AT the end of the previous meditation we began to dwell on the wonder of the nature of the revelation we have found in the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus and those he has redeemed by his suffering are one family, and because of this, Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters. I am finding it difficult to get my mind around this incredible revelation, but what understanding God has granted me I would share with you, and the continuing wonder of the result of this relationship we enjoy with Jesus and God, the Father.

Jesus is now crowned with glory and honour because he has suffered death for all his redeemed family. Now what is being spoken of in verses 12 and 13 is the evidence of this fact that, though exalted to the throne of God, Jesus still is not ashamed to call us his family, and to own us as such, and draw near to us. Whatever the precise meaning of these quotations, they are given to us as illustrations that Jesus identifies with his redeemed people totally, and calls us brothers and sisters, and so we are safe in his redeeming work and love.

What does this mean in practice. It means that Jesus so loves us as his brothers and sisters that he communicates to us, through his Spirit, the name of God, and all the love God has for us in salvation. The praises Jesus sings before us all is the praise of God the redeemer of sinners, who gave his Son to become one of us in order that he might give his life as a ransom for us. Jesus comes by our side as our brother to make sure he exalts the love of God for us in redeeming grace, that we might be fully aware of it, and enter into the blessing of it in all its fullness and assurance. This is surely the reason for the first quotation.

In the next one, wherever the second one is taken from, whether from Isaiah 8:17 or Psalm 18:2, Jesus is speaking of his complete identification with us as a human being. He comes before God as the God-man, and places his trust in God just as we have to, and in all the redeeming purpose of God for sinners, and knows his trust will be vindicated in our redemption as we trust him, the redeemer. In this way Jesus accepts us as his family and assures us that our trust in God through him will bring this result from God.

The third one I see as a complete illustration of Christ’s acceptance that he is one with us, and so we are one with him in his heavenly glory. Here I am, says Jesus, crowned with glory, as I am so are my brothers and sisters, for they are with me in this glory as members of the royal family of God.

This is unimaginable glory, but it is true. We are hid with Christ in God, because Jesus is not ashamed to call us his family before God, and so brings us into that heavenly presence. We know something of this future glory because we have the Spirit of adoption now and so from our hearts we cry to God as our Abba, Father.

In verse 14 and 15 we are given a more present expression of this identification with us that Jesus is not ashamed to confess. Jesus shared our flesh and blood. Jesus identified himself with us in this close and complete way, and did this to identify himself with us even more deeply by taking our death in our place.

Death is the great enemy of us all. If we do not fear death then we are fool. All human beings contemplate death with trepidation. It is not just the process of physical life ending, but what this end of physical life leads to. We fear most what is beyond this life. We fear the end of life and the gift of life. The ordinary human being can’t explain this fear because the spiritual reality has been denied. The Christian explains it in terms of the devil’s power. This is explained here by the information that the devil holds the power of death.

As soon as we speak of the devil in this way, we see death is more than just the loss of earthly life. The devil holding the power of death suggests dominion and ownership, and so the fear of death is because of this power of the devil to claim us in death. Where does this power come from? It comes from the fact that we are sinners, and being sinners this expresses our choice of ownership, not to be owned by God, but by the devil. Our fear of death condemns us to the sentence of being claimed by the devil at the end of this life, and to be gathered with the lost in everlasting darkness.

Jesus identified with us so closely that he destroyed the devil who has this power of death, and so frees us from the bondage to this fear of death. Jesus destroyed the devil because he took from the devil all his claim upon us. In a real sense he took our sin, and allowed himself to be claimed by the devil in death in our stead, not just in physical death, but to be given over to the devil’s ownership and be totally separated from God. If we are claimed in this way we have no escape because we can’t in any way exhaust the debt of our sin, and this is the devils hold on us. But though the devil thought he had won in claiming Jesus, he made a very great mistake, because Jesus could and did fully suffer all the awful darkness of the debt our sin has incurred, and so broke the devil’s power, defeated him, rose from death, and freed all those he calls his brothers and sisters from death.

Jesus has freed us from the our slavery to the fear of death, because he has taken away from the devil all claim he had upon us. Because our Saviour has died, and suffered hell in our place, and been victorious in his death to meet all the punishment for our sin, there is no sin against our name for all eternity. Hallelujah! Christ has died, and so we our freed from death’s sting, and can face it with quiet assurance as the gateway to life.

This is all because Jesus was not ashamed to call us his family. Praise his name, Hallelujah!