1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
“Since Jesus Christ is as much better than the angels, as He hath received by inheritance a more excellent name than they—since He is both essentially and officially inconceivably superior to these heavenly messengers, His message has paramount claims on our attention, belief, and obedience.” (Dr. J. Brown) Therefore we— “Note that he speaks of ‘we’. He includes himself along with them because he wants to be identified with them and wants them to feel included within the whole church of Christ. He does not want them to feel that they have been selected out as especially weak.” (Peter Pett) This Message is universal. WE must give more earnest heed to the things we have heard— “The true and only way of honouring our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, is by diligent attendance and obedience to His Word.” (William Burkitt)
“We should hear the doctrine of Christ with care, candour, and deep concern.... Lest we drift away—Μη ποτε παραρῥυωμεν· 'Lest at any time we should leak out.' This is a metaphor taken from unstanch vessels; the staves not being close together, the fluid put into them leaks through the chinks and crevices. Superficial hearers lose the benefit of the word preached, as the unseasoned vessel does its fluid; nor can any one hear to the saving of his soul, unless he give most earnest heed, which he will not do unless he consider the dignity of the speaker, the importance of the subject, and the absolute necessity of the salvation of his soul. St. Chrysostom renders it… lest we perish, lest we fall away.'" (Adam Clarke)
"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.” (Matthew Henry)
For if the Word, "the Law which appointed punishment for the offenders: and which Paul [as well as Stephen] says was given by angels (Galatians 3:19... Acts 7:53),"(Geneva Study Bible)- "on Sinai, with cloud, and fire, and thunder, and the sound of trumpets" (Sutcliffe)-- "was ‘steadfast’—firm, inviolable, not to be gainsaid.” (A. W. Pink) And every transgression received a just reward—for the wage of sin is death (Gen 2:17, Rom 6:23). So, how can we escape if we refuse the free gift— pardon by the Son— “so great a salvation” which at first began to be spoken by Christ— the first Gospel-Preacher? “The reference is to that which was preached first by Christ Himself, recorded in the Gospels; then, to that which was proclaimed by His apostles, reported in the book of Acts.” (A. W. Pink)
God also bore witness with both signs and wonders. Salvation is the greatest miracle. Jesus had done many signs and wonders. Yet on one occasion, He healed a paralytic, as well as forgiving him of his sins. “And when Jesus saw their (the man and his friends’) faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:5-12)
Moses performed signs and wonders by the Hand of God, but the magicians of Pharaoh reproduce them. Yet, the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” to the redeemed could not be reproduced by the unregenerate. They are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no Law.” (Gal 5:22-23) These are not distributed according to the faith of those who received them—but rather distributed unequally, “according to His own will.”
“If they who had fewer privileges than we have, to whom God spoke in divers manners by angels and prophets, fell under the displeasure of their Maker, and were often punished with a sore destruction; how shall we escape wrath to the uttermost if we neglect the salvation provided for us, and proclaimed to us by the Son of God? Their offense was high; ours, indescribably higher…
Those who neglect it, αμελησαντες, are not only they who oppose or persecute it, but they who pay no regard to it; who do not meddle with it, do not concern themselves about it, do not lay it to heart, and consequently do not get their hearts changed by it. Now these cannot escape the coming judgments of God; not merely because they oppose His will and Commandment, but because they sin against the very cause and means of their deliverance. As there is but one remedy by which their diseased souls can be saved, so by refusing to apply that One remedy they must necessarily perish.”(Adam Clarke Commentary)
5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 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? 7 You have made Him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, 8 You have put all things in subjection under His feet.” [Psalm 8:4–6] 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. 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.
Man failed but the Son of man recovered that which was lost. “The first man, Adam, was given dominion over the earth and all its creatures (Genesis 1:26-28), but sin intervened and it remains for the Son of man, ‘the last Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:45) to regain man's lost dominion.” (Dr. Henry M. Morris) “Having considered our Blessed Lord from the standpoint of His deity, both as the Eternal Son and as the Son of God in manhood, we are now called upon to think of Him in His humiliation as He entered into the experiences of humanity in order that He might become the Captain of our salvation.” (H. A. ironside)
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 have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, You have put all things in subjection under his feet.' [Psalm 8:4–6]" (5-8a) "The full sense is, but He hath subjected it to Christ, as David testified, Psalms 8:4-5." (John Trapp) “Although angels have considerable authority in this present world (Daniel 10:13; Matthew 18:10), the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will personally reign over the millennial world (Revelation 20:4) and the eternal world to come (Revelation 11:15).”
(Dr. Henry M. Morris)
In this psalm, David considers the works of Jesus's hands- the Creation-- His heavens, moon, stars, sheep and oxen-- even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea. His major declaration is that at present, because of His passion, all things are “put under Him”— “even the angels are subject to Christ, that they can in no way compare with Him in power and authority. Eph_1:21-22; Col_2:10.” (Paul E. Kretzmann)
Then comes the crux. David asks: What is man? This quotation is verbatim from the Septuagint; and, as the Greek is not as emphatic as the Hebrew, I will quote the original:…; ‘What is miserable man, that thou rememberest him?….’ The variation of the terms in the original is very emphatic. Adam, אדם , is the name given to man at his creation, and expresses his origin, and generic distinction from all other animals.” (Adam Clarke)
Here I leave the traditional Methodist view that son of man refers to mankind also and that this is just another way of saying the same thing as before.- "Or the Son of man that You visit Him? For You have made Him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned Him with glory and honor. You have made Him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under His feet." “The Son of God became Jesus [Yeshua], Son of man, by divine incarnation (Hebrews 2:14-16). He who was ‘better than the angels’ (Hebrews 1:4) was made a ‘little [that is, ‘for a little time’—thirty-three years] lower than the angels.’ He who was the divine Word became flesh (John 1:14); He who was ‘equal with God’ became ‘a servant’ (Philippians 2:7).” (Dr. Henry M. Morris) “He was born of a virgin; a babe, to all outward appearances like any other, and a perfectly normal child, growing up from infancy to manhood, increasing in wisdom as He increased in stature, and was a sharer in all that pertained to human nature as originally created by God. And He has gone up to heaven as Man, so that we may properly sing: 'He wears our nature on the throne.' But let us never forget His human nature was sinless throughout." (H. A. Ironside)
Jesus followed the Law of God perfectly. “It is true indeed that Christ, in His state of humiliation, was for a little while inferior to the angels, just as He had no form or comeliness among men, Isa_53:2. But when the work of redemption was completed, God crowned the formerly despised Jesus with divine honor and glory; He exalted Him, according to His human nature, to the full possession and enjoyment of all the divine attributes and powers, giving Him unlimited authority over all the works of creation, over all created beings. The entire universe, with all that it contains, is lying in subjection under His feet.”(Paul E. Kretzmann)
“He was ‘obedient unto death,’ He has been given the ‘name which is above every name’( Philippians 2:8-9).” (Dr. Henry M. Morris)
Psalm 8 ends, “O Yahweh, our Master, wow excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9)
"But now we do not see yet that all things are subjected to Him, 1 Corinthians 15:24-27; the revelation of the fullness of Christ's divine power, just as He told the Jews in the court of Caiaphas, is a thing of the future: it will appear before the eyes of all men on the last day. In the meantime, however, our faith has a certain basis: Him who, for a little while, was lower than the angels we see, Jesus, on account of His suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for every man.” (Paul E. Kretzmann) Let us be diligent to appropriate it by faith calling on His holy name.
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 captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
All things were made by Jesus and for Him- Col 1:16. He is our Judge, our Lawgiver and our King; He will save us. (Isaiah 33:22), as the Captain of our salvation. It was fitting to make Him perfect through suffering.... strange comment. Suffering did not improve upon the unimprovable Saviour for in Him there was no guile... and is no guile. "There was no self-conceit there to be purged out: no arrogance to be taken down: no hardness to be softened by experience of pain. No higher degree was possible, in the scale of moral excellence--of purity, kindness, unselfishness, truthfulness.” (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)— but rather in suffering, He perfectly fulfilled the Law of God, proving Himself to be a just God and Savior.
“How can a perfect Person be ‘made perfect’?... the Greek word for ‘perfect’ [τελειοω or teleiōsai] is rendered ‘consecrated’ in Heb 7:28.” (A. W Pink) Consecration is "the separation of persons, utensils, buildings, or places from everyday secular uses for exclusive dedication to holy or sacred use." (Tyndale Bible Dictionary) "The priests were first consecrated with oil, then with blood; so was Christ first by the Spirit, and then by his own blood.” (John Trapp) Thus it was very fitting or proper for Jesus to be set aside for service through suffering. The priest of Israel had to be able to identify with the struggles of his people. "The ordinance of consecration for the priesthood under the law suggests this necessity; yet the question remains, whence the necessity of the shedding of blood?" (Alex. Anderson)- "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11)
And the priests ceremonially washed before entering the holy place for service, as did Jesus; He “came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.” (Matt 3:13-15)
11 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, 12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” [Psalm 22:22] 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” [Samuel 22:3; Isaiah 8:17]And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” [Isaiah 8:18]
For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one… "Christ is He that sanctifieth; He has purchased and sent the sanctifying Spirit; He is the Head of all sanctifying influences. The Spirit sanctifieth as the Spirit of Christ. True believers are those who are sanctified, endowed with holy principles and powers, separated and set apart from mean and vile uses to high and holy uses and purposes; for so they must be before they can be brought to glory. Now Christ, who is the agent in this work of sanctification, and Christians, who are the recipient subjects, are all of one." (Matthew Henry)
For this reason, He is not ashamed to call us brethren— His children or people. “That He did so in the days of His humiliation may be seen by a reference to Matthew 12:49; John 20:17. That He will do so in the Day to come, appears from Matthew 25:40. That He is ‘not ashamed’ to so own them, plainly intimates an act of condescension on His part, the condescension arising out of the fact that He was more than Man, none other than ‘the Lord of glory.’… this grace on the part of Christ does not warrant His people becoming so presumptuous as to speak of Him as their ‘Brother.’” (A,. W. Pink ) He is our Father.
1 — saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.’” [Psalm 22:22] (12) “Once more the apostle appeals to the written Word for support of what he had just affirmed. But more: not only did the 22nd Psalm announce beforehand the sufferings of the Messiah; it also foretold His victory. Read again the last clause of verse 21: ‘Save Me from the lion’s mouth: for Thou has heard Me.’ Christ was ‘saved,’ not from death, but out of death, cf. Hebrews 5:7. Now what is the very next thing in Psalm 227 This: ‘I will declare Thy name unto My brethren’ (vs 22)…. Here the Savior is seen on resurrection ground, victorious over every foe. It is this which the apostle quotes in Hebrews 2:12. Now that which it is particularly important to note is that in this verse from Psalm 22 Christ is heard saying He would declare the Father’s name unto His ‘brethren.’ That could only be possible on resurrection ground… The position in which Christ is here viewed is very blessed, ‘in the midst’: it is the Redeemer leading the praises of His redeemed. Strangers to God may go through all the outward forms of mere ‘religion,’ but they never praise God. It is only upon resurrection ground that worship is possible.” (A. W. Pink)
2 — “And again, ‘I will put My trust in Him’” [Samuel 22:3; Isaiah 8:17] (13a) “A second quotation is now made, from Isaiah 8:17, according to the Septuagint version. The passage from which this is taken is a very remarkable one. Beginning at verse 13 the exhortation is given, ‘Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.’ This means, give Him His true place in your hearts, recognize His exalted dignity, bow before His ineffable majesty, submit to His high sovereignty…” [Jesus is the King of glory: “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Ps 24:7-10)] In Isaiah 8:14, “the Lord of Hosts is brought before us in a twofold character: ‘And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.’ These expressions, ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Stone of stumbling,’ define the relation of the Lord to the elect and to the non-elect, [respectively]. To the one He is Refuge, a Resting-place, a Center of worship; to the other, He is an offense. ‘The Stone’ is one of the titles of Christ, and it is most interesting and instructive to trace out the various references, the first being found in Genesis 49:24… Now comes the word in Heb 2:13, ‘I will put My trust in Him’ (Isa. 8:17).” (A. W. Pink)
3 — “And again: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.’” [Isaiah 8:18] This is a quoted from Isaiah 8:16-22: “Bind up the testimony, seal the Law (Torah or Teachings) among my disciples. And I will wait on the LORD (Jehovah), who hides His face from the house of Jacob (Israel according to the flesh); and I (Messiah) will hope in Him (Jehovah). Here am I and the children whom the LORD (Jehovah), has given me! We (Christ and the children) are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. And when they (the unredeemed) say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the Law (Torah) and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word (Dabar; Devine Presence), it is because there is no light in them. They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.” The religion of the day is contrasted with the truth.
14 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, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood,.... (14a)
The children of this world "are made of flesh and blood, which is a frail and delicate nature." (Geneva Study Bible) "He Himself likewise shared in the same,” (14b) “Christ became man also, or assumed an human nature like theirs..." (Gill's Exposition) "that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil..." (14c) “The devil is said to have the power of death, because he is the author of sin: and from sin comes death, and because of this he daily urges us to sin." (Geneva Study Bible)
"and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (15) Fear of death- "you must understand here, that death which is joined with the wrath of God, as it must be if it is without Christ, and there can be nothing devised that is more miserable." (Geneva Study Bible) Contrary to popular theology, the wrath of God consists in the destruction of the sinners. “And the prod of death is sin; and the power of sin cometh from the Law..” (1 Corinthians 15:56. Wycliffe Translation)
Paul had just quoted "three Old Testament texts as forecasts of this identity with men--Psalms 22:22; Isaiah 8:17; Isaiah 8:18. If Jesus had come into this world in a form in which He could never have suffered, He would have been quite different from men and so no Saviour for them. As Jeremy Taylor said: 'When God would save men, he did it by way of a man.' It is, in fact, this identification with men which is the essence of the Christian idea of God... The basis of the Greek idea of God was detachment; the basis of the Christian idea is identity. Through His sufferings Jesus Christ identified Himself with man." (William Barclay)
Through His death, He saves as many as will come unto Him for salvation. The emphasis in these verse is not suffering but rather His vicarious death. Christ died not as a martyr, but as a Savior with a purpose, that He “might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…” "It is regrettable that so many modern scholars make so little of man's ancient and implacable foe, the devil; and although it must be confessed that faith in the devil never saved any person, yet the true believer does not hesitate to accept the things spoken by our Lord and the apostles concerning the person and devices of the evil one." (Burton Coffman)
“In Scripture death is the result of sin. The Genesis story bears this out. It is supported in the Pauline epistles (cf. Rom. 5:12).... The difference between His death and all others lies in the fact of His sinlessness. Death for Him was caused by other men’s sins." (Tyndale New Testament Commentary) “All that the first Adam lost the second Adam has restored. ... No man on this earth will ever be able to adequately explain the fall and why God ordained it.” (Don Fortner) It is God's desire for free agency.
16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 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. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Salvation has no relevance for angels; the fallen ones have lost their first estate forever. They, with the one who had the power of death, will be cast into hell-fire and this destroyed. But Christ does "give aid to the seed of Abraham." (16b) He does not do the work for them, but He "gives aid" to them. According to Jesus, "Abraham’s children were those who do what Abraham did (John 8:39). In a spiritual sense Abraham’s offspring includes all who share his faith and this must be the sense in which the present passage should be understood (cf. also Rom.4:11)." (Tyndale NT Commentary) At first I thought that Jesus' sufferings didn't actually increase His ability to help us, "but" by His Law, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)