Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2:1

2:1 The writer has just completed his argument that Christ is supremely better than the angels because He is the Son of God. Before showing that He is also superior as Son of Man, he pauses to inject the first of several solemn warnings that are found in the Epistle. This is a warning against drifting away from the message of the gospel. Because of the greatness of the Giver and because of the greatness of His gift, those who hear the gospel must give more serious attention to it. There is always the danger of drifting away from the Person and slipping back into a religion of pictures. This means drifting into apostasythe sin for which there is no repentance. 2:2 We have already mentioned that the Jews attached special importance to the ministry of angels in their history. Perhaps the leading instance of this was in the giving of the law when myriads of angelic beings were present (Deu_33:2; Psa_68:17). It is true that the law was spoken through angels. It is true that it was valid. It is true that every infraction was punished accordingly. These things are freely admitted. 2:3 But now the argument moves from the lesser to the greater. If those who broke the law were punished, what will be the fate of those who neglect the gospel? The law tells men what they must do; the gospel tells men what God has done. By the law is the knowledge of sin; by the gospel is the knowledge of salvation. To neglect so great a salvation is more serious than to transgress the law. The law was given by God through angels, to Moses and then to the people. But the gospel was spoken directly by the Lord Jesus Himself. Not only so, it was confirmed to the early Christians by the apostles and by others who heard the Savior. 2:4 God Himself authenticated the message by signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Signs were those miracles of the Lord and of the apostles which signified spiritual truths. For example, the feeding of the five thousand (Joh_6:1-14) formed the basis of the discourse on the Bread of Life which followed (Joh_6:25-59). Wonders were miracles which were intended to arouse amazement in the spectators; the raising of Lazarus illustrates this (Joh_11:1-44). Miracles were any displays of supernatural power which contravened the laws of nature. Gifts of the Holy Spirit were special enablements given to men to speak and act in a manner that was completely beyond their natural abilities. The purpose of all these miracles was to attest to the truth of the gospel, especially to the Jewish people, who traditionally asked for some sign before they would believe. There is some evidence that the need of confirmatory miracles ceased when the NT became available in written form. But it is impossible to prove conclusively that the Holy Spirit never duplicates these miracles in other ages. The words according to His own will indicate that these miraculous powers are given out by the Holy Spirit as He chooses. They are sovereign gifts of God. They cannot be demanded by men, or claimed in answer to prayer, because God has never promised them to all. 2:5 In the first chapter we saw that Christ is superior to the angels as the Son of God. Now it will be shown that He is also Superior as the Son of Man. It will help us in following the flow of thought if we remember that, to the Jewish mind, the thought of Christ’s incarnation was incredible and the fact of His humiliation was shameful. To the Jews, Jesus was only a man, and therefore He belonged to a lower order than the angels. The following verses show that even as Man, Jesus was better than the angels. First, it is pointed out that God did not decree that the habitable world of the future should be under the control of angels. The world to come here means the golden age of peace and prosperity which the prophets so frequently mentioned. We speak of it as the Millennium. 2:6 Psa_8:4-6 is quoted to show that the eventual dominion over the earth has been given to man, not to angels. In a sense, man is insignificant, and yet God is mindful of him. In a sense, man is unimportant, yet God does take care of him. 2:7 In the scale of creation, man has been given a lower place than the angels. He is more limited as to knowledge, mobility, and power. And he is subject to death. Yet in the purposes of God, man is destined to be crowned with glory and honor. The limitations of his body and mind will be largely removed, and he will be exalted on the earth. 2:8 Everything will be put under man’s authority in that coming day the angelic hosts, the world of animals, birds, and fishes, the planetary systemin fact, every part of the created universe will be put under his control. This was God’s original intention for man. He told him, for instance, to fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Gen_1:28). Why then don’t we see all things in subjection under him? The answer is that man lost his dominion because of his sin. It was Adam’s sin that brought the curse on creation. Docile creatures became ferocious. The ground began to bring forth thorns and thistles. Man’s control over nature was challenged and limited. 2:9 However, when the Son of Man returns to reign over the earth, man’s dominion will be restored. Jesus, as Man, will restore what Adam lost, and more besides. So while we do not see everything under man’s control at the present time, we do see Jesus, and in Him we find the key to man’s eventual rule over the earth. For a little while, He was made lower than the angels, specifically, for the thirty-three years of His earthly ministry. His descent from heaven to Bethlehem, to Gethsemane, to Gabbatha, to Golgotha, and to the tomb, mark the stages in His humiliation. But now He is crowned with glory and honor. His exaltation is a result of His suffering and death; the cross led to the crown. God’s gracious purpose in it all was that Christ might taste death for everyone. The Savior died as our Representative and as our Substitute; that is, He died as man and He died for man. He bore in His body on the cross all God’s judgment against sin so that those who believe on Him will never have to bear it. 2:10 It was entirely in keeping with the righteous character of God that man’s dominion should be restored through the humiliation of the Savior. Sin had disturbed God’s order. Before order could be brought out of chaos, sin must be dealt with righteously. It was consistent with the holy character of God that Christ should suffer, bleed, and die to put away sin. The wise Planner is described as the One for whom are all things and by whom are all things. First He is the objective or goal of all creation; all things were made for His glory and pleasure. But He is also the Source or Originator of all creation; nothing was made apart from Him. His great purpose was bringing many sons to glory. When we consider our own worthlessness, it staggers us to think that He would have even bothered with us, but it is because He is the God of all grace that He has called us to His eternal glory. What is the cost of our glorification? The captain of our salvation had to be made perfect through sufferings. As far as His moral character is concerned, the Lord Jesus was always sinlessly perfect. He could never be made perfect in this respect. But He had to be made perfect as our Savior. In order to purchase eternal redemption for us, He had to suffer all the punishment that our sins deserved. We could not be saved by His spotless life; His substitutionary death was an absolute necessity. God found a way of saving us that was worthy of Himself. He sent His only begotten Son to die in our place. 2:11 The next three verses emphasize the perfection of Jesus’ humanity. If He is going to regain the dominion which Adam lost, then it must be demonstrated that He is true Man. First, the fact is stated: For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, that is, they are all possessors of humanity. Or, . . .have all one origin (RSV), meaning that in their humanity, they all have one God and Father. Christ is the One who sanctifies, that is, He sets apart or separates men to God from the world. Blessed are all those whom He thus sets apart! A sanctified person or thing is one set apart from ordinary uses to be for God’s own possession, use, and enjoyment. The opposite of sanctification is profanation. There are four types of sanctification in the Bible: pre-conversion sanctification, positional sanctification, practical sanctification, and perfect sanctification. These types of sanctification are detailed in the Excursus at 1Th_5:23, which should be read carefully. The reader should be on the lookout for the various passages in Hebrews where sanctification is mentioned, and should seek to determine which type of sanctification is in view. It is because He became a true Man that He is not ashamed to speak of His followers as brethren. Is it possible that the Eternal Sovereign of the universe should become man and identify Himself so closely with His creatures that He would call them brothers? 2:12 The answer is found in Psa_22:22 where we hear Him say, I will declare Your name to My brethren. The same verse also pictures Him as identified with His people in common worship, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You. In His dying agony, He looked forward to the day when He would lead the ransomed throng in praise to God the Father. 2:13 Two more verses are quoted from the Jewish Scriptures to prove Christ’s humanity. In Isa_8:17 (LXX), He speaks of putting His trust in God. Implicit confidence in Jehovah is one of the greatest marks of true humanity. Then in Isa_8:18, the Lord is quoted as saying, Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! The thought is that they are members of a common family, acknowledging a common Father. 2:14 Those who consider the humiliation of the Son of Man to be shameful are now asked to consider four important blessings that flow from His passion. The first is the destruction of Satan. How did this happen? There was a special sense in which God gave His children to Christ to sanctify, save, and emancipate. Since these children had human natures, the Lord Jesus assumed a body of flesh and blood. He set aside the outward display of His deity and veiled His Godhead in a robe of clay.But He did not stop at Bethlehem. All the way to Calvary He went for me because He loved me so.Through His death, He destroyed the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Destruction here means the loss of well-being rather than loss of being. It means to nullify or to bring to nothing. Satan is still actively opposing the purposes of God in the world, but he received a death wound at the cross. His time is short and his doom is sure. He is a defeated foe. In what sense does the devil have the power of death? Probably the chief sense in which he has this power is in demanding death. It was through Satan that sin first entered the world. God’s holiness decreed the death of all who sinned. So in his role as adversary, the devil can demand that the penalty be paid. In heathen lands his power is also seen in the ability of his agents, the witch doctors, to pronounce a curse on a person and for that person to die without any natural cause. There is no suggestion in Scripture that the devil can inflict death on a believer without the permission of God (Job_2:6), and therefore he cannot set the time of a believer’s death. Through wicked men, he is sometimes permitted to kill the believer. But Jesus warned His disciples not to fear those who could destroy the body, but rather to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Mat_10:28). In the OT, Enoch and Elijah went to heaven without dying. No doubt this was because, as believers, they were reckoned to have died in the still-future death of Christ. When Christ comes at the Rapture, all living believers will go to heaven without dying. But they too escape death because God’s holiness was satisfied for them in the death of Christ. The risen Christ now has the keys of Hades and of Death (Rev_1:18), that is, He has complete authority over them. 2:15 The second blessing traced to Christ’s humiliation is emancipation from fear. Before the cross, the fear of death held men in lifelong servitude. Though there are occasional flashes of light in the OT concerning life after death, the general impression is one of uncertainty, horror, and gloom. What was hazy then is clear now because Christ brought life and immortality to light by the gospel (2Ti_1:10). 2:16 The third tremendous blessing is expiation of sin. In coming into the world, the Lord did not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Give aid to is a translation of epilambano, to take hold (hence the KJV’s he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham). While the verb might not have the idea of violent grasping which it carries elsewhere, the ideas of help and deliverance are suggested by its use here. The seed of Abraham may mean Abraham’s physical descendants, the Jews, or it may mean his spiritual seed the believers of every age. The important point is that they are human, not angelic beings. 2:17 This being so, it was necessary that He should be made like His brethren in every respect. He assumed true and perfect humanity. He became subject to human desires, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and affectionswith this important exception: He was without sin. His humanity was the ideal; ours has been invaded by a foreign element, sin. His perfect humanity fits Him to be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. He can be merciful to man and faithful to God. His chief function as High Priest is to make propitiation [satisfaction] for the sins of the people. To accomplish this He did what no other High Priest ever did or could doHe offered Himself as a sinless sacrifice. He willingly died in our place. 2:18 The fourth blessing is help for the tempted. Because He Himself has suffered and has been tempted, He is able to aid those who are going through temptation. He can help others going through it because He has been there Himself. Here again we must add a word of qualification. The Lord Jesus was tempted from without, but never from within. The temptation in the wilderness shows Him being tempted from without. Satan appeared to Him and sought to appeal to Him by external stimuli. But the Savior could never be tempted to sin by lusts and passions within, for there was no sin in Him and nothing to respond to sin. He suffered, being tempted. Whereas it pains us to resist temptation, it pained Him to be tempted.