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14 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— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 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. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. ~ Hebrews 2:14-18
Today, we complete our study of Hebrews 2 where we have been considering the fact that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He procured the right of the believer to be accepted into the family of God. This ultimate act of love set the Lord Jesus apart from all others to be our Savior, and the believer has been set free from the domination of the devil. In addition, this one act of love proves the Lord Jesus to be God, otherwise, He would have never been able to raise from the dead after conquering the effects of sin and death upon all of His creation. At the cross of Christ, God accepted His own unbreakable terms of justice.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 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— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
Having established the acceptable payment made by the Lord Jesus on the behalf of all believers, the writer of Hebrews, in these two verses, informs us of the two purposes for this greatest act of selflessness. The Lord Jesus died so that He could destroy the devil and release the willing in heart from our lifetime bondage to sin and death.
God designed every person who has ever been born to live forever. As a result, we will all live forever either in heaven or in hell. When anyone who has not received the free gift of salvation through Christ, dies, that person immediately is plunged into eternal punishment. And, the devil knows if he can keep people from trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross, he will maintain his hold on them for eternity. This is why man fears death.
Even for those who deny the reality of God, death is terrifying. This means that they are enslaved by the fear of death to find ways not to feel the intolerable fear that is there. The fear of dying is so natural for sinful people who are not ready to meet God, that it rules them like a silent master. In fact, this is what causes them to embrace the dream world of denial. Most people simply do not let themselves think about what is absolutely inevitable, namely, their own death. They are driven, consciously or unconsciously, to shut their eyes and close their ears and shut down their minds to every thought that they are going to die and give an account to God one day.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth as the God-Man, in order to "break the power of him who holds the power of death." God never had any plans for death in His original plan for creation. Death only came when Adam rebelled against God and went the way of the serpent. Satan’s dominion comes in the form of death. He was a deceiver and a murderer from the very beginning. This is why the Lord Jesus had to come to earth, in order to die for damned mankind. And by dying as a man, the Lord Jesus entered into the realm of sin and death. And through dying, He conquered sin and death, He destroyed the dominion of Satan forevermore.
When Christ died on the cross, He conquered the devil, but the devil did not cease to exist. Christ's victory over sin and death has rendered the devil powerless in the lives of all who have ever believed in the God of the Bible. Adrian Rogers once said, "God grades on the Cross not on the curve." Aren't we all grateful for that.
The word "break" in v.14 literally means "to cause something to come to an end." Satan has long been known to use fallen man's "fear of death" to enslave us to his will. Often people make wrong moral choices out of their intense desire for self-preservation. Here, we are reminded that we are no longer subject to such "slavery" and we are positioned by Christ to see death in a whole new light. So now, for the believer in Christ, death has taken on a whole new role. Death is an entrance into heaven. This is why the Apostle Paul said, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."
In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 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."
Angels are mentioned 273 times in the Scriptures, and were created by God to do His bidding. When God created angels, not any of the angels were fallen and evil. It was later that there came into existence fallen angels which we know as demons. Therefore, angels do not need a Savior because they were unaffected by the fall of man. I did not say "demons" because their story is different. Angels are the messengers of God who live in eternal perfection. They are perfect beings and are in no need of salvation.
The phrase "descendants of Abraham" when translated literally, means "Abraham’s seed." This phrase refers to anyone, Jewish or Gentile, who has ever trusted in the God of the Bible for salvation. The writer of Hebrews may have used this phrase because the recipients of this letter were primarily Jewish believers. But, in context, the writer was pointing out that Christ came to the aid of Abraham’s children, not the angels.
According to v.17 of our passage today, "Christ was made like His brothers, human in every way." This means Christ embraced our suffering so that He could be sympathetic to our plight. Here, for the first time in the book of Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews introduces us to the priesthood of Christ. Here, the writer of Hebrews presents Christ's identification with "His brothers" making it possible for God to show His mercy and faithfulness to us. God was and is able to do such due to the fact that the Lord Jesus made Himself the atonement for our sin, and, He is also our priest before God.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
In this verse, the writer of Hebrews focuses on the fact that the Lord Jesus took sin and death head on. In so doing, the Lord Jesus, also, took on temptation. He experienced the lure of sin, but He never sinned. The Lord Jesus knows what it is like to be fully human in that He was tempted like us. Therefore, He is able to assist us when we are being tempted. And, due to the fact that He has defeated and disarmed the enemy, He is able to give us the grace that we need to overcome temptation.
The Lord Jesus took on a weak and vulnerable human body not only so that He could experience death, but also that He could sympathize with the temptations that come with suffering and dying. "He himself suffered when he was tempted."
The writer of Hebrews isn't referencing the temptation of lust or greed here. This is the temptation to get angry or to be resentful or to be self-pitying or to be despairing or unbelieving in the goodness of God. This passage teaches us that not only are we free from the slavery to the fear of death, we can also be confident that when we are tempted to despair or to be self-pitying or to be resentful or to be anger or to embrace unbelief in the goodness of God, the Lord Jesus is always there to help us. The Lord Jesus does this out of His own agonizing experience as the God-Man. And, He will give us what we need to endure in a heart-attached relationship with God to the very end of time as we know it.
