Book of
Hebrews 2:1-18
Mike Barnett, January 14,
2007
Hebrews 2:1-18 says:
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to
what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For
if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and
disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we
escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first
announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
5It
is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are
speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has
testified:
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
7You made him a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his
feet." [b]
In putting everything
under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do
not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor
because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for
everyone.
10In
bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom
everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through
suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those
who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them
brothers. 12He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will
sing your praises."[c] 13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,
"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[e]
14Since the
children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his
death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he
helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he
had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a
merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make
atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because
he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted.
Review of Chapter 1
·
In Hebrews
1:1-4, the writer described the eternal son of God, who is God’s final and
complete revelation of himself.
·
In 1:5-14, he
contrasted the son with the angels proclaiming how superior Jesus is to the
angels.
·
This is
because the Jewish Christians wanted to put angel worship ahead of Christ.
·
As we saw
last week, the author portrayed the son as the creator (1:2).
·
The sustainer
of the Universe. (1:3)
·
The heir of
all things. (1:2)
·
The one now
exalted to God’s right hand (1:3)
·
The angels on
the other hand are created and temporal (1:7)
·
And they
worship the one exalted to God’s right hand (1:6)
·
Thus in every
way the son is superior to them.
Insights from Hebrews Chapter
2:
1) We need to continually hear and focus on God’s
Word so we don’t easily drift away from God V. 1
·
We drift away
when we do not pay attention to what we have heard from God in the past. V. 1
·
We drift away
when we do not remember to apply past lessons learned from the Bible. V.1
·
We easily drift
away by listening to our culture more than we listen to God’s Word.
·
Most of us
have forgotten what the sermon was about before we go to our car in the parking
lot – that’s why it is so important to have a daily quiet time.
·
Having a
daily quiet time consisting of Bible reading, prayer and thanksgiving keeps a
Christian focused on Jesus Christ and God’s direction for their life. V.1
2) If the angels meant
business by their words, then Jesus did all the more by sharing the good news –
His message of salvation is far superior than the law shared by the angels and
the prophets. Vs. 2-3
·
The inability
of mankind to keep the Law of God which sends them to Hell and eternal
damnation is the bad news primarily proclaimed in the Old Testament.
·
And while bad
news is sometimes important – good news by definition is even more important.
·
“That God so
loved the world, that He who believes in Jesus, the
Son shall not perish but have ever lasting life” is the good news primarily proclaimed
in the New Testament.
·
In the Greek,
“Gospel” means good news.
3) God confirmed the
Gospel message through signs, miracles and spiritual gifts and He still does
today – only our doubt and disbelief can hinder them. V. 4
·
On numerous
occasions when people sought out Jesus for a healing, he replied, “Let it be
done according to your faith”.
The other implication is:
·
There is only
one way to God which is through Jesus the son, but there are many ways to
Jesus. Vs.3- 4
·
Some of you
came to faith in Christ through signs and wonders.
·
Others
through Bible study.
·
Some through
friendships.
·
Some of you
may have had a vision from God.
·
Others of
you, did not see visions or miracles or signs, you just knew it was time to
surrender your life to Christ.
·
We all have
our own unique experiences pertaining to how we came to faith in Christ because
there are numerous ways to Christ and God chose the best way for you to
understand the “good news” based on your personality, temperament, past
experiences and so forth.
·
In Vs. 5-18,
The preacher reiterates that Jesus is superior to the angels.
·
In providing
purification, the Son again stands in contrast to the angels.
4) JESUS IS IN CHARGE OF
THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT. V. 5
5) JESUS DELEGATED HIS
AUTHORITY TO BELIEVERS UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN TO SET UP THE NEW KINGDOM. Vs. 6-8
Mark 16:15-18 says:
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes
and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name
they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they
will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it
will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well."
NOTE: In Hebrews 2:6: Man
and “son of man” are synonymous terms which refer to humanity in general.
6) Even though God created
man a little lower than the angels, it was man that God trusted the rule the
world – It was his plan from the beginning as stated in the book of Genesis. Vs. 5-8
·
These verses
are quoted from Psalm 8
·
It was Jesus
who redeemed the plan of mankind ruling the world – the deal is still on.
·
When Jesus
comes again to set up the New Earth we will finally see the fullness of God’s
plan in operation.
Psalm 8 says:
1
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the
earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the
lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise [b]
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I
consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is
man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made
him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made
him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks
and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds
of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD,
our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the
earth!
·
In this
Psalm, we see that the author, King David marveled at the high dignity God had
bestowed on puny man by entrusting him with dominion over the other creatures.
·
Psalm 8 is a
hymn addressed by a human being to God.
·
When we first
read the psalm quoted in 2:6-8, it does not appear that the Son is the one who
rules the world to come.
·
The preacher
has already said that it is redeemed human beings who will inherit salvation (
·
The writer of
Hebrews is aware that Psalm 8 was written to give thanks for the position God
has given humanity in his creation.
·
God has shown
his care by giving human beings an exalted position just a little lower than
the angels.
·
However, in
the light of Christ’s coming, the Hebrews’ preacher sees a new depth in this
psalm, both in the way it relates to humanity in general and its relationship to
Jesus the perfect human being.
·
The author
interprets the three lines quoted from Psalm 8:5-6 in Hebrews 2:7-8
THREE TRUTHS REGARDING
CHRIST DISCIPLES AS STATED IN HEBREWS 2:7-8
1.
GOD MADE HIM A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS).
2.
GOD CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR.
3.
GOD PUT EVERYTHING UNDER HIS FEET.
·
In verses 5-8,
the Hebrew author is no longer talking about Christ – he is now talking about
his disciples – they have been elevated to the status of God’s son!
7) WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN, WE WILL SEE THAT
EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT TO HIM – “EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE WILL
CONFESS THAT JESUS IS LORD!” V. 8
·
We do not yet
see everything subject to him, for this subjection will only occur at Jesus’
second coming.
·
It is the
heavenly homeland – the new Heaven and the New Earth into which Jesus the pioneer
leads God’s pilgrims.
8) JESUS DIED PHYSICALLY
SO HIS FOLLOWERS COULD LIVE SPIRITUALLY.
V. 9
·
Jesus
suffered in order that He might be made perfect as our Savior.
·
By his death
He was made perfectly able to save them.
·
A pioneer is
often a person who enters and enables others to enter a new country.
·
Like other
pioneers, Jesus opened the way to this Promised Land only through hardship and
suffering.
·
We will
experience the salvation He provides in its fullness when we complete our entry
into that heavenly homeland at Christ’s return.
·
We begin to
enjoy that salvation now as we enter into intimate fellowship with the Father.
·
The Son of
God, of course, is and always will be perfect.
However, by becoming a
human being and dying He became perfect as our pioneer and Savior.
9) BECAUSE THE SON OF GOD
AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD ARE BOTH RELATED TO GOD, THEY HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH
EACH OTHER! Vs. 10-12