Jesus: Our Tempted and Tried Savior and Priest

Hebrews 2:10-18

Main Idea: By becoming a man and experiencing the trials of temptation and the agony of death, Jesus Christ, our faithful high priest, destroys the power of Satan, helps those being tempted, and provides full propitiation for the sins of his people.

1. The Source of Our Salvation (2:10-13)
   1. Preaching the gospel with prepositional phrases
   2. The fittingness of the Father’s plan
   3. The messianic message of the Old Testament
2. The Incursion of the Incarnate Son (2:14-16)
   1. Knowing our enemies
   2. Defeating our enemies
3. Priesthood and Propitiation (2:17-18)

The first half of Hebrews 2 concludes with the astounding claim that Christ tasted death for everyone. In doing so, Christ not only secures our salvation but also demonstrates his superiority to the angels. The rest of Hebrews 2 further explains what it means for Christ to “taste death for everyone.” Exactly how does Christ accomplish this feat? What are the results? How do God’s people benefit? Hebrews 2:10-18 helps answer these questions.

The Source of Our Salvation

Hebrews 2:10-13

In the previous section the author of Hebrews demonstrated the superiority of Christ over the angels in his glory-achieving death as the last Adam. Further, his suffering unto death was not indiscriminate or pointless. Jesus “tasted death for everyone” (2:9). In other words, his suffering was substitutionary.

While continuing the argument of Jesus’s superiority over the angels, verse 10 shifts the focus to God the Father’s role in our salvation and in the mission of Christ. This is important for us to remember. Christianity, at its heart, is Trinitarian. We worship and serve a triune God, who as Father, Son, and Spirit has acted for our salvation. There is no division between the Father’s will to save and the Son’s will to save. Just as the Father is determined to save, so also the Son and the Spirit are determined to save. Each carries out separate functions in the economy of salvation, but their mission to save sinful humanity is unified.

Preaching the Gospel with Prepositional Phrases

Before moving to the main point of this verse, we should linger over the author’s two prepositional phrases, which describe two facets of the Father’s work in the history of redemption. First, God is the One “for whom and through whom all things exist.” The Father creates for his glory. He is both the beginning and end of the creation. The words are reminiscent of Isaiah 43:6-7:

I will say to the north, “Give them up!” and to the south, “Do not hold them back!” Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.

Second, the phrase “in bringing many sons and daughters to glory” is a remarkable summary of the gospel. Few gospel summaries in Scripture so beautifully capture the work and ministry of Jesus than this prepositional phrase in Hebrews 2:10. Christ came to do many things. He came to redeem sinners; he came to save sinful humanity; he came to forgive sin; and he even came to provide us with righteousness. But more, he came to adopt us as “sons and daughters to glory.” These words provide a gospel summary that focuses on the relational and familial aspects of the gospel. The gospel transforms believers into children of God and siblings of the Lord Jesus (cf. Heb 2:11).

We see then, in both of these prepositional phrases, that God has both created and redeemed us for his glory. Our purpose is to bring the glory of God into greater visibility—to be the public display of the glory of God both now and for all eternity. Thus, we become “sons and daughters to glory” in order to magnify the glory of God for all to see.

The Fittingness of the Father’s Plan

The main point of verse 10 is the fittingness of the Father’s plan to redeem humanity through a perfect and suffering Savior. The justice of God demanded a substitutionary atonement for the forgiveness of sins. This verse hints at the need (it was “appropriate”) of the active and passive obedience of Christ in order to secure our redemption and to atone for our sins.

That Christ became “perfect through sufferings” does not imply that Jesus was somehow sinful prior to the crucifixion. The author of Hebrews regularly emphasizes the sinlessness of Christ during his incarnation (cf. 4:15). Instead, the phrase made perfect refers to Jesus’s unflinching submission to the Father in the face of escalating difficulties. In the words of Paul, Jesus was obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil 2:8). Because of Christ’s perfect obedience to the Father, Jesus has become the “source” of salvation.

The Messianic Message of the Old Testament

Hebrews 2:11 and the Old Testament citations that follow in verses 12 and 13 further explain the activity of the Father and the Son in “bringing many sons and daughters to glory.” Both “the one who sanctifies” (Jesus) and “those who are sanctified” (believers) come from one source: the initiative and plan of the Father. Since Christ (the Father’s commissioned Redeemer) and the church (those elected by the Father to redemption) are united in the plan and purposes of God for the history of redemption, Jesus is not ashamed to call us his “brothers and sisters.” As the Old Testament citations in verses 12 and 13 confirm, the accent in this phrase is rooted in the reality that because believers are Christ’s “brothers and sisters,” we are also “children” of God.

The first citation is from Psalm 22:22, whereas the two that follow come from Isaiah 8:17-18. Psalm 22, when read in the context of the entire Psalter, is clearly messianic and points forward to the death and resurrection of Christ. After the Messiah undergoes tremendous suffering, he is vindicated in receiving life from the dead (Ps 22:19-24). Yet, as the author of Hebrews highlights, this risen Messiah invites his brothers (his disciples; Matt 28:10) to join in the celebration of the finished work of salvation. Similarly, the quotation from Isaiah 8 shows that the Old Testament already hinted that those who trusted in the Lord were children of God.

These Old Testament citations remind readers that there is a distinctively Christian way to read the Old Testament. The Law and the Prophets bear witness to Christ. He is their telos. In some instances this is obvious, such as in the messianic psalms and prophetic predictions about the coming Messiah. In other instances, the Old Testament more subtly points to Christ through typological patterns and redemptive historical themes. Whatever the case may be, the author of Hebrews reminds us that the message of the Old Testament is fundamentally messianic. The Old Testament must be read in light of its fulfillment in Christ.

The Incursion of the Incarnate Son

Hebrews 2:14-16

Each new section in the book of Hebrews takes us to brand new depths. The previous passage demonstrated the activity of the Father, the accomplishment of our redemption, and the role of Christ as our perfect mediator and the securer of our adoption. This next section explains the logic of the redeeming work of Christ. In other words, these verses show us how Christ brings sinners into a position of sonship with the Creator.

Christianity stands or falls on the incarnation of Jesus Christ. To save those who were “flesh and blood,” Christ himself had to become flesh and blood. To save the race of Adam, Jesus became the last Adam. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God assumed a human nature. He was made of the same flesh we are made of and shared in our same experiences, yet he remained without sin. Though he was the Creator of all, he became hungry. He grew tired. He ate, drank, slept, ached, and “shared in these” things that all humanity knows and experiences. This is the first and one of the most fundamental truths of the gospel story. God became a man. He became like us.

Yet the incarnation itself is not enough to secure our redemption. As the latter half of verse 14 and verse 15 make clear, Jesus, as the God-man, had to accomplish a specific work—the destruction of death and the devil.

Knowing Our Enemies

Christ came to defeat two great enemies: death and the devil. Let’s look at each in turn.

Death is a harsh reality, yet I am continually amazed how rarely most people consider their own impending deaths. One thing that always strikes me in the midst of the hustle and bustle of an airport is how busy folks seem in getting from one gate to another. Newspapers must be read, coffees must be bought and consumed, and phone calls must be made. In some ways, the airport is a metaphor for the remainder of our lives. We are constantly running around, so tirelessly consumed with day-to-day tasks that we seldom stop to meditate on some of the more sobering aspects of life—like death. In fact, many of us use busyness to avoid thinking about our mortality.

Yet no matter how much we try to ignore the reality of death, it is inevitable. In fact, a colleague once told me that as he was on a long flight back home, the man sitting next to him died of a heart attack. Given that the flight attendants had nowhere to put the body, they simply left the man buckled in his seat. Whether or not you are ever forced to sit that close to death before your own end, the reality of death’s inevitability remains. Honesty compels us to admit that if the gospel is not true, then death is a horrifying reality we should fear. Death is the most frightening thing we can ever face without the gospel.

The second enemy Christ overcomes for us is the devil. Christians have never been sure what to do with the devil. We certainly should not blame the devil for every sin or envision him hiding in every closet and lurking behind every corner. At the same time, we certainly should not trivialize the devil and turn him into nothing more than a cartoon character. We should also reject a theological dualism that imagines a good God and an evil god (the devil) in a cosmic power struggle between two equals. God’s power far exceeds Satan’s.

Christians must take the devil seriously. Scripture testifies that Satan is our enemy. In fact, 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He delights in perverting the gospel and preventing it from being preached. He is a liar (John 8:44); he is a deceiver (2 Cor 2:10-11; 11:14; Eph 6:11); he is a destroyer (John 10:10); and he is a tempter (Matt 4:1-11; 1 Cor 7:5). In short, the devil is maliciously and comprehensively opposed to God’s being, God’s character, God’s purposes, God’s people, and God’s glory.

This does not always mean that Satan pursues public wickedness as we typically envision. Donald Grey Barnhouse once asked the question, “What would a city look like that was completely ruled by the devil?” While many of us might picutre a city like Sodom and Gomorrah or Babylon, Barnhouse said a city completely ruled by Satan might look like something we never imagined: Every lawn would be mowed and every bridge would be clean of graffiti. No one would drive over the speed limit, children would be obedient to parents, marriages would remain intact, and every church would have a beautiful building. However, the gospel would not be preached at any place or in any pulpit because the devil’s primary ambition is to prevent the gospel from being preached. The devil’s aim is to keep people from believing the gospel. He will even use moralism and the appearance of perfection to accomplish that end (Horton, Christless Christianity, 15).

Defeating Our Enemies

Christ gives us victory over both of these adversaries. First, the gospel provides hope in the face of death. As John Owen’s famous book title so poignantly phrases it, the gospel tells the story of “the death of death in the death of Christ” (Death of Death). As Jesus said in Matthew 16, the power of the gospel is such that the gates of Hades (death) would not prevail against the church (v. 18). Christ offers us the hope of life from the dead. In fact, Jesus parallels receiving salvation with receiving “eternal life” (John 3:16). Eschatologically, the gospel message culminates with resurrection hope. Verse 15 indicates that Christ achieves victory over death so that he can “free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” The looming prospect of death should rightly cause those outside of the gospel to fear. Death not only brings the end of this life, but the beginning of God’s retributive justice against sinners. Christ, however, saves those who turn to him in faith and repentance and delivers them from holy wrath. Christians no longer need to be paralyzed by the fear of death. It is simply one more step toward resurrection. Moreover, after death we have the blessed hope of being absent from the body but present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8).

These verses also reveal that Christ has destroyed the devil, “the one holding the power of death.” Of course, this destruction does not refer to Satan’s ultimate, eschatological destruction. As we have already seen, Satan remains a real and active enemy of the church. Instead, Christ destroyed the devil in such a way that Satan can no longer do any ultimate spiritual damage to God’s people. Christ’s penal and substitutionary atonement completely exhausts Satan’s powers of accusation. Thus, while the devil may continue to prowl about, he prowls with a limp. He has been stripped of his most destructive weapons. His accusations against God’s people do not stick.

Before leaving verses 14 and 15, the author of Hebrews demonstrates how Jesus defeats death and the devil. His victory comes “through his death.” Jesus overcomes death and the one who has the power of death by dying himself. The echoes of Genesis 3 and the curse are difficult to miss. Christ has overcome the curse by undergoing the curse in our place. He defeats death by dying for his people and bearing their curse. As the author of Hebrews will mention in just a few verses, this death was to “make propitiation,” that is, to remove the wrath of God that was justly against us due to our sin. Yet, even more than that, Christ defeats death by rising again from the dead, thus giving resurrection hope to all of God’s people. He is the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:20), and we are the harvest he will reap in the eschaton (1 Cor 15:22-23). Christians can truly rejoice: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:54-55).

Hebrews 2:16 reengages the author’s exposition of the incarnation and the atoning work of Christ with the overall argument in chapters 1 and 2 of Christ’s superiority over the angels. The author reminds us that the last Adam is restoring humanity to God’s good purpose of having dominion over the world and displaying God to all of creation. Christ is superior to the angels because he himself is the image of the invisible God and the redeemer of the pinnacle of God’s creative activity—mankind. Indeed, as the One who helps “Abraham’s offspring,” his work is intimately interwoven within the entire fabric of redemptive history. Christ is the white-hot center of God’s purposes and plan for humanity.

Priesthood and Propitiation

Hebrews 2:17-18

These verses are heavily loaded with important theological assertions. First, notice that the author says that Christ “had to be” incarnated and sacrificed in order to forgive the sins of God’s people. I am often asked if God could have secured our salvation in any other way. This text indicates that the answer to that question is no. God only acts in the way that corresponds with his character and most displays his glory. Thus, in order to both satisfy his justice and display his mercy, God put Christ forward as a propitiatory sacrifice. No external necessity is forced on God, but God is always consistent with his own character.

The author also reasserts the absolute indispensability of the incarnation. Christ “had to be” made “like his brothers and sisters.” In order to conquer death through death, the Son of God became a human being. Yet the author also explains that Jesus became a man in order to become a “high priest” on our behalf. It is critical that we rightly understand the Old Testament’s teachings on the priesthood. The original readers of Hebrews were likely Hellenistic Jews who recognized the need for a priest specifically in matters of sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel looked to the priests for mediation before God. On the Day of Atonement the high priest represented all the people before God and offered a substitutionary sacrifice on their behalf. Hebrews fully explains the relationship between Jesus and the priesthood in the chapters to come, but in this verse the author simply introduces us to the relationship. He presents the notion that in order to make a propitiatory sacrifice for the people, Jesus had to function as a priest; and in order to be a priest, the Son of God had to become a man.

Atonement is a massively important word that encapsulates the meaning of Jesus’s work on the cross. The meaning of propitiation—an atoning sacrifice—has been hotly contested. For example, in the early twentieth century one of the chief aims of liberal theologians was to redefine the meaning of the atonement. The primary word they sought to expunge from the Christian theological vocabulary was propitiation. In fact, one of the most famous New Testament scholars in the liberal academy, C. H. Dodd, staked his academic reputation on asserting that propitiation was synonymous with expiation. Since the terms still confuse many Christians, we will examine each of them in turn.

Expiation refers to the washing away of sin. It cancels the debt of sin and closely relates to the forgiveness of sins. Yet expiation requires no change in God himself. It fails to answer how a holy God can forgive sins. Propitiation answers this question. Propitiation refers to the satisfaction of God’s justice. At the cross, God poured out his wrath against sinners on Jesus, thereby satisfying God’s demand for the just punishment of sin. Thus, God’s wrath was satisfied and his righteousness was vindicated. Paul describes the atoning sacrifice of Christ with the same language in another important passage on the meaning of the cross in Romans 3:21-26:

But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

Propitiation enables God to be both just and justifier. Without the satisfaction of God’s righteousness in the punishment of sin, he could not justly declare sinners righteous. Thus, propitiation stands at the very heart of the gospel. The logic of propitiation makes the good news good. Without propitiation, there is no gospel. In fact, the nature of Christ’s atoning work is so central to the argument of Hebrews that the author revisits the entire discussion at length in Hebrews 9 and 10. He continues to clarify exactly how Jesus’s priesthood and his propitiatory sacrifice work together to bring about our redemption.

Verse 18 reminds us to look backward to the temptations and sufferings of Christ to find encouragement in meeting our own temptations. This is a regular pattern throughout Hebrews: the Christian faith continuously alternates between looking backward and looking forward. We look forward to the hope of resurrection and the perfection of our salvation, but we also look backward at the life and ministry of Christ. In so doing, we look back to the source of our salvation. When we pray to Christ for rescue from sin, we pray to One who has himself walked through suffering and temptation. He is no stranger to our difficulties. He truly has been made like his brothers and sisters “in every way” (2:17).

These two introductory chapters of Hebrews are remarkable. In the midst of the author’s argument that Christ is superior to the angelic host, we have already seen tremendous glimpses of the gospel of grace. This gospel is the solution to our biggest problems in life, from death to the devil. Yet because of the nature of the gospel, it is also the solution to our day-to-day trials and temptations. Christ sympathizes with our weaknesses at every level. As our incarnate brother, he suffered and was tempted just like us. Therefore, we can approach him with confidence and in faith.

Reflect and Discuss

1. The Trinity is distinctly Christian. In what ways do the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit act for our salvation?
2. What are some other verses or phrases in Scripture that beautifully capture a summary of the work and ministry of Jesus the way “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” does in Hebrews 2:10?
3. In what ways do you magnify the glory of God in your life? At work? At home? In what areas could you improve your magnification of the Lord?
4. Do you find yourself underestimating the devil? What about overestimating him? How does Christ’s victory over the devil affect your view of the enemy?
5. Do you fear death? How does this passage prepare Christians to handle the inevitability of death? How can Christ’s accomplishments over death calm fears about death?
6. How does the fact that Jesus “had to be like his brothers and sisters” comfort you? How does the indispensability of his incarnation encourage you in your day-to-day life?
7. Explain the concepts of expiation and atoning sacrifice in your own words. Why does atoning sacrifice stand at the heart of the gospel? What does it say about the seriousness of our sin?
8. Why do you think atoning sacrifice is such a hotly contested theological term? Why do so many still try to expunge or redefine it today?
9. How does Jesus’s priesthood relate to his propitiatory death?
10. Do you regularly look back to the temptations and sufferings of Jesus to help you in the fight against your temptations? What are some of the ways that the temptations and sufferings of Jesus could help you in the particular sufferings and temptations you face?