From Shadow to Substance: Hebrews 2:10-18

Notes:

vv. 10-13: We See Jesus the Pioneer (A Nod to Moses)

Shifts from the Cosmological to the Personal:

verse 10: “It is fitting…”

“It was fitting, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory…”

Correlation between “SONS of glory” and “SON of God.”

FOUNDER= Foreshadow of ch. 3: New Liberator. New founder. New Moses!

O’Brien: “God’s action, then, of setting Christ’s sufferings within the sweep of his cosmic purposes cannot be a divine failure, but is the achievement of one who has power over all things and who perfectly fulfils his plan.”

Pioneer: “he who is first, who stays at the head of, who leads.”

Two words: “first” and “lead”

Kockerill: “This ‘Pioneer’ is, then, the one through whom God ‘leads’ his sons and daughters to glory.”

??How did death “perfect” Jesus if he was already perfected??

Kockerill: “By his ‘perfection’ the Son attaned the ultimate goal, for he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God as the representative and fully adequate Savior of those who ‘draw near to God through him’ (7:25).”

Perfection: Assumed humanity as God. “When thus perfected, the Son fulfilled what he had always been as the ‘radiance of God’s glory.’” Kockerill

Thomas Long: “The Preacher considers Jesus to have been ‘without sin’ (4:15), so there is no idea here of an impure Jesus being morally perfected. The idea is that Jesus was made “fit” vocationally and functionally, not morally… It was through suffering, then, that Jesus was shaped and fashioned to perform his task in the drama of redemption. His purpose was to serve as the redeemer, the one who comes from God and rescues humanilty from death. He is the mediator, the one who makes peace between deficient humanity and God. These redeeming and mediating roles involve more than standing int he gap between God and humanity; they involve deep participation in both the life of God and the life of humanity.” 42

v.11: “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.”

Solidarity between the SON and sons of God.

Source=origin.

Jesus who sanctifies! Massive theological statement!

Sanctification is fitting because Jesus and his family all belong together as one!

Christ is PROUD to call us his brothers and sisters!

v. 14-15: 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

We are made of the same “stuff.”

Purpose of being in the same stuff makes it fitting for Jesus to be the one who destroy the one who has the power of death, and deliver us from lifelong slavery.

And we do not need to fear death any longer.

vv.12-13: Psalm 22;22

Application: “The appropriateness of the Gospel.”

Kockerill: “Christ’s suffering was neither a logical necessity forced up on God not a mere decision of his will, but an appropriate expression of the divine character. Thus his incarnate suffering was integral to the Son’s person as the ultimate revelation of God’s nature.”

The necessity of the cross and our salvation as a result of it is based in God’s nature, not forced upon him out of inconvenience, or reaction. It is necessary because God is love.

vv. 14-18: We See Jesus as our High Priest (A Nod to Aaron)

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

v. 10= Jesus brought us into Salvation

v.15= Jesus delivered from slavery.

v. 16= ESV: It’s not the angels he “helps”, lit. “He takes hold of…”

Present tense: He continually takes hold of us!

Jesus takes us and continues to be with us!

Destination, goal=GLORY!

verse 17: “He HAD to be made”

“He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest… to make propitiation.”

He had to be the right sacrifice by:

Being made of the same “stuff”

By overcoming the right stuff.

By becoming the right stuff and by overcoming our sin, he became the Perfect High Priest.

“of the people.” contra verse 16. People versus just Abraham’s offspring.

“Make an atonement”

Kockerill: “The pastor will not allow his hearers to restrict this term either to the ‘propitiation’ of God’s wrath against sin or to the ‘expiation’ of sin by its removal from the sinner. Not does he distringuish neatly between the two. He speaks the language of covenant and Tabernacle. Thus his primary concern is the removal of impurity.” p.151

Practical Application:

Not seeing Jesus requires as to endure through temptation.

v. 18: He is there to help when we are tempted.

18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Christ’s temptation here is connected to his suffering. “Rather, his suffering was the source of temptation for him, and because he has been tested to the limit and remained faithful, he is perfectly qualified to help those who are tempted.” O’Brien

temptations when faced with suffering/grief/etc.

Are they facing suffering? Persecution? Look to Jesus as our Founder/Pioneer!

Look to your Liberator and Leader. Your Pioneer and Purifier.

Jesus the Greater Exodus