Why?
Because Jesus didn’t become an angel to save the angels. He became a man to save men – to save you. I’ve repeated frequently in all of the previous sections that Jesus is God. This section doesn’t contradict or change that. He is God but He is also a man. We’ll look at Hebrews 2:5-18 in this section.
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It’s in the numbers
God’s Word layers truth upon truth in an intricacy we can’t even imagine. Written words bear witness to His truth on every page but their significance weaves together throughout the whole book to add depth no human will ever fully comprehend. Let me share a little clipping of that intricate tapestry here. We studied seven Old Testament passages in chapter one that showed Jesus is God. Note that the author of Hebrews gave us seven passages; in Scripture, seven signifies spiritual perfection.
This becomes even more fascinating in this current section. Hebrews 2:5-18 contains four Old Testament quotations. All four will show us characteristics of our humanity with which Jesus had to connect in His own humanity. In Scripture, four is the number of creation – of the earth. When used together, seven shows us something of heaven while four shows us something of earth. Seven quotations revealed Jesus as God; four quotations show Him to also be man.
The number of quotations – they’re a little extra thread for you to enjoy in the intricate tapestry of His Word.
The Four Quotations
Throughout this study, I encourage you to read each of the scriptural references. If you’re participating online, you may hover over a verse reference and the passage will appear in a pop-up on your screen. On mobile devices, you may have to click on the reference for the passage to open. If you’re working off a printed copy or prefer a different translation, I encourage you to read along with a Bible beside you. Take the time to look up each passage and read the context! God’s Word gives far more insights than I ever can!
People were given dominion over the earth; not angels.
Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8:5-7. People are lower in position than the angels but God gave dominion over the earth to us, not to the angels. Adam and Eve messed up the plan when they yielded to Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden. We lost dominion; God allowed Satan and sin to rule for a time.
Remember, Jesus is superior to the angels. However, He willingly became a man – lower than the angels – for a short time to restore dominion over the earth to mankind. He regained what Adam lost.
We don’t see the fullness of this work yet. “We do not yet see everything subjected to him (lowercase – people). But we do see Jesus…” (Hebrews 2:8-9). He hasn’t fully restored the earth yet nor our dominion over it. The earth still groans with the weight of sin; it also awaits the freedom of Jesus’ restoration (Romans 8:20-22). In the future, though, we will be “priests to our God, and [we] will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10). Read more about this at Revelation 1:6, Revelation 20:4, and Matthew 25:21. This day is future but it’s coming!
A characteristic of being human is the right of dominion over the earth. Jesus became a man to restore that dominion.
People are all brothers with one Father who created them.
Hebrews 2:12 quotes Psalm 22:22. God created every person over the face of the planet who has ever lived. All of them. Everywhere. At any time.
Even more, we all sin. All of us. Everywhere. All the time. God didn’t create us that way originally, but again, Adam and Eve messed that up. So now, we’re all in need of a way to restore us to the sinless state in which God created us.
Jesus looked at this situation and said to God the Father, “I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the congregation” (Psalm 22:22). In other words, I’ll leave the glories of heaven. I will become a man like them to be their brother. I will sing with them in the congregation. I will be among them as they worship rather than sit here and be worshipped. I will provide a way to restore them to what You created them to be. “For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father” (Hebrews 2:11).
A characteristic of being human is our mutual creation by God. Jesus became a man to restore our sinless state in which God created us.
People have to trust God regardless of how circumstances appear.
Hebrews 2:13 quotes Isaiah 8:17. Even if you haven’t done so on the previous two, I encourage you to read the context for this passage in Isaiah 8:12-17. We read some rough stuff in these verses.
God chose the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as His treasured possession (Psalm 135:4). Yet we read in Isaiah that God would become a stumbling block to them. He would be a rock to trip over, a trap, and a snare. Because of Him, many would stumble, fall, and be broken. That’s a lot to put on a people you call your treasured possession. It doesn’t make sense to us at all in our limited context and frame of reference. Even still, Isaiah wrote, “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will wait for Him” (Isaiah 8:17). New International Version ends with, “I will put my trust in Him.”
If ever a people had a reason to question God, it’s the Jewish descendants of Abraham. They have faced heartache after heartache as they endured multiple persecutions for millennia. Jesus became their stumbling block of which Isaiah wrote. I can’t go into more detail here but you can read Romans 9:30-33 and Romans 11:11-12 for more. Or, read all of Romans 9-11 if you really want to understand more.
We don’t have to be a first century or modern day Jew to know that sometimes the way God works doesn’t make sense. A few years of living life will teach us all that lesson. Those situations present us with a choice – just as it does for the Jewish people. We can stumble and fall over the difficulty in our path. We can lay there broken. Or, we can choose to say, “I will put my trust in Him.”
A characteristic of being human is the need to trust God even when things don’t appear as they should. Jesus became a man to create that opportunity to trust God.
People can be part of the family of God
Hebrews 2:13 quotes Isaiah 8:18. We can be part of “the children the Lord has given me” (Isaiah 8:18). Unlike any other being, such as an angel, we can be redeemed. We can have a relationship with God.
We can be a “sign and wonder” (Isaiah 8:18). A friend of mine says the greatest miracle is a life transformed by God. We may look for a parting of the Red Seas in our life or wish walls would crumble in our life like they did around Jericho. As followers of Christ, we are already part of the greatest sign and wonder ever. A filthy, sin-infested human relinquished their pride, acknowledged their sin, and became the dwelling place on earth of Holy God. Feeding 5,000 people is child’s play compared to the eternal miracle salvation works within each one of us!
A characteristic of being human is that though we choose to sin, we can be restored into relationship with God. Jesus became a man to make that possible.
Why did Jesus do it?
Jesus was already God. He had heaven, glory, and a beautiful eternity. Why did He take on these four characteristics of humanity? Why did He become a man? The author of Hebrews tells us two reasons…
- To destroy Satan who held the power of death
- To free us from our slavery to the fear of death
Don’t miss that second one! Jesus’ death destroyed Satan’s power over our death. It was done. Accomplished. Finished. Yet so many of us don’t live like it! We still live in the fear of death. We allow our fear of loss keep us from the abundant life God desires for us here and now – not just then and there. We fear the loss of control, provision, security, love, and more. We forget the words of Paul who said, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Jesus didn’t become an angel to provide salvation for the angels. Salvation isn’t available for them (1 Peter 1:12). He did become a man to provide salvation for all men. The only way to do that was to become a man Himself.
A Specific Man…
Remember, we are trying to the best of our ability to maintain a first-century Jewish perspective throughout this study. Granted, that’s a little hard for a 21st century Gentile. But we’re trying.
A first-century Jew knew only one man could perform the duties required to atone for the sins of the people. A first-century Jew looked to the high priest for their salvation. Jesus couldn’t become just a man; He had to become high priest for the people. “He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
This is extra… You can stop reading now, but this next part is really cool.
Do you ever have a light-bulb moment when all the parts of a puzzle come together? All of a sudden the whole picture seems so clear and simple even though before you never saw it. I had a moment like that in this section.
Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 refer to us – followers of Jesus – as priests. Some powerful significance sits in that title.
My class and I recently learned about the garments of the high priest and the priests who served in the Jewish temple. We also learned that the duties of the priest were to carry the Ark of the Covenant, to stand and burn incense before the Lord, and to speak blessings to the people on God’s behalf. The duties of the high priest added some duties. He bore the names of the people on His garments, bore the decision making for them, and bore their guilt. Furthermore, he made atonement to purify the people from their sin. That was then, but this is now…
Jesus is our high priest. He bears our name before God (Matthew 10:32-33). He weighs the decision of the consequence for our guilt and puts it upon Himself (1 Peter 2:24). He made atonement for our sin (Romans 3:25, 1 John 4:10). I want to write more but I’m already extending your attention span. I wrote about this quite a bit in “Everything We Need: God’s Path to Know Him Better” in the section on knowing the love of God.
The high priest was singular. Only one man at a time served in that position. Many men served as priests though. They carried the Ark of the Covenant where the presence of God dwelt on earth (Exodus 25:22). Daily, they stood and burned incense before the Lord (Exodus 30:1-10). Finally, they also daily spoke blessings to the people on God’s behalf (Numbers 6:23-27).
Here’s my new connection… This is us. It should have been so simple. We are God’s priests now. We carry the presence of God as the Holy Spirit indwells each believer at the time of salvation (1 Corinthians 3:16). We don’t burn literal incense but the incense is symbolic of the prayers of the saints. Every day, we should be standing before the Lord to intercede and pray for His people (Revelation 5:8). Every day, we need to proclaim God’s blessings to the people (Romans 15:16). We possess a message of love, hope, and life – isn’t that what the world needs to hear? Don’t we need to be God’s spokesperson on earth to a hurting world?
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I know this was long. Thank you for staying with me until the end. I encourage you to read 1 Peter 2:4-12 as we wrap up this section.
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