“But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
The writer of Hebrews observed that we, at present, do not see the world the way God designed it to be. We see man fallen from his created state because of sin. We see murder, confusion and sin everywhere. Then he wrote this verse, which is the good news that changed our lives. That’s not all we see. He followed that observation with this verse. “But we do see Jesus!”
For a little while, Jesus became one of us. He left heaven to enter our world, not as an alien, but as a baby. He grew up experiencing our humanity. He was still God, but He came to our world, became one of us, and met us where we are. He came so He could die in our place. Our sin meant that we deserved to die. Now we don’t have to be punished for our sin because He tasted death for everyone. That is the heart of the gospel. Every evil thing we’ve done or will ever do was punished on the Cross when Jesus died in our place.
Why did He do that? The writer of Hebrews gives the key phrase that explains why Jesus did what He did—“By the grace of God.” Philip Yancey wrote an inspiring book entitled, “What’s So Amazing about Grace?” This verse is the answer to that question. This is “What is so amazing about grace.” Jesus died for us so that we can live. Christians believe that. For the life of me I don’t know why the entire world doesn’t bow at His feet in worship. It isn’t just good news, it’s the best news we’ll ever hear.
