A Par Excellent
Interpretation
Heb 2:5-8a 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 man that you are mindful
of him,
the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little
lower than
the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put
everything
under his feet."
(Ps 8:4-6)
By "the world to come" he may be referring to the millenial
Kingdom
in particular or that which comes after that in which there will
be a
new heavens and new earth (
Rev 21:1) See also
the
Dispensations of
the Kingdom of God. In any case
"in
keeping
with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a
new
earth, the home of righteousness." 2Pet 3:13
But as for the quote from Psalms one would think it's simply
referring
to "man" in general. And as to the phrase "the son of man", it's
used
extensively in Ezekiel to refer to Ezekiel. But the writer is
using
Psalms not simply as proof, but rather is prophetically
interpreting it
for us. Jesus referred to himself as "the Son of Man". How is
that
different than Ezekiel being called "son of man"? There's a
grammatical
construct known as "
Par Excellence", though it's a
construct
that depends on interpretation. But you can see an example (and
I get
this from Wallace's
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics)
in
John
1:21 where John the Baptist is asked "Are you
the prophet?"
For
while
there
are
many
prophets,
there
is also "THE Prophet" of whom
is prophesied to come in
Deut 18:15, of whom Peter in
Acts
3:22 and Stephen in
Acts 7:37 say is Jesus
Christ.
Likewise with other scripture. While Ezekiel and others are
referred to
as "son of man", Jesus is THE (Par Excellence) Son of Man.
Wallace also gives his own example of Par Excellence
saying
For example, if in late January someone were to say to you,
"Did you see the game?" you might reply, "Which game?"
They might then reply, "The game! The only game worth
watching!
The BIG game! You know, the Super Bowl!" This is the article
used
in a par excellence way.
This grammatical construct helps to understand a lot of
messianic
interpretations of Old Testament. For while the passage may be
immediately referring to King David (as in the case of
Psalm
22)
or
people
in
general,
or
categories
of people, such passages given a
Par Excellence interpretation are also alluding ultimately to
the
Messiah.
Everything
Subject
to Jesus
Heb 2:8b-9 In putting everything
under
him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at
present we do
not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was
made a
little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor
because
he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste
death for
everyone.
"God placed all things under his feet and
appointed him to be head over everything" Eph 1:22a
But
we await the world to come to really see this implemented.
Jesus,
"who, being in very nature God,
did not consider
equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself
nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became
obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God
exalted him to
the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name" Php
2:6-9 "For Christ died for sins once
for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
1Peter
3:18a "He is the atoning sacrifice
for our
sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole
world." 1John 2:2
Jesus,
the
Captain of Salvation
Heb 2:10 In bringing many sons to
glory,
it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything
exists,
should make the author (more precisely "captain") of their salvation perfect through suffering.
While Jesus is uniquely THE (Par Excellence) Son of God, there
are also
sons of God, those who were given the right to become sons of
God
through faith in Jesus Christ (
John 1:12) For
"you are all sons of God through faith in
Christ
Jesus" Gal 3:26 The word "author" here
is more
precisely "the chief leader or prince" as the Greek Lexicon
mentions,
which is consistent with its usage 23 times in the Septuagint
The NKJV
and KJV accurately uses "captain" here. The word is used 4 times
in the
New Testament but the translations are inconsistent. In fact
"author"
is a bad translation of the word. It was introduced for
theological
reasons (and not good ones) and not for grammatical reasons.
Jesus, as
our leader, has provided us with salvation, but we must follow
him into
it to be saved.
"For to this you
were
called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example,
that you should follow His steps:" 1Peter 2:21 And
"if we are children, then we are heirs—
heirs of
God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his
sufferings in
order that we may also share in his glory." Rom
8:17
This word is also used in
Heb 5:9 which should properly
read,
"And having been perfected, He
became the captain
of eternal salvation to all who obey Him". Heb
5:9
The word "author" would not fit here as there is no implication
that
one should obey an author.
But as for being perfected through suffering, wasn't Jesus
perfect to
begin with? Not as the captain of our salvation he wasn't, until
he
went through suffering and death. I noted Heb 5:9 above. That
and the
verse before it goes,
"Although he was a
son, he
learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made
perfect, he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
Heb
5:8,9 Previously Jesus never experience what it was to
obey God as
a man in the environment in which we live. It's not that easy.
"For this reason he had to be made like his
brothers
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." Heb
2:17,18
"For we do not have a high priest who is
unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has
been tempted
in every way, just as we are— yet was without sin."
Heb 4:15
As you can see, much of this issue is covered in the book of
Hebrews
Jesus'
Family
Heb 2:11-13 Both the one who makes
men
holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So
Jesus is
not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare
your name
to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will
sing your
praises." (Psalm 22:22)
And again,
"I will put my trust in him." (Isaiah 8:17) And again he says, "Here am I, and the
children God
has given me." (Isaiah 8:18)
In one sense to the Christian, Jesus is like our older brother.
THE
Church (Par Excellence) - incorporating all believers in Christ
- is a
family - the family of God. And
"as we
have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those
who
belong to the family of believers." Gal 6:10
Family
should have a special connection not shared by those outside the
family. (But there are many who may attend a "church" but deny
such a
family connection with Christians who don't go to their church.
For
institutional allegiance is not necessarily indicative that one
is in
the faith.)
Psalm 22 is heavily messianic as one finds verses throughout
which
apply in detail to Christ's crucifixion. In fact Jesus quoted
this
Psalm while he was on the cross. Consequently I think he was
meditating
through this Psalm while he was dying. Verse 22 is when the
Psalm turns
rather positive. One thing that encouraged Jesus on the cross
was to
think about being with his brothers - the Christian community.
The next two quotes are meant to be taken together as they are
Isaiah
8:17,18. I'm reminded of
John 17:6 "I
have
revealed
you
to
those
whom you gave me out of the world. They were
yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word."
and
John
6:37 "All that the Father gives me
will come
to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away"
All this to say that while Jesus is exalted above all, he likes
to
associate with the lowly. He is more than a friend to the
righteous. He
is a brother.
Jesus
Frees
Us
Heb 2:14,15 Since the
children have
flesh and blood, he too shared
in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy 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.
That is, Jesus,
"who, being in very nature
God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in
human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled
himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Php 2:6-8
Christ's death saves the Christian from the consequences of
their sin -
which is firstly, death.
"For the wages
of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord."
Rom 6:23 Thus
"we know that since
Christ was
raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has
mastery
over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but
the life
he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves
dead to
sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Rom 6:9-11
But where does the devil come in? Why bring up the devil? In
Genesis
the devil was the source of the fall that led mankind into
death. And
likewise, but for the protective hand of God, the devil causes
people
to suffer and die - including Christ. Note in the case of Job
the devil
sought permission to destroy Job. Alot of things that happen,
whether
natural disasters or otherwise have their origin in the devil.
And
though God doesn't endorse his actions, he permits them, much as
Joseph
said of his brother's evil actions,
"You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good" Gen
50:20a
Another example of this sort of thing is seen in 2Corinthians
when God
used the devil to help the apostle Paul maintain a proper level
of
humility.
"To keep me from becoming
conceited
because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was
given me a
thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." 2Cor 12:7 The devil intended
harm, but
God intended good.
There is a kingdom of darkness, ruled by Satan, which God saves
us
from.
"For he has rescued us from the
dominion
of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves" Col 1:13 "As for
you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which
you used
to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of
the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those
who are
disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires
and
thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
But
because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it
is by
grace you have been saved." Eph 2:1-5
Jesus
Helps
Us
Heb 2:16 For surely it is not
angels he
helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
But
"Are not all angels ministering
spirits sent
to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Heb
1:14
So
what's
this
about
Abraham's descendants? The New Testament teaches
us that Abraham's descendants are those who will inherit
salvation.
This includes both Jewish and Gentile believers. That is,
not all who are descended from Israel are
Israel. Nor
because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s
children. On
the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring
will be
reckoned." In other words, it is not the natural
children who are
God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are
regarded
as Abraham’s offspring. Rom
9:6b-8
As for the word "helps", I don't think that's the most accurate
or
common usage. In fact the Greek word used there "epilambanomai"
means
"to take upon". That word is used 19 times in the New Testament
and
most commonly translated "take", "catch", "lay hold on". I
think
he means to say is that he does not take angels into his family,
but he
takes Abraham's descendants to be his brothers.
Jesus
became
Our High Priest
Heb 2:17 For this reason he had to
be
made like his brothers 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.
In what way was Jesus made like us? Apparently in every way.
Probably
meaning in every way relevant to him qualifying as a merciful
and
faithful high priest. "and that" is inaccurate. Rather it uses
the
infinitive. He becomes a faithful high priest in service to God,
to
make atonement for the sins of the people. But what is the
logic
here?
Much of Hebrews from chapters 5 to 10 will speak on the
priesthood of
Christ. Basically the high priest is a sort of mediator between
God and
man.
"There is one God and one mediator
between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a
ransom for all
men." 1Tim 2:5,6 Though under the Law of Moses
there
were men assigned to the role of priest and high priest, Jesus
is THE
("Par Excellence" - see the comment on Heb 2:5-8) high priest.
The
roles of priesthood under the Law were shadows of that which was
fulfilled in Christ.
Now a mediator is a "go-between" guy. He has to identify
with
both parties. Jesus is in very nature God. (
Php 2:6) He
is the
Creator. (
John 1:3; Heb 1:10; Heb 3:3,4) But to be a
mediator
for mankind, he had to become a man. So
"In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was
God. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full
of grace and truth." John 1:1,14
But to what extent he became human is controversial and the
subject of
the next verse.
Jesus
Empathizes with Us
Heb 2:18 Because he himself
suffered when
he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted.
This cannot be speak of merely experiencing the physical
sufferings we
experience due to our mortality. It has to do with actually
experiencing sinful temptations and the suffering associated
with
resisting such temptations, seeing as the role of the priesthood
is
about dealing with sin and the guilt associated with sin.
"For we do not have a high priest who is
unable
to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in
every way,
just as we are— yet was without sin." Heb
4:15 And
given
that
"For this reason he had to be made
like his brothers in every way" Heb 2:17a,
Jesus must
have been born with the same sinful nature as everyone else has
- the
Adamic nature inherent in the flesh which is a significant
source of
our experience of temptation- in order to qualify him as the
mediator
between God and man. In fact the NIV often translates the
Greek
word for "flesh" as "sinful nature". The flesh that Jesus had
was the
same kind of flesh that we have.
"For what the law was powerless to do in
that it
was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own
Son in
the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he
condemned
sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of
the law
might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the
sinful
nature but according to the Spirit." Rom 8:3,4