Hebrews 2:10-18: Like His Brothers and Sisters

While chapter 2 is not the core or torso of the argument of the book of Hebrews, it is at least one of the legs on which it stands. To prepare yourself to look at these last few verses, re-read the entire chapter, and then consider looking again at my posts:

• Jesus as Human and Divine Priest
• Hebrews 2:1-4: Such a Great Salvation
• Hebrews 2:5-9: Lower than the Angels

I believe that many of us have trouble with the humanity of Jesus. It’s easier to present Jesus as totally divine; that doesn’t risk his holiness, his sinlessness, and his otherness. And all of those elements are important, as I have discussed before. In the atonement, Jesus brought infinite, holy, omniscient, omnipotent God into contact with a humanity that was anything but those things. It’s really hard to imagine. I believe seeing Jesus as truly human is much harder than it is to see him as the divine coming king.

There are three key reasons for this, I believe. First, we have convinced ourselves that despite much scripture to the contrary, human beings are truly wretched creatures without a shred of value. The atonement should, at a minimum, make one think about that proposition. Value is determined by what buyers are willing to pay, and look just what our buyer was willing to pay. (Note that I’m not saying, “self-sufficient” or “capable of saving ourselves.”) Second, we have become afraid that the human side of Jesus will defame his majesty. Third, however, I think that the human Jesus challenges us more directly in a moral and ethical sense, as exemplified by the words of verses 1-4 or chapter 2. If Jesus was less that truly human, then we have a ready-made excuse for our own failures.

Hebrews is a book that is not strong in the excuse department; it’s strong in the challenge department, and that’s where we’re getting here in chapter 2. Jesus is like us. He suffered (v. 10), he’s our brother (v. 11), he shares flesch and blood (v. 14), he even shared death with us (v.15), all this was not for angels, but was rather for human beings (v. 16). Because he is one of us, he can sympathize with us (v. 17). He has suffered like us, and so he can sympathize with those who are being tested (v. 18). All this relates closely to Hebrews 4:14-16 as well, which we will study more later.

Comments

¹⁰For it was appropriate for him {God}, because of whom everything exists and by means of whom everything exists, in bringing many sons into glory, to perfect the pioneer of their deliverance through suffering.

Note that this does not refer exclusively to the suffering of the cross, but rather to the suffering that is involved in being human. Jesus was made perfect or complete as a priest and as a sacrifice by sharing suffering with us as human beings. Thus he became the pioneer of our deliverance.

¹¹Indeed, the one who is making holy and those being made holy are of one essence. For this reason he {Jesus} is not ashamed to call them brethren. ¹²For he says:

“I will proclaim your fame among your brethren,
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise songs to you.”
[Psalm 22:22]

¹³
“I will continue to put my trust in him.”
[Isaiah 8:17 LXX]

Again, the humanity of Jesus is affirmed. In the next few verses we will see a little bit more about this. We can truly use the pronoun “we” when we refer to Jesus and the rest of us.

. . . and again ¹⁴Since then the children share blood and flesh, he himself likewise shares the same things. In this way, by means of death he can do away with the one who has the power of death, namely the devil.

It’s interesting that we usually talk about the lies the Devil has told about God, and indeed he has lied about God, but we don’t always see the lies that he has told about human beings. One of those unsuccessful lies was telling us that we would not die. But the first parents, and every one of us know that we will die, and for us that is a frightening prospect. No matter how much intellectual evidence a person has, there seems to still be some fear of death. That’s because this body, this person cannot experience what is beyond. As Christians we have a great hope.

Jesus is the pioneer. How does Satan hold us down here? It’s largely through fear. Before my son had cancer, from which he eventually died, I did not really understand this aspect of fear. In the oncologist’s office, on the hospital ward, amongst our friends, even in church, the essence of being ill with cancer was fear. That was really the greatest enemy. James conquered that fear. No, I don’t mean that he was no longer afraid at all, but he didn’t let it stop him. He was able to live those last months of his life. Why? Because Jesus gave him that power. The pioneer had gone before. When he died there was sorrow, but there was also peace.

¹⁵So he can release those who were subject to servitude all their lives by fear of death.

The problem here is that the fear of death prevents us from living. Our lives are stolen away from us not by death, though that terminates this life, but by the constant fear of death along the way. The resurrection gives us another option.

¹⁶For clearly he is not concerned with angels, but rather with the seed of Abraham.

We are further reminded that all of this discussion is truly of human beings and not of angels. There are twin dangers. On the one hand we can decide we’re good enough on our own, and not seek salvation. On the other we can decide we’re not good enough even for God to rescue.

¹⁷For this reason it was necessary for him to be like his brethren in all ways, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest concerning divine matters {matters dealing with God} in order to cleanse the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he was tested by the things he suffered, he is able to sympathize with those who are tested.

Notice this “like his brethren in all ways.” I think that Jesus left behind the powers of divinity, but not the character of God. He lived as human beings must live. He grew (Luke 2:52) and he agonized in prayer even in Gethsemane. I think he had to learn of God’s plan as we do, listening to the Holy Spirit. This was not because he was, in fact, less than God, but rather because, though he was God, he chose not to exercise those extra powers of divinity and to depend on the Father for that guidance and that power.

Thus he becomes not only capable of being our pioneer, he becomes a challenge to everyone. Can we depend on the Father in the way that Jesus did? Can we submit so totally to God’s will that nothing will take us aside? That’s the challenge of this chapter.