“Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. ¹⁶ For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” Hebrews 2:14-18

“A third picture is that of Jesus as a liberator (2:14-16). Here the scene is more like one of the battlefield images in the year-end review. Here the need is not for acceptance but for liberation. The battles in which people find themselves are often played out in the local arenas of their own lives. Sometimes the scene takes the form of addiction. Sometimes it takes the form of dysfunctional family systems that keep perpetrating abuse. This image recognizes that people are not free agents. We are drawn into situations where evil bends our wills. Despite the fear, we cannot break free. Here Jesus intrudes into the situation to bring deliverance. The weapon he uses against the force of evil is the love of God, which he conveys through his own suffering and death. Jesus’ crucifixion is confrontational. It shows that God is not willing to let the world remain under the dominion of other powers. In the crucified and risen Christ, God confronts evil with love and deception with truth. This is what sets people free.

The fourth image in the collage is of Jesus the high priest (2:17-18). Here people are pictured as sinners in need of atonement. By his suffering and death, Jesus conveys the sacrificial love that restores people in relationship to God. The “altar” where Jesus offered his sacrifice was Golgotha. The sacrificial victim was Jesus himself, rather than an ordinary lamb. And the reason Jesus offers himself is to convey to us the love that can bring us back into relationship with God.” (Commentary on Hebrews 2:10-18, workingpreacher.org, Craig R. Koester)

I could go on and on about this text, but I believe Craig Koester says it best – and so I have given it to you again: “The battles in which people find themselves are often played out in the local arenas of their own lives. Sometimes the scene takes the form of addiction. Sometimes it takes the form of dysfunctional family systems that keep perpetrating abuse. This image recognizes that people are not free agents. We are drawn into situations where evil bends our wills. Despite the fear, we cannot break free. Here Jesus intrudes into the situation to bring deliverance. The weapon he uses against the force of evil is the love of God, which he conveys through his own suffering and death. Jesus’ crucifixion is confrontational. It shows that God is not willing to let the world remain under the dominion of other powers.”

The weapon Jesus uses against the forces of evil is the love of G-d – which he conveys to us through his own suffering, death and resurrection. Jesus defeats suffering, evil, and death.

Pastor Dave

“It was fitting that God,[i] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.[j] For this reason Jesus[k] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,[l] 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,[m] in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Here am I and the children whom God has given me.” Hebrews 2:10-13

“According to prior verses, Jesus was sent in human form specifically in order to suffer death on behalf of mankind. Verses 10 and 11 explain how this makes Jesus “perfect” as a sacrificial substitute for humanity. Humanity is tempted, and so was Christ (Hebrews 4:15). Humanity faces death, and so did Christ (Hebrews 2:9). This means that, as Christ was raised from the dead, so will those who believe in Him be raised (Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Hebrews 2:17; 10:12). The full explanation of this thought runs all the way through verse 18. This passage also continues to remind the readers that Jesus Christ is the eternal Creator. Earlier verses specified that Jesus was co-creator with God the Father (Hebrews 1:2). Here, that same Creator is the one sending Jesus in order to restore our relationship to God. The phrase “founder of their salvation” comes from the Greek archēgon tēs sōtērias autōn. The word archēgon carries the idea of being a leader, a pioneer, or an example. Some translations use the English term captain. This idea of Christ being our trailblazer, and our model, is seen throughout the New Testament (1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; Colossians 1:18). This same term will be used of Christ in Hebrews 12:2, in a similar context. This word is also seen in the original Greek of Acts 3:15 and Acts 5:31; interestingly, all four of these references are spoken directly to the Jewish people.” (What does Hebrews 2:10 mean?, bibleref.com)

No one likes to suffer. No one! Suffering is the one thing most of us will do anything to avoid. We spend lots of money and time every year to reduce our suffering if not to attempt to avoid any situation that may cause us suffering. In a new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research states that living with chronic pain makes people so unhappy that they’d need to earn between $20,000 and $50,000 per year more to be as happy as they would be otherwise with no pain. That is a lot of money to spend to avoid suffering.

Why does Christ have to suffer? Here, in Hebrews, we learn that Christ suffers so that he will be the leader of our salvation. As the leader, he has experienced all that humanity experiences every day. We are tempted: Jesus was tempted. We are constantly faced with death: Christ suffered death on the cross. So our suffering is understood as a part of the human condition. Again, no one likes to suffer — but when we do, we know we have a savior who also suffered. It may not make suffering easier, but it gives us hope that our suffering builds within us a character of faith that transforms our suffering into endurance, and ultimately into peace.

Pastor Dave