Hebrews

Chapter Two

Message Six

Heb 2:1-18

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.

6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 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,

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

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

14 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;

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

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

17 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.

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

In the last message from this text, we discussed verses 1-3 and the warning that we find here concerning giving earnest heed to the things that we have heard and the possibility of slipping away from them. We pick up the discussion now with verse 4.

Heb 2:4

4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? KJV

'Them' here is the words which were spoken to us by the prophets, by Jesus Christ, and then by the apostles after Him. God has born witness by granting 'signs,' 'wonders,' and 'miracles.'

This tells us several things.

First of all, the intent and purpose of all the miracles was to be taken as God adding His 'amen' to the words of those who have spoken to us. In every miracle of the Bible, from creation to the visions of John on Patmos, we are to consider that God was testifying that the words spoken by the person through whom He did the miracle were true words.

Consider the plagues that were brought upon Egypt through Moses. Were they primarily designed to punish the Egyptians for not yielding to Moses' request, 'let my people go?' No. They were to convince the Egyptians and especially Pharaoh that Moses was the spokesman of God and his words had the authority of heaven behind them.

Remember the miracles done by the hand of Moses in the wilderness. They, too, were to convince the Israelites that Moses was God's man and that the 'words' which he spoke to them were the very words of God. It was God's endorsement of what he said.

Now consider all the miracles that God had done through His servants through time, down to the miracles done by Jesus and the apostles. These served the primary purpose of lending authority to what they taught.

If we could gather up in our minds all of the 'signs,' 'wonders,' and 'miracles' that were ever done and hold them there, we should be brought to the conclusion that the words of God's spokesmen were true words to be heeded and obeyed. They should add to our certainty that what we believe is true. What other religion can point to such a vast array of miraculous occurrences to validate the truth of their religion?

The effort that God has invested in revealing the truth to mankind is truly a marvelous thing. The writer begins to contrast how God has behaved toward humanity with how He has behaved toward the faithful and obedient angels.

Heb 2:5

5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. KJV

God has not put the world to come, the New Earth, under the authority of angels. They will not be in charge there. It is not a world created for them. This introduces the real thought which follows in the next verses.

Heb 2:6-8

6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet... KJV

This 'one in a certain place' is David.

Ps 8:3-6

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: KJV

Though God created man as an apparent lesser creature than the angels, He has done far more for man than He ever did for angels. He gave dominion of His creation to man, not angels. He has visited man, working with him and revealing Himself to him. God has elevated mankind above the angels in His affection, giving glory and honor to man that angels will never know.

Heb 2:5-9

There words are to be considered both as applicable to mankind in general, and as applied here to the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. As applicable to mankind in general:

(A.) In remembering them, or thinking on them, even when they had no existence except in the counsels of divine love. The favors of God to men all had their origin in His eternal thoughts and purposes of mercy for them. His purpose to bless humanity preceded creation. He had purposed to do good to the sons of Adam when they were only a thought in His mind.

(B.) In visiting them. God's purpose to do good to men produced visits to them. He visited Adam in the garden, even after Adam and Eve had sinned against Him. He visited Noah and preserved his family across the flood. He visited Moses and Israel in Egypt to deliver them. And He has visited us in the Person of His Own Son, about Whom we are going to hear more shortly.

(C.) In making man the head of all the creatures in this world, the greatest of His creations on earth, and only a little lower than the angels in status but ultimately to become more than the angels in the resurrection.

(D.) In crowning him with glory and honor, the honor of having noble powers and faculties of soul, yet with also a body suited to his reasoning powers by which he is connected to both worlds, the physical and the spiritual. As such man is capable of existing in both worlds and enjoying the happiness of both.

(E.) In giving him right to and dominion over the inferior creatures, which continued so long as he continued in his allegiance and duty to God. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

But the writer carries the argument further.

Heb 2:8-9

...For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. KJV

The discussion turns, in midstream, to place attention on Jesus Christ, made a man and, as such, 'a little lower than the angels.' In Jesus' incarnation, He became man, real man, and left the glory of heaven behind. He humbled Himself, leaving behind much of His position and honor in glory. The thinking of the writer here parallels the thoughts of Paul on the subject.

Phil 2:5-8

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. KJV

We do not yet see all things in subjection to man as God created him to be. What we do see is Jesus Christ, Who is the hope and guarantee that the purpose of God will be accomplished. But here we are brought into confrontation with that which corrupted the place of man on the earth and robbed him of his original place in God's creation. It was sin, sin of such magnitude that restoration and recovery from it required the sacrifice of God's Own Son, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

The writer assumes that we understand the Fall of man, the sin of Adam. He does not really revisit the issue here, except by allusion to it. But let us remind ourselves of the words of Paul concerning this corruption of humanity and loss of the original place with God that was once held.

Rom 5:12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: KJV

It was sin which interrupted and destroyed man's original place. It brought two great consequences, which are linked into one sad reality. It cost man his place with God and his life, both physical and spiritual. All of mankind was plunged instantly upon the sin of Adam into spiritual death and separation from God, and it brought physical death in as a sentence upon every man born into the race.

This is what the writer is referencing when he says that Jesus tasted death for all. The death of Jesus was a substitute, a replacement, for the spiritual death that was the sentence and penalty passed upon the whole race because of Adam's sin and because they, every one, followed him in that rebellion.

We do not see man in the place for which God created him. What we do see is Jesus, doing the work on behalf of man that would recover him to that place with God that was lost.

But the death of Christ is only part of what we see. We also see Him crowned with glory and honor. He rose from the dead in a human body that would never die to guarantee all of His people that they would indeed be restored, recovered, saved from the consequences of sin forever.

They are delivered immediately from spiritual death by the New Birth and restored to right standing and fellowship with God. They are promised and guaranteed deliverance from physical death in the resurrection.

10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. KJV

Heb 2:10

10 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. NAS

It was proper, right, and entirely consistent with the character of God to do this, to bring many sons to glory through the sufferings of 'the author of their salvation,' their 'captain.' It was also entirely proper and right that He would also do this through the sufferings of that 'captain' and 'perfect' or complete His work of redemption in this way.

In these few verses we have been brought from reflecting upon the marvel that God would think of man at all to the affirmation that God has not only thought on man but set His heart on the redemption of a great number of them ('many sons').

It is a thought beyond comprehension and almost beyond belief that God would do such a thing. No being that we can imagine would do so. But 'it became Him.' It was entirely a natural and normal outworking of His character. While He could have done whatever He pleased, He would not leave His special creation all to perish. He had set His affections upon a great multitude of them, an innumerable host and had written their names in His Book of Life. He would not leave them to destruction.

Do you see it? Do you see Jesus? Made of the same flesh as you and I yet without sin? See Him there upon the cross? See what He is doing? See Him there in His glorified body? Can you see what He has done?

All of the miracles that God has done from the beginning until now were designed and purposed to call your attention to the truthfulness of the words that have told us of the Finished Work of Jesus Christ.