Tarzan or Batman (Part 1)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

My name is Mike Abendroth. I don�t feel like I have a cold, but I think I kind of sound like I do. This is the second show I�m recording today. The last one I recorded today was the European update. Remember that song?

I think it was kind of a new wave band, the Europeans, remember that? I think they were something about animals, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun, no, no, that�s a different one. That�s a different one. Sometimes I just need a good laugh.

I sit here all by myself. I think that�s an Eric of the Raspberries song. Who�s the Raspberries? Steve, where are you? Where�s Steve when I need him? The Raspberries, all by myself. Eric Carmen. I was going to say Clapton, but that�s not true.

Eric Carmen. Remember Eric Carmen? I wonder what happened to him. Where�s Armagemmon? When I was a kid, a long time ago, we wore crew cuts in the Midwest. That�s probably a good way to have your hair cut, crew cut, kind of a sweaty, humid environment running around, playing games and stuff.

You�re five years old, ten years old. That was kind of a nice life. I had a lot of fun in life growing up on Tomahawk Boulevard. You can�t even say Tomahawk anymore. It�s politically incorrect. What street did you grow up on?

On a street where they had a word that you used to scalp people that deserved it. We had different games. Probably like most children, the games entailed copying things, copying people, imitating. If you had a favorite superhero, you would try to imitate them.

Somebody cool on TV, ditto. Well, I loved Batman. I remember having the Batmobile come to the auditorium, the Civic Auditorium in Omaha and you go see that. I have some old pictures of a five or four-year-old birthday party for me.

Everybody had Batman cone hats. It said on the bottom, 1964 type of thing. It was at Peeny Park or Henry Doorly Zoo. I don�t know if Omaha has much going for it, but their zoo, first class. Back then, it just was, I don�t know, like lions and cages.

That was about it. Now, they have whole ecosystems in pyramid-shaped things. I loved Batman and I also though concurrently, simultaneously, adjunctly, appositionally, I loved Tarzan. I mean, there�s something about Tarzan.

It was 25 years later when I was in Los Angeles thinking there�s a Tarzana, something about Tarzan. There�s a weekly Tarzan show and of course, the Batman with Robin and the old fashioned Bruce Wayne, not Bruce Wayne, who was the actor, Adam West.

I mean, would you rather be Tarzan or would you rather be Batman? I had a really cool knife. That Tarzan knife, it had kind of a claw thing on the top of its handle. It was a heavy plastic. It wasn�t hollow plastic, heavy plastic polymer type.

I remember it was red and then I had a little sheath and I would put it on my hip. You can have your shirt off in the summertime running around like Tarzan. I think probably swimsuit. We probably wore Speedos back in those days, although they weren�t technically Speedos.

They were the knockoff Kmart version Speedos. I didn�t know that I was as poor as I was growing up. I mean, I thought this is it. It�s rich. You had Tarzan knife. There�s a knockoff Tarzan, I believe, in the middle 60s as you had the Munsters and the Addams Family.

One was first and the other was a knockoff. But the knockoff of Tarzan, I think his name was Bamba because Grandma used to make Bamba eggs. I wouldn�t eat scrambled eggs back in those days. She said, �No, this is what Bamba eats.

Okay, then I guess I eat it. Why can�t you just call them Tarzan eggs or something like that? Now, I know it�s a good day if I wake up in the morning. I mean, 90s out of 10, I have to have the same old mush slop oatmeal with walnuts, salt, Splenda, blueberries, flaxseed, maple syrup.

I mean, it�s the same. It�s cruel, gruel is what it is. Cruel, gruel. But I know my day is going to start off with a bang if there�s a special type of toast and then two sunny side up eggs on top of that piece of toast.

We�re talking sunny side up. We�re talking you got to have that little phlegm thing still around, that little snot thing. That�s what I want. That is a breakfast of champions. I was in Germany and Marco made me this.

They had some special type of toast, bread, brot, und, a mitt, either with kind of a tartar meat. You just get it. It spoils in a day. So, you got to eat it, get it, buy it and eat it. So, you spread that raw beef on top of that.

I think I put some butter on there and then I put, it�s almost like a salami looking thing, but it�s just raw, raw. And then a nice, not a film of that meat on your bread, but we�re talking, you know, just think bricks and mortar.

Think about if you�re going to put a brick wall up around your flower bed and you�ve got to have, you know, it�s got to be like a half an inch of just this raw meat. It tasted so good. Marco�s two little boys, he�s got two boys and a girl, but the two boys, Gabriel and Caleb, man, they talk German outside the home, English inside the home.

I like that meat. I like it. I like it too. And so, I�m sitting there. I took a bite of it and I thought, man, this is, this is, this is Tarzan meat. And Katrina, his wife, was making some bacon to put in, on and over the Brussels sprouts for the big celebration at church.

I said, �Could you just, would you just mind throwing an egg into that bacon grease? Quickly cooking it. We�re just talking about quickly. I need sunny side up, barely cooked, just enough to kill any kind of bad things.

And let�s put that on top of that piece of brick and mortar tartar. Brick and tartar, that�s what it is, that�s it. And, man, that egg, that juicy, runny, yolky, yellowy, cauldron of material, man, that tasted so good.

I can�t stop thinking about it. All right. That�s a long introduction. If you could be Tarzan or Batman, which one would you be? I mean, Tarzan�s outfit was a lot easier, it was cheaper, at least in the summertime.

This is the lead-in to my question. If you�re a preacher, you don�t talk this long on your introduction. Their introductions, most sermons, are too long. Shorten them, spicy, gut-punchy. Would you rather be an angel or a human?

When it comes to being Tarzan or Batman, I mean, that�s a tough decision. I mean, we all know, very, very difficult. Another tough question, would you rather be an angel or a human? Now, before you answer that question, angel or human, angels, impressive.

Zooming around, flying around, invisible, powerful, over nations, Prince of Grisha, Michael, one of the chief princes, doing things, bringing divine judgments, helping people. I mean, pretty much, you got to say, powerful, mighty, fast, smart, serving God, superhuman.

So, would you rather be a human or a superhuman? That�s the question. Human or superhuman? What would you rather be? Well, when you come to the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, you�ll find out it�s better to be a human.

Yeah, that�s right. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. That is Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 16 and 17. It is better to be a human. And what the writer of Hebrews does is this.

While Jesus is obviously greater than angels, Hebrews chapter 1, as a son, as the divine son, Jesus is better as deity. But what about his human side? He is fully God and fully man, but how can Jesus be greater than angels if he�s a human?

Remember humans? They�re not superhumans. How can Jesus be greater than the angels if he�s just a man? And the writer will talk about how humans, this particular human especially, and other humans as well are greater than angels in terms of their overall sovereign rule in the universe.

And he talks about Psalm chapter 8. Well, before we get into that anymore, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com or info at NoCompromiseRadio .com. Please tell your friends about NOCO Radio. Monday to Friday we have the shows.

You can listen to them at 1 .5 speed. If you prefer, most of the podcasts I listen to in life, 1 .5 speed. If I listen to sermons though, I usually like to let it settle in. Otherwise, it�s just this barrage of information.

If you want to go to the NOCO YouTube site, we�ve got, I don�t know, 100, 200 videos there that you could watch. We should record some more next week, just about little topics, just trying to get your attention about C .S. Lewis people or Tim Keller people or N .T. Wright people, that type of thing.

I just got an email from someone who said, �Could you do a show on Tim Keller And I think probably I�m going to end up having to do that. I�ve done it before. He�s very influential. There are people that I can learn from but don�t want to.

I think he�d fall into that category. Obviously, the guy is smarter than I am. It�s not even really a question. He�s obviously more influential. But there are many areas where I would disagree with him theologically.

I�d go have a cup of coffee with him, probably a super nice guy. But I just would rather learn from other people. I think that�s the way we have to go about it. I don�t have to slam their person. I don�t have to create caricatures or misrepresentations.

But I can say and do say, especially as a pastor, these are the people that I think you�d be better taught by. So if somebody has got some book, I don�t have to go around and correct everybody. But in this particular show, what else am I going to talk about if I don�t talk about that?

Just kidding. There�s a way to approach things. And if somebody said about me, these are the areas I disagree with. And I could learn from Mike. He could give me insight on things. But I don�t prefer to learn from him.

I prefer to learn from these other people. Okay. I understand. Done. No problem. You�re wise. So there�s a large group of maybe popular evangelicals or people that are popular within the evangelical circles that I could learn from.

I just don�t want to. I�m 56. I�m tired. I�m old. I�m tired of being old. And I would rather read John Owen. Right? I�d rather read John Fesco. You can read newer folks and older folks. But I just don�t prefer.

And once we start doing the newfangled kind of city hermeneutic and social gospel thing and gospel corporation deal, I just don�t prefer it. It�s okay. I don�t prefer it. If people don�t prefer no-compromise radio, I don�t lose much sleep over that.

That we�re not the number one iTunes podcast. In my mind, we�re number one. Right? I see things through my own eyes. We�re number one. We got spirit. Yes, we do. We got the spirit. How about you? Hebrews 2.

Now we�ll go back there since we�ve had a little deviation. The question that Hebrews 2 5 -18 answers is this. Is Jesus inferior to angels because he is a man? Remember chapter 1 I�ve talked about? Then there�s the don�t drift section, warning, first warning section.

Hebrews 2 1 -4. Now, you might think that humanity is a liability, a disqualifying liability. But here we have why Jesus Christ is not inferior because of his humanity. As Homer Kent said, how�d you like to have that name?

Christ�s superiority to angels is not contradicted by his humanity. Jesus is superior to angels, chapter 1, even though. I mean, as son, divine son. And now, even though he�s a human, he still is greater.

And what the writer is dealing with in the book of Hebrews, the author is saying, Jesus Christ is better than angels, even if I don�t see with my own eyes a complete rule. And if he, as a man, suffers, is humiliated, dies, well, how can he be a bit greater than angels?

Just do a quick cursory survey of what angels do in the Old Testament and you�ll see to yourself, how could somebody who suffers and dies be greater than angels? We�re talking angels. And that�s what the writer of Hebrews deals with.

You first look at something and think, hmm, could be, might be an obstacle. That�s a hurdle. This is a hurdle that we have to jump over. How can Jesus be great, greater than angels if he is a man? And what we�re doing now in chapter 2, verse 5 of Hebrews is we�re moving to the incarnation.

We�re moving to the incarnate son is still greater than angels because you�ve got to think about death, burial, resurrection, exaltation, even that he was talking about in chapter 1 of Hebrews. Now, big picture, the first 10 chapters, 10 and a half through 10, 18, it�s all about doctrine, all about Jesus�s superior high priest.

Then at 10, 19 through 13, he talks about practical things, pragmatic things, how we respond to this great truth. And everywhere you go in the book of Hebrews, Jesus is great. He�s greater than angels, prophets, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, all of old covenant Judaism, and every person, every saint, every believer.

He is better. There�s a better hope in Hebrews 7, a better covenant, Hebrews 7, better promises, Hebrews 8, better sacrifices, Hebrews 9, better resurrection, Hebrews 11. Everything about Hebrews says Jesus is better, better, better, better, even in a book talking about great salvation, chapter 2, great high priest, chapter 4, great tabernacle, chapter 9, great recompense, chapter 10, great cloud of witnesses, chapter 12, and great shepherd of the sheep, chapter 13.

Jesus is great. Jesus is excellent. Jesus is superior. Jesus is the high priest. We�re not talking about a doctrine only, the doctrine of Jesus. We�re talking about the person of Christ Jesus, who he is, and then, of course, what he has accomplished.

Even if one accepted the Old Testament assertions given previously that the Son of God is above angels, he might still question whether the superiority was retained when the Son became man. It is to that question that the following discussion is addressed.

That�s from a commentator. Jesus better than angels? Superior to angels? How can that be? So, let me read to you Ephesians, Hebrews 2, verses 5 to 9, and you�re going to hear the repeated word �subjected to.

You�re going to hear it when it says �subjection to, �subjection under, �subjection to. That�s really the theme, and that�s one of the ways you can study the Bible when you see these repeated themes, especially in epistles.

That�s going to help you. �For it was not to angels Hebrews 2, 5, �that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, �What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. And now comes the interpretation. Verse 8 continues, �Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.

At present we do not see everything in subjection to him, but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Namely, for the first time ever in the book of Hebrews, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Angel on the book end of verse 5, not to angels. And then angels on the book end in verse 9, �made a little while lower than the angels. And then everything else, God subjected, putting everything in subjection.

�Now in putting everything in subjection, we do not see everything in subjection to him. It's all about that. And Jesus, even though with the incarnation, was in subjection to, he was dealing with humanity at the incarnation, he's still not inferior to angels.

And that is what Hebrews talks about. The God-man is still superior to angels. And what this section really is, if you want to study it, it's got the Old Testament quote from Psalm 8, a portion of that.

And then it's got a New Testament interpretation of that very quote. So if I had to outline it, I'd probably talk about how you should see Jesus greater than angels. And the first thing he does is he says, �It was never part of God's plan for angels to ultimately rule the world.

Although we know with Jesus, that was part of the plan. Jesus is the ordained ruler in God's plan. It says in verse 5, �It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

In the context, you just keep reading, it's going to be Jesus. The world is subject to Jesus ultimately. You have Judaism and there's all these angels that govern nations and rule over by God's decree.

Well, does that mean they're ultimately going to rule? Interestingly, Deuteronomy 32, verse 8, �When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

Talking about angels there. That's what the Septuagint would render it as. You have angels dealing with nations and boundaries. And it says in chapter 10 of Daniel, �Do you know I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia.

And when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I tell you what is inscribed in the book of the truth. There is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. And then in chapter 12 of Daniel, �At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.

And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. Great prince in charge of your people. Angels in charge, in charge of nations and things and territories.

I'm not going to get some type of territorial demonic warfare kind of talk out of this. That's not where I'm going. Ultimately though, angels, while they have great power now and rule and authority, ultimately Jesus is going to have it.

It was never part of God's plan to say angels are the ultimate rulers. That's why this is here. That's what's going on here. And to what angel has he ever said, �Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool at your feet.

Hebrews 1 .13. You get kind of a foreshadowing of what's going on in chapter 2 with chapter 1. Well, anyway, time has fleeted. Time has gone. Time has vanished. And we have to land the plane now. Mike Abendroth,.

No Compromise Radio. Info at NoCompromiseRadio .com. If you need to send gold bullion, you can send that to the church here. Bethlehem Bible Church, West Boylston, Massachusetts.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.