In our study of Hebrews chapter two, we look at the fact that Jesus was human as well as the Son of God. This chapter reminds us that God came down as a man because that was the only way that we could be saved. In chapter one, we saw that Jesus was higher than the angels but here we see that He humbled himself and became lower than the angels for our salvation.
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Therefore, we must pay much more careful heed to the things we have heard, so that we will not drift away.
Anytime we see the word "therefore", we must look back to what we have studied before because what is to come is connected to that. Here, we are reminded that Jesus is God as He was higher than the angels. The "drift away" speaks to the fact that many will accept the fact that Jesus was a great man (which is true) but they will forget (deny) that He is the Son of God. It seems that we see that even more today as people call themselves Christians (disciples of Jesus Christ) yet deny the words that He said about Himself (Son of God). They, in fact, have drifted away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For if the word God spoke through angels became binding, so that every violation and act of disobedience received its just deserts in full measure, then how will we escape if we ignore such a great deliverance? This deliverance, which was first declared by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him;
In the Old Testament, God used angels to deliver His instructions and disobedience (sin) resulted in punishment. Then, God sent His Son to save us because we could not live up to His standards. If breaking the law resulted in punishment, will not rejecting the salvation that is offered through His Son result in even worse judgment. Not only do we have what Jesus said about Himself but we also have the eyewitness accounts of those who walked the earth with Him and learned directly from Him.
while God also bore witness to it with various signs, wonders and miracles, and with gifts of the Ruach HaKodesh which he distributed as he chose.
Here, we see that the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ was not only established by the words of the witnesses but by actions as well. Many times, we ask about the purpose of the miracles that we read about in the Bible and here we are given the answer as they all point to the fact that salvation through Jesus Christ is God's plan for us.
For it was not to angels that God subjected the 'olam haba - which is what we are talking about.
Even though Jesus came as a man (lower than the angels), He has still been given authority over all of creation. He came as the lamb for our salvation but He is coming back as a lion to establish His kingdom.
And there is a place where someone has given this solemn testimony: "What is mere man, that you concern yourself with him? or the son of man, that you watch over him with such care? You made him a little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor, you put everything in subjection under his feet."
We are reminded of the words of King David from Psalm 8. Here, David was talking about the fact that the Creator of all things placed man in charge of His creation on the earth. He could have put angels in charge but He did not. Jesus came as the perfect man and all of the earth responded to His instructions as a demonstration of this authority.
In subjecting everything to him, he left nothing unsubjected to him. However, at present, we don't see everything subjected to him - at least, not yet. But we do see Yeshua - who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels - now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God's grace he might taste death for all humanity.
Even though we look around us and see the rebellion of men against God and His Son, Jesus is still in control of all things. We see that God made Him lower than the angels when He came in the form of a baby. This baby grew up and is now crowned with glory because of His resurrection where even death was made subject to Him.
For in bringing many sons to glory, it was only fitting that God, the Creator and Preserver of everything, should bring the Initiator of their deliverance to the goal through sufferings.
How was Jesus made perfect through suffering? He was obedient to the Father even to the point of death and so was the perfect sacrifice. This Sacrifice was sufficient to repair the broken relationship between God and men.
For both Yeshua, who sets people apart for God, and the ones being set apart have a common origin - this is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers
Not only did Jesus die for our sins but, when we believe in Him, we are adopted into His family. It is amazing how we can be taken out of shameful sin and elevated to a position in the royal family of God.
when he says, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." Also, "I will put my trust in him, . . ." and then it goes on, "Here I am, along with the children God has given me."
This family was spoken of even in the Old Testament as we see here in the quotes from the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah.
Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, he became like them and shared that same human nature; so that by his death he might render ineffective the one who had power over death (that is, the Adversary)
We sometimes remember Jesus on the cross but forget all of the events that led up to that point. The Son of God left heaven to come to earth as the most helpless of humans, a baby. He suffered from all of the temptations that we face in life and yet remained sinless so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for us. When He rose from the grave, the power of death over Him and us was broken and the devil was defeated.
and thus set free those who had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death.
Because He broke the power of death through His resurrection, we are free as well. Our hope is that, like Jesus, we will be raised again to live with Him forever.
Indeed, it is obvious that he does not take hold of angels to help them; on the contrary, "He takes hold of the seed of Avraham."
Angels are not in fear of death because they do not die. It is man that faces death due to the effects of sin and so it is for our benefit that Jesus came in the flesh.
This is why he had to become like his brothers in every respect - so that he might become a merciful and faithful cohen gadol in the service of God, making a kapparah for the sins of the people.
The high priest was a man that was the mediator between God and his fellow man. By being fully God and fully man, Jesus bridged that gap permanently with His sacrifice.
For since he himself suffered death when he was put to the test, he is able to help those who are being tested now.
Jesus was tempted by the devil (see Luke 4) and did not sin. He became the perfect payment for our sins and overcame Satan by His resurrection. Therefore, He is able to save us from our sins. He also sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and to help us to overcome the temptations of the devil.
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