PART TWO
PART TWO
Have you ever had a conversation with someone in which you tried to convince them that Jesus was God? That happens a lot in our world. But when was the last time you had a conversation with someone and you had to convince them Jesus was really human? Probably never! People just take it for granted that Jesus was really a man.
But this wasn’t the case in the ancient world. There were a number of groups—particularly the Gnostics—who struggled to believe that Jesus could really be a human like us. For them, since Jesus was divine, there was no way he could take on the limitations of the flesh.
So our author now wants to show that the glorious King of the universe humbled himself and became a real human being, “made lower than the angels” (verse 9). He is both God and man. And because Christ is the perfect human being, he can deliver us from the problem we have got ourselves into. By becoming human, he was able to “taste death for everyone.”
Verse 10 tells us that Jesus was made “perfect through suffering.” This doesn’t refer to the moral perfection of Jesus—he was always sinless—but to his effectiveness as our representative. By suffering as a man, he became a more sympathetic, more appropriate, more fitting high priest for us.
Here is where we see how our salvation depends as much on Jesus’ humanity as it does on his divinity. If he was not really human, then he could not really represent us. And if he could not represent us, he could not save us.
Jesus Brings Salvation
Since Jesus is our perfect human representative, that allows him to be the “founder” of our salvation (v 10). Think of Jesus as a “pioneer,” carving a path forward so that we can follow in his footsteps. This means that if you trust in Jesus, what is true of him is true of you.
There are three aspects of this union with Christ to pull out from verses 9-13.
First, Jesus’ death is our death. Jesus was crowned with glory “because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (v 9).
Sinners deserve to die, and yet in Christ we are saved because he died in our place. This is why Paul says that he has “been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20; see also Romans 6:1-10). The penalty Paul deserved to pay has been paid by Jesus on his behalf, and now Paul is living a new life. It is the same for us. Christ has died our death.
Second, Jesus’ glory is our glory. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was “crowned with glory and honor” (Hebrews 2:9). That is the future that awaits us too. He brings “many sons to glory” (v 10). Because Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin, we will be raised up to the place of dignity that God always intended for us.
Third, Jesus’ holiness is our holiness. Verse 11 tells us that he “sanctifies” and we “are sanctified.” This holiness makes us part of the same family—God’s family—so that Jesus can call us “brothers” (verse 12, citing Psalm 22:22) and “the children God has given me” (Hebrews 2:13, citing Isaiah 8:18).
Think of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. That was the first time in the history of the world that Satan tempted a human and the human never sinned. Adam sinned; Abraham sinned; Moses sinned; Joshua sinned. Every single human who ever walked the earth sinned. But along came Jesus, enduring 40 days in the desert, hungry and suffering, and he succeeded where every other human had failed. For the first time ever, Satan was defeated.
This is the holiness that is credited to us if we trust in Jesus. When God looks on us, he sees the perfect righteous obedience of his Son.
Jesus died our death, gives us his holiness, and will lead us to glory. In Christ, God promises to make us into the kind of humanity he originally designed. This was always his plan.
An Effective High Priest
In the next verses the author shows us how it is that Jesus was able to do all these things. He is a great high priest who represents us perfectly to God.
In a court of law, we all know that it is unwise to represent yourself. You need someone who understands the way the system works and how to make your case effectively: someone to represent you well to the judge. And it is the same in God’s courtroom. If we try to stand before God on our own merits, making our own arguments, and using our own ability, the verdict will always be guilty.
In ancient Israel there was someone whose job it was to represent Israel before God: the high priest. Every year this man would enter into the holiest part of the temple to make certain sacrifices on behalf of the people.
There were two problems with this system. The first problem was that the sacrifices kept having to be made, year after year. The blood of animals didn’t really take away sins. The second problem was that the high priests came and went: one would die and another would be appointed, and then that one would die. Some of these priests would be good at their job, and some would be bad. The men who filled the office of high priest were unreliable.
A better kind of high priest was needed: someone who would represent us to God more effectively.
Of course, we know who that is: Jesus Christ.
This is explained further in Hebrews 2:14-18, where we see two aspects of Jesus’ humanity that make him an effective high priest for us. First, he is a real human, which means he can represent humans and make a perfect sacrifice for us. Second, he really has experienced the life of a human, which means he can understand us and perfectly intercede for us.
Real Humanity
Look at verse 14: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things.” This is very raw language. It doesn’t just say that Jesus had a body or that he was a man: it says he took on “flesh and blood.” Jesus is a real human in every way. This is a core theological truth. Jesus had to become a human in order to represent humans.
This is explained in verse 16. Did Jesus set out on a plan to save angels? No. He set out on a plan to save you and me—”the offspring of Abraham.” Jesus became flesh and blood because he is out to help flesh and blood. He became a human so that he could die as a human, for us.
This kind of high priest was not what a first-century Jew would have expected. The ancient priests offered sacrifices, but Jesus offered himself. He became both priest and sacrifice. This is like the lawyer who represents you in the lawcourt actually going to prison on your behalf.
Jesus’ death accomplishes two things which make his sacrifice more effective than any sacrifice offered before. First, his death defeats the devil. Second, his death satisfies God’s wrath.
Look at verses 14-15. The reason Jesus took on flesh and blood was “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
When we say that Satan “has the power of death,” it is not to say that he has the ultimate power and that he really controls the power of death. We know that God is the One who gives life and takes it away (1 Samuel 2:6). No, Satan has the power of death in the sense that he influences the thing that causes death.
Death is the result of rebellion against God. It is the penalty for sin. This means that the only way to defeat death is to defeat sin. To try to deal with the penalty without dealing with the cause would be of no use at all. That’s why Jesus died: to bear sin (Isaiah 53:12; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24). By his death he defeated the devil and the power of death (Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26).
This means that death is no longer a threat. We will all die physically, but death doesn’t master us, because we will live again in Christ.
Notice the way Hebrews 2:15 puts it: he died to “deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Jesus’ death sets us free not only from sin but also from the fear of death. This should radically change our lives. You can really live for Christ if you know that death has no power over you.
I’m not suggesting we should go out and risk our lives recklessly, but we do need to think about how much the fear of death holds us. We spend so much time thinking about how long we are going to live and planning for the time we have left. But in Christ we live eternally. We need to get the fear of death off our shoulders and live like we are going to live forever.
The second thing that Jesus’ death did was to satisfy the wrath of God. Verse 17 says that he became a high priest “to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
“Propitiation” is a specific word which means that Jesus’ death satisfies God’s wrath against sin—it appeases God. Jesus is like a sponge which soaks up all the wrath of God so that there is no more left. At the cross he was cursed with the curse we deserve (Galatians 3:13).
God is right to be angry at sin, but do you need to fear that anger? No. If you trust in Jesus, there is no anger left for you. It has been totally satisfied by Jesus’ death. God’s favor now rests on you, and you do not need to be afraid.
Jesus is a real human being who died a real death, and this means he has accomplished all that for you. He has defeated sin—the power of death—and therefore defeated Satan. And he has satisfied the wrath of God. Now we can live a life without fear.
Real Suffering
But there is more to be said. The point is not just that Jesus was a real human being; it is that he also experienced the life of a real human being. If all Jesus had to do was to become a real human and then die for our sins, then between birth and death he could have hidden out in a castle somewhere, living a life of protection—a perfect, solitary existence. But in fact, he lived the life of a human being. He experienced the very worst of what you and I experience.
Nobody ever looked at Jesus’ life and said, “I wish I had a life like that.” He had a brutally hard existence. This is critical to understanding why he is such an effective high priest: because he can relate to you and me.
Jesus experienced everything we experience. That’s in verse 17: “He had to be made like his brothers in every respect.” Verse 18 tells us what this means: “he himself has suffered when tempted.” Suffering and temptation are the things that mark Jesus’ human experience.
Ever felt abandoned or lonely? Jesus can relate: he is the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3), rejected and put to death by his own people. Ever felt the grief of losing someone you love? Jesus can relate: he wept at the death of Lazarus (John 11:35). Ever been lied about? Jesus can relate: he was betrayed by a close friend, falsely accused by the priests, and ridiculed by the soldiers. Ever had money problems? Jesus was poor and had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Ever felt misunderstood by a family member? Jesus’ own family thought he had lost his mind (Mark 3:21). Ever felt highly stressed? Jesus was so stressed in the Garden of Gethsemane that his sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).
No one could ever go to Jesus and say, “You don’t understand my life.” It’s us who cannot understand how much he suffered in his life.
Jesus was also tempted in all the ways we are tempted. The temptation of personal glory: Throw yourself off this temple, Jesus, and the angels will lift you up (Luke 4:9-12). The temptation of wealth and power: I’ll give you all the nations if you’ll just bow down and worship me (Luke 4:5-8). Perhaps the greatest temptation Jesus experienced was in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he said, “Take this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). He was tempted to do anything he could to avoid suffering.
Jesus never gave in to temptation, but that doesn’t mean he did not feel it. It means he felt it even more. We get a reprieve from temptation because we give in to it; if we did not give in, it would build and mount and grow. Can you imagine going through life with all those temptations hanging over you, with no reprieve, and never giving in even once? Jesus absolutely understands what it is like to be tempted.
Jesus’ suffering matters because it means that Jesus could take on two characteristics as high priest: he could be merciful and faithful (Hebrews 2:17).
The problem with the ordinary high priest in ancient Judaism was not only that sacrifices had to be made again and again but also that the priest himself was unreliable. Each one would die. What was needed was someone who would never give up and never go away: someone faithful.
Jesus is that faithful high priest. He intercedes for you and will always do so, every moment of your life. He never calls in sick. The evidence for this is the fact that he suffered and was tempted. If he endured all that faithfully, then he will also be faithful as a high priest: always there for you, always praying for you, always acting as your good representative before God.
Suffering also made him a merciful high priest. Jesus is compassionate toward us because he knows what it is like to be in any difficult situation we might find ourselves in.
We know from our own experiences that suffering can make us more compassionate and merciful. It is one of God’s greatest tools to shape us. When we suffer, we should think, “God may be preparing me for some special ministry through this.” He may be preparing you to be merciful to people in your own life. He uses suffering for good.
Likewise, he used it for good in Jesus’ life—for our good. Jesus suffered and was tempted, and that made him “able to help those who are being tempted” (v 18).
Jesus is fully divine and fully human, our perfect representative before God, who offered himself to bring us to glory. He is better than any other high priest anyone could possibly imagine.