Hebrews 2:10-18 - Suffering to Death for Salvation

Hebrews 2:10-18

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. 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.”

13 And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again:

“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

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. 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.

Jesus Christ the divine Son of God suffered and died for us!  This should bring awe and tremendous trembling with overwhelming joy when we consider what He has done in our place on our behalf to bring us to glory as His children in this way of humiliation and beating that culminated in being nailed to a tree of our sin’s cursing that we would have our sins covered in absolute and eternal atonement.  All we have comes through Him and is for Him and His glory in this work to earn salvation for we who are utterly unable to ever do ourselves.  This is the gospel of God’s great grace and mercy as He authored and led our way to God the Father and Creator through this perfect Son’s suffering as the Lamb of God (John 1:36, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 1:19) and our Passover whose blood of sacrifice covers (Exodus 12:5, 12-13, Isaiah 53:7, 1 Corinthians 5:7) our sin’s sentence of deserved punishment for our disobedience and disbelief.  He is our perfect High Priest who offered the perfect sacrifice of a sinless Lamb to cover our sins for and not just for one year at a time as in the Old Testament sacrificial system in the physical temple of worship.  We now have this shadow of the heavenly Passover and Temple realized in Jesus Christ and His work (Hebrews 7:26-27, 8:4-5) to deliver us from our sin’s penalty and power forever!  He now calls us His brethren, the children of God, who are in Christ.  Nobody else is God’s child, no matter what anyone says to the contrary; we are not all children of God who walk the earth, only those who repent and receive Him (John 1:12) through faith that takes Him at His word and supernaturally is transformed in a new birth of regeneration by His choosing and His work to earn this great salvation (Hebrews 2:3).  We therefore who have our eyes and ears opened to the truth of God’s work in the gospel by the Son of God put our complete trust in Him according to all He said through the prophets and apostles (Luke 24:25-27, 32) and become His children in Christ.  This is our sole hope and one far greater than anything our feeble efforts or reasoning can ever offer!  Here we are with Him now as His children whom the Father has given the Son to be with Him forever in the kingdom of God that is within us and to which we are bound through and after death as we endure whatever sufferings for His sake we have to from those opposing God’s work of grace which we call the gospel of this great news.  We this join His suffering to death that has earned our salvation.  He has shared in death through suffering to offer us life and destroy death and its source in the deceiver who brought us into sin and the death such rebellion incurs.  He did not come to save angels whose fate is sealed in their full knowledge of their decision to defy and deny God along with the adversary, but we humans created in His image with the ability to be redeemed by the precious Lamb of God.  He was made as we are to take on our sin as if one and all of us and sacrifice Himself to spread the blood of a spotless offering on the doorposts of our hearts and pass over our spiritual death as the children of Israel were spare the Destroyer.  He paid the full price for our sins.  Because Jesus Christ suffered for us and endured temptation to stop short of the cross, we now can enter into the holy place of God’s grace and find help when we are tempted in Him.  Amen!