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Review

Last time we looked at Jesus having been made “a little lower than the angels” through His incarnation in the flesh of a man. Although we know that “all authority” has been given to Jesus, “in Heaven and on Earth” we saw that for the time being from our human perspective, we don’t see Jesus’ dominion due to the rampant evil that God has temporarily allowed to reign over the Earth.

Jesus Restored to Glory Preparing the Way for Us

The writer now turns our attention to considering why Jesus became “a little lower than the angels” – our redemption from God’s righteous judgment for our sins.

⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹²saying:

“I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

¹³And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again:

“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

¹⁴Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. _{[Hebrews 2:9-18 – NKJV]}

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for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, _{[Romans 3:23 – NKJV]}

For the wages of sin is death _{[Romans 6:23a – NKJV]}

 ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

By His own death on the cross, Jesus has rescued mankind from death which is God’s rightful punishment for our sins…

⁴Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed. _{[Isaiah 53:4-5 – NKJV]}

 

¹⁸You have ascended on high,

You have led captivity captive;

You have received gifts among men,

Even from the rebellious,

That the LORD God might dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation! Selah

²⁰Our God is the God of salvation;

And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. _{[Psalm 68:18-20 – NKJV]}

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

In our study of Hebrews 2:5-8 we considered the fact that Jesus’ incarnation and His death on the cross were not God’s emergency plan for mankind’s redemption after our fall in the garden. Quite the contrary, Jesus knew He would have to come and die in our place even before the beginning of creation. Thus, as the Hebrews writer points out here, it was “fitting” for Him to save us by His birth, death, and resurrection. Other translations state this concept in a variety of ways. I really like the beauty of the KJV rendition…

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. _{[Hebrews 2:10 – KJV]}

It “became” Jesus to take on the flesh of a man in the same sense that we might say something like, “That new hair style really becomes her.” But that’s not a turn of phrase we find used much in modern American English, so perhaps the CSB makes it a little clearer, saying that coming in the flesh was an “appropriate” thing for Jesus to do…

For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—for whom and through whom all things exist—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. _{[Hebrews 2:10 – CSB]}

The rendering of Greek word – ἀρχηγός archēgos – in this verse as “captain” in the KJV and NKJV doesn’t really do justice to the intended meaning in my opinion. This Greek word is translated in the KJV once as “author,” once (here in Hebrews 2:10) as “captain,” and twice as “prince.” But no single English noun really captures the meaning of the Greek word or in my opinion the thrust of the Hebrews writer’s intention in this verse. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament lists the word under the heading “Author,” but goes on to explain that the word “primarily signifies ‘one who takes a lead in, or provides the first occasion of, anything.’ ” I think that is the concept that the Hebrews writer is trying to relate to his readers. Jesus’ incarnation, suffering, and ultimate death on the cross are “appropriate” because in them He was blazing the trail that His followers were to take – first through suffering and bodily death, but ultimately to eternal glory in the heavenly company of God.

Furthermore, we see in Jesus’ example that the path He took for us was rife with suffering, just as Isaiah prophesied some 700 years before the LORD’s birth…

¹Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

²For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

³He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

 

⁴Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

⁶All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

 

⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

⁸He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

⁹And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

 

¹⁰Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;

e has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

¹¹He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

¹²Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors. _{[Isaiah 53 – NKJV]}

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” _{[John 16:33 – NKJV]}

 

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. _{[Matthew 5:10-12 – NKJV]}

 

¹⁶“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. ¹⁸You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. _{[Matthew 10:16-26 – NKJV]}

 

⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹²And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. _{[Matthew 24:7-14 – NKJV]}

⁴⁶While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. ⁴⁷Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” _{[Matthew 12:46-50 – NKJV]}

¹⁷Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

¹Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ²being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'”

⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”

⁹Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,’

¹¹and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”

¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'”

¹³Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. _{[Luke 4:1-13 – NKJV]}