Analysis Of The Chapter
The main object of Hebrews 2 is, to show that we should attend diligently to the things which were spoken by the Lord Jesus, and not suffer them to glide away from us. The apostle seems to have supposed that some might be inclined to disregard what was spoken by one of so humble appearance as the Lord Jesus; and that they would urge that the Old Testament had been given by the interposition of angels, and was therefore more worthy of attention. To meet this, he shows that important objects were accomplished by his becoming a man; and that even as a man, power and dignity had been conferred on him superior to that of the angels. In illustration of these points, the chapter contains the following subjects:
(1) An exhortation not to suffer the things which had been spoken to slip from the mind - or in other words, to attend to them diligently and carefully. The argument is, that if what was spoken by the angels under the old dispensation claimed attention, much more should that be regarded which was spoken by the Son of God; Hebrews 2:1-4.
(2) Jesus had been honored, as incarnate, in such a way as to show that he had a right to be heard, and that what he said should receive the profound attention of people; Hebrews 2:5-9. The world to come had not been put under the angels as it had been under him Hebrews 2:5; the general principle had been stated in the Scriptures that all things were put under man Hebrews 2:7-8, but this was fulfilled only in the Lord Jesus, who had been made a little lower than the angels, and when so made crowned with glory and honor; Hebrews 2:9. His appearance as a man, therefore, was in no way inconsistent with what had been said of his dignity, or his claim to be heard.
(3) The apostle then proceeds to show why he became a man, and why, though he was so exalted, he was subjected to so severe sufferings: and with this the chapter closes; Hebrews 2:10-18. It was because this was “proper” from the relation which he sustained to man. The argument is, that the Redeemer and his people were identified; that he did not come to save “angels,” and that, therefore, there was a propriety in his assuming the nature of man, and being subjected to trials like those whom he came to save. In all things it behoved him to be made like his brethren, in order to redeem them, and in order to set them an example, and show them how to suffer. The humiliation, therefore, of the Redeemer; the fact that he appeared as a man, and that he was a sufferer, so far from being a reason why he should not be “heard,” was rather an additional reason why we should attend to what he said. He had a claim to the right of being heard not only from his original dignity, but from the friendship which he has evinced for us in taking upon himself our nature, and suffering in our behalf.