HEBREWS 2:9

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

For several years I was one of the judges for our church’s chili contest when we lived in Chattanooga. Now, I love a good chili. So, I looked forward to tasting some of the best chili recipes in the church. However,…there were some chilis that were not so good. Some even were horrible. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? Fortunately, I can’t remember whose chili they were so I can’t name names, lol. Let’s just say it took a minute for my taste buds to get over those bad ones.

The analogy the writer uses here for Jesus’ sacrificial death is one that is employed by other writers in Scripture. We see these same words used by our Savior in the gospels (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27) where He says, “‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’” This expression was a familiar “Hebraism” back then. As Barnes explains, “Death seems to be represented as something bitter and unpalatable – something unpleasant – as an object may be to the taste.”

ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)

Let’s call this an Application to make. As believers, our taste buds have been changed toward death. When I was a little boy, my mama used to cook LeSeur English peas all the time. You know, those little green, round peas in a can. I hated the smell and the taste of those peas. Now, I love those peas. I even like them cold in a salad. Call me strange, but my English pea taste buds have changed.

That applies to our view of death as followers of Christ. Why is that? Because our taste buds have changed spiritually. The Topical Lexicon says this about the verb “taste” used in our verse today. “The New Testament consistently employs this verb to connect bodily sensation with spiritual reality. It invites every reader to move from observation to participation—personally to taste, and thereby to know, that the Lord is indeed good.” We see that spelled out clearly in the following verse. “Taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)

Now that we have new taste buds related to death, we don’t fear tasting it. I am not saying death is a pleasant thing, but it should not hold a bitter taste in our mouth. For the follower of Christ, death is just a portal from this world to our heavenly home. What is bitter about that? We will never taste a spiritual death as children of God. That’s the bitter death. Let’s do all we can to help people change their taste buds.

Lord, thank You for changing my taste buds. I have tasted and can say that You are good.