TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

Hebrews 2

Chapter 2 in 30 seconds

So pay attention, or you will drift like a boat with no anchor. Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for a while, became one of us, died, and broke the devil's grip on death. Now He is not ashamed to call us brothers, and He knows exactly how temptation feels.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeWho Wrote Hebrews? · after verse 18

Salvation Confirmed

¹We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ²For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, ³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

HEB 2:1[NOTABLE]The picture is a boat slipping past its harbor. Most people do not quit Jesus in one day; they drift.

This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, ⁴and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

HEB 2:3[NOTE]HEARD IT SECONDHAND. The writer says the message was confirmed to us by those who heard the Lord. Paul said he got his gospel straight from Jesus, Galatians 1:12. This is one reason many doubt Paul wrote Hebrews.
HEB 2:4[MIRACLE]God confirmed the gospel with signs, wonders, various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit

Jesus like His Brothers

⁵For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶But somewhere it is testified in these words:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,

or the son of man that You care for him?

HEB 2:6[FULFILLS]The son of man God cares for ← PS 8:4
HEB 2:6[FULFILLS]His humiliation followed by exaltation ← PS 8:5-6

⁷You made him a little lower than the angels;

You crowned him with glory and honor

⁸and placed everything under his feet.”

When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

HEB 2:9[FULFILLS]Wounded for our transgressions ← IS 53:5a

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹²He says:

HEB 2:10[FULFILLS]The Captain of the Lord's host ← JOSH 5:14-15MEDIUM
HEB 2:10[FULFILLS]A leader and commander of the peoples ← IS 55:4bMEDIUM

“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers;

I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

HEB 2:12[FULFILLS]His resurrection declared to His brethren ← PS 22:22

¹³And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And once again:

“Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

HEB 2:13[FULFILLS]The Messiah would trust God and stand with the children God gave Him ← IS 8:17-18MEDIUM

¹⁴Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

HEB 2:14[DEMONIC]Jesus destroys the devil, who held the power of death, and frees those enslaved by fear of death
HEB 2:14[FULFILLS]He would crush the head of Satan ← GEN 3:15

¹⁶For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

HEB 2:17[FULFILLS]A faithful and lasting High Priest would arise ← 1SA 2:35MEDIUM

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Who Wrote Hebrews?

The Letter With No Name

Hebrews 2:3 · 13:22 to 25 · 2 Peter 3:15 to 16

WHAT THE LETTER SAYS: Nothing about who wrote it. Paul always starts with his name, but Hebrews has no greeting at all. A few clues: the writer is a friend of Timothy, 13:23. He heard the gospel from people who heard Jesus, 2:3. He writes the most polished Greek in the New Testament and quotes the Greek Old Testament.
THE FIRST CENTURY: Clement of Rome, about AD 96, borrows lines from Hebrews in his own letter, so Hebrews was already known in Rome. But he never says who wrote it.
EGYPT SAYS PAUL: Papyrus 46, about AD 200, puts Hebrews right after Romans. Clement of Alexandria, about AD 200, said Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke put it into Greek. He thought Paul left his name off out of humility, because Jesus Himself was sent to the Hebrews. Church historian Eusebius, about AD 325, passes this on.
ORIGEN'S FAMOUS ANSWER: Origen, the great teacher of Alexandria, about AD 240, said the thoughts are Paul's, but the wording is someone else's. Then he added: who wrote the letter, in truth, God knows.
THE WEST WAS NOT SURE: In Rome and North Africa many doubted Paul for about 200 years. Tertullian, about AD 220, said Barnabas wrote it. Jerome and Augustine, about AD 400, accepted it with Paul's letters, and church councils in North Africa about that time listed it with them. That settled it for over a thousand years.
THE REFORMATION: Martin Luther doubted Paul. In his 1522 New Testament he moved Hebrews near the back with James, Jude and Revelation, and later he guessed Apollos. John Calvin said he could not believe Paul wrote it and thought of Luke or Clement. The KJV of 1611 still titled it The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.
TODAY: Most scholars, including many conservative ones, say we do not know. Some still defend Paul. The next page gives the case for every name.

Every Candidate · The Case for Each Name

Hebrews 2:3 · 11:32 · 13:22 to 25 · Acts 4:36 · Acts 18:24 to 26

PAUL: The case: the Eastern church from about AD 200 said so, Papyrus 46 puts it with his letters, the writer knows Timothy, 13:23, and it ends with grace be with you all, like Paul, 13:25. Some copies of 10:34 even say my chains. Against: the writer heard the gospel secondhand, 2:3, but Paul said he got it straight from Jesus, Galatians 1:12. The style is very different, and Paul always names himself.
BARNABAS: Tertullian named him about AD 220. The case: he was a Levite, Acts 4:36, so he would know the priests and sacrifices that fill Hebrews. His nickname means son of encouragement, and Hebrews calls itself a word of encouragement, 13:22, using the same Greek word. Against: no other early writer names him.
APOLLOS: Luther's guess. The case: Apollos was a learned man from Alexandria, powerful in the Scriptures, Acts 18:24, which fits the polished Greek and the Old Testament arguments. He knew Paul and Timothy's circle. Against: no early writer names him.
LUKE OR CLEMENT: Clement of Alexandria thought Luke translated it, and the Greek has some things in common with Luke and Acts. Origen said some named Clement of Rome. Against: Clement quotes Hebrews in his own letter, and his style is plainer.
PRISCILLA: The German scholar Adolf von Harnack suggested her in 1900. The case: she taught Apollos the way of God more accurately, Acts 18:26, and the writer's name might have been dropped because she was a woman. Against: in 11:32 the writer says time would fail me to tell, and the Greek word for me telling is masculine.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: The church accepted Hebrews as Scripture because of what it says about Jesus, not because of a name. Whoever held the pen, Origen's answer still stands: God knows.

Hebrews 2

Salvation Confirmed

Jesus like His Brothers

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