Christ is the Son and superior to
angels.
Christ took on flesh and was made a
little lower than the angels for a little while but still maintained his
superiority over angels.
But, while Christ was a man he suffered
and died. Why? Does that not challenge his superiority over
angels.
Why would the Son who is superior to
angels have to suffer?
2:9
“But 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.”
The Son is introduced by name here for
the first time. His name is Jesus.
The use of the human name of Jesus is
used throughout this book. The Son is a
man.
Jesus is given several titles and
identified in various ways but the author never lets us forget the fact that he
is a man.
Instead of having to view mankind (us)
from the position of Adam’s fall we can now see mankind (us) from the position
of Jesus’ success and victory.
Jesus was “crowned with glory and honor” because “he suffered death” not because of some other reason.
“Taste” is a metaphor
that means “to experience” the fullness of something, not simply to sample or
sip.
“Everyone” is “pantos”
pantoV in the Greek and it means
“everyone”. So, Jesus suffering was the
atonement for everyone. No room here for
the protestant doctrine of “limited atonement.” (also, 1 Timothy 2:4; John
3:16; etc.)
Through Jesus’ suffering the potential
and purpose of Psalm 8 is again attainable with the fulfillment coming when
Jesus himself reigns as in Rev. 20:6.
Also notice through out the book the
concept of “seeing” and “not seeing”.
In this verse, we can “see” the man (read and hear the recorded gospel
accounts) and actual historical events.
These are enough for us to place faith in and trust “what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1, also,
2:8)
We do see what happened to Jesus. So we can have faith in what will happen to
us at death or at suffering.
Man feared death but Jesus showed man
not to fear death by tasting it himself.
Death no longer is a fear since Christ showed us what happens after death.
1) a cup bearer
tastes for the king
2) a doctor
tastes for a patient (Chrysostrom)
1 Corinthians 15
2:10
“In
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.”
“God” refers not to
Jesus here but to God the Father “for
whom and through whom everything exists.”
Col. 16-17 refers to Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:19 – God was
reconciling the world
The reason for the suffering of the Son
was “in bringing many sons to glory.”
The suffering of the Son was not an
indication of weakness nor an indication of his inferiority to angels but a
necessity for the accomplishment of the goal.
“Bringing” is in the aorist tense
and places it not in the past but in a timeless state.
“ton
arlhgon
thV swthriaV autwn”
“the leader
who delivers them”
“Author” is the word
“archegos” archegoV and it means
“originator, leader or pioneer”
“archegos” is used again in Hebrews
12:2.
In Hebrews 6:20 Christ “went before us”
and entered the sanctuary or the presence of God.
It was through this suffering Jesus was
made “perfect”
“Perfect” is teleiosai teleiosai means “complete”
The suffering includes:
1) Becoming a man
(though without the sin nature of Adam
2) Living in a
cursed and fallen world
3) The work of
the cross
The perfect Son of God had to be made
the perfect pathfinder.
To find the perfect path for man to be
delivered he had to lead man through suffering.
Suffering on the cross was the only way
out for mankind.
Jesus found the way out. It was suffering and death, but
Jesus showed us what the end result of
suffering and death is: glory and honor.
Suffering followed by glory is the
theme of this epistle and the foundation of the Christian faith.
There is a problem with the concept of
the Son who is superior to angels having to suffer.
Here it is introduced that Jesus’
suffering was the way to his glory, but not only to his glory but all who
followed him.
2 Timothy 2:11-13
Jesus was the one who paved the way out
of man’s sin problem.
2:11
Jesus and mankind are of the same
family now. They are all of the human
race.
“of
the same family” in the Greek says “of one”
It is not below Jesus to call humans
his brothers.
2:12
The writer of Hebrews now quotes three
OT verses.
They are all quoted with a thought in
mind and are all connected to his point.
First OT Quote
Psalm 22:22
Psalm 22:1 was quoted on the cross by
Jesus. (Mt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)
The entire Psalm was used by the early
church as proof that Jesus was the OT promised Messiah.
The language of this Psalm found its
way into both Mark and Matthew
The first half of the Psalm is clearly
a reference to the Messiah’s suffering.
The second half of the Psalm reveals
the Messiah after the resurrection.
In Psalm 22:22 the Septuagint
translates the Hebrew word “qahal”
with the Greek word “ekklesia” or ekklesia.
“Ekklesia” is translated from the NT Greek into our English Bibles with
the word “church”.
Second OT Quote
Isaiah 8:17
Isaiah 8:11-17 is God speaking to
Isaiah who has been rejected by his nation.
Isaiah is told to take his message that
has been ignored and seal it up.
Isaiah’s disciples are to preserve his
message until the days of its fulfillment.
Then it will be a testimony to God and his faithfulness.
Isaiah accepts his situation and
concludes by saying, “I will put my trust in him.”
Isaiah will wait for the Lord to
fulfill his word and then Isaiah will be vindicated.
In Isaiah 8:14 “the Rock” is a
reference to the Son of God.
Notice Isaiah 8:17 the LORD “is hiding
his face from the house of Jacob.”
This is similar to Psalm 22:1 where the
quote is “my God, my God why have you forsaken me.” Then those who mock Jesus say, “He trusts in
the LORD.”
Third OT Quote
Isaiah 8:18
In Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah is referring to
the remnant of believers who heard and believed his message.
In context in Hebrews 8:13 the speaker
is Jesus and those who have believed his message. The believers are the brothers he is not
ashamed to be identified with.