Jesus is Inheriting God’s Authority, Give Heed to Jesus (Ch 2)

Segment Overview

Ch 2 about: Jesus put himself in our shoes and helps us with our struggles.

1. Read Hebrews 2:1 (Remember Heb.2:1 starts a new segment)
2. What is the first writing structure? Therefore
3. What does this signal us? This verse is the effect of what was going on before
4. What is the cause? the big idea from the prev segment, Christ >>> Angels
5. What is the effect? We should give a more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
6. What things have we heard? Jesus is the son of God, to be revered more than the angels. (ie. the message of salvation thru Jesus Christ)
7. What does earnest heed mean? pay close attention
8. If we don’t give heed, what kinds of consequence are we to expect? drifting away from faith
9. What kind of evidence was given to support this claim?
   1. Since the law (word spoken by the angels) offered such a strict punishment (“just reward”) for transgression/sin, how much more will we receive a “just reward” for neglecting the greater offer for salvation to all mankind? (2:2-3)
   2. This offer of salvation was: (2:3-4)
      1. spoken by God and confirmed by those who heard God
      2. testified to through signs, wonders, miracles, gifts of HS…
         (ie. through the supernatural, not just through the word of man)
   3. The world to come is not going to be under subjection to the angels but Jesus, but for a short time Jesus became lower than the angels (mortal) and suffered death for all of us, and now is in the place of highest glory and honor (2:5-9)
   4. Jesus has the ability to release people from bondage , fear, and death (2:15)

Structural Laws

Segment 2 is characterized by having a lot of substantiation (evidence to support a statement that was previously said). Whenever we see a lot of substantiation that usually means either something is difficult to take or really important.

This segment begins with a therefore, indicating this segment is the effect of the previous segment.

Jesus = God’s Son, with power, higher than angels -> Give heed to the things we’ve heard <- Just reward for disobedience

Give Earnest Heed…lest we drift away

• What are the “things we have heard”? In the previous chapter, we heard things about Jesus, son of God, to be revered more than the angels.
• What is significant about taking “earnest heed”? It requires paying attention, listening, purposing in your heart, it’s a serious intention, not casual or lackadaisical.
• Implication: Likelihood if drifting away if we do not give heed: If we’re not regularly listening to and obeying God’s word, we’ll start to drift away from God.The world is quick to grab you and fill you with other thoughts that are not God.

Listen and obey God’s word
so that you don’t drift away.

What does “drifting away” look like? You might not even notice you’re drifting, or how far you’ve gone until you’ve drifted a good distance. Drifting tends to be a careless or passive action, something that happens as a result of currents pushing us along and us not fighting back to resist the current. Drifting can be a great danger because it can be almost imperceptible as it happens. Drifting is something that happens when you are not anchored. To prevent this we need to be fully anchored in Christ. Do you have an anchor? Do you know how to use it?

DANGER
	DRIFTING CAN KEEP YOU FROM ENTERING INTO THE FULLNESS CHRIST OFFERS

Where in this analogy is one drifting from and to? Drifting from truth, away from God, from a spiritual mindset into a carnal mindset. Drifting away from listening to God’s word.

Pastor Jon Courson points out the great risk that as mature Christians we can drift away because of: familiarity. We’re so familiar with the stories in the bible that we drift. He makes this point with an illustration from his experiences living near Disneyland:

When we lived near Disneyland, I went there a lot. The first time I went, it was magical. The second time it was intriguing. The third time, it was exciting. And the fourth time was wonderful. The fifth time was fine. And the sixth time was okay. But after the tenth, twenty-fifth, and thirty-ninth time, I finally said, “I’ve been on the submarine ride a lot. I know every twist and turn of the Matterhorn; I could give you the jungle cruise spiel verbatim.” Now, at that point, if someone asked me if I liked the magic kingdom, I would say, “Sure. Go. Its great.” But if you asked me if I would come along, I’d say, “No thanks–but you should go!”

The same is true in the area of Bible study or any other area of spirituality. Whenever we’ve seen the sights of Genesis, or strolled the streets of Matthew, we can say “I don’t need to go to Bible study, I know the stories; I’ve heard the applications.” And not taking earnest heed untp the Word, we can drift away imperceptibly until you get to the falls wondering how we got there.

And then he shared a story about a friend inviting him to a group dinner at Walt Disney’s private dining room. And how that refreshed his excitement with Disneyland. New experiences in the same place.

[What makes the devotions come alive, and makes church services meaningful, even after all these years is that] I get to talk to the King as the message unfolds; I get to ask forgiveness as I am convicted; I get to give thanks for grace and mercy as I am instructed. [What keeps us coming back is] not ritual–but relationship; not cruising through the kingdom, but talking to the King.

Another note about 2:1, When a sentance in the bible begins with “therefore” and the following verse begins with “For”, its usually an important point. In this case, verse 2:1 is not only important, but the primary “point” of this segment. Each paragraph begins with additional “For” statements, adding evidence and support to the point he’s making. What’s the point? Jesus is greater than the angels, so we need to take heed and not neglect Jesus.

What was the “word spoken through angels”? The jewish law

What is a “just reward” for “transgression and disobedience”? Punishment.  Jewish law was very strict with punishments for breaches of the law. Infidelity, for example, was punishable by death. God’s justice was strict and the law steadfast and sure, punishment was due for their sin.

“When and angel brought a message, you could depend on its being carried out just as it was stated.” (McGee) Example: When the angel at Sodom came with the announcement of Sodom’s impending destruction, the destruction was carried out exactly as the angel had said it would.

How else could we escape God’s wrath and the punishment due for our sins by the law? It’s somewhat of a rhetorical question as there is no other way to escape the punishment due because of our sin. And by calling it “so great” Paul is really making a point about how important he thinks it is, it isn’t just an “okay” salvation or a “pretty great” salvation, but SO great.

What was spoken by the Lord? The great offer of salvation through Jesus.

Its also interesting to note that there’s a subtle contrast and progression being presented in 2:2-3: The law was spoken by angels, now salvation is being spoken by God, who is of a higher authority than the angels.

	What…	Was Spoken By…	Authority Level
Then…	The Law	Angels	+++
But now…	Salvation	God	+++++

If Jesus is greater than the angels, what does this contrast imply about how we should react to his offer of salvation?

Now Paul shares with us additional supporting evidence. Not only did God speak about this great salvation, those who heard him confirmed it, and God also bore witness through miracles, signs and wonders, and gifts of the holy spirit. You really should be convinced at this point.

Through	Example
Signs & Wonders	Parting of the Red Sea & Jordan
Miracles	Many Healed (Acts 4:22)
Gifts of the Holy Spirit	The Day of Pentecost (eg: speaking in tongues)

God bears witness through: signs, wonders, miracles, gifts of the H.S. If you aren’t stepping out in faith you might not see these things?

The Son’s Authority: Superior to the Angels

Now the focus changes slightly, before the author was talking about Christ’s deity (divine nature), but now the author addresses Christ’s humanity (human nature). “He brought deity down to this earth, and He took humanity back to heaven” (McGee).

What is the “world to come”? Although it is tempting to interpret the “world to come” as the heaven spoken of in revelation, most commentaries agree that it implies the world under the Messiah, NOT heaven. Why do they suggest that? Because the greek word oikoumene (οἰκουμένη) [Strongs G3625] in every other context its used is relating to this world, where changing the meaning to heaven would not make sense. For example, look at Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Clearly, world in that context could not refer to the new earth spoken of in Revelation. There are other greek words that Paul could and would have used in connection to heaven and/or the “new earth” of Revelation if that’s what he really meant. As further evidence, the helper word mello (μέλλω) [Strongs G3195], the word which implies the future tense “to come” in this verse is also used later on in Heb. 10:1. “The law, having a shadow of the good things to come…” From context we know the author is contrasting living under the Law to living under Christ. He is not talking about comparing the law to heaven.

Who has he put the world to come in subjection to? Not the angels, but Christ. Again, this is evidence of Christ’s superiority to the angels. Neither this world, nor the one to come is in subjection to the Angels.

Basis for the Son’s Authority (2:6-9)

In these three verses we see something interesting, the author is providing his own commentary on some scripture he quotes.

Who is the One spoken of here? David. We know this because the scripture quoted in the rest of this verse (Ps. 8:4-6) is credited as a Psalm of David. The psalm quoted tells us who the world to come will be in subjection to, the Son of God who was for a time made lower than the angels, but who was crowned with glory and honor, and all he was set over all the works of God’s hands.

IVP asserts that saying “one testified” is a way of expressing confidence that the words quoted were inspired by God, and in no way implies the author was trying to circumlocute around a forgotten verse reference.

Saying “What is man?” implies insignificance of man. J Vernon McGee illustrates this with a quotation–“Man is a rash on the epidermis of a minor planet”. why does God take care of people?

Many bibles have a footnote on this verse or verse 9 to explain that in greek, little can be translated either in the context of referring to size or time, in this case, a good translation would probably be that He was made lower than the angles for a brief (or little) time. In the scope of all eternity, 33 years certainly is a brief period of time.

little = a quantity of size or time.

Notice the repetition of these ideas between this verse and Hebrews 2:9:

Heb 2:7	Heb 2:9
You have made him a little lower than the angels;	But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
You have crowned him with glory and honor,	for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.	that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

What is interesting about Jesus being crowned with glory and honor? Man “crowned” Jesus with thorns. God crowned Jesus nearly the opposite, glory and honor, much unlike the humiliation on the cross.

What is interesting about God setting Jesus over the works of His hands? God is the one elevating Jesus and giving him a position of authority.

God is the one who gives true
glory, honor, and authority.

Whose feet is “His” referring to? That of Christ, not man. Who is “You”? God, the father.

bondage = slavery, bondage, the condition of a slave [Greek: douleia G1397] In Romans 8:15 the same word is used to contrast a spirit of adoption from a spirit of bondage.

Not only were we delivered from death, but also delivered from the fear of death. Fear and bondage seem to be frequently tied together in the bible. Jesus’s death frees us from bondage.

Because Jesus endured temptation and testing, he is able to have compassion on and help those who are experiencing the same.

The flag-word “For” [Greek: gar G1063] is used to assign a reason. What is this verse then explaining? How Jesus being made like his brethren in all things makes him a faithful high priest for us.

Tempted – to test or try (but is morally neutral) [Greek: Peirazo G3984]

Precept Austin maintains that this word is derived from two word roots: “from the noun peira = test [and] from peíro = perforate, pierce through to test durability of things”. This greek case for this word is Aorist Passive Participle. What does that mean? The subject of the sentence, Jesus, is being acted upon by temptation, and it happened either in the past (the tempting is a completed action) or that it must happen in time before the infinitive (main) verb in the sentence occurs (ie: taking place before he is able).

Interpretation: Jesus suffered temptation so he can help others who are tempted. Our past suffering enables us to help those suffering temptation. When you suffer remember God is going to use it for good (eg. help other people suffering from the same struggle).

Experiencing temptation allows us to
later aid others who are also tempted.

Aside on Temptation: How did Jesus deal with temptation? He cried out to God (Matthew 27:46), turned to God and God’s word (Matthew 4:4). What does the bible say about how we shouldn’t deal with tempation? Complaining (Philippians 2:14). We always have a choice about whether we focus on and glorify God’s goodness or focus on our circumstance that is tempting us.

God wants us to cry out to him
rather than complain to the world.

Do we glorify God’s goodness, or focus on circumstance?

Suffered – To be affected, feel or undergo (usually painful) [Greek: pascho G3958]. It is interesting that Thayer associates both a positive and negative connotation with this greek word, to be well off vs to suffer–indicating perhaps that suffering is not a bad thing in and of itself even though its painful. That interpretation would be consistent with how James 1:2-4 describes the positive outcome of trials). The verb tense of suffered is “second perfect”. Perfect tense indicates past actions with effects that continue into the present/future. Interpretation: The effect of Christ’s suffering continues into the present and future.

able – having the power or ability [Greek: dunamai G1410] In this case it indicates not that Jesus has suddenly acquired a power to help, but that he is now qualified to help those in need (Barnes). The present indicative tense tells us this ability is continuing in the present. Jesus is continually able to help those in need, it is a characteristic of Jesus that is always true. This message of helping those that are tempted would be particularly apt for those Jewish Chrisitans who were being tempted to give up Christ and return to the old covenant.

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