Christ, Our Trailblazer

v. 5 The writer continues to show Jesus is superior to angels.

“God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.” The context here is man’s final and ultimate salvation. When God created man, He gave him dominion over the earth. That dominion weas forfeited when man sinned. We’ll get into that more in a minute. The point is angels were never given the promise of dominion over the earth. Man was given that promise.

v.6-8 Psalm 8:4-6 is quoted as a proof text to the point made in verse 5. Let’s break it down.

The Psalmist is humbled at the thought that God:

Is mindful of him. The word means to remember, and the tense is present. So, the Psalmist is humbled that God continues to think of mankind.

Cares for him. This word means to look after. It’s not only that God cares, but that God actually tends to the needs of mankind.

What do we learn about God from these verses?

God cares and is involved with His creation.

v. 7-8 There are two ways theologians have interpreted these verses. I’ll give you both.

1) Mankind has been made temporarily lower than the angels.

How is mankind lower than the angels?

We are limited by a physical body. We can get sick, we can become weak, we can die.

We are limited in our access to God. We cannot see God. The angels go in and out of His presence.

We are limited by strength. Angels are far superior to us in strength.

2) Man, here, refers to Jesus as the Son of man.

Christ would be made lower than the angels in His incarnation, not His intrinsic value. In becoming a human Jesus took upon the limitations and weaknesses of a human body. This was only temporary. The exalted Christ has returned to His throne.

If the reference is to mankind then the glorification of man and subjugation of all things under his feet is the result of Jesus conquering death, hell and the grave on behalf of humanity and restoring humanity to its proper place.

The writer must make a clarification at the end of verse 8. He says we do not see everything beneath the feet of Jesus (or mankind) yet. Why is that? The end has not yet come.

When Christ returns the universe will be placed back in its proper order. When this occurs mankind will be given a position over the angels. The Bible says we will judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3).

But for now, mankind reaps the results of the Fall. We struggle to grow crops. We are in danger from animals and bugs. Disease is a threat. Ultimately all of those things will be fixed.

v. 9 This verse tells us how all those things are fixed. This verse is clearly speaking of Jesus.

“Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels”

The angels were aware of the incarnation. They came to announce the birth of Christ. They came on the night he was born. They ministered to Him in the wilderness when He was tempted. They knew what Judas did through the help of a fallen angel. They saw the cross.

All the while the angels were in a wonderful position of strength and protection. Jesus was suffering.

Yet Christ was crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering. Jesus is exalted because of what He did for sinners.

Jesus suffered death. He died a slow and painful death.

Jesus tasted death for everyone. The word “tasted” is used to show that He truly experienced death. Everything that goes along with death Jesus experienced. There were no shortcuts. This was one of the reasons He took upon Himself a body. God could not experience death in this way without a human body. The suffering of Jesus was legitimate.

His death was on our behalf. It was the result of the grace of God. God’s undeserved love toward us moved Christ to die a horrible death. In His death he accomplished our redemption.

v. 10 The word “fitting” means that the way God accomplished our salvation is consistent with His own character. What do I mean by that?

God is holy

God is just

Because God is holy He is and must always be separated from sin.

Because God is just He must always punish sin

God cannot stop being holy and just for our benefit. The only way to accomplish redemption and forgiveness is through the cross.

We need a human representative that is perfect.

The representative must be willing to absorb the full punishment of all who will be redeemed.

The cross shows the holiness, justice, and love of God.

Don’t miss the beautiful statement describing God. He is the One “for whom and by Whom all things exist”.

Through the suffering and death of Christ God has brought “many sons to glory”.

I love that description of salvation. It describes our ultimate salvation. Glorification is the end for every believer!

Now let’s look at the final phrase of verse 10.

“should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

“Founder of their salvation” The word means “Author or Pioneer”. It refers to someone who has gone before others and blazed a trail so safe passage can be made. There is no trail to God without Christ.

How did He blaze this trail? Through his own suffering. Through the cross he made a way. Don’t let the phrase “made perfect” confuse you. Jesus has always been perfect. The language is used to describe the perfect obedience of Christ. This perfect obedience was necessary for our salvation. As the second Adam He obeyed the will of God in every aspect. Though He was already perfect, His perfection was proven though His sinless life. He was obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

v. 11 Christ is the One who sanctifies us. Jesus cleanses us from our sin through His sacrifice.

Those who are sanctified are of course believers.

Christ and believers have one source. They both belong to the Father. This speaks of our positional righteousness in Jesus. We are in Christ therefore we are in God.

Notice the result of the “one source”.

“That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

We are now united with the Father and the Son and are therefore the brothers of Christ. Christ is the unique Son of God, but we are adopted sons of God. Jesus doesn’t look down upon us and consider us step children. He looks upon us as brothers.

He quotes three OT verses to prove His point.

The first comes from Psalm 22:22. Psalm 22 is the Psalm that describes the crucifixion of Jesus. In this verse we have Jesus confessing the name of the Father to His brothers. Christ has revealed the Father to us.

v. 13 He quotes Isaiah 8:17-18.

Both Jesus and the adopted children of God will trust in the Father. Notice something special here. The church is a gift from God the Father to God the Son. We are an expression of love shared by the members of the Godhead. That is a humbling thought.

As the Bride of Christ, we have been given to the Son by the Father. He has redeemed us. He will deliver us to the throne room.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Humans are a special creation of God. We have never been and will never be angels.

2. We should be humbled that God takes such interest in us.

3. When Christ returns the redeemed will realize the privilege of what is means to be made in the image of God.

4. If we are saved, Christ is not ashamed of us.