this and a
little piece of rope. And you can imagine like
the instructor sighing, okay, another one panicking,
going, you can be sure. Just look at this and
the piece of rope. Just look at it. Yes, just
look at it. You can imagine them saying. And
so I wonder whether in many ways our struggle
with faith so often exposes a struggle to see.
Not so much what I see or what I don't see, but
how I see. The fact that I've got such a distorted
vision of greatness and glory means that I don't
recognize the real thing when it's shown to me.
So when I'm wondering and I have those moments,
what have I done when Jesus seems so foolish?
These verses teach us how to see and see that
glory in the cross. Now, our issue here this
morning may not be at this point that we are
going to abandon the cross. It might be much
more likely that we will. Just begin to look
away from the cross. Maybe not so much reject
it, but perhaps more likely begin by wrapping
it around in something that makes us feel more
secure. You know, we find our reassurance in
something else, something that is more, you know,
a Jesus who is more respectable to me. A Jesus
who's more acceptable to those family members
or friends amongst whom I find it so hard to
be a Christian. And I don't know, maybe a particular
challenge for us here at Oak Hill is that danger
of wanting to, when we're faced with the shame
of the cross, wanting to wrap it around with
the knowledge that we have, with that respectability
of knowledge that I can maybe there feel that
strength, the strength of knowing stuff that
then maybe intellectually, people will respect
or apologetically I can wield. We're tempted
to wrap the cross round in something more respectable,
something more acceptable. But the cross is the
place where the greatness of Jesus is made known.
This is where we see what God is like. This is
where Jesus is his most. God -like. This is where
Jesus displays his greatness as the true, the
glorious, the much -loved son. And so if I'm
thinking, what have I done? We're not to look
for something else. We're not to look for something
more. We're not to wrap the cross. in something
that makes it feel more acceptable. Instead,
we're to look at the cross and keep looking because
there we see Jesus for who he is. And that's
what we're going to do in a little while as we
share communion together. Together, as we look,
as we take, as we taste, as we trust, we will
know the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Given for us. Preserving our body and soul to
everlasting life. At the cross we see Christ
for who he is. And so let's feel ourselves as
we take the bread and take the wine. Feel ourselves
clinging to Jesus. Jesus crucified. And as we
do that, and as we look to the cross, we find
the cross not simply displaying to us the glory
of who Jesus is. We see the cross displaying
to us the truth of who we are. If we've looked
to the cross to see Jesus as the true and glorious
son, we look to the cross and see who we are
as brothers and sisters with him, brothers and
sisters in him. but you can imagine that again
that sort of feeling of tension like it's one
thing to put it this way to sort of feel that
the carabiner is strong enough or the rope strong
enough but like how securely is it attached to
me yeah i don't just want to tug at it and feel
that it's strongly on that hook up there on that
tree or whatever i want to tug at it and feel
that it's hooked firmly to me. And so as the
writer to the Hebrews presents Jesus in his glory,
you can almost imagine that other question bubbling
up. Yeah, but what about us? You've taught me
how to see in the foolishness of the cross, the
glory of Jesus. But what about when I look at
ourselves and see only frailty and weakness in
me, and to be honest, in those around me? Where
do I turn for reassurance? And for the Hebrews,
maybe it was the sacrificial system, the mosaic
order, those traditions and communities that
they had been part of. For us, it could be our
work, our abilities or all some kind of social
status to give us acceptability. But these verses
say, look to Jesus, look to the cross, because
there you will see the security of who you are.
There you will see on the cross. That Jesus has
bound himself to us. He has bound himself to
us, clipped himself to us, as it were, as brothers.
And that he will bring us home. Just look at
the way he binds himself to us as brothers in
11, sorry, in 10 to 13, verse 10. He's bound
himself to us in suffering in verse 10. In verse
11, he's shared in our life. In verse 11, he
goes on to call us brothers. He binds himself
to us. And as he does that in verses 10 and 11,
then onwards in 11 to 13, he makes us his brothers.
He calls us brothers in verse 11. And then in
verse 12. It's as if he turns and proclaims his
father to us. So this is what he's saying in
verse 12. I will tell in the midst, sorry, I
will tell of your name in the midst of the congregation.
I will sing your praise. It's as if amongst us,
amongst his brothers, he's proclaiming his father.
This is your father who you know and who you
can celebrate with me. And then having proclaimed
the father to the brothers, he then presents
the brothers. To the father saying, verse 13,
behold, I am the children you, the Lord God,
have given to me. He binds us to himself as brothers.
And as he does that, he brings us home. Look
at that security and certainty of the Lord Jesus
bringing us home. Verse 14 to 15, he has rescued
us. Since the children share in flesh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same things,
that through death he might destroy the one who
has the power of death, that is the devil. He
shared in our humanity to defeat our enemy by
dying in our place. And the one who rescues us,
keeps us. He shares in our humanity and so rescues
us, but he shares in our humanity and so can
sustain and keep us. Verse 16 down to 18. Surely
it's not angels that he helps, but he helps the
offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be
made like his brothers in every respect. So that
he might become a merciful and faithful high
priest in the service of God to make propitiation
for the sins of his people. Because he himself
has suffered when tempted, he is able to help
those who are being tempted. He shares in our
humanity to save us. He shares in our humanity
to keep us. He helps us, verse 16. He's merciful
in verse 17. Verse 18, he is compassionate. At
the cross, we see the truth that Jesus has bound
us to himself and will bring us home. You know,
I don't know if you've done stuff like go ape,
but you find that that thing of no doubt done,
you know, bungee jumping and up sailing and things
like that. But, you know, if you've ever had
that moment where you you find yourself clinging
hard to the rope or maybe on a roller coaster
to the to the stuff that's holding you in, you
find yourself your white knuckles, your hand
hurts like gripping, holding tight. And it takes
a little while to realize that it's not me keeping
myself safe as I cling to the rope. It's the
rope keeping me safe as it is bound to me. I
might be holding tight, but this can carry my
whole weight. And that's something what these
verses are calling us to know about the Lord
Jesus. It's so easy for me to look for reassurance.
from the world it's so easy for me to look for
glory in the world at best doing that is like
squeezing a rope so hard so hard that your hands
hurt it's exhausting it's tiring at best when
we do that it's that exhaustion of clinging in
our own strength at worst When we do that, it's
a bit like slipping off the harness at the top
of the tree and looking for our security somewhere
else. These verses say Jesus can take your weight.
He has bound himself to you and he will bring
you safely home. The cross shows me who Jesus
is. He shows me what he has done and he shows
me who I am to him. You see, there I see Jesus,
the glorious son who has made me, who has made
us to be his brothers and sisters. And so when
I feel weak, when I look around me and see that
the church is so frail. I'm to look to the cross
to see him there binding himself to me, calling
me his brother, committing himself to bring me
home. And again, that is what Jesus calls us
to see in just a moment as we share bread and
wine together. As we come to his body broken,
as we come to his blood shed. There we see the
truth of who he is. There we see the truth of
who we are. As we look to him, we can then look
up and around and see each other and see brothers
and sisters in Christ. We can see brothers and
sisters of Christ. Jesus has bound us together.
as he has bound himself to us as brothers and
sisters who he is bringing home. So in that moment
when the cold sweat sets in and we think to ourselves,
what have we done? What have I done? The call
is to look to the cross. And here's the thing,
like after a little while on Go Ape, you'll be
very pleased to know, I actually began to enjoy
it. As you begin to kind of let go of the rope,
as you begin to feel the way it can carry your
weight, you grow in confidence, you grow in that
enjoyment. And that is what these verses call
for us to do. That is what the Lord's Supper
will call for us to do. To rest in Jesus. To
entrust ourselves to Jesus. To look to the cross,
not moving away, not adding to it, not wrapping
it around in something more respectable or trying
to replace it with something that seems to us
more secure. Instead, looking to the cross and
knowing there, that is where I see Jesus, the
glorious son. That is where I see how much I
am loved and how safe I am as his dearly loved
brother and sister. Let me pray. Father God,
thank you so much that the Lord Jesus is not
ashamed to call us brothers. Thank you that he
is your glorious son. And thank you that he has
brought us into your loving family. We pray that
we might know that, trust that, enjoy and rejoice
in that truth. For his glory. And our blessing
we pray. Amen.