Hebrews Chapter 2:1-9/Commentary

Hebrews Chapter 2:1-9

2:1 “For this reason”: This forms a hinge between chapters 1 and 2. Seeing that Jesus is so exalted above the angels, how urgent then was the need for these Christians to give diligent attention to the message of salvation which had been brought to them through Him? “This appeal to the glory of Christ lays the axe to the root of the tree of indifference, for a careless hearing of the gospel always stems from a failure to apprehend the unique majesty of the Mediator (Matthew 17:5)” (Wilson p. 28). “We”: This naturally includes all Christians. “Must pay much closer attention to what we have heard”: “More, in a greater degree” (Thayer p. 506). “Even more, to a much greater degree, far more, far greater, so much the more” (Arndt p. 651). What they had heard was the gospel message, which was defined in Hebrews 1:2 and the “great salvation” that is mentioned in Hebrews 2:3. The verb here translated attention means not only to focus the mind on a thing, but also to act upon what is perceived. “Failure to think and act on such important spiritual things as those which the Son has delivered is fatal!”

(Reese p. 18). What is our level of attention, focus and interest when the gospel is taught? How often and how diligent are we when it comes to reading the Bible?

2:1 “Lest we drift away from it”: This indicates that such could happen. Clearly, the Christian can fall away and lose their salvation. The term drift means, “to flow past, glide by, where the significance is to find oneself flowing or passing by, without giving due heed to a thing” (Vine p. 339). “The idea is in sharp contrast with ‘giving heed’. Lapse from truth and goodness is more often the result of inattention than of design” (Vincent p. 393). “The word here can have a nautical sense, as of a ship slipping past its haven because the pilot has not paid attention to the course” (Coffman p. 37).  Things that drift are things that just go with the flow (Romans 12:1-2).  Some that fall away do not do so boldly and dramatically, but rather gradually.

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 One can end up lost through inattention, carelessness, neglecting to meet with the saints, praying or studying the Scriptures. We need to be impressed that it takes time, attention, and effort to live the Christian life (Hebrews 5:11-14; Luke 8:14; 2 Peter 1:10).  How many opportunities to learn and grow have we just let slip by? Every class and every service is an opportunity to learn and grow!  “Making application to the readers of Hebrews, the warning seems to say that those readers should not let the persecution and opposition to Christianity they were facing cause them to quit thinking right about who Jesus is, and how great the Gospel is” (Reese p. 18).  One of the great dangers in our own time is that often professed Christians just seem so busy with other things that they do not have time to invest in their relationship with God. Always intending to “get around to it”, one can end up lost by simply not having the right priorities.

Old Testament Precedent 2:2 “For if the word spoken through angels”: That is, the Law of Moses (Galatians 3:19; Acts 7:38,53; Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17). “Proved unalterable”: The Law of Moses was a fixed and binding Law. What God said in it, God did. It was firm, sure, valid, reliable, dependable and certain. This is further clarified in this next statement. “And every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense”: Every commandment from God had an appropriate penalty if one did not honor it. “After God had validated the message which angels had delivered, men could not just ignore it and get away with it” (Reese p. 19). The Old Testament is filled with examples of establishing the fact that God’s Law cannot be ignored with impunity (Leviticus 10; 1 Samuel 15). When God gives a Law He expects people to obey it, and God does not give any useless or impotent threats in His Law. The terms transgression and disobedience may stand for both the refusal to obey and the neglect to obey. Both outright rebellion and apathy are both punished. “Every offense against it, or neglect of it” (TCNT); “Every transgression of it, every refusal to listen to it” (Knox). Compare with 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.

“Just recompense”: This statement answers the complaint on the part of the some that God was too strict or harsh in the Old Testament. Every punishment recorded in the Old Testament was fair. The punishments were not excessive and 2

they were not arbitrary, rather they were righteous. If someone has a problem with the punishments meted out in the Old Testament, then their problem is rooted in failing to understand the true evil of sin. The term recompense, which means “payment of wages due”, reminds us that sin deserves punishment (Romans 3:8). Punishment is the fair payment earned by disobedience. The man who ends up lost is only getting what is justly his payment for his rebellion.

2:2 “Every”: In the end, no one got away with anything. God meant what He said, and He did not change His mind.

2:3 “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”: The clear inference is that we shall not escape if we neglect it. We have heard a superior message, therefore, a superior message must have even greater consequences for neglecting it (Hebrews 10:26ff). A far heavier judgment awaits the despisers of the gospel (Hebrews 10:29). Notice the statement if we neglect. This is tantamount to a deliberate rejection of it. This is the same word used in Matthew 22:5 where the guests “made light of” or “paid no attention to” the invitation to the marriage feast. It is not necessary to take up arms against God in order to be lost. Who can simply ignore, failure to pay attention, or be unconcerned about the gospel? Neglect of the gospel is enough to condemn a man.

 One of the most common misconceptions of our time is that God’s grace is just going to automatically cover the sins of many people who do not repent, yet God did not do this under the Law, and the Hebrew writer does not view God doing this under the New Covenant. Every transgression and disobedience is punished. “This argument expressly contradicts the notion that despisers of the gospel will be treated with greater leniency than those who disobeyed the Law of Moses (Matthew 11:20-24)” (Wilson pp. 28-29).  This is the principle that to whomever much is given, much is required (Luke 13:48).  Other passages stress the same theme of “no escape” for the disobedient and unfaithful (2 Thessalonians1:8-9; Romans 1:18; 2 Peter 2:4-9).  If God meant what He said under the Law, how much more does God mean what He says through Christ?

2:3 “So great a salvation”: Do we consider the gospel message to be “so great a salvation”? As noted above, one of the things that gives the impression that the 3

gospel isn’t that great is the notion that God is going to save people who do not obey it or do not obey it fully. After all, what is so great about the salvation revealed in the gospel if one can be saved without complying with it? Friends, the salvation preached through Christ is “so great” because it is the only way!

“So Great a Salvation” 1. Great in extent: “Whosoever” (John 3:16) 2. Great in duration; not temporary, but eternal (Hebrews 5:9) 3. The great price paid, the very blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28) 4. The great cause (Hebrews 5:9) 5. The great distance traveled and effort made to deliver it (Hebrews 2:14) 6. The great condemnation from which we are delivered (1 Thess. 1:10) 7. The great enemy fought 8. The great spokesman who delivered it (2:3) 9. The greatness of the eternal reward (1 Peter 1:4) 10.The greatness of the love of God that underlies it (John 3:16) 2:3 “After it was first spoken through the Lord”: And not through angels. The Lord Himself came to this earth and preached the message (Matthew 28:20; John 14:26). “The finality of the message is indicated by the supreme dignity of the Messenger through whom it was first proclaimed (Luke 4:21)” (Wilson p. 29). “It was confirmed”: “To make firm, establish, make sure” (Thayer p. 99). “The saving message was guaranteed to us” (Arndt p. 138). “To us by those who heard”: That is, by them who had heard the Lord speak personally, the apostles (Acts 4:20; 1 John 1:3; Luke 1:2). In addition to the incomparable beginning, the message of salvation was confirmed by eyewitnesses, who had personally heard the Lord preach.

“Many see in this statement a strong indication that the writer of Hebrews was not Paul, inasmuch as Paul claims in Galatians 1:12 to have received his gospel not from eyewitnesses but from Christ Himself. This would not appear conclusive, however, for all will readily admit that Paul had not been an eyewitness of the miracles or of the preaching of Jesus” (Kent p. 50). It appears that both the writer and the readers were not eyewitnesses of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Thus, it appears that the writer is not one of the original twelve apostles.

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2:4 “God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will”.

This is how the message was “confirmed”. To the preaching of the apostles was added the miraculous witness from God that their preaching was true (John 3:2; Acts 2:22). God plainly endorsed their preaching with miracles.

 “The modern-day reader should not miss the point here. This is one of the verses in the New Testament that tells us the purpose of miracles at the beginning of the church age. They were wrought by God to attest or validate the truth of the Gospel claims. It should also be clear that the language of Hebrews 2:3-4 indicates that the miracles done to confirm the message were already a thing of the past at the time when Hebrews was written, for confirmed is an aorist tense verb—indicating completed action in the past time. The validating of the message was past and done” (Reese p. 21).  “Signs”, “wonders”, “miracles” and “gifts of the Holy Spirit” are synonyms for different ways of looking at the same miracles. The term sign emphasizes the design of the miracles, the prime object and chief end was to lead, and point us to God (John 20:30-31). The term wonder stresses that miracles were not ordinary events, but rather wonders that appealed to the imagination, causing the beholder to marvel; it stresses the effect they had on those who saw them. The word miracle stresses the power behind them, it was supernatural, that is, the mighty acts of God. And finally, gifts of the Holy Spirit reminds us that the Holy Spirit was behind giving these powers to the apostles and working the miracles (1 Corinthians 12:11; Acts 8:17-18).

2:4 “According to His own will”: God remained in complete control of who worked the miracles and how and when they were given. Such a salvation, provided with strong authentication like this, leaves man without excuse for his neglect. This is one thing that modern “faith healers” often ignore. We have many people who want a miracle or want to perform one, and yet are completely ignoring God’s will on the matter.

Christ’s Superiority to the angels is not contradicted by His humanity: 2:5-9 5

After showing how great the gospel message is and the terrible consequences of neglecting it, the writer once again returns to the theme that Jesus is superior to the angels. The writer might be dealing with a possible objection, that is, during His incarnation was Jesus superior to the angels? In addition, the writer shows another honor that was bestowed on Christ that was never bestowed on the angels, to wit the supremacy over the “world to come”. The first objection likely contained these ideas: “Men, in rank, are lower than the angels. If Jesus became a man, some might argue, is He not less than the angels?”

2:5 “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking”: The world to come is another way of saying the Messianic age or the New Covenant, the age foretold in the prophets (Isaiah 2:2-4). The following verses (especially verse 9), and even the final phrase of this verse (of which we are speaking), make it clear that the period referred to is that which followed the exaltation of Jesus. The term subject means “to arrange under, to subordinate”.

“Which we are speaking”: “Which is our theme” (NEB); “and it is this world that we are now talking about” (Phi). The writer has called attention to “these last days” (1:2), and the time period when Jesus sat down at the right hand of God (1:3), and rules over His kingdom (1:8). So too, it is the same time period during which the gospel message was preached and confirmed by the apostles (2:3-4).

2:6 “But one has testified somewhere, saying”: The word but marks a contrast between angels, to whom the world to come is not subjected, and Jesus. The writer is going to appeal to an Old Testament passage to prove his point.

“Somewhere”: “Somewhere is not used because doubt was expressed about this quotation, or the writer is citing it from memory (where is that passage?), rather, as a rhetorical mode of suggesting that his readers knew the passage well enough” (Greek Ex. N.T. p. 262). Are we well versed in Scripture to the point that someone can quote a passage “somewhere” in the Bible and we know where to find it?

2:6 “What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him?”

The quotation here is from Psalm 8:4-6. “In the psalm this exclamation (“What is man?” comes after a contemplation of the starry heavens, which had impressed 6

the writer. In contrast with this glory, man’s insignificance and unworthiness occur to him, as they have similarly occurred to many” (P.P. Comm. p. 46). “Why is it that, when the heavens are so vast and glorious, God has taken notice of man?

Of what consequence can he be amidst works so wonderful?” (Barnes p. 60).

2:6 “Rememberest him?”: ”That you should think of him” (Wms). That is, man the object of satire and self-contempt, is the object of God’s thoughts and concerns. What is man that he should have attracted such attention and care from God? 2:6 “Or the son of man”: Here we have some Hebrew parallelism, the expression “son of man” is the equivalent to “man” in the first part of this verse. The term concerned means “to inspect, visit with help, look upon in order to help and assist”.

2:7 “Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; and hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands” “For a little while lower than the angels”: The only answer possible to the question, “Why does God pay such attention to man?”, is that man is the pinnacle of God’s creation on this earth. The “little lower than the angels” refers to our habitation in the flesh, man is presently lower than the angels because he is subject to mortality (Luke 20:36), and other frailties, but this condition is not permanent, but merely temporary (Matthew 22:30).

“Hast crowned him with glory and honor”: This “crown” which man presently wears, is that of being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and having been given dominion over this creation (Genesis 1:28). “Hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet”: This is an inspired commentary on the meaning of Genesis 1:28. In the Psalm, the writer is specific about what is placed under man’s subjection, that is, the animals of this physical creation. James 3:7 teaches the same truth. Clearly, God is exempted from human subjection (1 Corinthians 11:3).

2:8 “For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him.

But now we do not yet see all things subject to him”.

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“For”: Here begins the Hebrew writer’s comment on the implications of Psalm 8.

God’s original intention was that man would exercise a dominion over the whole creation. “That’s a pretty awesome responsibility! Man is somebody special!”

(Reese p. 25). “But now”: “Something happened after the dominion mandate was given to man. Man sinned. Sin has prevented man from exercising the dominion God had intended, and that Psalm 8 holds up the ideal. That’s why “now”, when we look around us, we do not see man subduing and ruling creation as he once did” (Reese p. 25). Now, “at the present”, “but as yet we do not see everything actually under His authority” (Wms).

Man is not always the master of his environment, though he is frequently the corrupter and polluter. Man is certainly not the master of himself (Romans 1:25; James 3:8). Man remains subject to death (Hebrews 2:15). “Considering the divine origin of man, the Bible’s description of his potential to master the creation, it is exasperating to look around and see his pitiful condition. Man should be free, but is bound, in bondage to fear, death, sin); he is to be king, but is a slave of his own lusts” (Coffman p. 48).

2:9 “But we do see Him”: The idea here is that since we do not see the complete fulfillment of Psalm 8 in man’s present rule, therefore the full idea of the Psalm awaited a fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Man is not supreme, but Jesus became a man, and here is a man who does have total dominion. Therefore, Psalm 8 finds its complete fulfillment in Jesus and His present rule. In addition, only in Jesus Christ can mankind find mastery over himself. “Who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus”: Jesus was made a little lower than the angels when He humbled Himself and became flesh (Philippians 2:6-8; John 1:14). Jesus took upon Himself, not the nature of the angels, but rather the nature of man. We should note that Jesus is clearly God (1:2-3,8), and remained God even while on the earth (John 14:9). Being “lower than the angels” involved partaking of human nature (Hebrews 2:14-16), and partaking of a body that was mortal. “In becoming man, Christ took upon Him a nature that was capable of dying. This the angels were not; and in this respect He was, for a season, made lower than they” (Wilson pp. 32-33).

2:9 “Because of the suffering of death”: Jesus’ death was not easy nor was it peaceful, rather Jesus was willing to come and suffer for our sins. Notice the term 8

because, this is the end or purpose for which Jesus was made a little lower than the angels. “Crowned with glory and honor”: This followed His painful death (Isaiah 53:12; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 12:2). Jesus is now crowned with glory and honor. “That by the grace of God”: It was the grace and mercy of God that permitted Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16; Titus 2:11). We certainly did not deserve this death on our behalf, and neither did Jesus come out of duty or because it was His job. God could have justly left man in his lost condition, for the entire responsibility for our lost condition rests upon us.

2:9 “He might taste death for everyone”: To taste death is to experience death.

“For everyone”: Contrary to the claims of Calvinists who argue that Jesus only died for the elect (1 Timothy 2:6; John 3:16), this verse and others teach that Jesus died for all men. Jesus has made it possible for every man and woman to attain to the heights described in Psalm 8. Jesus presently reigns and in a relationship with Him, we can reign in a sense as well (Ephesians 2:6).

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