Hebrews 2:10-18; Not About Angels You Know (Second Essay)

"It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise 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 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested."

Introduction

The Epistle to the Hebrews is the most underrated book in the New Testament. Though rarely preached on and even more rarely studied, it has such a refreshing and unique view of Christ and the life of faith that it really can take your breath away. First, its images and ideas are fresh. It takes up things that to our day are outmoded (i.e., the Jewish sacrificial system) and does such wonderful things with them--such as portraying Christ as both the high priest and the sacrifice--that we see immediately that an imaginative mind is at work here. Then, the author is able to sustain thoughts for the entire letter. In this regard the closest NT parallel to Hebrews is the Epistle to the Romans. But here the theology and ideas are put in the context of exhortation to a living community, whereas in Romans Paul is writing to people he has never met. Third, the optimistic spirit of the author is contagious. Nowhere is this more clear than in the transition from Heb. 11 to 12. Hebrews 11 is the great chapter on the OT heroes of faith, detailing their fidelity in the midst of great personal suffering. Then, in 12:1, the author makes a transition to exhort us to faith, using language of race and fight, of clouds of witnesses cheering us on, of Jesus himself who is now with God. Finally, Hebrews is baptized, as it were, in a spirit of optimistic reasonableness. Rather than the tone of the letter being one of astonished gratitude, or of urgent advice, or of entreating spirit, or of general exhortation to love or appreciate God and neighbor, Hebrews breathes a tone of "fittingness" or "rationality." We see this especially in our passage for the morning. "It was fitting....that God should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering" (2:10) or "He had (lit. "it was his duty" or "he was obliged") to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect.." (2:17). In this regard, Hebrews is almost completely different from the Epistle of James (which follows it). There you have the staccato of memorable saying and vivid image; here we have the calm exposition of themes to stimulate the mind and, hopefully, the heart.

Isolating the Theme--Suffering and Help

The passage we study today focuses on the similarity of Jesus and us, his people. Its major point is that Christ's efficacy towards us, so to speak, is rooted in his ability to share our nature completely. He does this especially through his suffering. We see the structure of the passage most clearly in the Greek text of v. 10. Let me explain it and then use the rest of this essay and the next to explore the nature of suffering.

The hinge word in v. 10 is the Greek participle agagonta, translated "leading." It is plopped right in the middle of two phrases in the accusative (object) case. That is, on the one hand agagonta looks backward to the object placed before it and, on the other hand, it looks forward to the object placed after it. Since Greek, like modern German, is a language where words can be ordered in a number of ways and still make sense, the author uses the freedom of the language to develop his ideas. With agagonta looking both backwards and forwards, it becomes a link between these two concepts. What are they? They are "in leading many children to glory" and "the pioneer of salvation." God is the subject of the sentence, and God is the one who is said to be acting in a "fitting" manner. I love that, don't you? Rather than looking at salvation through Christ as a strange, unexpected and unusual act, the author looks at it as something "fitting," something appropriate. I almost get a picture in my mind as I read this word "fitting" of a sort of pre-WWI upper-class Britisher who looks out at the world from his posh London brownstone and says, "All is fitting, my dear..."

But we ought not to get lost in things British when reading the text. The point is that by linking two concepts gramatically agagonta links them ideologically and experientially. The reason agagonta is plunked down in the middle of the two concepts, then, is to equate the two or connect the two. Christ is made "perfect" or "complete" or "whole" through suffering. Thus, we, in being led to glory, are also made complete through suffering. We are not just being led to glory, as if it is some kind of ethereal experience which should comfort us; rather, being led to glory is being led to perfection the same way Christ was led there--through suffering. We children of God are led to glory through suffering, suffering that somehow "completes" us.

How is it that suffering does this? Well, in the next essay I will argue that suffering does three things to us: (1) it provides wisdom; (2) it provides authority; and (3) it provides fellowship. Click here for those thoughts.

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