An Expanded Paraphrase of the Book of Hebrews

       
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Hebrews Chapter 2
       

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Author's Intention: Having presented the reader with such a strong argument in favour of the deity and majesty of Jesus, the author now urges the reader to hear God speaking in the person of Jesus, and to see God in the person of Jesus.

Let us hear God speaking to us in the person
of His Son:

2:1   Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

`My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.' (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Therefore, in view of the fact that Jesus is Sovereign Lord, and considering His obvious superiority to angels, let us pay far more diligent attention to the message that God has written with the shed blood of His Son - lest we become indifferent to life-giving truth.

2:2-4   For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

For if we are obligated to heed the words that God has spoken to us through the messengers that He has used throughout the ages, and if there are sure consequences that result when we disregard those words, then we surely have no hope of escaping the inevitable repercussions should we take for granted the ennobling, life-giving truths that speak to us of our eternal salvation, . . .

Personal Confirmation

¤  that salvation which has been secured at infinite cost by Jesus, and that has been introduced to us by Him,

Horizontal Confirmation

¤  that salvation which has been substantiated with such convicting power by `those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word,' (Luke 1:2)

Vertical Confirmation

¤  that salvation which has been repeatedly verified through God-given signs, wonders, diverse miracles, and the various endowments of the Holy Spirit that the Lord has seen fit to bestow upon His servants.

`For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.' (John 3:16)

Let Us See God In The Person Of His Son

2:5-8   For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

Please understand, therefore, that the future world that we have been telling you about will not be governed by angels, but by
Jesus, . . .

¤  for even though Jesus became a man,

¤  and even though the Psalmist has alluded to the lowly state of man by inquiring of God why He should have concerns about man, and why He even bothers to remember man, (See Psalm 8:4; 144:3)

¤  and even if, for a little while, Jesus was subordinated to angels whilst He was in the body of a man,

¤  and even if, right now, we do not yet see all things in subjection to Jesus, . . .

`We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.' (2 Peter 3:13 NIV)

. . . the fact is that the Father has nevertheless raised Him to the place of highest distinction and has confirmed His eternal preeminence. In that future world, the kingdom of glory, He who traded His royal throne for a crown of thorns will have unlimited dominion over the entire universe, and all things everywhere will move with a harmony heretofore unknown.

2:9   But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

`And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.' (1 Tim 3:16)

Having considered these facts, therefore, let us not see Jesus as a man, but as a gracious God who elected to become a man; let us see Him as a God who was compelled by His infinite and perfect love for His fallen children to stoop to take on the flesh of man, . . .

He `made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.' (Philippians 2:7-8)

¤  so that He could stand as the representative of mankind,

¤  so that, as our representative, He could perfectly obey God's law on our behalf, and prove to the universe that when man submits his life to the indwelling of the Spirit, it is possible for man to obey God's law,

¤  so that, as our substitute, He could take the penalty of our sinfulness upon Himself, submit to the most cruel torture, and die in our place,

`God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the [condemnation of the] law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 4:4-5; 3:26)

¤  so that, ultimately, He could have the joy of offering to a world of undeserving people the hope of salvation, the gift of eternal life, and adoption into the heavenly family.

`I will divide Him a portion with the great, . . . because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.' (Isaiah 53:12)

And so, dear friends, as we consider some of the more significant reasons why Jesus forsook the glories of heaven, and why He willingly subjected Himself to the limitations of humanity, let us not imagine for one moment that He is now inferior to angels or on a level with man. Though we valued Him at no more than a few silver coins, and though we crowned Him with a crown of thorns, God has exalted Him to the highest place and crowned Him with the eternal glory and honour that His spotless character and His loving self-sacrifice so richly deserve.

`And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' (Philippians 2:8-11)

2:10   For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

We do need to realise, however, that by crowning the Crucified One, God has taught us an all-important lesson, and that is that the cross is the only way to the crown. In other words, that the pathway of suffering and self-sacrifice for others is the pathway that leads to victory in the Christian life - for it is in suffering that self dies and our characters are moulded, and it is in suffering that we are equipped to minister to those who are suffering - and, after all, character and ministry are the legs upon which the victorious Christian life stands.

`It pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.' (Isaiah 53:10)

This is why God, the One who made us and who gives purpose to our lives, saw fit to lead Jesus along the pathway of suffering. As our Representative and Substitute, Jesus had to gain the victory on our behalf, and that victory could only be secured through suffering - a level of suffering that would find its highest expression on the cross of Calvary.

2:11-13   For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You." And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."

And so it was that our Most Holy Jesus became a man, not in order to lower himself, but in order to lift us up, to save us from impending doom, and to make us holy. He saw that we were lost, and that our own righteousness had no more value than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and so He came to give us the gift of His righteousness, a gift that comes packaged in two distinct wrappings . . .

`But now the righteousness of God apart from [our keeping of the] the law is revealed, . . . even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.' (Romans 3:21-23)

Gift 1: His imputed righteousness: From the very moment that we accept Jesus as our Substitute and Saviour - as the One who lived and died as our representative, and who paid the full price for our sins - and we invite Him to take control of our lives, in that very moment God accepts Jesus' life and death as though it were our life and death - His righteous character is considered by God to be our righteous character, we are treated by God as though we had never sinned, and we are considered to be members of the heavenly family. (See SC62)

`God imputes [puts to our account] righteousness apart from works.' (Romans 4:6)

In this way we are made holy by His righteousness that is put to our account. This righteousness is all His and none of ours, yet God considers it to be ours, not because of anything we might have done, but as a free gift that we receive in exchange for simple faith.

`As through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.' (Romans 5:18)

`But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory [character] of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. [character to character], just as by the Spirit of the Lord.' (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Gift 2: His imparted righteousness: With a God who is so incredibly gracious, with a Saviour who is much more than wonderful, with a verdict of eternal innocence written alongside our names, and with a perfect righteousness credited unworthily to our account, we can only be inspired by God's unfathomable love and His unmerited kindness. And it is with this backdrop that Jesus invites us to come and to learn of Him (Matthew 11:29) - to learn of Him who is the very embodiment of love, so that His love may be implanted in our hearts. In practical terms, the more we spend time with Him in Bible study, prayer, and meditation, and the more we fellowship with Him in seeing to the needs of the less- fortunate, the more our characters will be changed into the likeness of His divine character.

In this way we are made holy by His righteousness that is put into our hearts. This righteousness is also all His and none of ours, for it is always and only the result of Jesus living out His life in us. As such, we cannot claim any merit or feel any pride should we possess some degree of this imparted righteousness. We can only gratefully acknowledge that our own filthy-rag righteousness has no eternal merit whatsoever, and that His righteousness, received by faith, is the only righteousness that is acceptable to God.

`God . . . has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.' (2 Timothy 1:9)

`He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.' (Colossians 1:17-23)

`He has made us accepted in the Beloved.' (Ephesians 1:6)

Thus it was that Jesus made Himself one with mankind - to be rejected in the person of us so that we could be accepted in the person of Him. And now, having clothed Himself in human flesh, He is not ashamed or embarrassed about calling us His brothers and sisters - for we are His family twice over, . . .

¤  firstly, because He became a member of the human family through His incarnation,

¤  and secondly because of His victory as the representative of the human family. Thus, on the basis of His victory on our behalf, we are adopted into the heavenly family from the moment that we exercise faith in Him - and this not because of any merit on our part, but only because He loves us with a love that is far stronger than the fear of torture or death.

`Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.' (Romans 8;17)

The evidence that we are members of His family is overwhelming for, after all, . . .

¤  why would Jesus refer to us as His brothers if He did not consider us to be members of His very own family? (See Psalm 22:22)

¤  And why would He refer to us as God's children if He did not consider us to be His very own brothers and sisters? (See Isaiah 8:18)

`Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.' (1 John 3:1; Psalm 106:1)

2:14-15   Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

`Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.' (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

We can appreciate, therefore, that just as we, His children, are flesh and blood, so it was that Jesus, our representative, took on humanity - body, soul and nature - and He thus entered into all of the experiences of mankind. But He not only took our nature upon Himself, He also took our condemnation upon Himself, and by so doing He disarmed the devil - the evil one who had so long delighted in the fact that God's very own Law of Love pronounced the sentence of death upon us.

And just how did Jesus disarm the devil? By taking our condemnation upon Himself. By being executed in our place, He satisfied the demands of the law that held us in condemnation and, as a result, the devil no longer has any claim over us. Jesus, the Innocent, was incarcerated and put to death in the person of us, so that we, the guilty, might be set free and granted eternal life in the person of Him. He lowered Himself to the very depths of humiliation and human wretchedness so that we might be lifted up to glory and eternal companionship with Him.

`He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.' (Isaiah 25:8; Romans 8:21; See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

More than this, by dying our death in the flesh, our eternal death that is, Jesus has triumphed over death and liberated us from the nagging fear of death that plagues the lives of unbelievers. For, even though we are still subject to death, we know that through faith we can partake of Jesus' victory over death - for where there is no faith, death is a testimony to the power of the devil, but to us who believe, death is but a quiet "womb" in which we rest for a while, a "womb" from which we will be delivered into life eternal.

`There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.' (1 John 4:18)

`For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living' He `has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. - "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ' (Romans 14:8; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:55.)

2:16-17   For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

`The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' (John 1:14)

We can appreciate, therefore, that it was not Jesus' design to be the Saviour of fallen angels, but to be the Saviour of mankind. And in order for Him to be a merciful and faithful High Priest, He was obliged to take on the nature of man, and to experience humanity in every respect, . . .

`He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He is the propitiation [peace offering] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.' (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2)

¤  firstly because, as the sacrificial Lamb of God, as the One who was to stand as our substitute and surety, He had to suffer as a man, to bear our shame as a man, and to die as a man,

¤  secondly because, as our perfect Pattern in all things, He had to live as a man, to be tempted as a man, to give us an example of obedience as a man, and to gain the victory as a man,

`No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.' (John 1:18 NIV)

¤  thirdly because, as the ambassador of God, it was necessary for Him to represent the character of God in a form that we could relate to, that we could comprehend, and that we could emulate,

`God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.' (2 Corinthians 5:19)

¤  and, fourthly because, as God's trustworthy Servant, as the One appointed to be our Advocate and Intermediary, He was to stand at the head of humanity, as a man, reaching up to the Father on our behalf, and reaching out to us on behalf of the Father . . .

`So now, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.' (Romans 5:1 TLB)

¤  He reaches up to the Father with both hands. With the one hand He presents His shed blood as being sufficient to purchase our pardon. With the other hand He presents His victory as a man as though it were the victory of mankind.

`Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.' (Matthew 11:28-30)

¤  Then He reaches out to us with both hands. With the one hand He presents to us the grace, the mercy, the love and the righteousness of God. With the other hand He motions for us to come to Him, just as we are, and He thus invites us to enter into a meaningful, daily, love relationship with Him - that he might live out His life in us and bring us to victory.

2:18   For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

`For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.' (Hebrews 4:15; 5:2 NIV)

`He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.' (Isaiah 53:3 NIV)

Therefore, considering what Jesus endured as a man, let us be encouraged by the fact that He can relate fully to the challenges that face us, for He is no stranger to human sorrow, hardship, trial, temptation and suffering. Thanks to His personal experience as a man, He understands our weaknesses and our needs and, as such, He is well qualified to comfort, to sympathise, and to support us through our times of difficulty and anguish.

With a Friend like Jesus, and knowing the extent of the undeserved kindness that He has poured out upon us, we cannot help but to feel confident about the future - and we surely do have every reason to entertain a hope for eternity that is absolute.

`Let us then approach the throne of grace [the throne of unmerited kindness] with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.' (Hebrews 4:16; Romans 5:10)

`Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.' (Jude 1:24)

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