Hebrews 2:14-18

Hebrews 2

14 Since therefore 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, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

17 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 the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews chapter two is again talking about God the Son, but now in His Earthly form as Christ. It says in vs. 14 that since we were flesh and blood, He had to become flesh and blood so that through His death, He could destroy death and free us from our slavery (vs. 15).

Before we accept Christ as our Savior, we are enslaved to death. Legally, we owe death our lives because of our sin. Once we accept Christ, we are freed from that as verse 15 says. But so many of us live as though we are still dead. We live in bondage to our sin, our faults, and our shortcomings. But Christ came so that we would have an abundant life (John 10:10), freed from these things.

It can be hard overcoming sin. Not that you are ever sinless in this life, rather you are free of habitual sin and actually do sin less. If you are in this fight (and aren’t we all?), go to Christ with your concerns. The rest of this passage says that since Christ became like us, He knows how to be merciful and faithful to us. For that, I am thankful! He’s been here and experienced what we go through. He gets that its difficult and is ready to help us overcome sin and our struggles.

Finally, verse 18 reiterates this point saying, Christ has been tempted just as we are, so that He is able to help us as we are tempted. You truly can overcome temptation – you have Christ on your side.