Christ’s Work in Man’s Restoration Hebrews 2:5-18

Man’s Blessings God chose Christ to restore man, rather than using angels, and put him in charge of the habitable world in which we now live The writer is awed by the blessings God has given to man (Hebrews 2:5-6) Shown by the quote from Psalm 8:4 “Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2:6, shows Christ has identified himself with humanity and makes possible for us what sin made impossible. He accomplished this through his incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, reign and work as high priest” (Bales)

Man’s Rank in the Universe Psalm 8:5-7 shows man’s rank in the universe (Hebrews 2:7-9) Which shows all things were put under his authority Though he may now be frustrated in this, he will some day see it come to pass In fact, Christians see the beginning of that fulfillment in Jesus Jesus was crowned with glory and honor after he tasted death for every man

Jesus Took the Rank of Man Jesus took the rank of man (Hebrews 2:9) He died a cruel death so men could avoid death Not so man could avoid the first death (Hebrews 9:27) So man could avoid the second death (Revelation 20:14) He died for man’s sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

God’s Purpose God was the basic reason for creation “for whom are all things and by whom are all things” (Hebrews 2:10) Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 8:6 God and Jesus purposed to cause many to attain heaven Christians are called sons in this context Became so by adoption (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5)

Sonship Attained Through the Perfected Leader Christ is the Christian’s leader, or pioneer He went ahead to open the path for us and was completely prepared, or perfected, through suffering Lightfoot says the word “perfect” often was used in the LXX in the Pentateuch to refer to the consecration of priests (Exodus 29:9, 29, 33, 35, etc.) O. T. priests were perfected, or consecrated, by various rites, so Christ in the N. T. was perfected, or qualified Thus, apart from suffering, Jesus could not have been made a thoroughly effective, perfect, leader of his people (Hebrews 2:10)

The Sanctifier and the Sanctified Jesus is the one who sanctifies (Hebrews 2:11) The ones who do his will are the sanctified Set apart for God’s service Since we are both of the same Father, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren

Psalm 22 and Christ David pled for help because of the danger he faced (Psalm 22:22; Hebrews 2:12) He spoke in the spirit of God’s anointed, who fulfilled the message to a greater degree Jesus’ suffering and the glory which followed are seen in it prophetic prediction The opening verse of Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:34) Thompson shows “the language of Psalm 22 is woven into the language of the passion narratives (Matthew 27:35, 39, 43; Psalm 22:18, 7, 8)

The Man Who Conquered Death Jesus was a man who put his trust in God (Hebrews 2:13-14; Isaiah 8:17-18) He came to earth as a man in every sense, even accepting the weaker, fleshly aspects Jesus and his children are closely bound Jesus came to destroy, or reduce to inactivity (Vine), the devil through death Through his death, Jesus conquered the fear of death for any man who will give himself up to him (Hebrews 2:15)

To Release Man from Slavery Jesus came to release man from slavery, which required him to be a perfect High Priest with a perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 2:16-17) Jesus suffered every type of trial or temptation man can suffer, making him a perfect High Priest and helping him understand man’s problems Lightfoot suggests the word “tempted” particularly refers to “the sufferings of death” (2:9) Jesus’ conquest of death should be a source of courage for those about to give up because of suffering (Hebrews 2:18)