Jesus! Therefore Pay Attention!
Hebrews 2
Why do you pay attention?
#Jesus
Published August 27th, 2019
Main point summary
Arc
Notes
notes
Main point summary
Jesus is superior to angels in his humility because he became our fellow and captain, delivering the message of great salvation and fulfilling it for us; and so, how can we not pay attention?
Arc
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NT
Hebrews 2:1-18
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Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,
Therefore we have to pay very close attention to this revelation from the Son - God himself,
Διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ περισσοτέρως προσέχειν ἡμᾶς τοῖς ἀκουσθεῖσιν, μήποτε παραρυῶμεν.
lest we drift away from it.
so that we do not carelessly grow indifferent to it, like an un-anchored boat that goes wherever the currents take it.
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For since a the message declared by angels proved to be reliable,
For if the word through angels was seen to be reliable
εἰ γὰρ ὁ διʼ ἀγγέλων λαληθεὶς λόγος ἐγένετο βέβαιος καὶ πᾶσα παράβασις καὶ παρακοὴ ἔλαβεν ἔνδικον μισθαποδοσίαν,
and b every transgression or disobedience received a just c retribution,
and trifling with this standard (a law, revealed by mere angels) received a just and serious punishment,
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d how shall we escape if we e neglect such a great salvation?
then we cannot hope, in any way, to escape punishment when we trifle with the Word (not mere law), the Son - God himself!
πῶς ἡμεῖς ἐκφευξόμεθα τηλικαύτης ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας, ἥτις ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα λαλεῖσθαι διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη,
It was f declared at first by the Lord,
This great salvation was first spoken to us by the Lord, the Son
and it was g attested to us
and this revelation was confirmed to us
h by those who heard,
by the ones who heard it firsthand,
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g while God also bore witness
while God himself bore witness and testified to it
συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ σημείοις τε καὶ τέρασιν καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου μερισμοῖς κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν;
i by signs and wonders and various miracles and by j gifts of the Holy Spirit k distributed according to his will.
by means of signs and wonders and a variety of powerful works and gifts from the Holy Spirit, given out according to his will.
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For it was not to angels that God subjected the world l to come,
Because it was not to angels, that God subjected the earth to come
Οὐ γὰρ ἀγγέλοις ὑπέταξεν τὴν οἰκουμένην τὴν μέλλουσαν, περὶ ἧς λαλοῦμεν.
of which we are speaking.
about which we are speaking.
It has been testified somewhere, m “What is man,
But to the person of whom it is testified elsewhere in Scripture, "Man is nothing,
διεμαρτύρατο δέ πού τις λέγων• τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν;
that you are mindful of him,
that you should therefore remember him,
inference
or the son of man,
nor are the children of man anything,
that you care for him?
that you should therefore care for them.
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You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
Yet you made men lower than the angels for a little while;
ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρʼ ἀγγέλους, δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτόν,
you have crowned him with glory and honor, 1
and crowned him with glory and honour,
putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
and made everything subject to him (unlike the angels).
πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. ἐν τῷ γὰρ ὑποτάξαι [αὐτῷ] τὰ πάντα οὐδὲν ἀφῆκεν αὐτῷ ἀνυπότακτον. Νῦν δὲ οὔπω ὁρῶμεν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ὑποτεταγμένα•
concessive
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Now in putting everything in subjection to him,
In other words, by making everything subject to man,
he left nothing outside his control.
God left nothing out of his control,
At present, n we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
although we do not see everything being in subjection to man, just yet.
But we see him
Instead, we see another 'man'
τὸν δὲ βραχύ τι παρʼ ἀγγέλους ἠλαττωμένον βλέπομεν Ἰησοῦν διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφανωμένον, ὅπως χάριτι θεοῦ ὑπὲρ παντὸς γεύσηται θανάτου.
o who for a little while was made lower than the angels,
who although was made for a little while, lower than the angels he is superior to -
namely Jesus, p crowned with glory and honor
Jesus! This 'man' was, and remains crowned with glory and honour
q because of the suffering of death,
because of his experiencing death intimately,
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so that by the grace of God
in order that by God's grace
he might r taste death s for everyone.
he might experience death for everyone.
For it t was fitting that he, u for whom and by whom all things exist,
Because it was necessary that God, because of whom and through whom are all things,
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.
in bringing many sons v to glory,
in order to lead many sons to glory
should make the w founder of their salvation x perfect through suffering.
should make the author and leader of man's salvation an ideal, efficient and appropriate author through the testing of experience (suffering) of death (see 9d,f).
For y he who sanctifies
Because he who makes holy
ὅ τε γὰρ ἁγιάζων καὶ οἱ ἁγιαζόμενοι ἐξ ἑνὸς πάντες• διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοὺς καλεῖν
and z those who are sanctified
and those who are made holy
a all have one source. 1
are of the same family and source, through the incarnation. The distance between Adam and God has been brought to nothing through the person of Jesus.
That is why he is not ashamed to call them b brothers, 2
Therefore Jesus is not ashamed to call these 'many sons' brothers (even though he had every right to be)! Instead he is willing and glad to!
saying, c “I will tell of your name to my brothers;
He says, "I will announce your name to my brothers ,
λέγων• ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε,
in the midst of the d congregation I will sing your praise.”
among the church will I sing your praise."
locative
And again, e “I will put my trust in him.”
And he says again, " I will put my trust in God,
καὶ πάλιν• ἐγὼ ἔσομαι πεποιθὼς ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, καὶ πάλιν• ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός.
And again, f “Behold, I and the children g God has given me.”
both I and the children God has given me."
bilateral
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,
Therefore, because the children of God are like one another by their sharing in flesh and blood,
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 ἔστιν τὸν διάβολον,
he himself likewise h partook of the same things,
(therefore) he himself intentionally took part and willfully shared their flesh and blood
that i through death
in order that, by the means of the same death that the 'children' experience
he might j destroy k the one who has the power of death,
he might knock the legs under the one who (temporarily) has the power of death,
that is, the devil,
that is the adversary, the devil,
and deliver all those who
and free everyone who
καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.
l through fear of death
by being afraid of death
were subject to lifelong slavery.
were being subjected to lifelong slavery to this fear.
For surely it is not angels that he helps,
Because of course, the Son does not take hold of the alien angels,
οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται.
but he m helps the offspring of Abraham.
instead , he takes hold of those of the seed of Abraham
Therefore he had n to be made like his brothers in every respect,
Therefore , Jesus most necessarily had to be made like his 'brothers' in every sense, lowering himself, partaking of their flesh and blood to suffer death like they did,
ὅθεν ὤφειλεν κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ.
o so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest p in the service of God,
in order that he might become a n compassionate, merciful and trustworthy high priest, serving God on our behalf,
to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
to make propitiation for the sins of his brothers.
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For because he himself has suffered q when tempted,
He could be merciful because he, unlike the angels, partook and shared and experienced our tests and temptations
ἐν ᾧ γὰρ πέπονθεν αὐτὸς πειρασθείς, δύναται τοῖς πειραζομένοις βοηθῆσαι.
he is able to help those who are being tempted.
therefore, he is able to help those of us who are being tempted.
It=The great salvation
Cf. Psalm 8:4-6 In the Psalm, there is a 'Yet' that precedes "You made him, for a little while, lower than the angels..."
Hebrews 1 God used prophets/angels to communicate to us earlier, but now he reveals himself to us through a superior, means —his Son, who is God himself! Therefore...
Galatians 3:19, Acts 7:38,53
Deuteronomy 28:15-68
Rhetorical. The author argues from the lesser to the greater.
Could also be a Ground to why the salvation is great.
The argument from lesser to greater lies in two aspects: The revelation is no law, but that of salvation The revelation is not through angels, but is his offered by God himself, in his Son.
"distributions" of the Holy Spirit.
οἰκουμένην This appears to refer to the future new earth, ruled by David's Son, inaugurated by his "sitting at the right hand of God" because he completed his great work of salvation.
Psalm 8 Specifically Psalm 8:4-6
In Hebrew, this is literally "son of man (adam)", a common phrase in Hebrew, unlike Daniel 7:13, which uses a different phrase to render the title "Son of Man". The author, in quoting the LXX, makes use of the Greek "son of man", which stands out as a unique phrase that Jesus used of himself. Jewish Christian readers, familiar with this, would see the messianic interpretation. This is made stronger by v8a, which reminds us of Psalm 110:1 and Hebrews 1:13 The author uses this phrase to launch into his interpretation of Psalm 8's present fulfillment in Jesus
Elohim was translated in the LXX as 'angels', not as 'God(s)' - a plurality of spiritual beings.
Yet implies a time to come
The author is probably using his human name to display his humanity.
Jesus was made man.
Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 8, the heir of all things, and more than that - he acts on our behalf, tasting death for everyone Cf. Hebrews 1:2-3, 13
cf. Luke 24:26
For the rest of mankind, death is not subject, and we die inevitably. For Jesus, this was a willing step of obedience. Cf. Philippians 2:5-11
The grace is referring to God's purpose of providing salvation through the death of his Son.
"So that" builds not only to his suffering and death, but the entire work of Christ seen in v9: his incarnation, humiliation and exaltation.
RT France: It (making perfect) indicates the fulfillment of God's saving purpose and contrasts the complete efficacy of Christ's saving work with the inadequacy of what went before...not a term for moral rectitude but...the completion of God's purpose.
cf. Romans 11:36
This is here because of the previous verse: "for whom and by whom are all things" as well as the idea of "fitted, perfect author" Unlike angels, Jesus (who is God) comes to us as one of us, not as a different being - he and those who are sanctified are of one.
Cf. Romans 8:30; Psalm 8:5 The ultimate purpose of salvation
Lane: "There is a profound note of anticipation in the OT teaching about humanity. The words of the psalmist look forward into the future, and that future is inextricably bound up with the person and work of Jesus. His condescension to be made for a brief while 'lower than the angels' set in motion a sequence of events in which abasement and humiliation were the necessary prelude to exaltation. His coronation investiture with priestly glory and splendor provide [sic provides] assurance that the power of sin and death has been nullified and that humanity will yet be led to the full realization of their intended glory. In Jesus the hearers are to find the pledge of their own entrance into the imperial destiny intended by God for them."
As opposed to the one Son. Cf. Romans 5:18-19
ἀρχηγὸν founder and leader: the one who makes salvation possible and leads and prepares the way into its glories.
Compare with the previous verse, Hebrews 2:10 "sanctifies" replaces "bringing to glory" as the purpose of God. Jesus is the one who sanctifies and brings many sons to glory, cf. Hebrews 13:12
Cf. Psalm 22:22 The same Psalm Jesus used of himself on the cross
13a-b reference Isaiah 8:17-18. This is a rather odd quotation, probably referring to the idea of trust in God as the common factor between the 'prophet' and his children. Or probably just referring to the familial tie between the prophet and his children
Cf. John 1:14
Cf. Colossians 2:14-15
Cf. Galatians 3:29
Cf. 4:15
Again, see 4:15
Christ was perfect, where we failed. He was thus most fitted to be our captain and pioneer of our salvation - the salvation of his brothers.
discourse
Notes
How does chapter 1 connect with chapter 2? What reasons does he give in chapter 2 to encourage us from drifting from the gospel we heard? How is Jesus different from the angels in this chapter? Why does the author quote Psalm 8? What is his point? Why is it important that Jesus be the fulfilment of the Psalm? What is the end purpose of salvation? What are the fringe benefits? How do we obtain salvation, based on this chapter? What does propitiation have to do with this message in Hebrews 2? What is your view of "what we have heard"? How do we normally drift away from it? What did Jesus do? Who is Jesus to you? Why do you pay attention -because of Jesus or moral obligation? How does the chapter affect your view of Jesus and your worship?
Comments
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