“We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will” (Hebrews 2:1-4, NKJV).
“Therefore …” (NKJV) or “For this reason …” (NASB) [diá toûto]1 marks the conclusion of the preceding argument. Since God now speaks through a Son (1:2) and this Son is far superior to the angels (1:4-14), we must pay much closer attention (“give the more earnest heed”) to what we have heard. The reason given: lest we “drift away” [pararuōmen from pararréō], using the imagery of flowing water to convey washing away or drifting (BDAG 770). Greek authors (e.g., Plato, Sophocles) used this verb for things slipping from memory and being forgotten (cf. 2 Pet. 1:9). Here the image seems to be that of a drifting boat; the readers appear to have been in danger of forgetting and drifting away from the truth of the gospel (cf. 3:6; 5:11; 6:11, 12).
“For if the word spoken through angels…” (2:2), an allusion to the Law of Moses that was mediated through angels (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). It proved “firm, stable, steadfast, unalterable” [bébaios], never to be lightly regarded, because it exacted harsh penalties for those who violated it (cf. Heb. 10:28; Lev. 20:9, 10, 13, 27).
“How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (2:3a). This is a serious warning, unequivocally affirming that the greater privileges of Christ’s new-covenant system implicitly entail weighty responsibilities. There is no escape if what the Lord offers is carelessly dismissed. The Greek word rendered “neglect” [ameléō] involves “not caring for” and “disregarding” (cp. Matt. 22:5; see also Heb. 10:28-31; 2 Pet. 2:20-21). The emphatic “so great a salvation” shows how much we ought to appreciate the enormity of what the Lord has done for us, the horrific fate from which we have been delivered, and the incredible blessings we are able to enjoy in Christ.
God’s clearly-revealed salvific plan “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed …” (2:3b-4). Jesus simply began to proclaim this newly unfolding message, as his ministry constituted a period of preparation and transition.2 Christ’s teachings were then extended through the eyewitness testimony of his contemporary disciples,3 and confirmed by corroborating signs and wonders.4
“For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels” (Hebrews 2:5).
Angels have not been placed over “the world to come” [tēn oikouménēn tēn méllousan]; cf. also “coming age” [méllontos aiōnos] (6:5). The Greek oikouménē (occurring fifteen times in the NT)5 generally refers to the habitable earth but is employed with different shades of meaning, depending on the context.6 Nowhere else in the NT is this expression ever used for a future world or age; it always has reference to the current inhabited world (albeit in varying senses).
In what sense, then, is the present inhabited world [oikouménē] spoken of as “coming” [méllousan]? The Jews had long anticipated a new messianic world-order under the reign of the divinely anointed messianic king, and the phrase “the world to come” occurs often in Jewish writings.7 This messianic age that was to succeed the old Jewish system is the current inhabited world over which Christ now authoritatively rules (Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:30-36). This is contextually confirmed from the beginning of Hebrews: “in these last days spoken to us by a Son” (1:2), the Son now reigns (1:3, 8-9, 13), “so great a salvation” (2:3), “of which we are speaking” (2:5b).
It is common in the NT to speak of long-awaited events in their familiar future-tense phraseology, even when they are current realities (cf. 10:1).8 Rhetorically known as prolepsis, the main point here is that angels have no rule in the Christian world-order, the era of salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 10:11).
Christ’s Time of Humiliation
“But one testified in a certain place, saying: ‘What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:6-9).
Psalm 8:4-6 (LXX) is quoted to reaffirm that the physical creation was subjected to man’s control and jurisdiction, while Jesus Christ has achieved an even greater status. The psalm is speaking of mankind in general (“son of man”)9 and the lofty position he was given over the physical creation (cf. Gen. 1:26-28; 9:2). But Jesus, having now been crowned with glory and honor, has “all things” put in subjection to him.
Before his exaltation, however, Jesus (like other men) was in a position lower than the angels. The word brachús (“little”) can be used in reference to the degree of rank (“a little lower,” NKJV) or to time (“for a little while lower,” NASB). Both are consistent with the context.
Note the reason for Jesus being in this subordinate position: “for the suffering of death” (cf. Phil. 2:5-8). He could not have died without having taken on human frailties. He offered himself as a willing sacrifice and tasted death for “everyone.”10
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 At least seven words or expressions are used in Hebrews meaning “therefore,” occurring no less than twenty-six times: ára (4:9), dió (3:7, 10; 10:5; 11:12, 16; 12:12, 28; 13:12), oûn (4:1, 6, 11, 16; 7:11; 9:23; 10:19, 35; 13:15), toínun (13:13), diá toûto (1:9; 2:1), hóthen (2:17; 3:1; 7:25; 8:3), toigaroûn (12:1).
2 Acts 1:1-8; John 14:25-26; 16:12-13.
3 John 15:27; Acts 1:8; 2:32; 10:39-42; 1 Cor. 15:3-11; 1 Pet. 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:16; 1 John 1:1-4.
4 Mark 16:20; Acts 1:8; 2:1-37; 8:5-7; 14:3.
5 Matt. 24:14; Luke 2:1; 4:5; 21:26; Acts 11:28; 17:6, 31; 19:27; 24:5; Rom. 10:18; Heb. 1:6; 2:5; Rev. 3:10; 12:9; 16:14.
6 See H. K. Moulton, Greek Lexicon 285; “(a) the inhabited earth, Mt 24:14; (b) humanity, Ac 17:31; (c) Roman Empire, Lk 2:1; (d) the coming age, Hb 2:5” (Wingram-Green, The New Englishman’s Greek Concordance & Lexicon 605).
7 E.g., Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10.1; Talmud, Berakhot 17a.
8 See also Rom. 5:14; Col. 2:16-17; Matt. 17:10-12; John 4:21-23; cf. Luke 3:7-9; 24:21; 1 Tim. 1:16.
9 Cf. Psa. 4:2; 31:19; 33:13; 57:4; 58:1; 80:17; 144:3; 145:12; 146:3; Dan. 8:17; Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1; et al.
10 John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 1 Tim. 2:3-6; 1 John 2:2.
Related Posts: Part 1 (Heb 1:4-14), Part 3 (Heb 2:10-18)
Image credit: https://docsandlin.com/2020/04/08/our-lords-crucifixion-as-exaltation/
No comments:
Post a Comment