Jesus: Do Not Neglect His Salvation

Hebrews 2:1-9

Main Idea: If God exacted retribution against those who broke the old covenant, how much more should we heed the message of the new covenant delivered to us by the last Adam, Jesus Christ?

1. Heeding the Warning Signs of Spiritual Drift (2:1-3a)
   1. The potential of spiritual drift
   2. The danger of spiritual drift
2. Hearing the Witnesses of God (2:3b-4)
3. Honoring the Coronation of the Last Adam (2:4-9)
   1. Read as biblical theologians.
   2. Rest in the already; hope in the not yet.
   3. Rely on the One who tasted death.

In today’s world we are virtually drowning in an ocean of communication, media, and advertisement. At all times, somebody somewhere is trying to get our attention and deliver a message to us. Commercials, billboards, Twitter feeds, political campaign ads, television preachers, entertainment, conversations, and a thousand other things flood our eyes and ears. The key to navigating these treacherous waters is deciphering which messages are worthy of our focus.

This section of Hebrews urges us to pay the utmost attention to the most worthy of messages. In short, God has spoken. He has spoken in his Son. The most important message we can hear is the message that comes from the Father through the Son in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. That God has revealed himself and made a way for us to be saved through faith in the person and work of his Son is the most earth-shattering news we will ever hear. God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ. What could possibly be better news than that?

Heeding the Warning Signs of Spiritual Drift

Hebrews 2:1-3a

The Potential for Spiritual Drift

Words like “therefore” and “for this reason” help us come to the right conclusions when reading Scripture. Hebrews 1 establishes the superiority of Christ over the angels in a breathtaking display of Old Testament biblical theology. But what was the point of this display? What should we take away from the author’s argument? The words for this reason direct us to the appropriate application. Given the superiority of Christ over the angels and his identity as the divine Son of God, Jesus both demands and deserves to be heard. In the Old Testament, messages from angels (cf. Heb 2:2) came with such authority and power that their recipients were often nearly frightened to death. How much more then should we lend our ears to God’s words now that “he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb 1:2)! We must “pay attention”—we must listen—to the God who speaks. How foolish to ignore him!

We do not listen to the Son so that we can puff ourselves up theologically. Doctrine is not for bludgeoning our brothers and sisters in Christ, nor is it for impressing our neighbors. We engage the Bible with the utmost seriousness in order to commune with God himself and thereby not “drift away.” The language of drifting conveys nautical imagery. In the ocean, those who row in the wrong direction are not the only ones who fail to reach their desired destination; it is also those who do not row at all. There are only two options in the Christian life: we can either sail forward in fidelity or we can drift backward in faithlessness. There is no such thing as standing still in the Christian life.

Spiritual drift is often imperceptible when it starts. But just like boats at sea, our souls can veer almost entirely off course in moments. You do not need to be far off course to end up a very long way from where you initially intended to be. The writer of Hebrews indicates that there is only one way to fight against the danger of spiritual drift: we must pay attention to and obey the Word of God. Orthodoxy and obedience are the oars we must use for fighting against the straying current of spiritual drift. Theology and practice will keep us sailing forward in fidelity. The fight of sanctification is a fight against the tides of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Either we are listening to the Son and walking in his Word, or we are drifting away from biblical thinking and getting carried away by the cultural confusion of our day.

Sadly, we witness theological and spiritual drift all too often. It is the story of many denominations, churches, families, and individuals. Even the most cursory knowledge of church history demonstrates that heresy and theological liberalism do not capsize denominations and churches with one revolutionary wave. Instead, churches and individuals end up on the wrong side of the doctrinal equation by drifting a little at a time. Churches once orthodox in their theology slowly minimize and relax their theological convictions until they become unwilling to draw boundaries or speak clearly on issues essential to orthodox Christianity and the evangelical gospel.

So how do we avoid the danger of spiritual drift? The answer is the beginning of Hebrews 2:1. We must “pay attention all the more to what we have heard.” The importance of “hearing” God’s Word pervades Scripture. Paul reminds us, “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ” (Rom 10:17). Of course, when Scripture talks about “hearing,” it means more than just audibly perceiving God’s Word. For example, concerning those who did not believe him, Jesus said, “looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand” (Matt 13:13). “Hearing” the Word of God rightly is a spiritual hearing—one that involves believing, obeying, and submitting to what is heard. Right hearing is more a matter of the heart than a function of the ear. We must hear with our hearts.

Christian faithfulness has no secret formula. God sanctifies us through his Word (John 17:17). We avoid the danger of spiritual drift by reading, hearing, meditating on, and obeying Scripture. As B. B. Warfield said, “When Scripture speaks, God speaks” (Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, 119). We avoid spiritual drift by dropping the anchor of our souls in the deep waters of the Word of God.

The Danger of Spiritual Drift

Verse 2 further explains this point (notice the connecting word “for,” which provides the grounds of the author’s argument). Verses 2-3 confuse many readers because the passage is comprised of is quite a long sentence and is a little complicated. Therefore, we will look at each phrase individually so that we can understand the sense of the whole verse.

What is the “message spoken through angels”? A quick survey of the Old Testament reveals that angels delivered many messages on behalf of Yahweh and that each of these messages was “legally binding” and reliable. The New Testament also records several angelic messages in the gospels, such as the announcement of Christ’s birth in Luke 2:10-11, or the announcement to Cornelius in Acts 10:1-8. However, as the following phrase makes clear, the message mentioned in Hebrews 2:2 is probably referring to the Mosaic covenant that the Bible indicates was delivered “through angels” (Acts 7:53; cf. Deut 33:2; Gal 3:19).

The next phrase is, in a sense, a summary of the old covenant as delivered through angels: every sin justly deserves punishment. That’s the logic of Torah. Deuteronomy 30:19 summarizes this principle:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.

The message is simple: You obey, you live; you disobey, you die. Under the old covenant, every transgression of the law demanded a just penalty.

The point of the author’s argument is now a little more obvious when he writes, “How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” He has moved from the lesser (angels/old covenant) to the greater (Jesus/new covenant). If the old covenant that came from God and was delivered by mere angels demanded retribution for sin, how much more will God judge those who have spurned the gospel now delivered to us by his own Son! This judgment is explicitly portrayed in Revelation 19 as Christ returns to “trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty” (Rev 19:15). The danger of spiritual drift is not only that we might miss out on a spiritually flourishing life; the true danger of spiritual drift is that we abandon the gospel itself and find ourselves under the judgment of God.

The gospel is good news. The good news is only good, though, when it is accepted in place of the bad news. The bad news is we are truly deserving of hell for our transgression of God’s righteous requirement. The really bad news is we will be even more accountable to God if we reject Christ. The seriousness of the gospel cannot be overstated. The gospel is good news for those who repent of their sin and trust in Christ. It is terrible news for those who do not.

Hearing the Witnesses of God

Hebrews 2:3b-4

Hebrews 2:3-4 further shows how Christ’s superiority over angels relates to the danger of spiritual drift. Again, the contrast is clear: failure to heed the reliable message brought by angels brings retribution and death. How much more guilty, then, are those who reject the “great salvation” declared by the incarnate Lord himself? This new stage in redemptive history brings great privileges, but also great responsibilities.

The author indicates that the message of the new covenant inaugurated by Christ (this “great salvation”) is superior to the message delivered by angels in at least four ways. First, it was “spoken of by the Lord.” Once again, the author leans heavily on his previous declaration that God has now spoken to us “by his Son” (Heb 1:2). These words are essential for understanding the logic of the theology of Hebrews.

Second, this message was “confirmed to us by those who heard him.” Though we may not often think of it, the New Testament consistently teaches the profound theological importance of the testimony of the apostles to the person and work of Jesus Christ. After all, Christ set apart the apostles and commissioned them to function as the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20). We do not believe myths and legends about Jesus. The message of the gospel has come down to us from the credible eyewitness testimony of the apostles.

Third, God himself “testified” to the veracity of the gospel “by signs and wonders” and “various miracles.” Many Christians, while rightly affirming the historicity of God’s miraculous works, misunderstand their purpose. The author of Hebrews reminds us that miracles do not exist for their own sake. They do not ultimately point to themselves. Instead, miracles attest and validate God’s major works in redemptive history. In the New Testament, miracles attest and confirm the truth about the identity and work of Christ.

Finally, the “gifts from the Holy Spirit” attest to the truthfulness of the gospel and its superiority over the message delivered by angels. Again, the author of Hebrews helps us strip away our misconceptions about why spiritual gifts exist. Spiritual gifts are not an end to themselves to be used for our personal, private enjoyment. Spiritual gifts edify the church (1 Cor 14:3-5; Eph 4:11-12) and testify that Jesus Christ is Lord. As Paul explains in Ephesians 4:8, Christ has ascended on high, and now, with all authority in heaven, showers gifts on his church. Gifts within the church, therefore, bear witness to Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord and to the superiority of the new covenant over the old.

Honoring the Coronation of the Last Adam

Hebrews 2:5-9

Read as Biblical Theologians

The author of Hebrews continues his argument about Christ’s superiority over the angels. This time, however, he requires his readers to do a little bit of biblical theology. That is to say, the author of Hebrews wants us to read Scripture according to its own internal storyline and then see Christ as the fulfillment and climax of that story. Hebrews 2:5 communicates that God never promised angels dominion over the created order. The Genesis narrative communicates that the earth was subjected to Adam and Eve—to humanity: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth’” (Gen 1:26).

The subsequent verses in Hebrews (vv. 6-8) show us how the Bible itself theologically develops the dominion mandate given to Adam. The author quotes from Psalm 8:4-6, in which David provides his own biblical theological commentary on Genesis 1–2. David marvels that though man is made “less than God” (Ps 8:5), man is also made “ruler” over the world (Ps 8:6)—a dominion that is now exercised through the Davidic king. The author of Hebrews interprets this text as ultimately pointing toward the ideal image bearer and Davidic king, Jesus Christ. The theology of these verses mirrors the theology of Paul: Christ is the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45-47), the first man of the new creation (1 Cor 15:20). Whereas the first Adam failed to carry out the duties of image-bearing, the last Adam has succeeded.

Rest in the Already; Hope in the Not Yet

At the same time, the author of Hebrews recognizes a tension between the reality of the ascended and reigning Christ and the continuing presence of sin in the world. For the last Adam, there is “nothing that is not subject to him,” and yet, “As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him” (v. 8). Many theologians refer to this tension as the already-not yet aspect of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God and the reign of Christ are in some senses already inaugurated, yet we are still waiting for the kingdom’s consummation.

However, this perceived chaos in the world around us should not cause us to doubt the veracity of the gospel message or the work of the last Adam. We may not see all things subjected to him, but “we do see Jesus” who has fulfilled every aspect of the Old Testament and secured his regal throne in glory. The progression of events in verse 9 is profoundly important. “For a short time”—during the incarnation—Jesus appeared to be “lower than the angels.” The eternal Son of God became a man named “Jesus.” This is the first reference to the name “Jesus” in Hebrews. Up to this point, the author refers to him as the “Son.” Now, specifically in the context of the Son’s humiliation and incarnation, the author chooses to remind his audience that the eternal Son became a man: Jesus Christ.

Rely on the One Who Tasted Death

Even more, this last Adam has now been “crowned with glory and honor.” He is not crowned simply because he is the God-man and therefore worthy of all divine prerogatives. Instead, the author mentions that he has been crowned with glory and honor because he has fulfilled his messianic task of suffering and death. The result of his suffering is redemptive. Christ has “[tasted] death for everyone.” The first Adam plunged humanity into sin and death; the last Adam was plunged into death for the sake of humanity. The work of the last Adam undoes the work of the first Adam. As the One who fulfills the task originally given to Adam, Jesus represents the ideal man who bears God’s image rightly and exercises dominion over the cosmos. He has inherited the place of dominion spoken of in Psalm 8. He is superior to all things, including the angels.

As we will see, the following verses more fully explain the work of Christ in our redemption. Again, the contours of the book of Hebrews (indeed the contours of the entire canon) must shape our theology. We must articulate and celebrate the work of Christ on our behalf, but we must do so understanding his work in the context of his identity. As Hebrews 2:9 reminds us, the person and work of Christ are intimately intertwined. He is the eternal Son who comes to glory through suffering. As the glorious God-man, he is superior to all things, including the angels.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What are some things in your own life that make it difficult to hear God’s message? What do you frequently entertain that distracts you from hearing his Word and tempts you to drift?
2. What role does doctrine have in helping us fight spiritual drift? How do the spiritual disciplines—prayer, daily Scripture reading, Scripture memorization, fasting, journaling, and evangelism—help?
3. How does the local church help us fight spiritual drift? Think about this in the context of your own church. How can you incorporate your church into the fight against spiritual drift?
4. How do you see culture tempting the church to make concessions and drift spiritually?
5. What is the purpose of signs and wonders, spiritual gifts, and miracles? How have you seen spiritual gifts in your church bear witness to Christ in the life of the church? In your own life?
6. In what ways do you feel the tension of the already-not yet playing out in your own life? How do you see this tension manifest itself in the world?
7. What things cause you to doubt the veracity of the gospel and the work of the last Adam? How does this passage help you overcome those fears and doubts?
8. How do you understand the work of Christ in the context of his identity? How would you articulate the person and work of Christ to someone who has never heard of Jesus?
9. How can Christ’s superiority in all things help us avoid spiritual drift?
10. Describe in your own words Christ as the last Adam. How does Christ as the last Adam change how you relate to him?