Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
Hebrews 2:16
2:16 For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham.
Jesus the Friend of Sinners—
Jesus came to the world not as an angel of light; we could not have endured His glory if He had come thus. One angel at the tomb of Christ was of such exceeding brightness that the Roman guard fell powerless to the ground. As the angel came from the heavens, he parted the darkness from his track, and the sentinels could not endure his glory; they fell as dead men to the earth. Suppose that Jesus had come in the glory of an angel, His brightness would have extinguished the feeble life of mortal men. {7BC 926.8}
For our sake Jesus emptied Himself of His glory; He clothed His divinity with humanity that He might touch humanity, that His personal presence might be among us, that we might know that He was acquainted with all our trials, and sympathized with our grief, that every son and daughter of Adam might understand that Jesus is the friend of sinners (The Signs of the Times, April 18, 1892). {7BC 927.1}
Not Angelic but Human Nature—
The Lord Jesus has made a great sacrifice in order to meet man where he is. He took not on Him the nature of angels. He did not come to save angels. It is the seed of Abraham that He is helping. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Christ helps humanity by taking human nature (Letter 97, 1898). {7BC 927.2}
Christ Jesus traded divinity for humanity so that He may walk among men on this earth. As when the brightness of the one angel that came to the tomb rendered the Roman soldiers powerless, we would have been extinguished by the brightness of His glory. For our sake, Christ Jesus came to this world not to condemn the sinner, but that through Him the world may be saved. Jesus came as a friend for humanities sake. He came as our surety, substitute, and great sin bearer. He was beaten, whipped, and crucified for humanities sake. He loves us, even until the end of time. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15: 13.
Dear God,
We thank You for leaving the splendor of Your heavenly kingdom to walk among sinful men, that through You we may be saved. We thank You for being our best friend, our big brother in heaven. We are sorry that for our sake You were beaten, bruised, and crucified as our sin bearer. We thank You for paying the ransom for us and are sorry that we have sinned against You. We repent of our sins and pray for Your forgiveness. We pray that one day we will be with You in heaven, where there will be no more sorrow, tears, or pain. This we pray, in Your name Christ Jesus. Amen.
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