Hebrews Chapter 2 Part 2

 Hebrews Chapter 2 Part 2

The Founder of Salvation

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Heb 2:11

For both he... Christ the great Sanctifier, who sets apart and consecrates men to the service of God. They who are sanctified or thus consecrated and set apart to the service of God, are all one, in the same family, and called brethren.

that sanctifieth and... Sanctification sets a person apart for service (means to make holy), through purification from sin and conformity to the holiness of God (10:10).

Mat. 12:48-50 “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?” “And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!” “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

We who are sanctified are set aside for God’s purpose. He made us holy in God’s sight. We Christians are covered in the blood of Jesus. When God the Father looks at us, He sees the blood of His Son. We are righteous because we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ).

Accordingly there is a deep unity between the Son and the many sons. By His death He makes them holy, and those who are thus made holy are of the same family. That the writer thought of the sacrifice of Christ as making the many sons holy in a definitive and final way is clear from Heb. 10:10, Heb. 10:14.

Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Heb 2:12

I will declare... The 8th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 2:12; Psm. 22:22, fulfilled). Next, Heb. 2:13.

unto my brethren... (Quoted from Psm. 22:22). Jesus had taught that those who do the will of the Father in obedience to His word are His brothers and mother (Matt. 12:50; Luke 8:21). He never directly referred to His disciples by the title of “brethren” or “brother” until after His resurrection (Matt. 28:10; John 20:17).

Not until He had paid the price for their salvation, did they truly become His spiritual brothers and sisters. The use of the term demonstrates His full identification with mankind in order to provide complete redemption (Phil. 2:7-9).

Psm. 22:22 “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.”

We see here, the same Scripture in the Old Testament as we see in the New Testament. We see from both of these Scriptures how important it is to praise God in the church. It also, is very important to open our mouth and confess Jesus.

Mat. 10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”

You can see how important it is to confess Jesus here on earth.

And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Heb 2:13

I will put... The 9th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 2:13; 2Sam. 22:3, fulfilled). Next, same verse—Heb. 2:13.

Behold I and... The 10th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 2:13; Isa. 8:18, fulfilled). Next, Heb. 3:7.

The citation of Isa. 8:17-18 (2 Sam. 22:3), emphasizes the point made (in verses 9-11): that Christ had fully identified Himself with mankind by taking a human nature. He demonstrated the reality of His human nature by His reliance upon God during His earthly sojourn.

John 10:29 “My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand.”

John 17:6-8 “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” “Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.” “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received [them], and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”

“Men” in this Scripture (from John 17), means the face of humans. Manifested means made real. The Father gave them to the Son, because He paid for them with His blood. Jesus said over and over that His message was also the message of the Father.

John 14:10 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

He (Christ) can also speak to them of His own trust in God (Heb. 2:13, quoting Isa. 8:17) and can regard them as the children God has given Me (Heb. 2:13, quoting Isa. 8:18). Like an elder brother in the midst of a circle of younger children, the Captain of their salvation can teach them the lessons of faith along the pathway of suffering.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; Heb 2:14

Forsamuch then as... Seeing that those whom He represents are flesh and blood, it was necessary for Him also to become flesh and blood that He might be capable of dying in their place, by this act destroying Satan and annulling his power of death over mankind.

children are partakers… The Greek word for “partook” means fellowship, communion, or partnership. “Share” (or partakers), means to take hold of something that is not related to one’s own kind. The Son of God was not by nature “flesh and blood,” but took upon Himself that nature for the sake of providing redemption for mankind.

that thru death… This is the ultimate purpose of the incarnation: Jesus came to earth to die. By dying, He was able to conquer death in His resurrection (John 14:19). By conquering death, He rendered Satan powerless against all who are saved. Satan’s using the power of death is subject to God’s will (Job 2:6).

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

To be able to fully understand His followers, Jesus took on flesh that He could be tempted in all points that His followers are.

Heb. 4:15 “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin.”

1 Cor. 15:54 “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. Jesus endured the cross to bring us life.

1 Cor. 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.” Adam brought death to all mankind, Jesus brought us life everlasting.

These children, however, were once held in servitude by their enemy, Satan. Since they were human, their Captain had to become human and die for them, in order to rescue them. But by doing so He was able to destroy… the devil. The author did not mean that Satan ceased to exist or to be active. Rather the word he used for “destroy” (katargēsē) indicates the annulment of his power over those whom Christ redeems.

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb 2:15

And deliver them... This refers to the deliverance of all righteous souls from the captivity of Satan and from their prison in the lower parts of the earth. Christ descended first into hell (Psm. 16:10; Acts 2:27), in the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:8-10; Mat. 12:40), then captured the righteous souls from Satan, leading them captive to heaven when He ascended on high as referred to in Eph. 4:8-10. This fulfilled Psm. 68:18. Before this, all righteous souls went into hades or sheol, along with the souls of the wicked, but in another compartment with a great gulf between them (Luke 16:19-31). Now, the souls of the righteous no longer go into the heart of the earth to be held captive against their will. They go immediately to heaven at physical death to await the resurrection of their bodies (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11). The wicked continue to go to the torment compartment of hades or sheol and will continue to do so until the end of the Millennium. Then death and Hades will deliver up the wicked souls who will be united with their bodies in resurrection to be judged and sent to eternal hell (Rev. 20:11-15).

thru fear of... For the believer, “death is swallowed up in victory” (1Cor. 15:54). Therefore, the fear of death and its spiritual bondage have been brought to an end through the work of Christ.

Rom. 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

In our time, there is so much danger of nuclear war that many people live in constant fear. In the (14th chapter of John), we are told not to fear. The only assurance that we have is in our Savior Jesus Christ. It is a natural thing to fear death, if you are not saved, because hell awaits that person. We Christians have hope of the resurrection in Jesus Christ.

In speaking of the devil as wielding the power of death, the writer meant that Satan uses people’s fear of death to enslave them to his will. Often people make wrong moral choices out of their intense desire for self-preservation. The readers were reminded that they were no longer subject to such slavery and that they could face death with the same confidence in God their Captain had.

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Heb 2:16

For verily he... Here Paul sums up his argument about Christ being better than angels, declaring He did not take on the nature of angels, but became the natural seed of Abraham. It was necessary that He be made in all things like unto His brethren "that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest" in the things of God, to remit their sins by His own atonement, and to represent them in time of temptation (Heb. 2:17-18). Thus, Paul shows the Jews that Christ had to be made a human being; that He came from Abraham according to the flesh; that He was one of their own people; that redemption could not have been possible otherwise; that the Messiah had to suffer to redeem; and that He is now able to help and deliver all men who are tempted.

the nature of... This is speaking about giving help, in this case not to angels but to the descendants of Abraham. The sense of “giving help is from the picture of a taking hold of someone in order to push or pull them to safety, to rescue them. However, there was no thought in Judaism that the Messiah’s entrance into the world would be to give help to the angels.

The contrast, using this translation, is weak in comparison with all that has been previously said about Christ’s superiority to the angels. The context presents the identification of Christ with mankind in His incarnation, He took upon Himself a human nature (verses 9-14, 17).

When the writer wished to express the concept of giving help, he chose a different Greek word (in verse 18; also 4:16). Therefore, the translation, “take on the nature of,” is to be preferred.

the seed of... Christ is that promised descendant. Since the readers are Hebrews, they would certainly identify themselves with this description. The Messiah had been born in the line of Abraham in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies (Matt. 1:1).

One of the chief purposes for the incarnation was the salvation of Israel (Mat. 1:21). Yet another purpose was the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant regarding the promised descendant. Of all peoples, the Hebrews should be first to recognize the significance and importance of the incarnation.

Gal. 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

Gal. 3:29 “And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Just as we had been studying, Jesus took on the form of flesh and dwelt among us. The purpose of His taking on flesh was that He could overcome the flesh nature for us. He was the only person who ever lived completely without sin.

Whatever their needs or trials, their Captain is adequate to help them since He ministers to Abraham’s descendants, not angels. The expression “Abraham’s descendants” (lit., “Abraham’s seed”) may point to the Jewishness of the writer’s audience, but even Gentile Christians could claim to be the “seed of Abraham” in a spiritual sense (Gal. 3:29).

Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Heb 2:17

faithful high priest... Used of Christ 15 times in Hebrews (Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14-15; 5:1-10; 6:20; 7:1, 7:26-27; 8:1, 8:3; 9:11, 9:25; 10:21; 13:11).

to make reconciliation... (or propitiation) The word means “to conciliate” or “satisfy.” Christ’s work of propitiation is related to His high-priestly ministry. By His partaking of a human nature, Christ demonstrated His mercy to mankind and His faithfulness to God by satisfying God’s requirement for sin and thus obtaining for His people full forgiveness (1 John 2:2; 4:10).

2 Cor. 5:21 “For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

1 John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

Jesus is at the throne of God praying for us continually. He is our great High Priest.

John 17:9 “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”

Jesus understands our problems and has given us permission to use His name to pray to the Father.

John 14:13 “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

The help which the Captain gives to these His followers is again predicated on the fact that He was made like His brothers in every way (Heb. 2:17), that is, both in terms of becoming incarnate and by virtue of suffering. Here for the first time the writer introduced the thought of His priesthood, which he elaborated on later. For now he was content to affirm that this identification with “His brothers” had made possible a priesthood characterized both by mercy and fidelity in service to God. This involved, as its basis, atonement for the sins of the people.

For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. Heb 2:18

them that are... The genuineness of Christ’s humility is demonstrated by the fact that He was subject to temptation. By experiencing temptation, Jesus became fully capable of understanding and sympathizing with His human brethren (4:15). He felt the full force of temptation.

Though we often yield means to make holy to temptation before we feel its full force, Jesus resisted temptation even when the greatest enticement for yielding had become evident (Luke 4:1-13).

1 Cor. 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].”

Jesus is our way of escape. It is a wonderful comfort to know that temptations that come can be overcome through the name of Jesus. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

This involved, as its basis, atonement for the sins of the people. Of this too the author said more later, but he chose to conclude the section on the profoundly hopeful thought that the Captain, in His role as Priest, is able to aid his readers who are being tempted (Heb. 2:18) out of the experience of temptation which His own sufferings entailed. Though the discussion of these themes is far from over, the author has already suggested that the Captain has indeed been made perfect for His role in leading them into participation in His future glory.