#5:The Founder of Salvation

I. Introduction
A. Going fast through a book of Scripture is not just difficult, it also has the disadvantage of missing out on some of the more subtle treasures which are there.
1. A few years ago we walked into the visitor’s center at Yosemite National Park to ask how we should spend our one day there. They were ready for the question. To answer, they quoted park ranger Carl Sharsmith, who said, “If I was in that situation, I would go down to the river, put my head in my hands and weep.”
a. But, instead of following that advice, we rushed around and saw everything we could and had such a wonderful experience that I feel like I will carry around a piece of that day with me for the rest of my life.
2. This is something of what it’s like to go through Hebrews so fast.
3. So I urge you: Listen fast! Be in full-absorb mode! We won’t be able to take this journey together ever again.
II. Explanation of Hebrews 2:5–18
A. 5 “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world (or age) to come, of which we are speaking.”
1. Here the author picks up on his theme from 1:4-14 re: the superiority of Christ over the angels.
2. He refers to a “world to come” over which Christ reigns (as opposed to the angels). He says that this world to come is what he’s talking about in his epistle, so it must be something significant.
3. “The world to come” may sound like a future reality, but it’s more complicated than that.
4. A very similar phrase is used in Hebrews 6:5, where it says that even now we can “taste the powers of the age to come.”
5. Hebrews 12:22–24 says that in some way we’ve already come to this place: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.”
6. The idea is that this new world, this new creation, has already broken into history, but hasn’t yet come in its fulness. It is already and not yet.
7. The point is that there a reality that is invisible to us right now, another world — a world where the Son has been installed at God’s right hand (1:3), where His supreme reign is on full display, a world where God’s people are inheriting “such a great salvation” (2:3) provided by the Son.
8. Jesus inaugurated it when He came, and in His resurrection He became the firstborn of this new creation (Rom.8:29; Col.1:18; Rev.1:5). Thus was the first piece of the new creation put in place: the Cornerstone was laid.
9. There are indications in the NT that this world to come is not just something future that we wait for but also something present that we taste even in our lives here on earth. E.g. Ephesians 2:1-7, esp. v.6.
10. Then, when the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the next significant step occurred. This advance-showing of the glories of heaven, this taste-of-dinner-before-it’s-time-for-dinner, this glimpse of heaven before its great cosmic unveiling is an important part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers today.
a. His presence in our lives is God’s guarantee of the coming inheritance (2Cor.1:22; 5:5; Eph.1:13-14), and God’s seal of ownership and promise upon His coming-world people (2Cor.1:21; Eph.1:13; 4:30).
b. The presence of the Holy Spirit is also said to be the firstfruits of the enormous benefits which await God’s people on that day (Romans 8:23). In other words, the Bible teaches that through the Spirit’s work in us we have already begun to participate in the reality of the world to come.
11. So, the world to come has already intruded into this world.
12. Now Jesus has gone to finish preparing it for us. But it already exists. And it’s not as if it’s just out there and someday it will come here. It already has come here, just not fully.
13. On the last day it will descend from heaven (Rev.21:2). Someday this other world will be extended to the earth. But even now this world we live in looks very different in light of this other reality.
14. This is where so many go wrong. They think about the Christian faith only in the context of this world. But “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1Corinthians 15:19)
15. An if these faltering Hebrews are going to understand why it’s so very dangerous to fall away from Christ, they need to be reminded of what is really going on.
B. 6-8a It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8a putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
1. Here he quotes Psalm 8. If an OT believer read Psalm 8 he would probably have had no idea it was messianic. So often the OT seems to be speaking about man, but then seems to go a little too far, to say a little too much, so that the river bursts its banks.
2. How many of you have ever lived near a creek or river, which had to be watched when it rained a lot to see if the riverbed was going to be adequate to hold all the water? And every once in a while, the water comes up to the very top of the river bank, and then it rises and bit more and floods.
3. This is the analogy which has often been used by Bible scholars to illustrate something that sometimes happens in OT messianic prophecy.
4. A passage seems to be talking about a man, or about man in general. But then suddenly the riverbed (man) is no longer able to contain the water (the words spoken about the person). And suddenly the passage floods and the messiah shows up unexpectedly.
5. This is what happens in Ps.8. It seems to be going along rejoicing in the blessing God has placed on man: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the angels... You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” (Ps.8:3-6)
6. But then it goes a little too far: “You have crowned him with glory and honor! You have put all things under his feet!”
a. God has put a lot of things under our control, but ALL THINGS? Hurricanes? Volcanoes? Tsunamis? Earthquakes? Asteroids? Solar flares?
b. And crowned him with glory and honor? That’s a stretch.
7. Lo and behold, the passage has gone messianic on us! You see, there IS a Man – and only one – who is crowned him with glory and honor. There is a Son of Man under whose feet have been put all things!
8. The passage is saying that the Son of God, vastly superior to the angels, worshiped by angels, creator of the angels, was made to be lower than the angels in order that as a man He might redeem mankind. (See v.19)
C. 8b “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.”
1. Jesus Christ has been given control of all things!
2. We saw in Hebrews 1:3 "He upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
3. Paul says it in Col.1:17: “In Him all things hold together.”
4. We saw it during His life here: His absolute sovereignty over storms, the law of gravity, the laws of chemistry, the laws of physics, the laws of human reproduction, death.
5. The sovereignty of Jesus has no limits or exceptions.
6. This is one of the great comforts God has given to His children. God has left NOTHING outside the control of Jesus. Our best Friend is in control of the universe!
7. God left NOTHING outside His control! NOTHING!
D. 8c “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
1. Even though EVERYTHING is in subjection to Him now, we do not yet SEE everything in subjection to Him. All this talk about Jesus being in control of everything doesn't mean that things LOOK like they're subjected to Him.
2. Some verses get quoted a lot by Christians. This one deserves to be on that list. When Christians are wringing their hands because everything seems so gloomy, somebody needs to step up and say, “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
3. When we look out at this world, in some ways it looks like Christ has been or is being defeated. In other ways it looks, quite frankly, like chaos.
4. The crucial word here is "yet." “We do not YET see everything in subjection to him.” One day we will and we'll understand everything.
5. This means there is no place in the Christian mindset for triumphalism, where we expect to SEE everything in subjection to Jesus in this era. Until Jesus returns, this verse will continue to be true: “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
E. 9 “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
1. "We do not yet see everything in subjection to Him" but somehow "We see Him."
2. In what sense do we see Him?
3. Peter says, “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy inexpressible.” (1Pet.1:8). Obviously we don't see Jesus now with our eyes: that seems to be what Peter’s saying.
4. I think Heb.2:9 means although we can't figure out all that happens and why He's bringing it to pass, we do know Jesus, we know His love for His people, we know what He did on the cross to prove His love. In the midst of all the darkness and messiness of this world, we see the One who called Himself the Light of the world.
5. "a little while" = 33 years plus 9 months // "lower than the angels" = human
6. “so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” That is, because of His grace God sent Jesus to the cross to suffer death for sinners, so we might avoid the eternal death we deserve.
7. And it turns out, as in Phil.2:6ff., Christ achieves glory & authority by His willing humiliation.
8. So, we don’t see Him now as weak and defeated, but as victorious and crowned with glory.
F. 10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
1. “for whom and by whom all things exist”
a. This isn’t just an accidental theological insertion. It’s there to make an important point: Nobody pushed God into this. The suffering of Christ is His doing.
b. Isaiah 53:10 “It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.”
2. What does it mean that Jesus was made perfect through suffering?
a. This is one of three places in Hebrews whcih says this (Heb.5:9,7:28).
b. These do not refer to moral perfection, which of course He already had.
c. I think it means that suffering made Jesus the perfect redeemer for us.
d. How does suffering make Him the perfect savior? That question is answered in v.17-18 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
(1) Suffering is one of the ways Jesus was made like us — His brothers — in order to become a merciful and faithful high priest to make propitiation for our sins.
e. It was not because He was morally perfect that He is able to help those who are suffering; it is “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
G. 11-13 “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,” 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
1. To help understand v.11a, let me read it in the NEB: “For a consecrating priest and those whom he consecrates are all of one stock.”
a. Jesus doesn’t become one with us by staying where He was. He comes down to where we are and becomes one of us. He joined the family of man.
2. 11b “Not ashamed to call them brothers”
a. I’ve known what it’s like for family members to be ashamed of me and I’ve known what it’s like for family members to be proud to introduce me to their friends.
b. Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters! In fact, He’s the One who chose us to be so!
3. Three OT quotes illustrate the fact that He has made us His brothers and sisters.
a. “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
(1) This quote is from Ps.22:22, a very clearly messianic psalm the first verse of which Jesus quotes on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me.”
(2) The point of quoting this verse is that in it the Messiah refers to His people as “my brothers.”
b. And again, “I will put my trust in him.” (Is.8:17)
(1) Taking upon Himself our human nature means that now the Son of God is like us in that He must put His trust in God. He must walk by faith. He must endure suffering trusting that God will provide.
c. And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
(1) In Is.8:18 these words follow the ones we just discussed, and reinforce the fact that He is our brother in trusting God together.
H. 14-15 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
1. As it turned out, Jesus had a secret plan. He had taken on our humanity in order to die as man in place of man.
2. It looked like He’d been defeated. And yet, through death He triumphed; through death he destroyed death. So, no longer do we need to fear death.
I. 16 “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.”
1. Again he diminishes angels by pointing out that only fallen men are the objects of His saving help, not fallen angels.
2. In referring to his salvation of mankind, it is interesting that the author doesn’t say Jesus savingly helps mankind but that Jesus savingly helps "the offspring of Abraham."
3. He doesn’t say Jesus savingly helps the world, like John 3:16.
4. He doesn’t say Jesus savingly helps many, like Mark 10:45 (& Mk.14:24).
5. He doesn’t say Jesus savingly helps His sheep, like John 10:11.
6. He doesn’t say Jesus savingly helps the church, like Eph.5:25.
7. It sounds as if Jesus came for the Jews only. But that’s not what it means by “the offspring of Abraham.”
a. An answer can be found in Gal.3:29: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
J. 17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
1. If He had come to help angels, He would have had to come as an angel. But He had to be human in order for His atoning sacrifice to be effective for humans. The priest is the one who does the sacrificing, and he does it as a representative of the people (one who sympathizes with them, who feels their woe, and who then steps up to the plate to offer the sacrifice).
2. Now Jesus our high priest offers Himself as a sacrifice on behalf of His people to satisfy divine justice.
3. Propitiation: in the OT the priest would slay a sacrificial animal on behalf of the people to satisfy divine justice.
K. 18 “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
1. He is writing to folks who are being sorely tempted, and through them to us when we are sorely tempted. And so the author points us all to Jesus: He was tempted to abandon the path of pain and unpopularity in order to choose a less costly path. But He set His face steadfastly to accomplish our salvation. So now, you do the same thing, for the sake of your salvation which He suffered to accomplish.
III. Application
A. Hebrews is an impassioned plea to the readers to not abandon Christ.
B. In this section, as in chapter 1, we see the author trying to help the readers understand the supreme excellence of the One they are tempted to forsake.
C. But in this passage he highlights five new things about Jesus whereby we can see His supremacy:
1. His suffering
a. The Jews scoff at Jesus because He died on a cross, but His atoning death is the very thing that won Him such a glorious position.
b. And the fact that He entered into our humanity and into our world makes Him the perfect savior for us. He did not shout down solutions from heaven. He Himself came down entered into our mess, into our suffering, into our temptation in order to redeem us for Himself!
c. He was here! He became like us! He suffered as a man. He understands what we’re going through. So He’s the perfect savior for us!
2. His pride in us
a. We are His family, His treasures. He is not ashamed to call us His friends, His brothers & sisters.
3. His rule over a new world
a. His coming marked the beginning of a new world, a world where His reign is supremely seen.
4. His sovereignty over everything
a. God has put Him in charge of the whole universe!
b. It doesn't seem like He's in control, though we know He is. But Jesus is with us.
5. His presence with us
a. He’s hidden from unbelievers. But our eyes have been opened to see Him.
D. Heb.3:1 brings us to the main point: “Therefore, consider Jesus!”
1. This world is passing away. Do you really want to leave the One who rules over the world to come?
2. Do you really want to abandon the One who holds you and all things in His hands?
3. Do you really want to betray the One who was betrayed in order that we might be eternally accepted?
4. Even though everything seems messed up, Jesus is with you every step of the way. Do you really want to turn your back on the best friend you’ll ever have?
5. Will you be ashamed to call Him Lord who was not ashamed to call us His brothers & sisters?
6. Do not reject the One who came from heaven to prevent us from being rejected. Do not reject the One who was Himself rejected in order that we might be welcomed & forgiven & adopted!