A Merciful and Faithful High Priest

Hebrews 2 opens with the first of several warnings in the letter. Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away. The picture is of a boat slipping past its harbor. People rarely leave God in one leap; they drift when they stop paying attention. The warning reasons from lesser to greater. If the message spoken through angels was steadfast, how much more serious is neglecting so great a salvation spoken by the Lord himself?

Verses 5 to 9 read Psalm 8 as a promise about people that finds its fullness in Jesus. God crowned people with glory and honor and put all things under them. Yet now we don’t yet see all things subjected to him. What the readers do see is Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, who tasted death for everyone by the grace of God.

Verses 10 to 18 explain why the Son had to become fully human. He shares one family with those he makes holy, and he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Since the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same. He came to deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. He had to be made like his brothers so he could become a merciful and faithful high priest. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.