But we see Jesus
Not with bodily eyes, but with the eyes of the mind, and
understanding; that he is Jesus, as the Syriac version reads; and
that he is designed in the above words; and that he has all
things made subject unto him; and that he was humbled, and now
exalted, as follows:
who was made a little lower than the angels;
in his state of humiliation; (See Gill on Hebrews
2:7)
for the suffering of death:
this clause may be considered either as connected with the
preceding; and then the sense is, that Jesus became lower than
the angels, by, or through suffering death; in that respect he
was lower than they, who die not; this proved him to be in a
condition below them, and showed how pertinent the above words
were to him, and how they were fulfilled in him: or with the
following; and then the meaning is, that because Jesus suffered
death in the room and stead of his people; humbled himself, and
became obedient to death, even the death of the cross, when he
was very low indeed, therefore he is
crowned with glory and honour;
see ( Philippians
2:8 Philippians
2:9 ) and (See Gill on Hebrews
2:7).
that he by the grace of God should taste death for every
man;
that is, Christ was made a little lower than the angels by
becoming man, and assuming a body frail and mortal, that he might
die for his church and people: to "taste death", is a Jewish
phrase, often to be met with in Rabbinical writings; (See Gill
on Matthew
16:28) and signifies the truth and reality of his death,
and the experience he had of the bitterness of it, it being
attended with the wrath of God, and curse of the law; though he
continued under it but for a little while, it was but a taste;
and it includes all kinds of death, he tasted of the death of
afflictions, being a man of sorrows all his days, and a corporeal
death, and what was equivalent to an eternal one; and so some
think the words will bear to be rendered, "that he by the grace
of God might taste of every death"; which rendering of the words,
if it could be established, as it is agreeable to the context,
and to the analogy of faith, would remove all pretence of an
argument from this place, in favour of the universal scheme: what
moved God to make him lower than the angels, and deliver him up
to death, was not any anger towards him, any disregard to him, or
because he deserved it, but his "grace", free favour, and love to
men; this moved him to provide him as a ransom; to preordain him
to be the Lamb slain; to send him in the fulness of time, and
give him up to justice and death: the Syriac version reads, "for
God himself through his own grace tasted death for all"; Christ
died, not merely as an example, or barely for the good of men,
but as a surety, in their room and stead, and that not for every
individual of mankind; for there are some he knows not; for some
he does not pray; and there are some who will not be saved: the
word "man" is not in the original text, it is only (uper pantov) , which may be taken
either collectively, and be rendered "for the whole"; that is,
the whole body, the church for whom Christ gave himself, and is
the Saviour of; or distributively, and be translated, "for
everyone"; for everyone of the sons God brings to glory, (
Hebrews
2:10 ) for everyone of the "brethren", whom Christ
sanctifies, and he is not ashamed to own, and to whom he declares
the name of God, ( Hebrews 2:11
Hebrews
2:12 ) for everyone of the members of the "church", in the
midst of which he sung praise, ( Hebrews 2:12
) for every one of the "children" God has given him, and for
whose sake he took part of flesh and blood, ( Hebrews 2:13
Hebrews
2:14 ) and for everyone of the "seed" of Abraham, in a
spiritual sense, whose nature he assumed, ( Hebrews 2:16
) .