Hebrews 2:10-18 Bible Study

Text: Hebrews 2:10-18

Hebrews 2:10–18 BSB

10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.” 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.” 14 Now since 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, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Connecting back with v. 9: But the one who was briefly made lower than angels we see – Jesus; because of the suffering of death He has been crowned with glory and honor, so that by God’s grace on behalf of all mankind He might taste death. For it was fitting…

Verse 10:

• BSB: In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

• Greek: Ἔπρεπεν γὰρ αὐτῷ, διʼ ὃν τὰ πάντα καὶ διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, πολλοὺς υἱοὺς εἰς δόξαν ἀγαγόντα τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν διὰ παθημάτων τελειῶσαι.

• Mine: For it was fitting for Him, for whose sake all things [exist] and through whom all things [exist], in bringing many sons to glory, to bring to completion through suffering the founder of their salvation.

It was fitting – it was right, appropriate, proper for God to do things this way; God does what is fitting. He acts in an appropriate way. And who tells God what is fitting?

I can tell Mikey that it is not fitting or appropriate for him to wear swim trunks to church. But he cannot tell me what to wear to church. (Only Sarah can!) 😉 Only someone with equal or greater authority can decide what is right or fitting or appropriate for us. And God is the highest authority.

For whom and through whom all things exist – God is the source of everything and His glory the purpose of everything. Because of this, it was fitting for Him to bring Jesus to completion through suffering. It is appropriate for God to do this because His glory is supremely displayed in the cross. And because His glory is His goal, it is appropriate that He should do what brings Him the greatest glory.

“God is both the end and the means to the end, both the goal of history and the agent of history.” - Schreiner

Bringing many sons to glory – God’s gracious purpose in Christ’s death was to bring many sons to glory; so that not only He, but also all those whom He saves by His death, will fulfill the purpose for which we were created – to rule God’s creation under God’s authority. Through His suffering and death, Jesus restores us to this glorious purpose.

Quote from C.H. Spurgeon: “I think that you will find the historical parallel of this enterprise in the Lord’s great work of bringing the tribes of Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and into Canaan. The Lord, in His deliverance of His ancient people, gives us a type of what He is doing and will do for all His chosen.”

The founder of their salvation – ἀρχηγὸν may refer to Jesus’s preeminent position as our leader, ruler, or prince; or it may communicate that He is the originator or founder of our salvation. The first part of the word, ἀρχη-, is related both to beginning something or ruling over something, so perhaps even both ideas are present.

Bring to completion / make perfect through suffering – this is the subject of the verb “to be fitting” at the beginning of v. 10. Bringing Jesus to completion through suffering was fitting for God. This doesn’t mean that Jesus was imperfect and became perfect (see also Hebrews 5:8-9; 7:28), but that without suffering and death His purpose of accomplishing salvation was incomplete. He had to suffer and die for us in order to be a fitting Savior. Through His suffering and death, God’s glory was demonstrated in the greatest way – God’s wrath and His love, His justice and His mercy were displayed most fully in Jesus’s death for us on the cross.

Verse 11:

• BSB: For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

• Greek: ὅ τε γὰρ ἁγιάζων καὶ οἱ ἁγιαζόμενοι ἐξ ἑνὸς πάντες· διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοὺς καλεῖν,

• Mine: For both the One doing the sanctifying and the ones being sanctified are all from One. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers,

The sanctifier and the sanctified are all from one – referring to God as source? Or referring to shared humanity?

“Both Jesus as the sanctifier and human beings as those being sanctified share the same human nature” – Schreiner

Calling Jesus the sanctifier identifies Him as Yahweh, the LORD who sanctifies His people (Lev 20:8; 21:8, 15, 23; 22:9, 16, 32).

For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers – Jesus calls us brothers because He has made us children of God, even though He could have been ashamed of us because of our sin.

Verses 12-13:

• BSB: He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.” 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

• Greek: λέγων· Ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε· 13 καὶ πάλιν· Ἐγὼ ἔσομαι πεποιθὼς ἐπʼ αὐτῷ· καὶ πάλιν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός.

• Mine: He says, “I will report your name to my brothers, in the middle of the church I will hymn you.” And again [He says], “I will be confident in Him.” And once more [He says], “Behold I and the children whom God gave to me.”

He says – the author now gives OT support for the idea that Jesus is brother to the ones He saves.

I will report/proclaim your name to my brothers – (quote from Psalm 22:22); the LXX of Psalm 21:23 (22:22 in English) begins with the verb διηγήσομαι rather than Ἀπαγγελῶ as in Hebrews 2:12. Both the Hebrew and Greek in the Psalm mean to count, recount, or give a detailed account of something. The Greek in Hebrews (Ἀπαγγελῶ) can mean to announce or report or tell something, but it also has the idea of making a public proclamation. It’s just a different word from the Psalm he’s quoting. “The citation may represent a literal translation of the MT of Ps 22:22.” (Schreiner) But the main point is that in this Messianic Psalm, Jesus calls those He saves “brothers.”

Hebrews quotes the key transitional verse in Psalm 22, the verse where the story changes. Throughout Psalm 22 the speaker, whom Hebrews identifies as Jesus, pleads with God to save him from his overwhelming distress, from the suffering that is tearing him apart. His pleas for help are punctuated by confessions of trust in God, which reaffirm God’s faithfulness to deliver his own. When we come to verse 22, the corner is turned. The call for help has been answered. The psalmist (and Jesus!) for the remainder of the psalm praises the Lord for answering his prayer and for rescuing him from his enemies. The victory, however, is not reserved for Jesus alone; he shares it with those who are his family members, so we have a family celebration, a family feast (Ps 22:26, 29). – Schreiner

in the middle of the church I will hymn you – if the first half wasn’t public enough, now in the middle of the church (assembly/congregation from ἐκκλησία) He praises God’s name (the verb ὑμνέω is clearly related to the word hymn).

And again [He says], “I will be confident in Him.” – quote from Isaiah 8:17; He inverts the verb and participle and adds the pronoun Ἐγὼ not present in LXX.

And once more [He says], “Behold I and the children whom God gave to me.” – quote from Isaiah 8:18; these last two appear to be the words of Isaiah, yet they are apparently fulfilled in Jesus. So they are both children and brothers. Either way it’s a family relationship.

v. 14-15

• BSB: 14 Now since 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, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

• Greek: Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός, καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχεν τῶν αὐτῶν, ἵνα διὰ τοῦ θανάτου καταργήσῃ τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦτʼ ἔστι τὸν διάβολον, 15 καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.

• Mine: Therefore since the children have shared blood and flesh, He Himself also in just the same way partook of them [blood and flesh], in order that through His death He might wipe out the one who holds the power of death, this is the devil, and might release these ones, all who through all their life in fear of death were subject to slavery.

Therefore since the children have shared blood and flesh – referring back to believers as children given to Jesus by God, v. 13; because of our shared humanity,

He Himself also in just the same way partook of them – He took on blood and flesh because we have blood and flesh. He became a real man (John 1:14).

In order that through His death He might wipe out the one who holds the power of death, this is the devil, – here is stated one purpose of His taking on humanity – to decisively defeat the devil, in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. By His death He wiped out (did away with, set aside, made ineffective, made powerless, abolished, brought to an end, nullified, invalidated) the devil.

The devil holds the power of death, although his weapon is actually sin, with sin’s consequence being death. By His death, Jesus took away sin (He propitiated it – see v. 17), and so for those whose sins are covered, there is now no condemnation, and death no longer has power over us.

So through His death, Jesus conquered sin, Satan, and death all at once.

As Owen says: “All of Satan’s power over death was founded on sin. The obligation of the sinner to death gave Satan his power. If this obligation was removed, Satan’s power would also be taken away.”

Question for contemplation: If Jesus had not been killed, would He have died a natural death? That is, did His taking on humanity guarantee His death, or was His death merely the purpose of taking on flesh?

And might release these ones, all who through all their life in fear of death were subject to slavery – the other stated purpose for His taking on humanity is to free us from fear. Whether consciously or not, everyone is afraid of death for all their life; by taking away the sting of death through His own death, Jesus frees those of us who trust Him from this fear. Nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love.

Psalm 8 proclaims that human beings were made to rule the world for God, but instead of exercising dominion over the world, they are subject to slavery (δουλείας).

Death seemed to be all black and evil, like Satan himself, something into which he had put his most venomous sting. But now, to believers in Jesus, death is a messenger from our Father in heaven calling us home to Him—not a black angel, striking terror to our hearts, but one who is exceeding bright and fair, coming to bid us fly away to realms of light and love. Remember, Christian, “the sting of death is sin” (1 Cor 15:56), but that has been destroyed for you, and “the power of sin is the law,” but that has been fulfilled for you. Rejoice, therefore, that both are gone so far as you are concerned, and thus your greatest causes for fear are entirely removed. (Spurgeon)

v. 16

• BSB: For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham.

• Greek: οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται.

• Mine: For surely it is not angels whom He takes hold of, but He takes hold of the seed of Abraham.

For surely it is not angels whom He takes hold of – angels are not the beneficiaries of Jesus’s taking on humanity and dying, because they are unaffected by death.

but He takes hold of the seed of Abraham – it is humans who benefit from Jesus’s saving work, specifically the seed of Abraham, which, though it could refer to ethnic Jews (since the letter is apparently written to Hebrews), probably goes beyond that to refer to all who share the faith of Abraham.

As Paul stated in Galatians 3:7-9, 14, 29: Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith… 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

And in Romans 4:11-16 he says, “And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

There may also be a connection here with Hebrews 8:9, because the same verb is used to say that God took their fathers by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. In the Old covenant, He took hold of (ἐπιλαμβάνομαι) the seed of Abraham to lead them out of slavery in Egypt (Heb 8:9), but now in the New Covenant, He takes hold of them to lead them out of slavery to sin and the fear of death.

The offspring of Abraham here isn’t limited to Jewish Christians; all who believe in Jesus are children of Abraham. Here Hebrews accords with Pauline teaching, for Paul emphasizes that those who put their trust in Jesus Christ are Abraham’s children (Rom 4:9–12; Gal 3:6–9).

Rule over the world will not be given to all those who are the children of Adam. Jesus came to take hold of the children of the promise, to those who are the offspring of Abraham. The blessing is limited to the sons brought to glory (2:10), to those being sanctified (2:11), to those who are Jesus’ brothers and sisters (2:11–12, 17), and to “the children God gave Me” (2:13). The promises made to Abraham are fulfilled for those who are Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Jesus took hold of them so that the dominion over the world originally promised to Adam would be realized in the children of Abraham.

v. 17-18

• BSB: For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

• Greek: ὅθεν ὤφειλεν κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ· 18 ἐν ᾧ γὰρ πέπονθεν αὐτὸς πειρασθείς, δύναται τοῖς πειραζομένοις βοηθῆσαι.

• Mine: For which reason He was obligated to become like His brothers in all things, in order that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, so that He might propitiate the sins of the people; for in that He Himself has suffered while being tested, He is able to come to the aid of those who are being tested.

For which reason He was obligated to become like His brothers in all things – in what way could the eternal God be obligated, except by His own will and purpose? No one can tell Him what to do except Himself. He alone can obligate Himself to do something, and He did – He obligated Himself to become like us in every way…

In order that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God – He had to be human in order to represent humans before God. His humanity enables Him to be merciful and compassionate toward us because He can sympathize with our weaknesses, having been tempted in every way, yet without sin (Heb 4:14-15).

So that He might propitiate the sins of the people – just as the high priests of the OT made atonement for the people’s sins, He Himself made atonement for His people’s sins

Jesus is a different type of high priest in that he is like Melchizedek. But he also distinguishes himself in that he is both the priest and the offering. He doesn’t offer “other” sacrifices as OT priests did; rather, he offers himself. No priest in the OT ever imagined that he would be the priest and the offering.

The word [propitiate] designates both forgiveness of sins and appeasement and satisfaction of God’s wrath. In the OT, if sins aren’t expiated (wiped away), God pours out his holy and just wrath on those who have transgressed.

For in that He Himself has suffered while being tested, He is able to come to the aid of those who are being tested – because He became one of us and suffered and was tested and tempted like us, He is able to be our helper in our own temptations and testings. And who better to go to for aid, than the one who perfectly endured every test – like a student failing a course might go to someone with a perfect score for help.

(From Spurgeon): good men suffer when they are tempted, and the better they are the more they suffer. Our Lord Jesus Christ enters into this trying experience very fully. His suffering through being tempted must have been much greater than any suffering that the purest-hearted believer can know, seeing that He is more pure than any one of us. He could not yield to temptation, but He did suffer from it.

As Hughes says, Jesus’ resistance of all temptation demonstrates that he knows the “full force of temptation in a manner that we who have not withstood it to the end cannot know it.

As Vos points out, the author doesn’t focus on Jesus’ temptation in general but Jesus’ temptation to sin in suffering.

The full humanity of Jesus leaps out to readers in this text. Believers are his brothers and sisters, for Jesus lived a flesh-and-blood life. He knew the agony of temptation and the pain of suffering. Most important, he died for our sake so that we would be freed from the power of death. Jesus is our elder brother, and his victory over death and sin means we have conquered death and sin through him. As C. S. Lewis said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” Indeed, believers no longer fear death because of the atoning work of their great high priest.