Jesus Didn't Save the Angels - Hebrews 2:5-18

Jesus is the provider of our salvation (1), superior to the angels, King of all, and most importantly, Jesus is God (2). Pay attention to His message. Don’t let it slip from your mind. Don’t be careless with it (3).

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.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

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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Time to Pay Attention - Hebrews 2:1-4

“We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. For if the message spoken through the angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to His will” (Hebrews 2:1-4).

Therefore.

I’ve decided that “therefore” may be one of the most important words in the Bible, especially when it comes to spiritual growth as a Christian. We usually skim right past it while reading; instead, we should stop reading, circle it in our Bibles, and take a moment to consider what we’ve just read. You see, the word “therefore” is our call to action. “Therefore” says that because of what you’ve read, this is what you should do. Because of this… do this… So begins our current passage of Scripture.

Where have we been?

Our first section of Scripture was Hebrews 1:1-4. In it, we reviewed seven evidences from Old Testament stories that showed Jesus to be the provider of our salvation. The key point in that list – number four – also equated Jesus with God.

Our second section of Scripture was Hebrews 1:5-14. This section contains seven different Old Testament prophetic quotations. We looked at the original prophecies in their context to see that Jesus is King of all, while the fourth point also showed Him to be God. We also looked at this passage a little from the perspective of the quotes themselves as listed in Hebrews 1. From that angle, we saw that Jesus is superior to the angels; again, the fourth point stands out as unique in showing us that Jesus is God.

So in short, we see…

• Jesus is God and the provider of our salvation.
• Jesus is God and King of all.
• Jesus is God and superior to the angels.

 

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

Therefore…

Because of these three things ↑, we need to do this →. We should “pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). Here’s our call to action. Here’s the change that should be evident in our lives because of who Jesus is.

We pay attention.
Do you remember your school days? We all knew those easily distracted students to whom the teacher always had to say, “Pay attention!” Maybe you were that student. The teacher wanted the unfocused student to pay attention because he or she knew how important the teaching would be to the student’s life. The teacher also knew the student would be responsible for knowing the information later.

The phrase “pay attention” has a certain level of responsibility attached to it. A student not in your class wouldn’t have to pay attention to the teacher because they weren’t responsible for the taught material. But if you were in the class, you were responsible to know it and you better pay attention.

The author of Hebrews sees you and me as participants in that class. We need to pay attention to the message because we’re going to be responsible for it.

We pay even more attention.
Then it goes a step further. We don’t only need to pay attention to this message, we need to pay even more attention to it than to… Well, I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll look at the alternate message in a minute. But, for now, more is a comparison word used to compare two different items. Consider this example, sledding is fun but snow skiing is even more fun. This example compared two different winter sports to let you know which sport I think is more fun.

We don’t drift away.
Drift away is the Greek word pararreō; in other Greek writings, it’s often translated as “a thing escapes me” or “it slips from my mind.” I’m sure we can all identify with that! We know we knew a piece of information – the location of our cell phone, the name of an acquaintance, the time of the meeting – but we can’t recall it now. It has slipped from our mind.

Similar to the point earlier about our need to pay attention, this one also implies some level of interaction with and responsibility for the given information. Simply put, we can’t forget something we never knew in the first place.

Why might you be discouraged?
One of the reasons we’re studying Hebrews is to “exhort discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus.” This is a good time to stop and think about that reason.

The admonitions to “pay attention” and to not “drift away” both imply a familiarity with the taught message. This isn’t an evangelistic text; this passage is for you and me as followers of Jesus. If you’re discouraged as His follower, maybe you need the reminder that Jesus is God, He provided our salvation, He is superior to the angels, and He is King of all. Maybe you need to sit up and pay attention to His message rather than the alternative. Maybe you need to keep it forefront in your thoughts rather than let it drift away.

What is that alternative message?

It’s the message of the angels.
Moment of honesty here – I didn’t know what that is at first. A little research into the whole of Scripture helped me out, though.

Let’s start by reading Deuteronomy 33:2-4. This passage is the introduction to Moses’ final words before His death. Earlier in his life, Moses spent time with God on Mount Sinai when he received the Law from God. This passage recalls that during that event, God came “with ten thousand holy ones.” He held His holy ones in His hand as His people assembled at His feet. (Deuteronomy 33:2-3; The Israelite people gathered around the base of the mountain as God gave the Law to Moses.) As was often the case in the Old Testament, the word of God – in this case, the Law – came to the people through His messengers, the angels.

A couple quick references from the New Testament further confirm our understanding of “the message of the angels” being a reference to the Law of Moses. Acts 7:53 says, “You received the Law under the direction of angels…” while Galatians 3:19 says, “the Law was put into effect through angels.”

I think it’s safe to say that if a first-century Jewish believer in Jesus as the Messiah read this passage in Hebrews, he or she would have immediately known the message of the angels was a reference to the Law. God gave the Law through the angels to Moses, who then taught it to the Israelite people. They also would have understood exactly what the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote that message “was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment” (Hebrews 2:2).

Two messages - the message of the angels and the message of Jesus. We need to pay attention to the second even more than to the first.

How much more important is Jesus’ message?
Jesus is God.

Jesus is the provider of our salvation.

Jesus is King of all.

Angels can’t make those claims. Well, one did and it won’t end so well for him. God created hell so he and his angelic followers would have a place to call home for eternity. That’s for another time, though.

Jesus is superior to the angels. How much more is His message superior to the message of the angels?

That’s why we can’t “escape if we neglect such a great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). Neglect means to be careless or to make light of it.

Moses didn’t escape when he was careless with the Word of God. Earlier we read Deuteronomy 33:1-4. Immediately prior to that, God told Moses to ascend Mount Nebo. The revered prophet and leader would see into the Promised Land but he wouldn’t lead the people in. He would never set foot on the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This seems pretty harsh to take Moses’ life right as the people are ready to enter the land. However, disobedience receives a just punishment and God will not have His people be flippant with His Word.

That’s exactly what Moses had done, too. He disobeyed God and treated His Word lightly. You can read more of the story in this article. If Moses received such a great consequence, do you think we will avoid all consequences if we’re careless or make light of the Word of God?

We can’t deny it.
Change can be hard. I think God knows that about us. He knew it would be hard for the first century believers – who were predominantly Jewish – to pay even more attention to Jesus’ message than they had the Law. He knew even for us 2,000 years later, we would keep returning to a works based system than a message of pure grace.

Focus can be hard. Even before terms like ADD dominated our culture, people have had a hard time staying focused on one thing. We quickly move on to the newer and better. He knew we would have to be reminded to pay attention, don’t let it slip from our minds, and don’t be careless with it.

Because He knew it would be hard to change and stay focused, He gave us some extra evidence to show us it’s worth it. He confirmed Jesus’ message in three different ways. First, Jesus spoke it. Those who heard His words told His message to others. They told others. All these years later, we’re still passing Jesus’ words along. Second, God confirmed this message with signs, wonders, and miracles. Just as He had done with Moses, He did again through Jesus. Third, the Spirit gives spiritual gifts to those who accept Jesus’ message. He works in us to transform us into His new creation – a creation we could never be on our own.

Call to Action

Jesus is the provider of our salvation, superior to the angels, and King of all.

Jesus is God.

We live in a world where messages fly at us from all directions every day. We have to weed through the mess and pay attention to God’s message given to us through His Son, Jesus. We have to keep it forefront in our minds as we allow it to impact each decision. We have to pay more attention to it than to a message that would deny the grace of God He has now given us. We can’t let it slip from our minds. And we sure can’t be careless with it or make light of it. Jesus left the glories of heaven and descended to the swamp of earth to speak that message to us. He died to make it possible. We can at least pay attention and take it seriously.

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