Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2:1

“Therefore…” “Therefore” – Here, the Holy Spirit calls us to roll over in our hearts and minds the excellence, glory, and superiority of Christ and the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in him. With this word, “therefore,” he tells us to recall, gather up our thoughts, and focus our attention upon what he has just told us in chapter one. The word, “therefore,” might be translated “since.” Since God has spoken to us by his holy prophets and his Son, – Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the appointed heir of all things, – Since he who is our Savior is the Creator of all things, – Since Christ, the God-man, is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of his person, – Since he upholds all things by the word of his power, – Since he has by himself purged our sins, – Since he who is our Savior is the exalted, reigning Monarch of the universe, – Since our great Savior is so much better than and superior to the angels… “We ought” – The apostle does not say, “you ought,” but “we ought!” It is as though he said, “The message I have for you is the message of God to me. I am in the same boat you are. I have the same struggles you have. I face the same dangers you face. I have the same responsibilities you have.” Gospel preachers are men just like you. Even the apostles and prophets of old were men just like us. All believers are sinners saved by grace alone, – Sinners in the midst of great conflict, – Sinners with great trials, – Sinners in constant need of grace, – Sinners under the unceasing assault of hell. What is worse, our flesh is in league with hell. Therefore, we must ever watch and pray. We must ever be vigilant. We must constantly press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed” – We must, each one, personally and diligently apply to ourselves and faithfully lay to heart, “the things which we have heard.” It is our duty and responsibility to bow to the Word of God, to bend our wills to God’s will, our minds to God’s revelation, and our thoughts to God’s gospel. We must set our affection upon Christ; and we must do so constantly. We must bring our whole man, every thought and imagination, every faculty of our being, into willing captivity and subjection to Christ. It is not enough that we have heard and do hear the gospel, we must apply it to ourselves and set our hearts upon “the things which we have heard.” The things we have heard are the glorious truths of the gospel set forth in Holy Scripture. “Lest at any time we should let them slip.” – This is a very unusual expression. It is used nowhere else in the Word of God. It is an expression of real danger, the danger of apostasy, the danger of losing the benefit of the gospel, the danger of eternal ruin. It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of this matter. It is absolutely vital that we persevere in the faith, that we continue in the Word. There are many, who once seemed to have a real interest in the things of God, who have made shipwreck of the faith and of their immortal souls (1 Timothy 1:19). Let us take care that we not be numbered among them (John 8:31; 1 Corinthians 15:1-3; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:14; Hebrews 4:1; Hebrews 12:25). The admonition of Heb 2:1 is this. – If we would be saved, if we would continue in the faith, if we would avoid making shipwreck of our souls, we must bind the gospel to our hearts and bind our hearts to the gospel (Proverbs 6:20-22).

Hebrews 2:2-4

“How shall we escape?” If those who heard and neglected the law of God, given by Moses through the mediation of mere angels, perished under the wrath of God, how much more surely shall they perish who neglect, take lightly the gospel of Christ, which is the proclamation of “so great salvation?” The salvation we preach is here called “so great salvation” with good reason. The Lord Jesus Christ is the great Author of it, “the author and finisher of our faith.” “Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation.” Salvation by Christ is great because it reveals the great wisdom of God. Only by the obedience of Christ as our Substitute, only by blood atonement, by which justice is satisfied and righteousness established, is it possible for God to be just and the justifier (Romans 3:24-26). In infinite wisdom, God found a way to be both “a just God and a Savior.” The objects of God’s saving mercy and grace in Christ display the greatness of his salvation. It is called “so great salvation” because it is salvation for great sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). The Apostle Peter declares the greatness of God’s salvation (1 Peter 1:18-20), when he asserts the great cost of it. The price of our redemption is “the precious blood of Christ.” Let us often meditate upon this fact and remember that, since we have been bought with the price of Christ’s own blood, we belong to him exclusively. We are not our own. Let us therefore glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are God’s. The Holy Spirit describes God’s salvation as “so great salvation” because of the great power by which he performs it. The gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace, flowing to helpless, needy sinners through the merits of the crucified Son of God, is “the power (dynamite) of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16-17). This gospel was spoken and preached by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It was confirmed by the apostles who gave us the Epistles of the New Testament. Their authority as God’s messengers was established and endorsed by God the Father who gave them great, supernatural gifts and marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These were credentials that they spoke for God and spoke the truth. They spoke in other languages, healed the sick, cast out demons, and even raised the dead (Mark 16:17-18). In light of all this, how shall we escape the judgment and wrath of God if we are indifferent to this gospel? The answer is as clear as the noon day sun – We shall not (Matthew 10:20; Hebrews 10:38-39; Hebrews 12:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-3).

Hebrews 2:5-9

The Greatness Of Our God It is impossible for us to form a proper estimate of ourselves, until we see something of the greatness of God. Neither can we form any proper estimate of God’s wondrous works, until we know something of his greatness. It was the realization of God’s greatness which caused David to cry, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Psalms 8 The quotation found in Hebrews 2:6 is taken from the 8th Psalm. In that inspired song of praise, the psalmist extols the greatness of God in five distinct ways. First, he extols the excellency of God’s name (Psalms 8:1). “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Our great God is Jehovah, the God who saves! Second, David sang about the glorious supremacy and solitariness of God our Savior. The second line of verse one speaks of the exaltation of Christ, as our covenant Surety and Mediator. “Thou hast set thy glory (the Lord Jesus) above the heavens.” Third, the psalm exhibits God’s purpose of grace (Psalms 8:2). “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, and you cannot miss the meaning of David’s words. Fourth, so great is our God that the whole of his vast creation is set before us as the work of his fingers! “I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained” (Psalms 8:3). Finger work is work which requires no strength, but great skill, and detail. So great is our God that the vast universe is his finger work! Then, fifth, in Psalms 8:4-9, the psalmist extols the greatness of God by humbly rejoicing in God’s universal providence, describing the whole machinery of providence as God’s gracious visitations. David knew what the Holy Spirit tells us all believers know (Romans 8:28), – “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Ever entertain great thoughts of God. Anything that lowers God’s character or lessens his greatness is a lie of Satan. Do not tolerate it. Let no doctrine be believed, no sermon be heard, no song be sung, and no thought be received which in anyway detracts from the greatness of God. In all things, at all times, “ascribe ye greatness unto our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3) “Behold your God,” and know that he is great (Isaiah 40:10-31). Isaiah 40 Read Isaiah 40:10-31 and rejoice in God’s greatness. Isaiah did. It is the greatness of God that inspires our confidence in him. He who is God our Savior is great! – Greater than all the works he performs (Isaiah 40:12-14). – Greater than all the nations he has made (Isaiah 40:15-17). – Greater than all the gods men have invented (Isaiah 40:18-21). – Greater than the world he created (Isaiah 40:22). – Greater than the greatest men the world ever produced (Isaiah 40:23-24). – Greater than the heavens above (Isaiah 40:25-26). – Greater far than all our troubles (Isaiah 40:27-31). Great beyond description, great beyond imagination, great beyond our loftiest praise is the Lord our God! What is man? In the light of God’s greatness and glory as God, it is an astonishing thing that God should be mindful of man, especially when we see the answer given in the Bible to the question – “What is man?” Man is set before us in the Word of God as the peculiar, distinct object of God’s mercy, love, and grace. – But what is he? Anyone who knows and acknowledges the greatness of God, will also freely acknowledge the utter insignificance of man. As soon as David looked up to heaven and spoke to God of his greatness, his heart was humbled, his pride was withered, and he cried, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” It is impossible for anyone to have both great views of God and great views of man. Those who imagine that man is great think God is insignificant. Those who know that God is great know that man is insignificant. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” Here is greatness and littleness, grandeur and nothingness, excellence and corruption, majesty and meanness, God and man. “What is man?” The Word of God tells us plainly. – “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field” (Isaiah 40:6). – “Verily, every man at his best estate is altogether vanity” (Psalms 39:5). – “Men are a lie” (Psalms 62:9). “What is man?” Don’t ask philosophers what they imagine, educators what they read in books, scientists what they see in microscopes, psychologists what they see in asylums, or sociologists what they learn from tests. Ask God who made us. He declares in his Word that man is fallen, depraved, sinning, sinful, cursed, condemned, helpless, dying flesh. Men are grasshoppers before him. Men are the dust of the earth, nothing more. Man is a lump of clay. Man is a puff of smoke, a mist of vapor, the small dust of the balance, a drop in a bucket. Man is insignificant! All the nations of all men in all the world are less than nothing before the great and infinite God. Man is nothing. Man has nothing. Man can do nothing. You are nothing; and I am nothing. No matter how many of us nothings you put together, nothing added to nothing is still just nothing. God, teach us to know our nothingness, that we may look to Christ for everything!

Hebrews 2:10

The Captain Made Perfect Christ was the Captain of our salvation from eternity. He was our Savior from everlasting. But in order to save us, in order to bring us to glory, the Lord Jesus Christ had to be perfected as a Savior. He had to experience something himself if he would be a perfect and complete Savior. What does that mean? Christ was not made perfect in his character by suffering. He was always perfect, both as God and as man. But he was made perfect officially, as the Captain of our salvation. To perform the office of a Savior, to save lost sinners from their just and righteous condemnation, Christ had to possess three things: merit, power and sympathy. The only way he could obtain all three was by those things which he suffered, which consummated in his death as the sinners’ Substitute. Merit The Savior of men must have such merit with God that God can, consistently with the perfections of his nature and the requirements of his law, reverse the sentence of condemnation passed upon those for whom Christ suffered and died. He must have such infinite merit that we can through his merit alone obtain all the blessings of grace and glory, without any works of our own, without any merit of our own. Power The Captain of our salvation must possess all power, in heaven and in earth, so that he may, by the sheer power of his will make ignorant, depraved, helpless, miserable sinners, wise, and good, and happy. He must have such absolute control of all things that he can make all things work together for the salvation of his people. Sympathy Moreover, the Savior of men must be able to sympathize with, he must be able to enter into the feelings of, those whom he is to deliver and save. All these things are necessary if the Son of God is to be a perfect Savior; and all these things were obtained by him through the things which he suffered. By his incarnation he became a Savior of infinite merit. The Savior of men must be a man, because man had sinned and man must suffer. But man, even a perfect man, does not have merit of infinite worth for the saving of other men. Our Savior must also be God, because none but God has infinite merit to satisfy the claims of divine justice. Christ, the God-man, is both fully man and fully God. The Lord Jesus Christ obtained the power to save as the reward of his obedience unto death as our substitute (John 17:2; Hebrews 7:25). This power is the legal, judicial power given to him as our Mediator, the power he earned as the God-man by his obedience unto death as our Substitute. The Son of God became a sympathizing Savior by the things he suffered as a man for us (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15). Only one who has suffered can be touched with the suffering of others. Made Perfect Now, the Captain of our salvation has been made perfect. The Lord Jesus Christ is a perfect savior. He has made a perfect expiation of sin. He has brought in a perfect righteousness. His holy heart is filled with a perfect sympathy for his needy people. He is a perfect example for us to follow. He has perfect power, and is able to save all who come unto God by him perfectly!

Hebrews 2:14-15

Would You Be Freed From The Fear Of Death? Our Saviour has also taken the fear of death away from those who trust him by assuring us that our souls will go to be with him in heaven immediately. His word of promise is, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” His prayer for us was, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory.” It is written, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!” Knowing this, I can no longer fear to die (2 Corinthians 5:1-9). Our Lord has delivers us from the fear of death by assuring us of the resurrection of our bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This body must die. But, blessed be God, we shall arise. This is my satisfying confidence: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me!” With such a hope, the grave causes me no alarm. Would you be free from fear of death? Look to Christ in faith as your crucified Substitute, rising from the dead as your Representative, living and reigning in heaven as your Mediator, and coming as your King. If you would be free from the fear of death, think about death often and meditate on what it is to die in Christ. We know that those who die in the Lord are blessedly safe and happy. Even Balaam saw that and desired to die the death of the righteous. What makes the death of the righteous so blessed?

1. Death will bring us into the presence of many friends. Yes, death takes a wife from her husband, a child from its mother, and a father from his family. But we cheer ourselves with the prospect of a happy reunion in glory. It is true, above all else, that we will see Christ and be with Him. But it is also promised that we will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When we die we will leave some behind, but we are going up to “the general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.” And we shall know one another then, even better than we do now, even as the disciples knew Moses and Elijah on the mount.
2. When, at last, we come to die in Christ our most earnest and constant prayers will all be answered. How often have we prayed to be free from our trials and temptations? When we close our eyes in death, we will leave this veil of tears behind. For the believer, death is the blessed funeral of all sorrows. Does your soul long to be free from all sin?

It will be when this body lies in the grave. Oh, how our hearts long to be more like Christ! And we shall be perfectly like him in glory when we have put off this body of flesh. We pray for a brighter and clearer vision of Christ in his glory. After we are no longer hindered by the sight of things in this world, our eyes will be opened to see the Son of God as he is. We should never weep for those who have died in the Lord.

We might well envy them, but do not weep for them. 3. The death of God’s saints is accompanied with many comforts. Death can never separate us from the love of Christ. He will go with us through the dark valley. I am sure that the believer never has such full revelations of Christ’s love, grace, glory, and greatness as he is given in the hour of death. The Lord will make His people triumphant over the last enemy in that hour. In that hour, all our enemies will be as still as a stone (Exodus 15:16). The Lord Jesus Christ, our great God and blessed Savior delivers believing sinners from the fear of death by giving us a foretaste of the glory that will follow it. It is written, “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” Yet, he has given us his Spirit, which is “the earnest of our inheritance.” We cannot comprehend this glory, but we can think upon it. In Christ heaven is ours, the throne of Christ is ours, the glory of Christ is ours, the crown of life is ours, eternal joy is ours. God is ours. Christ is ours. Heaven is ours. If these things are so, and they most assuredly are, then death is not to be feared, but anticipated! If you would be free from the fear of death, live every day as though it were your last. Get into the habit of dying to this world. Let us die daily. Hold everything here with a loose hand. Learn to live in this world in the awareness that everything here is perishing. Live not for the perishing things of time, but for the lasting things of eternity. Live here as a traveler through this a strange land. Do not become too fond of it. Soon you will have to let it go. Be prepared at a moment’s notice to do so. I exhort you to walk with God. “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; because God took him.” Walk with God; and when you die you will walk into glory. Press as much as you can into each day for the glory of Christ and the service of His kingdom. We must soon die. We will be wise to put our affairs in order. Let us ever be ready for that happy day when the Son of God calls us home. When death comes, let us have nothing to do, but die. I try to think often every day of my last day. I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to do so comfortably. Until we are freed from the fear of death, we will never be free to live.

Hebrews 2:16

Sovereign Grace Illustrated The illustrations of God’s sovereignty in the exercise of his grace are as numerous as the characters mentioned in the Bible. Grace For Fallen Men – No Grace For Fallen Angels Satan led a revolt in heaven against the throne of God. One third of the heavenly angels fell from their holy habitation. As a result of their sin, they were forever doomed to suffer the wrath of God. No mercy was extended to them. No grace was offered to them. No Savior was sent to deliver them. The fallen angels were forever damned without the least measure of grace. Then Adam did the same thing. He sinned against the throne of God. He challenged God’s right to be God. What happened? God was gracious. God promised the fallen sons of Adam a Savior, a Redeemer, a Way of mercy (Genesis 3:15). The angels who sinned were passed by, reprobate, without mercy. Yet, when Adam did the same thing, God extended mercy to man. That is divine sovereignty. Why did God pass by the angels that fell? Why did God extend mercy to fallen men? Only one answer can be given, “He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth” (Romans 9:18). You can either rebel against this message of divine sovereignty and perish in your rebellion, or you can bow to the sovereign God and say with Christ, “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Matthew 11:26). Whether you bow to God’s throne or rebel against it, the fact remains the same. The God of the Bible is an absolute sovereign. He can save you, or he can damn you. That is his right as God. It is entirely up to him. Great Grace For Some Men – No Grace For Others As God chose some angels who lost their first estate, and passed by others; even so, among the fallen sons of Adam there are some who are chosen of God, to whom he will be gracious, and there are some whom God has passed by, to whom no grace is given. Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel. God passed by Cain, the older, and saved Abel. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. God passed by Ishmael and saved Isaac. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. God passed by Esau because he hated Esau, and saved Jacob because he loved Jacob. In the days of Noah, God destroyed the entire human race, except for one man and his family. Why did God save Noah? Because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8).

Hebrews 2:17-18

“Wherefore” Each of the priests of the Old Testament, in their way, were typical of and represented Christ our great High Priest. Melchizedek The most eminent type of Christ as our Priest in the Old Testament was “Melchizedek, king of Salem, and priest of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18). The Book of Hebrews tells us three times that Christ is a Priest, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:17). This man, Melchizedek, met Abraham when he returned from the slaughter of the kings, by whom Abraham was blessed and to whom gave tithes of all that he possessed. And he was a remarkable type of Christ. He was called the King of Salem, the King of Peace. He was called the King of Righteousness. He had neither father nor mother, beginning of days, nor end of life. He was made a priest by the direct ordinance of God himself. His priesthood is perpetual, unchanging and endless. It seems to me that there is good reason to believe that Melchizedek was more than a type of Christ, like Aaron. Rather, this man, Melchizedek, was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Hebrews 7:1-4; Hebrews 7:8). Aaron Aaron, the high priest of Israel, was also a clear type of Christ, our great High Priest. When Christ came, the Aaronic order was forever abolished. But Aaron served to typify and represent Christ throughout the Mosaic age. Like Aaron, Christ was chosen from among his brethren. He was separated by a holy anointing. The Lord Jesus offered a sacrifice of atonement to God.

He entered into the holy place with the blood of atonement. Like Aaron, the Lord Jesus Christ performed his work alone. He is our Spokesman. He carries the incense of his intercession with his blood into the holy place. Christ blesses his people on the basis of the atonement he has made. And, like Aaron, the Lord Jesus Christ represents and performs his work for a specific, chosen people – the Israel of God, wearing our names upon his breastplate (1 John 2:1-2). Levitical Priests All the common, Levitical priests were also types of Christ. Like Christ, they were ordained from among men and for men, to offer gifts and sacrifices to God on the behalf of the people. Of course, in many ways, the typical priests were clearly inferior to Christ. The type is never perfect. Yet, they were typical of our Savior. They were many; but Christ is One. They offered many sacrifices; Christ offered one sacrifice. They could never put away sin; Christ did. In fact, all the sacrifices offered to God from the beginning of the world were typical of and pointed to the one great sacrifice of Christ our High Priest. The sacrifice of Abel was offered up in faith, anticipating the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifices of Noah, as pictures of Christ, offered by faith in him, were sacrifices of a sweet-smelling savor to God. The sacrifice Abraham made upon the mount, in the stead of Isaac, was a picture of Christ, our substitutionary victim. The passover lamb was a type of Christ our Passover sacrificed for us. The daily sacrifices, offered morning and evening, pointed to Christ, whose one sacrifice for sin, being effectual, is of perpetual merit to God. Christ is the only priest God will accept and the only sacrifice God will accept. And when he came, he put an end to all the priests and sacrifices that pointed to him. Those priests and sacrifices existed for no purpose, except to point to and portray Christ.

Hebrews 2:18

“He is able to succor them that are tempted” What a sweet word this is! God the Holy Spirit here declares that Christ, our great High Priest in heaven, is able to succor his tempted people. A Priest in Heaven The Lord Jesus Christ ever lives to make effectual intercession for us (Hebrews 7:24-25). Believing sinners come to God by him, by faith in him, and by the infinite merit of his blood and righteousness. Because he lives forever, our Savior’s priesthood is unchangeable. Because he lives forever, he is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. Here is a Priest who is able to save and able to help! Our Lord’s presence in heaven is a perpetual and just intercession for the people he represents. His plea before God is his blood; and his plea is effectual. On the basis of his one sacrifice for sin, our great High Priest perpetually asks three things for his people, three things which cannot be denied him: (1.) The salvation of those sinners for whom his blood was shed at Calvary. (2.) The non-imputation of sin to his weak, helpless, sinful people. (3.) The everlasting glorification of all his own. Child of God, read the 17th chapter of John’s gospel, and rejoice in the on-going, perpetual intercession of your Advocate and great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. A Help In Time Of Need The Son of God, our great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our Help and our Shield. He helps us in time of need by meeting our needs. He promises in every time of trial and temptation that he will be with us, that he will help us, and that he will deliver us.(Isaiah 43:1-5; 1 Corinthians 10:13). He gives us strength to withstand the tempter’s power. He gives us consolation in the midst of trial. He who has sacrificed people and nations for our souls’ good will not fail to deliver us from all evil at the appointed time. A Blessing Bestowed Christ, our great High Priest, helps us by effectually conferring upon us and communicating to us the blessings of his grace, based upon his sacrifice for sin (Numbers 6:24-26). Aaron pointed to the blood upon the mercy-seat; but Christ points us to his own blood and to himself (the true Passover and true Mercy-Seat), and speaks words of comfort to our hearts, assuring us of his acceptance as our Priest and our acceptance with God in him. A Throne to Supplicate It is the privilege and responsibility of those who are tempted to call upon Christ for help and relief. The word “succor” implies a call for help. It is help for those who call. Do you need help? Does it seem that Satan has you in his grasp? Are you tempted and tried? Are you weak and helpless? Christ is a great High Priest for men and women like you. He bids you to call upon him in time of need, and promises help to all who do (Hebrews 4:15-16).