Devotional 03 June 2025

June 03, 2025 • Steve Torres

Hebrews 2:16.jpg

"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, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. " (Hebrews 2:14-16, ESV)

There’s a profound mystery and hope in these verses. Jesus did not become an angel, though they are glorious beings. He became like us, sharing in our flesh and blood, not simply to empathize, but to die. Why? So that in dying, He would defeat death itself and shatter the devil’s grip over humanity.

But look closely: the ones He helps are not referred to as “mankind” in general, but as the “offspring of Abraham.” At first glance, this might seem to limit salvation to one nation. Yet Scripture defines this term far beyond ancestry.

John the Baptist warned the Pharisees not to rely on their bl9od lineage: “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matt. 3:9). Paul clarifies it in Romans 9:6-8, not all descended from Israel are actually Israel. Jesus Himself says in John 8:39-45 that the true children of Abraham are those who do what Abraham did: believe and obey.

Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). This faith, not blood, is the family line Jesus came to redeem. He became flesh and blood so that even those not born into Abraham’s physical line could be born again into his spiritual one.

And if you have faith in Christ, that’s you. You are not a stranger. You are not secondary to children born from the blood of Abraham (John 1:12-13). You are a child of Abraham, a sibling of Christ, a co-heir in the family of God, born from the blood of Christ! You are no longer a slave to the fear of death. Jesus has partaken of your nature to bring you into His.

So live boldly today. You are part of God’s great mission, not by blood, but by belief. Not by merit, but by mercy. Jesus came to redeem not a nationality, He came to redeem you who have faith in Him.