The first word of chapter 2 is therefore. Already, we have to start looking back into chapter 1 to see the antecedent of therefore. Chapter 1 argues that Jesus is the Messiah, and much loftier and greater than the angels. Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. As we finish the first paragraph, the question that must be asked is: what is the topic? The topic is salvation.
Let us pause for a moment and consider salvation. Remember the audience to whom the writer is speaking: believing and converted Jews. Throughout the whole of this epistle, it is vital to remember that audience. Because of that audience, the writer will make some assumptions, assumptions that we should perhaps clarify. Salvation is not about the here and now, in this present evil age. Salvation is not about these Last Days, after the revelation of God’s redemptive plan through Jesus Christ and His Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension. Salvation is about the result of these events upon our verdict on Judgment Day, after the Second Coming of Jesus when He will gather his sheep and separate the wolves. This whole argument, then, will be about the end game. This book is about Salvation. Keep that in mind. When we come to passages about works, remember that those passages have this vital assumption in mind. We are talking about Salvation first, and works second.
Look now at verse 5. What is the meaning of the world to come? This phrase will filter back into the argument later in the letter, so let us be sure to understand it now. We are talking about the world after the Second Coming, when the elect are resurrected and living with Christ in His Eternal Kingdom. The world to come is not this present world in these Last Days in which we currently live. This is a vital point. The writer is setting up this contrast intentionally. This is the contrast that we have discussed in the past concerning the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, Mount Sinai, the original covenant people (the Jews), Israel, Jerusalem, Moses and the Law, with the fulfilled and fully realized counterparts in the Age to come, the world to come, where each becomes their real selves, the New Covenant, Mount Zion, the new covenant people (believers in the promise of salvation through the redeeming work of Christ), the full and complete Israel with its adopted members, the heavenly Jerusalem discussed by John, Jesus and the Gospel. I have tried to maintain parallel construction of that last sentence so that you may see clearly the types and shadows of the old juxtaposed with the fully realized new. This is what the writer of Hebrews is doing in this book. He is setting up this vision of our future. Why? We will come to that eventually.
Psalms 8 is directly quoted in the next few lines. What is meant by the line you made him for a little while lower than the angels? Again, what was the antecedent argument to our current argument? Jesus is much in every way superior to the angels. But now, for a little while, He is lower than the angels. This is a direct reference to Jesus condescending to become incarnate through Mary as fully human. The reason for this will be discussed again shortly, but it is important to understand the direction of the argument. It sounds a bit like the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the Word, and now He has become incarnate. Why? This passage is about Salvation, so there will be a link developed soon in verse 9.
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. So, the writer is making a direct connection between Grace and death. Look at that again. By the Grace of God, He might taste death for everyone. It cannot fail to be obvious to even the casual reader that has to be some benefit or purpose behind the death of Jesus. There is Grace involved, and Jesus is dying for everyone. Why? Yes, the writer is going to help us out with that. Remember, this is going to be about Salvation. What is Salvation? Salvation is about getting the sheep verdict on Judgment Day instead of the wolf verdict.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers
Now, if you are like me, this verse was akin to being whacked with a 2 x 4 across the head. This is the whole point of chapter 2, so let’s break it down. The first He in this passage is referring to God the Father. Notice that the writer says for whom and by whom, and yet he does not say through whom. Through whom is the second person of the Trinity and that is also the second He of this passage. Who are the many sons to glory? Look in the mirror. We are talking about the elect, the believers, the sheep, all those who will be saved on Judgment Day.
I don’t know how to draw any more emphasis to these next two phrases than I have already, but focus now. I’m going to move the antecedents back into the phrase for clarity. Watch this. For it was fitting that God should make Jesus, the founder of their Salvation, perfect through suffering. Why? What’s up with that? Jesus is the founder of our salvation. Founder means the one who founds or establishes. So, we have several implications here. There was no salvation before Jesus. That’s tricky, but we will deal with the Old Testament patriarchs soon enough. There is no salvation without Jesus. This one is not as clearly implied here, but it is the logical flow from the first point. The founder becomes the foundation, the first born from the dead. That is the idea that we will be developing later. Keep hold of that thought.
Now, the second part of that phrase is more difficult. God makes Jesus perfect through suffering. This is NOT saying that Jesus was not perfect before. This is discussing salvation. Remember the difficult question from earlier. How does Jesus dying involve Grace? Purpose. There must be a purpose. Jesus is being made a perfect sacrifice. We have to connect all of the dots. Remember again that the audience for this letter already know the Old Testament. They know about the sacrifices and the roles of the priests and the relationship between all these things and the people of Israel. When we get farther into this epistle, that statement is going to seem odd. But for now, remember that the types and shadows are known to this audience. The writer is connecting the dots for them. So, the issue is that Jesus became incarnate in order to be made a perfect sacrifice. Now, what’s this about suffering?
As an aside, I don’t want to deal yet with the Trinitarian issues that scream out to us throughout Hebrews. We have to assume the Trinity and know that we cannot separate the Trinity as we read Hebrews. The arguments for the Oneness of the Trinity are not contradicted by Hebrews, but that is far too much to tackle while we are developing the Salvation theme.
Suffering. The writer continues. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. OK, that makes it clear. Suffering means to share in flesh and blood. Another way of saying this is that life, by definition, involves suffering. Or maybe that Jesus, being God and condescends to incarnation as flesh and blood is suffering relative to His original state. But finally, the only way to defeat death is to die, and then resurrect his body. To die from flesh and blood is to suffer the penalty of sin.
Slavery. We are slaves to sin and death, the fear of death. When Jesus overcomes death, He frees the believer from the fear of sin and death. Notice that He doesn’t eliminate our sin or our death. He frees us from the fear of the Wrath of God, which are the ultimate cause of our fear of sin and death. Our bodies remain IN Adam. We will have to die to Adam to be reborn in Christ, unless the Second Coming happens during our lifetime. While spiritually, those true elect believers in the New Covenant are already dead to sin and reborn in Christ, bodily we must await the Second Coming.
Pushing on to the last passage, who are the offspring of Abraham? To understand this, we must go back to Genesis 15 and understand two things. First, based upon what is Abraham deemed righteous. This is getting back to that question earlier. If Jesus is the founder of Salvation, how are Old Testament people saved? The answer is there for us in the Word. He is deemed righteous based upon His belief in the promise of God. Abraham knew that Salvation was beyond himself, and that it would require God’s mercy and grace. Second, the promise of God to Abraham and his offspring gets to the notion of family. There are natural members of his family, the Jewish branches, and there are the adopted members of his family, those Gentiles grafted into the family. Sons through adoption are full inheritors of the mercy and grace of God through the Redeeming work of Jesus. So, don’t forget that we are adopted into this family.
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
My goodness, that is a mouthful. Here, we are introduced to the term high priest. This will also be developed later in Hebrews. I keep pointing out that the audience is supposed to already understand the types and shadows. They know what a high priest does. The writer is connecting the dots. Jesus is the New High Priest. He is the First, Last and Only High Priest. That is the revelation in redemptive history that has brought us into this period in time, these Last Days, the time between the First and Second Comings of Christ.
I want to focus my last thought for this post on the end of verse 17: to make propitiation for the sins of the people. I have spoken in great detail in the past about this word. In some translations, the word is removed, changed, edited, discarded. But here it is again. Hilasterion must be translated in some way, and propitiation offers the most full and complete manner of understanding all that Christ accomplishes for us. As the Great High Priest, Jesus not only washes away our sin, but He reconciles us to God. Both parts of this are vitally important. You cannot be saved if you are still in enmity with God. There must not only be a cleansing of the sin, but a turning away of the Wrath of God from those elect who are Christ’s own.
So when we get to the last verse, how does Jesus help those who are being tempted? Does Jesus prevent us from sinning? No, we are still born IN Adam, under the curse. We still will fail in our efforts to keep from sinning. Jesus helps us by becoming the Great High Priest, our Intercessor, our Only Mediator and Advocate. When does this happen? He intervenes for us on the Last Day, Judgment Day. How is this relevant to us now? Well, for that, we must wait for later chapters.
Therefore is used frequently in Hebrews. The writer is building an argument. We must keep straight the points of the argument as we go, so that we understand the full argument at the end.
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