Hebrews 2

Hold on, or drift

Chapter 2 opens with “therefore”. Everything chapter 1 said about the Son, the radiance of God’s glory, heir and maker, seated far above the angels, now becomes a reason to listen. “Pay much closer attention” means beyond measure, exceedingly. “Drift away” pictures something slipping away from its hearers, like a boat carried off by the current. Nobody drifts on purpose. It happens slowly, to people who stop paying attention.

What have they heard? Hebrews 1:1–2 answers: in the past God spoke through the prophets in many ways, but now he has spoken by his Son. That good news of salvation was announced first by Jesus himself, then passed on by the witnesses who heard him: the apostles and disciples.

If the angels’ word stood firm

The “message declared by angels” was real, and it held. Every disobedience received a just penalty. In Genesis 19 two angels warned Lot to take his wife and daughters out of Sodom. As God judged the city with burning sulphur, Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. In Luke 1 the angel Gabriel told the priest Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth, though both were very old, would bear a son, John the Baptist. Zechariah did not believe, and he was unable to speak until the day it happened.

If the word of angels carried that weight, how much more the word of the Son? “Neglect” is not open rebellion. It means showing no concern, being careless. So the question stands: how shall we escape if we treat such a great salvation carelessly?

God bore witness too

Jesus declared the gospel in speech, and those who heard confirmed it. God himself joined in that testimony. Signs pointed beyond themselves to his power: water turned into wine, five loaves and two fish feeding thousands, Lazarus raised from the dead. Wonders startled and amazed: Jesus walking on the water, Ananias and Sapphira falling dead, the earthquake at the Philippian jail where the jailer trembled in awe.

Miracles showed power no one else had: a man born blind given eyes that worked, demons cast out, a raging storm calmed. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, were given to believers as God willed, confirming the words of Jesus and the apostles.

The world to come

In chapter 1 the Son entered the “world”, the inhabited human world, and even the angels worshipped him (1:6). Now the author speaks of the “world to come”: the better, inhabited earth that will come when Jesus returns. It is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, eternal salvation, open to anyone who believes in him. That kingdom will not be looked after by angels, but by Jesus and his brothers and sisters, the believers.

What is man?

The author quotes Psalm 8. There David praises the majesty of God, who made the heavens and the earth, who silences his foes through the cries of children and infants, and who gave people rule over all creation, crowned with glory and honour. Psalm 8 has a double meaning. It speaks of humankind, and ultimately it points to Jesus Christ. “Son of man” here is not yet the title of Jesus; it means human beings.

In verse 8 the “him” and “his” mean humankind. Then comes the word “yet”: we do not yet see everything in subjection. The plan God declared in the psalm is still active; it has not been completed. God did not fail. People failed to reach it, because of sin and because they were enslaved by the fear of death (v15).

But we see Jesus

Verse 9 begins with “but”, in contrast to verses 6–8. Jesus was made lower than the angels for a little while: he took a human body and knew what it feels, suffering, decay, pain, hunger and temptation, all the way to death. He did not fake his death. John records that blood and water came out when his side was pierced (John 19:34), a sign he had already died. He tasted death to the full: not only physical death but spiritual death, the weight of sin and separation from God, when he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46).

He had no sin, yet he bore the weight of ours, and through his resurrection he overcame death. So he is crowned with glory and honour, seated at God’s right hand until his enemies, the devil included, become his footstool.

“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” (Phil 2:8–9)

Perfect through suffering

It was fitting for God, for whom and by whom all things exist, to make the founder of our salvation perfect through suffering. “Perfect” does not mean Jesus was once flawed. It means carried through to the full finish: complete, mature, fully developed. The core of perfection comes through suffering. No pain, no gain.

To become the source of salvation for many sons and daughters, Jesus had to suffer and share the weakness of human beings, made a little lower than the angels, who do not feel pain or die. The difference is that he came through it perfect. He had no sin; he overcame temptation and every hardship people face. Some read Psalm 8 as a promise of worldly glory and blessing, but David understood it pointed to the Messiah. Only through Jesus Christ can people receive the promised crown of glory and honour.

One family

He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have one source. The NLT says it plainly: “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father.” That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. The word adelphoi means every believer, man or woman, made one family under God.

A song in the congregation

Psalm 22 was written by David out of deep personal crisis, isolation and persecution by enemies, and it foretells what happened to Jesus in his suffering, crucifixion and its aftermath. Verses 1–21 are cries of distress and agony; verses 22–31 turn to praise for God’s salvation for all nations.

David went into the congregation, told God’s name to his brothers and led them in praise. This foreshadows Jesus. He reveals God’s name: not just a word, but God’s nature, character, goodness, faithfulness and love. And he stands in the midst of the gathered people, leading their worship, and they follow his lead.

I and the children

Isaiah 8 is set around 735–734 BC. The brutal Assyrian empire was threatening to conquer the whole ancient Near East. God’s people were split in two: the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Israel and Syria formed an alliance and asked Judah, ruled by King Ahaz, to join. When he refused, they invaded Judah to put a puppet king on the throne. Isaiah warned Ahaz to trust God, but Ahaz panicked and sent a massive bribe of temple gold to the king of Assyria. Assyria agreed to protect him, and Judah became dependent on a pagan empire instead of on God.

Ahaz and the people relied on worldly alliances. Isaiah and his children chose to trust God alone, and they became signs of the faithful remnant who stayed loyal to him. So Jesus became fully human and lived by faith, trusting God as Isaiah did. And as Isaiah stood alongside his children, Jesus stands alongside believers and presents us to God.

Flesh and blood

The NLT puts verse 14 simply: “Because God’s children are human beings, made of flesh and blood, the Son also became flesh and blood.” The children are human, so Jesus Christ took on the same nature, one that did not naturally belong to him.

The power of death

The devil holding the power of death does not mean he decides between life and death. That authority is God’s. It means a legal and psychological dominion that comes through sin. “Devil” means slanderer or accuser. He tempts people into sin and leads them toward eternal spiritual death and separation from God. Then he accuses them, telling them they can never be restored.

So people are held in fear: hopeless, rebellious, easily manipulated, spiritually enslaved, pulled again and again toward sin. Jesus broke that chain. He went through the whole cycle of physical and spiritual death, and through the resurrection he broke death’s dominion. He showed us the way of hope: to be a spiritual family with Jesus Christ, not slaves to sin.

Offspring of Abraham

He helps not angels but the offspring of Abraham. In Genesis 12, 18 and 22 God says three times that Abraham will become a great nation and that his offspring will be blessed. Paul explains in Galatians 3:7–9 that those who have faith are the children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, so all who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

A merciful and faithful high priest

The high priest was chief over all the other priests in Israel, an office God first established through Moses. He was the mediator between God and Israel. He offered sacrifices and rituals like the other priests, and once a year he entered the Most Holy Place to represent the sins of the nation.

Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every respect to become that high priest: merciful, concerned for people in their need, and faithful, keeping every promise. He made propitiation, taking the judgement for human sin, satisfying God’s justice and offering mercy. And because he himself suffered when tempted, he understands us, and he is able to help us.