#232 NOT ASHAMED TO CALL THEM BRETHREN 10-4-26

Hebrews 2:11 gives us one of the most astonishing descriptions of Jesus in the Bible: “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

Think about those words: He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

Jesus is the Son of God. He is the One through whom God made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2). He is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). Angels worship Him (Hebrews 1:6). Yet this exalted Christ is not ashamed to identify Himself with those He came to save.

He became flesh and blood. He entered our world. He experienced hunger, weariness, rejection, sorrow, temptation, and death. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same.”

He did not save us from a distance.

He came near.

And He came near because we needed Him. Sin had brought death, fear, and separation. Jesus came to “destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” and “release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

How deeply comforting it is knowing that Jesus is not ashamed to call His people brethren. We may look at our failures and wonder how God could still want us. We may remember things we wish we could erase. We may feel unworthy to come before Him.

Yet Hebrews points us toward Christ.

He knows our humanity.

He knows our weakness.

He knows what temptation feels like.

And still, He calls us brethren.

This does not mean He ignores our sin. The same Christ who sanctifies us calls us to holiness. But our failures do not change the purpose of His grace. Hebrews 2:11 says He is the One “who sanctifies.” He makes holy those who come to Him.

What a Savior!

Jesus did not merely come to teach us.

He came to become one of us, die for us, rise for us, and bring us to God.

Hebrews 2:17 says He had to be “made like His brethren” so that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest.

The Son of God is not ashamed of His redeemed family.

So do not hide from Him. Come to Him. Trust Him. Walk with Him. The One who is holy enough to be worshiped is gracious enough to call you His brother or sister.

And that is a truth worth carrying with you today.

Bryan Dewayne Dunaway