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Introduction and Review

Before we moved to Hoadley, I sold my dream car. I had to. It was either that, or risk breaking down at any given moment. It wasn’t the first time I was told by my mechanic that the car needed significant repairs. 

The first time, it was the alternator. The car just died while I was stopped at a red light. Cars were behind me, honking. It was awful. I put the hazards on and got out of the car and waved them by. With the car in neutral, I pushed it to the side of the road. Yes, by myself. Oh, I haven’t told you what sort of car it was. It was a Mini Cooper. 

I had it towed to the mechanic and he gave me the news and what it would cost. It wasn’t cheap. I said, fix it. I loved that car. But, last summer, when he told me what it would cost to keep it on the road for the long run, I wasn’t willing to pay up. It was just too much. I sold it for cheap to someone who was willing to pay the repair bill. 

Now, if I was unreasonable, I could have said to the mechanic, “You’re wrong. This car is fine.” I could have kept driving it as-is. My love for the car could have kept it going, couldn’t it? I mean, isn’t my love for it enough? Why do I need some hotshot know-it-all mechanic telling me what’s wrong with my beloved Mini Cooper?

But, I was reasonable. I trusted that the mechanic knows better than I do, even though I did take some shop classes in high school. I knew enough about what he was talking about to know I wouldn’t be able to fix the problems myself.

Obviously, I tell you this story not just because I wanted to reminisce about my car. It speaks to what’s going on in Hebrews. The author has heard that this community of believers is drifting away from what they once believed to be true. 

At some point, they anchored themselves to the truth that they cannot save themselves, that someone greater than them, the prophets, and the angels has come to bring restoration to all that has gone wrong. 

The Creator of the universe has made the assessment that the world is broken. And he knows that humanity cannot pay the bill. So, he came in the form of a man named Jesus of Nazareth and paid the bill for us. He is making things right. 

Today, we will be in chapter 2 of Hebrews. It is a chapter that begins with a warning and ends with a word of encouragement. Both the warning and encouragement are about who Jesus is as human and as God. 

He is the final word of God, with more authority than those through whom the law of Moses came. As a human, we can take comfort in knowing that our God is familiar with and overcame the temptations that we all face. 

At the centre of this message is the fact that Jesus expressed his power and status through humility. This is not the first time I have highlighted this topic and it won’t be the last. The humility of Christ is a vital characteristic that is often ignored, downplayed, or misunderstood. 

Let’s begin by reading Hebrews 2 and then I’ll provide a bit of background and context, get into the topic of the humility of Jesus, and then we will finish by seeing how Jesus helps us as we face temptations.

Hebrews 2 (NIV)

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? 

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 

But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. 

Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. 

So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” 

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 

For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Background and Context

The author is concerned that the people have pulled up their anchor from Christ and are drifting at sea. He points to a well-known understanding of the law, that if someone breaks a law out of ignorance, their punishment isn’t as bad as the one who breaks a law deliberately. 

He’s saying that they are well aware of the message that God has given through a greater messenger than the angels and prophets, namely, Jesus Christ. Yet, they are at risk of punishment because they are not holding fast to the message of salvation through Christ, which was confirmed through signs and wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews was likely intended for a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian community. They would have read the Jewish Scriptures in the Greek translation called the Septuagint. 

Apparently, there seemed to be an increased emphasis on angels in what is called the intertestamental period, the time between what is recorded in the Old and New Testaments. This had an influence in how people thought about the events described in the Old Testament.

If you read Deuteronomy 33:2, in the final blessing of the Israelites by Moses, he says, “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.” The Septuagint version adds, “Angels were with him at his right hand.” 

Sometime prior to the first century, the conviction spread that angels had played a role in the transmission of the law.^⁠1 In Acts 7:38 and 53, Stephen refers to angels dictating the law to Moses. In Galatians 3:19, Paul describes the law as given through angels. Early church historians and Jewish traditions held that the law was delivered to humans by angels. 

This is helpful because it explains why the author of Hebrews is set on showing that Jesus is greater than the angels. If the original audience considered angels to have a high degree of authority, the author wants them to understand where Jesus stands in the hierarchy. 

Both angels and humans are created beings and both hold a level of authority. Angels act on behalf of God in the present world, but not in the world to come. Humans, were given authority by God to rule over the earth, to work with him in bringing order out of chaos by cultivating the ground. 

The problem is, humans messed it up. They went away from God’s way of exercising power and authority. Instead of helping creation to flourish, we have a tendency to abuse it. The intention for humanity is that we are to rule the earth with God, but we cannot do it as long as we have this problem with rebelling against him.

The author in Hebrews is showing that the authority of both angels and humans culminates eternally in Jesus, who is above angels but lowered himself to the level of humanity, who are just below angels. 

Jesus lived the way humans were meant to live and set up humanity so that we could be renewed. Not in the order of Adam and Eve, but in the order of the Son of God. Jesus, as a faithful representative of humanity, fulfilled the language in Psalm 8, which is quoted in Hebrews 2:6-8. It says, “you crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under their feet.”

With that backround in mind, let’s take a close look at the humility of Jesus as described in the following verses.

The humility of Jesus

I titled this message, Jesus is Lower. It is meant to be provocative in the best possible way. We tend to think of Jesus as living in heaven, up high above us. Rightly so, as this is how he is described in many places in Scripture. 

There was a point in the life of Jesus when he went up on a mountain to pray. Peter, John, and James were with him. As Jesus was praying, his appearance was changed. He became as bright as a flash of lightening. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. The disciples thought, this is it! This is what we’ve been waiting for! Jesus, high and lifted up, in all his glory! 

But, this is not why Jesus came. He went down from the mountain and healed a demon-possessed boy and then proceeded to tell his disciples that he is soon going to be killed and that if anyone wants to be great in God’s kingdom, they must humble themselves to the status of a little child. (Luke 9:28-48)

Hebrews 2:9 says that Jesus is indeed crowned with glory and honour, why? Because he suffered death. It is because he went to the lowest point of human experience that he is exalted. Our experience of Jesus is not just that he is king. He is king because he humbled himself.

In Philippians 2, we read another description of Christ’s humility. Paul writes that Jesus is in very nature God and the way he expressed and exercised that nature was by becoming human, made himself nothing, took on the nature of a servant, and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the most humiliated of all deaths, crucified along with rebellious slaves and disturbers of the peace.

He identified with the outcasts, the poor, with sinners, corrupt tax collectors, prostitutes, those who were impure because of disease. He put himself next to those who were lowest in society. That is how he exercised his power as Almighty God and Creator of the Universe. 

This is true humility. Not rejecting power, but holding power for the benefit of the powerless. This is our God. Verse 10 and 11 says that through the suffering of Jesus, God has reconciled people to himself. Not from the outside, but from the inside. 

He became human so that his act of reconciliation was done by one of us. Jesus is our brother, a fellow human. He tasted the difficulties of being human in a broken world. Injustice, sickness, mourning the loss of loved ones, joy, celebration, rejection, deceit, betrayal, and death. 

But, he experienced death not as the final act of his humanity. His death was only temporary, as will be ours. He conquered death and has paved a way for you and me to gain entry into life after death. He has opened up the gates for all who want to follow him into God’s eternal kingdom. 

This is not only a future benefit. We can walk the Jesus way today and each day of our lives. The way of Jesus includes difficulty. Let’s look at two instances in the life of Jesus when he faced temptation.

Help in Temptation

In Matthew 4, we read that, after his baptism, Jesus was led away by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted. For forty days and nights he fasted and was hungry. What follows is an encounter with Satan who proceeded to tempt Jesus out of his challenging situation. Jesus resisted the temptations and then angels came and took care of him.

In Matthew 26, we read another story about temptation. It is the night of the Passover meal with Jesus and his disciples, the night before Jesus would be crucified. Knowing what was about to happen, Jesus went away to a place called Gethsemane to pray.

Jesus expressed how he was feeling. He was overwhelmed with sorrow. He asked God the Father to take away the cup of suffering he was about to drink. He was alone, feeling abandoned, and faced the reality not only of death but of seperation from God. 

It was the darkest and most challenging of all temptations. To escape what is to come, to give up on the salvation plan, and return to his rightful place as God’s Son.

But, he didn’t he went all the way through the the temptation to the very end. He faced it head-on and never gave in. He remained faithful.

Have any of us ever done this? Have you ever gone through temptation to its fullest? We can be tempted in many ways. I was tempted this last Thursday and did not give in. I had some time at the Co-op grocery store as I waited for Evan to be done work. 

I walked up and downt the aisles. I saw a good deal on one of my favourite candy treats. Sour Patch Kids. I walked by and kept going. I circled back and around. I didn’t give in. 

Now, this might be more or less difficult for some than others.  We can make light of this sort of story, but I want you to think about the temptation you always give in to. What is it that you find most challenging to say no to?

The greatest temptation of all requires us to look back at the beginning of this chapter. It is the temptation to pull anchor, to drift away at sea. It is the temptation to find our security and salvation in something other than Jesus. The greatest temptation is to try and save ourselves. 

Had I rejected my mechanic and tried to keep my Mini Cooper going myself, I would have ended up stranded somewhere once again, or worse. 

Jesus is with us in our temptations. As he was being beaten, and as he hung on that cross, people mocked him, saying he couldn’t save himself. In fact, could have have saved himself. He knows that temptation better than you do. 

If you eventually give in to whatever temptation you face, you do not fully know its power. Jesus never gave in. He experienced the full power of being tempted. Hebrews 2:18 says that he suffered when he was tempted. It brought him to utter despair. He went all the way through it and came out the other side victorious. None of us can say the same. But, we can take the way of Jesus. 

You can call on him when you are faced with the darkness of temptation. He is there at your lowest points, when you want to pull up anchor and find your own way. We will face temptations until our dying breath. He is with us. Stay anchored to him. 

¹ William L. Lane, Hebrews 1–8, vol. 47A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 37.

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Hebrews Series Bibliography

Allen, David L. Hebrews. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Rev. ed. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990.

Guthrie, George. Hebrews. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.

Lane, William L. Hebrews 1-8, vol. 47A, Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Inc., 1991.

New International Version Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.

Wright, Tom. Hebrews for Everyone. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004.