[Hebrews 2:1-18] Brother, Author of Salvation, and High Priest

(1) For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it. [2:1]

Although we have established that the Old Testament can be beneficial to us as Christians, just as it was to the early Christians, we must put the greatest amount of attention on Christ. It was his sacrifice that is so important, and it was his sacrifice that ushered in the New Covenant between God and man. If Christ is the key to understanding the Old Testament, and we can understand Christ in light of terms and metaphors of the Old Testament, then we must make him the object of our greatest attention. If we do not, we will be like a boat drifting away down the river from where it was once firmly anchored. We must remember and pay close attention to these three things: Christ was our brother, the author of our salvation, and our High Priest.

(3b) After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, (4) God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. [2:3b-4]

The writer of Hebrews himself was of the generation who did not see or hear Jesus first-hand. He had to depend on the reliable witness of those who heard him. The message of salvation was taught first by Christ, next by those who heard him, and it is also seen in signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit God has given. The prophets had of course prophesied about the coming of Christ, but now Jesus himself was on earth preaching the message of salvation. After Christ left, his message was carried on by the apostles and was proven reliable and true by the many miracles and signs that seemed to occur often in the apostolic age (Acts 2.43).

(2) For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, (3) how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? [2:2-3a]

If the Law, given to us by angels (through Moses, the judges, the prophets) was the ultimate finality, no one would be saved. We must be careful, however, to not set the law in opposition to the saving work of Christ. The Law was an imperfect representation of the saving work of Christ that was to come. The Law could never save anyone, simply because no one was good enough all the time to fulfill all of its requirements. There was a need for something more. What if following the Law was all there was to it? What kind of life would that really be? If we could constantly keep our minds on the ultimate reality and sovereignty of God and the consequences of disobeying the Law we would quickly realize that we would never be good enough. And we would realize this every single moment of every day. Surely this is not the abundant life that Christ preached. Christ’s message was radical. He had come for a specific purpose – to make a new way. He was the Son of God, His exact representation, His essence, Himself. His purpose was not to throw out the Law – he himself said that he was not here to take away even the slightest penmark from the Law (Mt. 5.17). He was here to fulfill God’s ultimate plan for the salvation of mankind. Begun with the Law and the sacrificial system, now with the self-sacrifice of the ultimate “Innocent” God’s plan for the salvation of His people was brought to its ultimate finality. If we ignore this truth, this New Covenant, what does that do for us? The truth is still the truth.

(5) For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. (6) But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? (7) You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; (8) You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. (9) But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. [2:5-9]

Through Christ’s death he was glorified. He is given rule of the “world to come.” This probably means the millennial reign of Christ in the Messianic kingdom. As we can see in the book of Daniel angels were given charge of the administration of this world (Dan. 10.20, 21). These angels were not necessarily all good, but they were made rulers nonetheless. Now Christ, by being made Heir, is given rule over the world. As verse 8 says, everything is now “put under his feet.” This reign began with Christ’s resurrection and subsequent enthronement at the right hand of God in Heaven and will reach its fulfillment at the time when Christ comes back for his people. While Christ was the Son of God, verse 7 says that he was made the son of man, a little lower than the angels for a time. This means he was made like you and me – human, flesh and blood. His humanity gave him the opportunity to die, and in doing so “tasted death for everyone” (verse 9). Now he is given the highest honor in Heaven, much higher than any of the angels.

(11) For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, (12) saying, "I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise." (13) And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." [2:11-12]

Christ and man were made one. Christ was our brother. Just as all humans die, so Christ must die to save us. Christ is the Son of God; we are God’s children. Since we can both call God “Father” Christ can call us “brothers.” The quote in verse 12 is one that all Christians of the author’s day and even all Christians in our day would agree Christ is speaking. It is a quote from Ps. 22.22, and in the beginning of this psalm can be found the words Jesus spoke on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The relevance of verse 12 in our study though is that Christ calls us brothers. By calling us “brothers” he is saying that he was flesh and blood. The encouragement that the humanity of Jesus can give to Christians who are tempted or are suffering is staggering. We can follow Christ’s ultimate example of “trust” in God, as is said in verse 13. All men and women, since we are human and therefore limited beings, have to trust God. While Christ was here on earth he also had to trust God and in His ultimate plan, and he did so even when he was being persecuted and suffered. The inner struggle of Jesus while he was in the Garden of Gethsemane (esp. Lk. 22.42-44) comes to mind. Jesus said, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” That is supreme trust. Christ chose to go fulfill what he had been sent to earth to do, even in the face of the greatest temptation to choose an easier way out.

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. [2:10]

God’s plan was that Christ would make salvation for mankind by means of suffering. Without the suffering and death of Christ sin could not have been erased. It is that simple. The phrase “author of salvation” in verse 10 is an interesting phrase. The seemingly strange placement of the word “author” here to describe Jesus gives a vivid image. The word in Greek can also be translated or understood as “pathfinder”, “pioneer”, or “trailblazer.” Christ pioneered our salvation, he made a way for us, and he leads us in it.

(14) Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.[2:14-15]

Man was paralyzed by the fear of death, the fear of separation from God forever. But by his death, Christ was able to destroy this fear and “render powerless” Satan, who held the power of death. The fear of death can be a strong motivator. It can make people do things that would normally be out of character for them. As Christians who place our faith in the resurrection of Christ and believe that we have a place with him in eternity, death doesn’t have the same power over us. For us, death has a different connotation. Death of the body means liberation from this world, and it means an eternity spent with our Creator.

(17) Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (18) For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. [2:17-18]

The suffering of Christ was also necessary for him to be an understanding High Priest for us, as is said later in this chapter. Christ shared our experiences. Only after a person’s sin has been dealt with can he or she confidently approach God. The high priest was the representative of the people before God, and his sole responsibility was to make atonement for their sins. Also, by sharing in our humanity and experiencing what we experience Christ can also be an example to Christians who are suffering. Because of Christ’s role as High Priest, we can be confident that our sin has been dealt with. He is our mediator between us and God in that, being completely sinless himself, he can approach God, and he has also made atonement for our sins, not like the symbolic and imperfect sacrifices of the previous high priests but by sacrificing himself, removing the need for further atonement. All previous sacrifices were merely symbols for the sacrifice Christ made.

Christ was our brother, the author of our salvation, and our High Priest. Christ was human, and we can see this in his temptation and his suffering. He effectively endured the temptations that are common to mankind. He also endured temptations in his ministry. He was tempted many times to choose a less costly way of fulfilling his mission on earth other than death, but he resisted (Mk. 3.21; 8.32, 33; Matt. 4.10) and carried out God’s plan. Christians were and are still today enduring both common human temptations and also temptations to choose the easy way out of doing something God has called them to do. We can take strength from the fact that Christ not only was tempted similarly to us but even had to endure much more in his charge to fulfill God’s purpose. And he not only endured but also overcame these temptations effectively.

(This was taken from the college Bible study I led on Hebrews on Sunday night, July 2, 2006 at University Baptist Church, Houston, TX.)