Hebrews | Chapter 2

Hebrews 2:1-4

“Unescapable Reality” 

  1. Introduction
  2. Vs. 1-2 Cause and effect
  3. Vs. 3-4 The great New Testament

Introduction

Having made the argument that Jesus’ final revelation is superior to the prophets and angels progressive revelation; the author issues the first of five warning against rejection such a revelation. The cause of rejection according to chapter 10 verse 25 was sever persecution from their Jewish country men which had gotten so strong that they were forsaking the assembling together of followers of Christ. This exhortation to NOT “drift away” is a particular strong warning as this was Adam’s sin who was so careless and indifferent towards the command of God, that He rejected the divine revelation for a lie of satan which is what caused this mess to begin with. Christ not only OFFERS a stronger word than the prophets, and has a higher name than the angels, but, in these next four verses: He is a surer word than the Law which means we must adhere to its truths above the First Testament.  

Vs. 1-2 Cause and effect

Vs. 1 Therefore, we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. The phrase “drift away” in the Greek means to “flow alongside” and was used of a ring slipping off a finger. The idea is best understood in Proverbs 4:20-21 where Solomon writes, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart.” These Hebrew believers were to “give the more earnest heed” because the Son is better than the prophets and of angels. Their country men had given heed to the First Testament which had been brought forth by prophets and angels but now a better and final revelation had been brought forth and they were willing to abandon it for the first. The premise of the writer’s argument is: If rejection of the the First Testament truth was punished (which is the point of verse 2) how much more will there be judgment for rejecting the New Testament truth which was presented by Jesus?    

As a side note there are three clues and two small words here in this text that points to the identity of the original author. 

  1. The first is the use of the word “WE”; three times; twice in verse 1 and once in verse 3. Since this letter is written to Jews the “we” is an indication that the author was himself a Jew. 
  2. The second clue is in verse three and is the word “US” and is used specifically in reference to the apostles, which would tell us that the author was an apostle. 
  3. Finally, the authors heartache for those who will not heed the word of God identifies him as a teacher of God’s word. There is nothing more heartbreaking to a teacher of God’s Word than people who week after week are exposed to God’s truth that will change their lives, but it has no effect upon them simply because they do not pay attention. 

This convinces me that the writer of this letter, was Jewish, a Teacher and an Apostle. All of this reminds me of what Jesus said again and again to the people of his day, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” (Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, etc.). The author tells us that: There are two reasons why Jesus’ message valid:

Vs. 2 The words “for if” in the Greek represent a “fulfilled action” NOT a “hypothetical case” and as such could be interpreted by the English word “since” as the idea is a fact that “word spoken by angels, the First Testament PROVED steadfast.” The word “transgression” in the Greek is a word that means to “step over the line” it speaks of a disobedience which has come about from a neglect of hearing the truth, letting truth “drift by”, and such neglect resulted in judgment! 

First: The New Testament is a valid by comparison with the Law. If the word spoken by angels, the Law of Moses, had validity and those to whom it was given found that it was absolutely true in experience, then this message also is true. If angels could give a word like that, how much more the word that comes by the Son? If the Law spoken by angels had that effect, how much more shall the words spoken by the Son have effect? Israel’s history is a testimony of “cause and effect” of this truth. In Deut 11:27-28 they were told that if they would obey it they would be blessed; if they disregarded it, they would be cursed. There is no people on the face of the earth who show a more consistent pattern of cause and effect than the Jewish people. Wherever they have gone, in obedience there has been blessing; in disobedience there has been cursing. 

Vs. 3-4 The great New Testament

Vs. 3 The word “HOW” in the Greek is “How is it possible?” As such it is a “rhetorical question that express a denial.” The writer is issuing a grave warning to those Jewish believers who were in danger of returning to the temple sacrifices for atonement which would reject the TRUE sacrifice of Jesus and were doing so knowingly and as such would leave them without recovery. The author calls Jesus finished work of sacrifice “so great a salvation” and is NOTa reference to the teaching regarding it but the act its self. The truth of the First Testament, given by angels “looked forward” to the “final finished” work of Christ. Jesus was not like the angels who were only “spokesmen”; He was the very One who brought into being salvation for believing sinners as well as announced it. It was a great mystery to this writer how these Hebrews could be so convinced of the trustworthiness of the First Testament brought forth by angels and be so doubtful of the New Testament brought forth by the very Savior who sacrificed Himself for their salvation! This leads to his second point:      

B. Second: This message is valid because it is spoken to us by the Lord! The writer makes three points as to the validity of the message through the Son. 

  1. COMMUNICATED by Jesus: Vs. 3a “Which at the FIRST began to be spoken by the Lord”. The word “Lord” in the Greek is the word used to translate the Hebrew word Jehovah and to the Jewish readers of this letter it meant that the First Testament letter was given by angels but the New Testament letter was given by Jehovah personally. By implication, the writer says, this message did not originate with the apostles, it did not come to us by means of prophets, it came through the Lord himself; he spoke it. There was no second or third party communication as it came directly from the Son of God! As such they should even be more obedient to it than they were to the First Testament not less!
  2. CONFIRMED by those who heard Him: Vs. 3b “And was confirmed to us by those who heard Him”. Second, it was confirmed by eyewitnesses. The greater validity of the New Testament is who heard the truth of the Lord directly, the apostles. They were official “eyewitnesses” and they confirmed the truth spoken by the Lord. This is always an unimpeachable argument as in any court in the land will accept evidence if it is confirmed by enough eyewitnesses. 
  3. CERTIFIED by God through miraculous works: Vs. 4 “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy spirit, according to His own will?” Third, it was attested by signs sent from God himself, by wonders and miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his own will. Not only did the apostles confirm the message they witnessed the miracles that accompanied the message. Nicodemus in John 3:2 recognized this when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” The primary purpose of miracles was to attest to the truth that Jesus taught NOT to alleviate distress and suffering. In Matthew 11:2-5 when John the Baptist sent his disciples to question Jesus concerning being the Messiah Jesus spoke of His works. And in John 10:38 Jesus said, “though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” The author lists three such manifestations that God worked:
  4. Signs and wonders: A sign is a mark or token that is miraculous in nature. And a wonder is something so different or strange that it causes a person to watch because it is miraculous in nature.
  5. Various miracles: Is the word linked with the “power of God” and it describes a supernatural act which has the undeniable power of God working through it. 
  6. And gifts of the Holy Spirit: The Greek word “gifts” means “distributions and impartations” from the Holy Spirit. The idea is that a person performs that which the Holy Spirit in powers. 

It all focuses on one question in the first part of verse 3: How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation? This question addresses both the Hebrew believers, gentile believers as well as non-believers:

  1. To the Hebrew believers the writer is saying: It is not enough that you know Jesus as your Messiah: If you do not continue in Him and begin as the writer said in verse 1 “drift away” you will stop growing in your relationship with Him. The outcome of your “drifting away” will be far more than the loss of your peace, joy and freedom; you will also experience greater temptation, and confusion which will lead you into a greater change that you will be further deceived to the point where you will wonder if you ever really knew Jesus as your Messiah in the first place.  
  2. To the non-Christian it says: It cause the person to ask, “Where are you going to go?” “How will you be able to escape or avoid God’s universe?” Bob Dylan wrote a song about this where he stated, “You’re going to have to serve somebody.” It’s an unescapable reality! Most of the people in the world are trying to avoid the unavoidable but every person is going to have a come to Jesus meeting! So why waste your life trying to attempt to escape? Especially when you consider that Jesus whole desire in this meeting is to bless you not to curse you. 

The awful truth in eternity is that hell will be full of people who never actively opposed Jesus Christ, they simply chose to neglect the truth of His gospel. All a person has to do to go to hell is do nothing! That is the subject of the first four verse of chapter 2. These Hebrew believers knew the truth that Jesus proclaimed and accomplished, they even believed that this truth was 100% reliable they were aware of it but weren’t willing to surrender too it, so they just drifted away into eternity apart from Him and into eternal damnation. The point is that “Right teaching always demands a right response!” Being “intellectually convinced” but not “spiritually committed” is the surest way to hell I know of! These Hebrews had all the facts to make a commitment but demonstrated that they just couldn’t get in the boat! A person should never be satisfied with a religious feeling, with going to church, being married to a believer or church activities. All those things as good as they are can still cause a person to “drift away” into hell unless they have made a personal commitment to JESUS as Savior and Lord of their lives.

     Hebrews 2:5-9

“To boldly go where no man has gone before” 

  1. Introduction
  2. Vs. 5-9 RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY

Introduction

Hebrews is all about Christ. The writer said in chapter 2:1-4, because we cannot exist without Christ. It’s dishonesty to pretend we can. In chapter 2:5-18 the writer changes his focus as he anticipates the question with regards to the reason God the Son became fully man. At issue is Jesus in his humanity as our mediator before God.

The writer of Hebrews will argue that angels will never do as mediators. The simple reason for this is that don’t deal with the same challenges that we do: No angel has ever been a man; no angel has ever had to deal with the temptations that accompany a fallen human nature! But Jesus, the Son, has! That’s what the writer will say in chapter 4:15 where his reference is Jesus as High Priest where he writes, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” What is in view in this chapter is the value for us because of the identification of incarnation. These 14 verses present four different views of Jesus earthly ministry. At the end of each view, we will end up at the cross so that the reader would appreciate that whatever value there is in the life of Jesus, it is made available to us only by means of his death. The truth concerning Jesus is that He didn’t come into this world to be our moral guide, our principled teacher or a worker of miracles. NO, He came to live in this world in order that he might die. At the cross, he poured forth his life in order that we may have life. These verses present: Four reasons why it was necessary that Jesus, the Son of God, became man. This passage are miniature gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, though they are not in the same chronological order as they are in our Bibles. 

  1. Vs. 5-9 The first reason Jesus Christ became a man is to: RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY.
  2. Vs. 10-13 The second reason why Christ became man is to: RECOVER OUR LOST UNITY.
  3. Vs. 14-15 The third reason is to: RELEASE US FROM OUR PRESENT BONDAGE.
  4. Vs. 16-18 The fourth reason is to: RESTORE US IN TIMES OF FAILURE.  
  1. Vs. 5-9 RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY.

Vs. 5-9 RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY: The first reason listed by the writer for the necessity of Jesus becoming a man is linked back to Genesis 1:28 where God said to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply; 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.” No angel could take the place of Jesus Christ for God because God never gave the right to govern the world to angels, He gave to mankind. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:3 saying, “Do you not know that we shall judge angels?” 

The writer quotes from Psalm 8, where David cries, “What is man that You are mindful of him…?” David was looking up into the majesty of the heavens and asks in verse 6 paraphrasing, “Where is man’s place in all of your creation?” The right interpretation of “son of man” is given in the context as well as the Greek. Had he meant this as a reference to Jesus as the “son of man” you would not have had the phrase that follows the “son of man” which is “that You take care of him.” The “son of man” here means the human race! And the Holy Spirit answers his own question in verses 7-8. “You have made him for a little lower than the angels, You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” The writer of Hebrews in verse 8b insists that when David says, “all things,” in verse 8 he meant, everything. For he adds a commentary saying, “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.” The Greek word in verse 5 speaking of the “world” is a word that describes the inhabited earth not the pre-inhabited world of Adam and as such is a reference to the Millennial reign of Christ. The phrase “In subjection to the angels” is a military term used of arranging soldiers under a commanding general. That’s why we read the context “For He has NOT put THE WORLD TO COME” … “Under the control of angels”. 

According to Genesis 1:28 mankind’s intended destiny, was God authorized dominion over all His creation. We were made to be reigning over all God’s creation. This passage includes far more than just the earth; it includes the created universe of God as far as man has ever been able to discover it in all the illimitable reaches of space and whatever lies beyond that. All this is to be put under man’s dominion. 

But mankind’s authority was derived authority, as we were to be subject to God who indwelt us. Mankind was to be the means by which the invisible God became visible to his creatures. As long as mankind was subject to the dominion of God within him, he would be able to exercise dominion over all the universe around. Only when man accepted dominion could he exercise dominion.

Immediately you want to pay attention the “pronouns”, “him” in the writer’s commentary in verse 8; take note that they are NOT capitalized as that tells you that the “HIM” is not Jesus but rather mankind. The writer points out that man was made lower than the angels for a LIMITED TIME so that they could learn what the exercise of that dominion meant. He was given a limited domain: this earth, amid all the billions of galaxies of space! He was given a limited physical body that within that limited area mankind could learn the principles by which his dominion could be exercised throughout the universe. This is what the author describes as being “lower than the angels.” But the writer goes on to explain that something happened that changed even this limited dominion on earth when he says, “ButNOW we do not yet see all things put under him.” This is the whole story of human history: We do not see everything in subjection to mankind. Every time mankind attempts to exercise his dominion, he quickly finds he is no longer able to do so. Throughout the history of humanity, there has been a continual attempt to restate man’s dreams for dominion over the earth. We see this come up in ordinary people who continue the quest to do extraordinary things like going faster, climbing higher, conquering more lands. We have to explore and regain dominion it’s in our DNA. The trouble is not for lack of effort; we just can never regain dominion and keep it. Something is broken, damaged as we cannot regain this balance. The history of man is the story of continual unexpected crisis all caused by our attempts to exercise dominion.

Throughout recorded history, people were wrestling with the same moral problems then that we are wrestling with today. Irrespective of all our amazing technological advancements in the control of certain physical forces to life, we have made absolutely NO progress when it comes to moral relationships. It’s painfully obvious, mankind has lost their moral compass and more importantly their relationship with God. The Fall of man is the only adequate explanation for this. Even in the individual life very few people have realized the dreams they began with. This is what Paul said in Romans 8:20 when he wrote, “the creation was subjected to futility.” 

Vs. 9 Look at this wonderful change to mankind’s “LOST DESTINY” as the writer DELIEVERS THIS AMAZING HOPE, “But we see Jesus”. With the eyes of faith, we see Jesus already crowned and reigning over the universe, the man, Jesus, fulfilling man’s lost destiny. With incredible clarity in Revelation 5:4-6 John witnesses a scene in heaven that is exactly what the writer of Hebrews has been saying as John says that he, “wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain.” Jesus alone has broken through the barrier of mankind’s habitual heritage of failure. Our fallen flesh that has kept us from being what we want to be! Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth Act 5, scene 5 page 2, “Life’s but…a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, that signifies nothing.” That is what the author in Hebrews says is what life is apart from Jesus Christ. 

Ah but Jesus fulfilled mankind’s qualifications with all our limitations to win back our heritage, our LOST DESTINY. This is what Paul says in Philippians 2:5-8 where he writes, “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus like us, became lower than the angels, taking on flesh and blood, entering into the human race, becoming part of it, he experienced death. And in so doing took our place. Jesus Christ has come to begin a new race of men. That’s exactly what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  That race includes himself and all those who are his, and to that race the promise is that they shall enter into all the fullness God ever intended man to have. In the Philip’s translation of Colossians 1:27, Paul put it this way, “They are those to whom God has planned to give a vision of the full wonder and splendor of his secret plan for the nations. And the secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you, bringing with him the hope of all the glorious things to come.”  This is The first reason Jesus Christ became a man: RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY.  Oh angels are amazing part of God’s creation and they cannot die but neither can they save lost souls like us nor can they restore our lost destiny! And which Gospel does this line up with? The Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of the Great King.

Hebrews 2:10-13

“Finding ourselves” 

  1. Introduction
  2. Vs. 10-11 The Captain of unity
  3. Vs. 12-13 Chosen identity Introduction

Introduction

Two weeks ago, we started looking at the hypothetical question that the writer of Hebrews anticipated that his readers would ask with regards to; the necessity of Jesus becoming a man. He lists four reasons for Jesus becoming man the first of which was:

  •  Vs. 5-9 To: RECAPTURE OUR LOST DESTINY.

Now we look at verses:

  • Vs. 10-13 The second reason why Christ became man is to: RECOVER OUR LOST UNITY.

Next week we will continue our investigation with:

  • Vs. 14-15 The third reason is to: RELEASE US FROM OUR PRESENT BONDAGE.
  • Vs. 16-18 The fourth reason is to: RESTORE US IN TIMES OF FAILURE.   

Vs. 10-11 The Captain of unity

Vs. 10 In 1 Corinthians 1:23 Paul wrote that “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness…” The cross of Christ was clearly a stumbling block tripping them up and one of the main reasons these professing Hebrew believers were drifting back to the Levitical sacrifices. To counter this “stumbling block” the writer seeks to prove the necessity of the incarnation and specifically the cross of Jesus. This section begins with the phrase “For it was fitting for Him” and in the writer stating it this way, he means to paint the contrast to two other ways:

  1. Vs. 2:1 “Therefore we must.”: Which states the following is a logical necessity.
  2. Vs. 2:17 “… had to be made like His brethren…”: Which stats it was an obligation growing out of circumstances.
  3. Vs. 2:10 “For it was fitting.”: This contrast to the above two states that our salvation was brought forth found its origin not in God’s statement but in the very nature of God!

Thus, the writer shows the reasonableness of Jesus on the cross as it fits the very nature of God! God the Father provides the sacrifice, God the Son procures the sacrifice and God the Holy Spirit applies it! It was God’s intention that the Son become fully man for the direct purpose that only through His sufferings could He be the leader bringing many to glory!

Next the writer says, “for whom are all things and by whom are all things,” The phrase in the Greek is “on account of whom” God is the final agency that all things came into being. By saying this the author combines the reason for the suffering of the Son with God’s very nature to bring it into fruition! The writer moves to the second outcome of Jesus death on the cross namely: “brining many sans to glory” and the way in which that was brought forth through Jesus: “to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” The “sons” includes Jesus as OUR Captain who according to verse 9 through the “suffering of death was crowned with glory and honor.” The phrase, “captain of our salvation” is made up of the word “captain” (found only 4 times in N.T. twice in this letter) and means, “One who goes first”. The writer is saying that Jesus is the Person going first on the road to heaven. But in John 14:6 Jesus said literally “I am the ROAD, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is not only our LEADER ON THE ROAD to salvation, He is the very road itself sprinkled with His precious blood! The word “Perfect” in verse 10 isn’t the Greek word that speaks of “moral imperfections” but rather speaks of finishing the course prescribed to Him, described as “the suffering and death upon the cross”! At issue here is not Jesus’ “Moral Perfection” but the second area of His perfection, His “WORK”! The reason for it not being “Perfect or Completed” is that it wasn’t “FINISHED” which in John 19:30 Jesus declared on His last breath that it was! His earthly life was all about identification with fallen humanity. The only area where Jesus doesn’t identify with fallen humanity is SIN! That being said, he never acted out of uncertainty, he never spoke out of fear, the reason for this was that He alone was man as was intended by God. The moment Jesus experienced fear gripping his heart, immediately he trusted upon the indwelling Father and fear was met by faith. The moment he felt uncertain, not knowing which way to turn, He rested back upon the indwelling wisdom of God and was immediately given the right word for the situation. Jesus didn’t just save us, then ascend into heaven with the parting words, “Good luck, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He has walked the same road we have, fought the same battles we are fighting, He is our perfect Captain!   

Vs. 11 According to verse 11 he fully entered into our fears and pressures and because of this he is fully one with us. The phrase, “He who sanctifies” refers to Jesus who according to verse 10 “is bringing many sons to glory”. And “those being sanctified” of course refer to believers. The word “sanctifies and sanctified” in Hebrews always is a reference to “consecration” not “purification”, “position” not to “condition”. The, writers’ point is that, Jesus has put us, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, on the path to glory. It’s a “progressive sanctification” as it will continue on through glorification and into eternity where although we will “know as we are known” (1 Corinth 13:12), we will continue to grow more and more like our Lord. Even in the infinite years of eternity we will never become in the absolute “LIKE HIM” for finiteness can only approach infinity, it can never “EQUAL” it. 

            Notice the phrase, “are all of one” which is defined by the phrase “for which reason He, (JESUS), is not ashamed to call them BRETHREN”. This is the heart of the 2nd reason Jesus became man, which was to RECOVER OUR LOST UNITY with our Lord! It is interesting to note that Jesus never refers to His disciples as “brethren” until after His resurrection in John 20:17 where He sends Mary to announce His resurrection to His “BRETHREN”. The phrase “are all of one” is saying that Jesus and believers are all out of “ONE SOURCE”, it is for this reason that Jesus is not ashamed to call them BRETHREN”. The Greek word for “brother” means “from the same womb”, speaking of the one source that we have in common, God the Father. Believers, because of Jesus, find our source of identity in God the Father, thus Jesus calls us His brethren. The implications of this are to great for words as we consider the reality that Jesus who is God the Son in His exalted deity is not ashamed to call us His brothers! Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”.  

Of all the things we humans suffer from, sense the fall, nothing is more obvious than the loss of our “IDENTITY”! In the 60’s and 70’s we were all about trying to “FIND OURSELVES” which was a truthful statement of having lost our sense of identity. Things haven’t changed in 30 to 40 years as gender confusion has reached mass hysteria. People are constantly trying to “discover themselves” and try as they might, they cannot RECOVER THEIR LOST UNITY OR IDENTITY! But as believers in Christ, WE HAVE RECOVERED OUR LOST IDENTITY! Every one of us, followers of Christ, now have the answer to one of the great question every person seeks to have answered: “WHO AM I”? The answer through Christ: A child of the King of Kings, and one who our Lord is not ashamed to call His brothers and sisters! Not only our we; “brothers and sisters” but as Paul said in Romans 8:17 “if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” And all of this because He has chosen to identify with us! 

Vs. 12-13 Chosen identity

Vs. 12-13 To illustrate this, the writer quotes from Psalm 22:22 and Isaiah 8:17-18.

  1. First, after stating the fact that Jesus “is not ashamed to call them BRETHREN” he quotes Ps. 22:22. This was the same Psalm in which Jesus had quoted from the cross. David wrote this from his own experience, but the Holy Spirit intended its final application be Jesus. In verses 19-21 of that Psalm, we hear the prayer to be raised from the dead. In verse 22-31, He gives thanks for answered prayer before it is answered and in view of that fact that God WILL raise Him from the dead, He will declare His name to His brethren. The quote is to give scriptural verification to the truth he just expounded in verse 11 as to our identity. The interesting part of the quote is that our identity is tied to the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 Paul writes, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
  2. The second quote is out of Isaiah 8:17b-18a as the writer quotes these verses to show the close unity which now exists between Jesus and those He calls His brethren. This passage from Isaiah was his criticism towards Israel during the Syrian Israeli war under king Ahaz, where the nation was trusting in other things instead of God for their victory. To this Isaiah says, “I will put My trust in Him” and that the nation had been appointed as living symbols of God’s plan. 

Again, this quotation is meant to express the close unity that exists because of Jesus which reveals our recovered identity. Thus, this passage links up with John 17:22, and Jesus prayer for us to the Father, “That they may be one, Father, even as we are one,”. Thus, to make a new CREATION, undivided in identity with the Son is the second reason Jesus Christ became man.


Hebrews 2:14-18

“Your touch is what I longed for” 

  1. Introduction
  2. Vs. 14-15 The absence of life
  3. Vs. 16-18 Merciful Master

Introduction

We come now to the last two reasons Jesus became a man: 

  1. First in verses 14-15 we see that; Jesus came is to release us for our present bondage. 
  2. Second, in verses 16-18 we see that Jesus came to restore us in times of failure.    

Summing these two truths up reminds me of the song “I will Serve Thee” where the lyrics go, “Heartaches, broken pieces. Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary, Your touch was what I longed for, You have given life to me.” Both of these last two truths are “present day practical” but are obscured in our day due to our societies presupposition against them. 

  1. When it comes to the first truth of releasing believers from our present bondage our society doesn’t recognize that we are under any bondage. It’s an odd reality that most people believe in things that only a short time ago were considered “science fiction” while at the same time they mock the knowledge of an unseen evil that permeates society and influences mankind and the world system. This continues while the continual headlines and news are reporting the devil’s work in the world. You can see the problem as it relates to our society when they don’t recognize the existence of evil that is manipulated by the devil. 
  2. The second, issue is equally obscured in our society because our society has become extremely adept at self-justification and extreme narcissism. The truth that Jesus came to restore us in times of failure has no value when our world doesn’t ever believe that it has failed! And if perchance things appear like we have then clearly, it’s not our fault but someone else’s!     

Vs. 14-15 The absence of life

Vs. 14 The writer’s starts with: “Inasmuch then as the CHILDREN.” is clarifies those who have “partaken of flesh and blood” as human beings. The word “partaken” in the Greek is the word “koinoneo” and we know that it means “to share something in common with someone else”. All humans have this in common with each other, the same human nature described as blood and flesh. What is interesting to note in regards to this being a letter to the Hebrews is that this phrase was a common rabbinical phrase to speak of the contrast of the human nature with that of God’s nature. That is an important detail for two reasons:

  1. First, it goes to the objection held by religious Judaism with regards to the incarnation and the Son of God sharing the human nature and still being God the Son. This was the issue with their rejection of Jesus and His deity. They held to the fact that God’s nature has NOTHING IN COMMON with man’s human nature, therefore God could not become a man!   
  2. Second, it is yet another clue as to the identity of who the original author of Hebrews was. We see that at very least he had to be very familiar with rabbinical Judaism or most likely a rabbi. Yet another point leading to the Apostle Paul, who was a rabbi. 

Next, we read that, “He Himself likewise SHARED IN THE SAME, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil.” The words, “He Himself” is an obvious inference to Jesus but it goes further to address the religious Judaism’s rejection of the contrast with man kind’s human nature to that of God’s nature. The Greek word for “likewise” is made up of two words “alongside and nearby” and it is here the writer begins to explain the incarnation: 

  1. First by saying that the Son of God didn’t have “blood and flesh” IN COMMON with man, instead He took His place “alongside or nearby” the human race! 
  2. Second, the writer chose those words carefully in saying that Jesus, “SHARED IN THE SAME” with humanity in regard to “blood and flesh”! They are NOT the same words used to describe what all humans share in common (koinoneo) with regards to “blood and flesh”, instead they are two Greek words that mean “TO HOLD WITH”! What this is saying is that Jesus the Son of God DID NOT share in common with humanity, their “blood and flesh” in the same manor all other humans do. But instead, He “HELD TO HIMSELF” an “ADDITIONAL NATURE” and by so doing “ASSOCIATED HIMSELF” with the human race without its sin but with its blood and flesh! Jesus “took to Himself, something which He had nothing in common with, human nature.” All humans share the same human nature in common with each other. “Jesus UNITED Himself with human nature that was NOT natural to Him.” The phrase “SHARED IN THE SAME” in the Greek speaks of the incarnation as a “voluntary acceptance of humanity’s nature”. This is the point that the writer will further make in Hebrews 10:5-9. What the author of Hebrews does in this verse is reveal the truth about the dual nature of Jesus, Very God and true Man! 

Next in verse 14 the writer shares the purpose for this above stated uniting with humanities nature, which the writer says is that “through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil”. Jesus “took hold of humanity” to DIE because through dying and raising Himself out from under death, He would break the power of death and the one who has the power of death. 

Jesus had conquered death and brought to end the devils hold over it. The Greek word for “power” is a word that refers to “power in the sense of dominion” thus satan’s dominion over the human race in the form of death had been defeated. Notice the word “HAD” past tense and not HAS present tense, which tells us that our victory HAS been won. The word “destroyed” doesn’t mean “eliminated” or has “quit working”. Instead, what this means is that only for believers has the devil’s work in death been “rendered inoperative”. 

Vs. 15 The Greek word for “release” is used in Greek literature to describe a person who is released from a contract. The writer is saying that Jesus by His death and resurrection has released believing sinners from the grip and fear of death, that held sinners in bondage. In Romans 8:6 Paul describes the “carnally minded as death, but to be spiritually minded as life and peace.” As such Paul describes “death” in terms NOT of being “SOMETHING” but rather in terms that describe it as the “ABSENCE OF SOMETHING”. When a doctor is called on to examine a body, they are not looking for the “evidences of DEATH” they are looking for the “evidences of LIFE” which are missing if a person has died! In the truest since “death” in all its forms is “the absence of LIFE”, that’s what boredom is, distress, fear, and worry. The contract is over even the “FEAR of death” which is the devil’s whip by which he keeps us in slavery and bondage. Non-believers have no escape from this and have paid their therapist boat loads of money to help them escape the fear of death to no avail. Only in Christ do we have a way to escape the fear of death! We are assured that we will not miss out on “life” which is ironically one of the things that satan brings up to keep us in bondage. The great and glorious news is that Jesus’ incarnation has stripped away the devils hold over us that says that; “Freedom is having what you want” and it has been replaced with God’s truth that “Freedom is doing what God wants!” Jesus said in Matthew 16:25 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  

Vs. 16-18 Merciful Master

    Vs. 16 The fourth and final reason Jesus “ASSOCIATED HIMSELF” with the human race was to restore us in times of failure. The idea here is that Jesus’ work on the cross, didn’t provide for the salvation of fallen angels but did provide for the salvation of fallen humans. Jesus passed by fallen angels a superior creation to save an inferior creation and as such is worthy of greater praise. 

    Vs. 17 The word “Therefore” points back to that above fact and links it with the necessity of the incarnation due to the fact that Jesus didn’t give aid to angels but to the seed of Abraham. “in all things” is the Greek word that means that it was an “obligation imposed upon Him by the consideration that He was giving aid to the seed of Abraham”. In order to provide salvation for the human race He had to “ASSOCIATED HIMSELF” with the human race. The incarnation was a NECESSITY as He must “voluntary accept humanity’s nature” if He was to save it. The phrase “like His brethren” in the Greek is asserted WITHOUT qualifications, which means that there was a real and complete likeness to the traces of of the effects of fallen man, poverty, temptation, unmerited death, etc. 

    Next we are told that, “that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God.” The incarnation made it possible for Jesus to become a “MERCIFUL” High Priest. The Greek word for “merciful” describes “the ability for one to feel sympathy with the misery of another that leads them o act on their behalf to relieve their misery.” It is this fact of the incarnation that leads Jesus to be both “merciful” as well as “faithful” in His sacrifice as humanities great High Priest! The idea of “compassion” as an attribute of a priest is nowhere to be found in the First Testament and was one of the faults of the priests as they lacked sympathy with the people. In Hosea chapter 4:4-9 the priests were described as eating up their people which in part was responsible for the people to continue to reject God’s ways. At the time of Christ and beyond the priests were unfeeling and cruel, so that the idea of a compassionate priest would be celebrated by the Hebrews who read this letter and had endured the lack of sympathy of the Aaronic priesthood. The phrase “in things pertaining to God” is a technical phrase in Jewish literature and speaks of the functions of worship. 

     We are given the specific service Jesus rendered as High Priest as “to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” The word “propitiation” refers to the act of Jesus offering Himself on the cross to satisfy the righteous demands of God’s justice so that mercy might be shown on the basis that justice has been satisfied.

    Vs. 18 The emphasis in this verse is not upon Jesus’ suffering but upon the fact that He was tempted, the words “in that He Himself suffered” qualify the word tempted. It explains what the temptation consisted of. The word “tempted” carries two ideas: First the idea the action of testing someone to see what good or evil is in the one being tested. Second, because none ever passed the test the word came to mean a “solicitation to do evil”. Both meanings are in view here. All of this was present at the cross as Jesus choose death to self rather than disobedience to the Father’s wishes. The cross is seen as the basis for cleansing and forgiving our regular failures. It is what John wrote of in 1 John 1:9 where we are told that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus alone is able to do this because during His life he learned the necessity for compassion and faithfulness when He “ASSOCIATED HIMSELF” with the human race. The writer will again state as much in Hebrews 5:2 where we read that, “He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.” David wrote in Psalm 91:2 that, “the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” This verse doesn’t merely say that Jesus is able to become that for us, it declares that He is our refuge and fortress!