Hebrews
2New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Give
Heed
2
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to [a]what we have heard, so
that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels
proved [b]unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
[c]penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? [d]After
it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those
who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by
various [e]miracles and by [f]gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own
will.
Earth
Subject to Man
5
For He did not subject to angels [g]the world to come, concerning which we are
speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying,
“What
is man, that You remember him?
Or
the son of man, that You are concerned about him?
7
“You
have made him [h]for a little while lower than the angels;
You
have crowned him with glory and honour,
[i]And
have appointed him over the works of Your hands;
8
You
have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
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 subjected to him.
Jesus
Briefly Humbled
9
But we do see Him who was made [j]for a little while lower than the angels,
namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour,
so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
10
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the [k]author of their
salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are
[l]sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to
call them brethren, 12 saying,
“I
will proclaim Your name to My brethren,
In
the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
13
And again,
“I
will put My trust in Him.”
And
again,
“Behold,
I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14
Therefore, since the children share in [m]flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who
had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through
fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does
not [n]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [o]descendant of Abraham.
17 Therefore, He [p]had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He
might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted
in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are
tempted.
2
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to [a]what we have heard, so
that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels
proved [b]unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
[c]penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? [d]After
it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those
who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by
various [e]miracles and by [f]gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own
will.
Earth
Subject to Man
5
For He did not subject to angels [g]the world to come, concerning which we are
speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying,
“What
is man, that You remember him?
Or
the son of man, that You are concerned about him?
7
“You
have made him [h]for a little while lower than the angels;
You
have crowned him with glory and honour,
[i]And
have appointed him over the works of Your hands;
8
You
have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
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 subjected to him.
Jesus
Briefly Humbled
9
But we do see Him who was made [j]for a little while lower than the angels,
namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour,
so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
10
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the [k]author of their
salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are
[l]sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to
call them brethren, 12 saying,
“I
will proclaim Your name to My brethren,
In
the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
13
And again,
“I
will put My trust in Him.”
And
again,
“Behold,
I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14
Therefore, since the children share in [m]flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who
had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through
fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does
not [n]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [o]descendant of Abraham.
17 Therefore, He [p]had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He
might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was
tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those
who are tempted.
Matthew
Henry's Commentary
Verses
1-4
The
apostle proceeds in the plain profitable method of doctrine, reason, and use,
through this epistle. Here we have the application of the truths before
asserted and proved; this is brought in by the illative particle therefore,
with which this chapter begins, and which shows its connection with the former,
where the apostle having proved Christ to be superior to the angels by whose
ministry the law was given, and therefore that the gospel dispensation must be
more excellent than the legal, he now comes to apply this doctrine both by way
of exhortation and argument.
I.
By way of exhortation: Therefore we ought to give the more diligent heed to the
things which we have heard, Heb. 2:1. This is the first way by which we are to
show our esteem of Christ and of the gospel. It is the great concern of every
one under the gospel to give the most earnest heed to all gospel discoveries and
directions, to prize them highly in his judgment as matters of the greatest
importance, to hearken to them diligently in all the opportunities he has for
that purpose, to read them frequently, to meditate on them closely, and to mix
faith with them. We must embrace them in our hearts and affections, retain them
in our memories, and finally regulate our words and actions according to them.
II.
By way of argument, he adds strong motives to enforce the exhortation.
1.
From
the great loss we shall sustain if we do not take this earnest heed to the
things which we have heard: We shall let them slip. They will leak, and run out
of our heads, lips, and lives, and we shall be great losers by our neglect.
Learn, (1.) When we have received gospel truths into our minds, we are in
danger of letting them slip. Our minds and memories are like a leaky vessel,
they do not without much care retain what is poured into them; this proceeds
from the corruption of our natures, the enmity and subtlety of Satan (he steals
away the word), from the entanglements and snares of the world, the thorns that
choke the good seed. (2.) Those meet with an inconceivable loss who let gospel
truths, which they had received, slip out of their minds; they have lost a
treasure far better than thousands of gold and silver; the seed is lost, their
time and pains in hearing lost, and their hopes of a good harvest lost; all is
lost, if the gospel be lost. (3.) This consideration should be a strong motive
both to our attention to the gospel and our retention of it; and indeed, if we
do not well attend, we shall not long retain the word of God; inattentive
hearers will soon be forgetful hearers.
Verses
5-9
The
apostle, having made this serious application of the doctrine of the personal
excellency of Christ above the angels, now returns to that pleasant subject
again, and pursues it further (Heb. 2:5): For to the angels hath he not put in
subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
I.
Here the apostle lays down a negative proposition, including a positive
one—That the state of the gospel-church, which is here called the world to
come, is not subjected to the angels, but under the special care and direction
of the Redeemer himself. Neither the state in which the church is at present,
nor that more completely restored state at which it shall arrive when the
prince of this world is cast out and the kingdoms of the earth shall become the
kingdom of Christ, is left to the government of the angels; but Jesus Christ
will take to him his great power, and will reign. He does not make that use of
the ministration of angels to give the gospel as he did to give the law, which
was the state of the old or antiquated world. This new world is committed to
Christ, and put in absolute subjection to him only, in all spiritual and
eternal concerns. Christ has the administration of the gospel church, which at
once bespeaks Christ’s honour and the church’s happiness and safety. It is
certain that neither the first creation of the gospel church, nor its
after-edification or administration, nor its final judgment and perfection, is
committed to the angels, but to Christ. God would not put so great a trust in
his holy ones; his angels were too weak for such a charge.
II.
We have a scripture—account of that blessed Jesus to whom the gospel world is
put into subjection. It is taken from Ps. 8:4-6, But one in a certain place
testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the Son of
man, that thou visitest him? etc. There words are to be considered both as
applicable to mankind in general, and as applied here to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses
10-13
Having
mentioned the death of Christ, the apostle here proceeds to prevent and remove
the scandal of the cross; and this he does by showing both how it became God
that Christ should suffer and how much man should be benefited by those sufferings.
I.
How it became God that Christ should suffer: For it became him for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the
captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings, Heb. 2:10. Here,
1.
God is described as the final end and first cause of all things, and as such it
became him to secure his own glory in all that he did, not only to act so that
he might in nothing dishonour himself, but so that he might from every thing
have a revenue of glory.
2.
He is declared to have acted up to this glorious character in the work of
redemption, as to the choice both of the end and of the means.
(1.)
In
the choice of the end; and that was to bring many sons to glory in enjoying the
glorious privileges of the gospel, and to future glory in heaven, which will be
glory indeed, an exceeding eternal weight of glory. Here observe, [1.] We must
be the sons of God both by adoption and regeneration, before we can be brought
to the glory of heaven. Heaven is the inheritance; and only those that are the
children are heirs of that inheritance. [2.] All true believers are the
children of God: to those that receive Christ he has granted the power and
privilege of being the children of God, even to as many as believe on his name,
John 1:12. [3.] Though the sons of God are but a few in one place and at one
time, yet when they shall be all brought together it will appear that they are
many. Christ is the first-born among many brethren. [4.] All the sons of God,
now many so ever they are, or however dispersed and divided, shall at length be
brought together to glory.
Verses
14-18
Here
the apostle proceeds to assert the incarnation of Christ, as taking upon him
not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham; and he shows the reason and
design of his so doing.
I.
The
incarnation of Christ is asserted (Heb. 2:16): Verily he took not upon him the
nature of angels, but he took upon him the seed of Abraham. He took part of
flesh and blood. Though as God he pre-existed from all eternity, yet in the fullness
of time he took our nature into union with his divine nature, and became really
and truly man. He did not lay hold of angels, but he laid hold of the seed of
Abraham. The angels fell, and he let them go, and lie under the desert,
defilement, and dominion of their sin, without hope or help. Christ never
designed to be the Saviour of the fallen angels; as their tree fell, so it
lies, and must lie to eternity, and therefore he did not assume their nature.
The nature of angels could not be an atoning sacrifice for the sin of man. Now
Christ resolving to recover the seed of Abraham and raise them up from their
fallen state, he took upon him the human nature from one descended from the
loins of Abraham, that the same nature that had sinned might suffer, to restore
human nature to a state of hope and trial, and all that accepted of mercy to a
state of special favour and salvation. Now there is hope and help for the chief
of sinners in and through Christ. Here is a price paid sufficient for all, and
suitable to all, for it was in our nature. Let us all then know the day of our
gracious visitation, and improve that distinguishing mercy which has been shown
to fallen men, not to the fallen angels.
The Bible Panorama
Hebrews 2
V
1–4: SALVATION
The Hebrew readers are told that they must give careful consideration to what
they hear lest they ‘neglect so great a salvation’. God has confirmed that
great salvation historically with signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit.
The danger of neglecting His salvation and facing judgement applies to all.
V 5–9: SON The quotation from Psalm 8 refers
to mankind being made ‘a little lower than the angels’. The eternal Son of God,
in appearing in flesh as the Son of Man, also was made lower than the angels
for the task He had to do on earth. Having died on the cross for our sins and risen
again, He is now crowned with glory and honour. By God’s grace, He did this
that He ‘might taste death for everyone’.
V
10–16: SONS
Because Jesus completed His work through the suffering of the cross, He can
bring ‘many sons to glory’. This includes all who trust in Him and become
children of God. Because Jesus came to take on flesh to save us and to die for
us, He has defeated the devil and takes away the fear of death from those who
put their trust in the living Saviour.
V 17–18: SACRIFICE Jesus is the
‘faithful High Priest’ who offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross. Despite
being tempted, He suffered there, taking the punishment of our sins to make
propitiation for them. Today He is not only able to save, but also able to help
those who are tempted.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
6512
salvation, necessity and basis of
Scripture
stresses that fallen human beings are cut off from God on account of their sin.
All need to be saved, if they are to enter into a new relationship with God as
their Creator and Redeemer. Salvation is not the result of human achievement,
privilege or wisdom, but depends totally upon the graciousness of a loving God,
supremely expressed in the cross of Jesus Christ. People must respond in
repentance and faith if they are to benefit from God’s offer of salvation in
Christ.
The
necessity of salvation
The
universal rule of sin in human nature Isa 64:6; Ro 3:19-23; Ro 5:12-18; Ro
7:24; Eph 2:3
Sin
cuts humanity off from God Isa 59:1-2 See also Ge 3:22-24; Eph 2:1-5; Eph 4:18
Sin
enslaves humanity to evil Jer 13:23; Hos 5:4; Zec 7:11-12; Ro 7:14-20; 2Pe
2:13-19
Salvation
is grounded in the love of God
Salvation
is not based on human achievement Ro 3:28; Eph 2:8-9 See also Ac 15:7-11; Ro
4:1-3; Ro 5:1-2; Gal 2:16,21; 2Ti 1:9
Salvation
is grounded in God’s love for his people Eph 2:4-5 See also Dt 7:1-8; Jn
3:16-17; Ro 5:8; 2Th 2:16; 1Jn 4:9-19
Salvation
is grounded in God’s grace Ro 3:22-24 See also Jn 1:16; Ac 15:11; Ro 5:15-17;
2Co 6:1-2; Eph 1:5-8; Eph 2:4-10; 1Ti 1:14-15; Tit 2:11; Tit 3:4-7; Heb 2:9
Salvation
and the work of Jesus Christ
Salvation
is grounded in the work of Jesus Christ Ac 5:30-31; 1Ti 1:15 See also Jn 4:42;
Ac 4:10-12; Ro 5:9-10; Php 3:20-21; 2Ti 1:9-10; Tit 3:5-7; Heb 7:24-25; 1Jn
4:14
Jesus
Christ’s death was totally sufficient for salvation 1Pe 3:18 See also Jn
17:1-4; Ac 4:10-12; Gal 1:3-4; Eph 1:5-10; 1Ti 2:5-6; 2Ti 1:9-10; Heb 10:10;
1Jn 4:9-10; Rev 7:9-10
Salvation
demands a human decision
Jn
3:36; Ac 3:19 See also Mk 1:15; Lk 8:50; Jn 3:17-18; Ac 2:37-39; Heb 12:25; 1Pe
2:4-8; 1Jn 5:10
No comments:
Post a Comment