Hebrews 2:6 Kommentar

In this chapter the apostle, I. Makes some application of the doctrine laid down in the chapter foregoing concerning the excellency of the person of Christ, both by way of exhortation and argument (Heb 2:1-4). II. Enlarges further upon the pre-eminence of Christ above the angels (Heb 2:5-9). III. Proceeds to remove the scandal of the cross (Heb 2:10-15). IV. Asserts the incarnation of Christ, taking upon him not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham, and assigns the reason of his so doing (Heb 2:16 to the end).

INTRODUCTION TO HEBREWS 2 In this chapter the apostle, from the superior excellency of Christ, by whom the Gospel revelation is come, discoursed of in the preceding, urges the believers he writes to, to a more diligent attention to the Gospel, and the doctrines of it; to which he adds another motive inducing thereunto, lest those things should be let slip, and be lost, Heb 2:1 and then, by another argument from the less to the greater, that if the law, which was given by angels, could not be broken with impunity, then how should such escape divine punishment that neglected and despised the Gospel, which is a doctrine of salvation, was delivered by the Lord himself, and confirmed by various testimonies and miracles, Heb 2:2. And besides the Gospel dispensation is not put into the hands of angels, but into the hands of Christ, to whom all things are subject, which is proved out of Psa 8:4 and which proof shows, that though Christ, on account of his sufferings and death, was for a while made lower than the angels, yet being now crowned with glory and honour, he is above them, and they are subject to him, since all things are, Heb 2:5. And this anticipates an objection that might be taken from hence against what the apostle had asserted in the foregoing chapter, concerning the superiority of Christ to angels; and this leads him on to observe the reason of the sufferings and death of Christ, and also of his incarnation; that the moving cause of Christ's sufferings and death was the grace and good will of God; that he did not suffer for himself, but for others, for everyone of those described in the context; that inasmuch as he was the surety of those persons, it was agreeable to the justice of God, and it could not be otherwise, but he must be made perfect through suffering; and this was the way to bring many sons to glory, Heb 2:9 and as for his incarnation, or his becoming man, that was necessary, that the sanctifier and the sanctified might be of the same nature, that he might be able to call them brethren and children, Heb 2:11 as he does, for which are cited Psa 22:22 and because the children he engaged to bring to glory were partakers of flesh and blood; and also that he might be capable of dying, and by dying destroy the devil, and deliver his timorous people, who, through fear of death, lived in a continual state of bondage, Heb 2:14 for which reason he did not take upon him the nature of angels, but of the seed of Abraham, Heb 2:16 And besides, it was necessary he should be in all things like unto his brethren, that he might be merciful to them, and faithful to God, and be in a state and condition capable of sympathizing with them, and succouring them under their temptations, which he was able to do by suffering through temptation himself, Heb 2:17.

Thou madest him a little lower than the angels,.... In the Hebrew text it is, "than Elohim", which some render, "than God"; but it is rightly rendered by the apostle, "than angels"; and so the Targum, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it. Christ was made a little lower than the angels, through the assumption of the human nature, which is inferior to angels, especially the corporeal part of it, and in this Kimchi makes the lessening to be; and more especially as that was assumed by Christ, with the infirmities of it; and by reason of the straits and indigencies he was brought into in it; besides, he was in it made under the law, which was given by angels, and to some parts of which they are not subject; and sometimes he stood in need of the ministry and support of angels, and had it; particularly he was made lower than they, when he was deprived of the gracious presence of God, and in the time of his sufferings and death; and which seem chiefly to be respected, as appears from Heb 2:9 and the word "little" may not so much intend the degree of his humiliation, as the duration of it; for it may be rendered, "a little while"; in which sense it is used in Act 5:34 as the Hebrew word is in Psa 37:10 and so may respect the time of his suffering death; and at most the time from his incarnation to his resurrection; for he could not continue long in this low estate, which is matter of joy to us; he could not be held by the cords of death, but must rise, and be exalted above angels, as he is: and he was made so low by God, Jehovah the Father, whose name is excellent in all the earth, Psa 8:1 he preordained him to this low estate; he prepared a body for him, and had a very great hand in his sufferings and death; though neither of these were contrary to his will: thou crownest him with glory and honour; with that glory he had with the Father before the world was, and which followed upon his sufferings and death; for through them he entered into it, and upon his resurrection had it, and he is ascended on high, where he has the honour to sit at the right hand of God, which none of the angels have; and therefore is now above them, though once for a while below them, and they are now subject to him: and didst set him over the works of thy hands: over angels, principalities, and powers; over the kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of it, and all things in it, and made him higher than the heavens, and gave him a name above every name.

Gird Thee Thy sword around Thy thigh, most potent in Thy bloom and beauty!" while the Father withal afterwards, after making Him somewhat lower than angels, "crowned Him with glory and honour and subjected all things beneath His feet." And then shall they "learn to know Him whom they pierced, and shall beat their breasts tribe by tribe; " of course because in days bygone they did not know Him when conditionedin the humility of human estate.

Then he brings forward another testimony also and says, "but one in a certain place testified, saying." Wherefore did he not mention the name of the prophet, but hid it? Yea, and in other testimonies also he doth this: as when he saith, "but when He bringeth in again the First-Begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the Angels of God worship Him. And again, I will be to Him a Father. And of the Angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth": so also here he saith, "but one in a certain place testified, saying." And this very thing (I conceive) is the act of one that conceals himself, and shows that they were well skilled in the Scriptures; his not setting down him who uttered the testimony, but introducing it as familiar and obvious.

"But there is a certain one who testified somewhere, saying." Speaking to those who knew the Scriptures, Paul does not mention the names of those who say: "What is man?"

"that you are mindful of him."

For you have not only brought him into being, but also granted him to be well, and you will continue to be mindful, and you will visit him when he is in a bad state.

Why does he bring up the quote, “what are human beings that you are mindful of them?” He purports to prove, from the contrary, the following statement, that Christ is far superior to the angels. “A little while lower than the angels,” he brings … up in order to disprove the opposite proposition. He means that he was made lower through the suffering of death, “we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty.” Therefore, it was appropriate to say that about the Lord, because he was exalted; again, it was appropriate to exhort them [angels] to “put everything in subjection under his feet.”

He does not name the one spoken of, since he is speaking with people well-versed in the Scriptures. All of this is said about humanity in general, but preeminently, however, it may refer to Christ according to the flesh. For He, the Son of God, visited the insignificant human nature and, having assumed it and united it with Himself, became above all.

104. – Then he proves by an authority, when he says, it has been testified somewhere. Here he does three things: first, he commends the value of the testimony to be adduced; secondly, he adduces it (v. 6b); thirdly, he explains the meaning of the testimony (v. 8b). 105. – In regard to the testimony he states first that the words of the Old Testament are witnesses to Christ: 'Search the Scriptures: the same are they that give testimony of me' (Jn. 5:39). Therefore, he says, for it has been testified somewhere. Secondly, because among the Jews there were some writings less known and some better known, the Scriptures of the Psalms are of greater value than those they used in all their sacrifices; hence, he says, somewhere, known and manifest. Thirdly, he gives the authority of the speaker, namely, David, who enjoyed the greatest authority: 'The man to whom it was appointed concerning the Christ of the God of Jacob, the excellent Psalmist of Israel said' (2 Sam. 23:1). 106. – Then he adduces the authority (v. 6b). Here he does three things: first, he hints at the mystery of the Incarnation; secondly, of the Passion (v. 7); thirdly, the mystery of the exaltation (v. 7b). In regard to the first he touches on two things: first, the cause of the Incarnation; secondly, the Incarnation itself (v. 6c). 107. – But the cause of the Incarnation is God's care of man. Therefore, he says: What is man? as though in contempt. As if to say: Man is so unimportant when compared to God: 'All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing and vanity' (Is. 40:17). For if a person loves another and leaves him in wretchedness for a long time, he seems to have forgotten. But God loved the human race, both because He made it according to His own image and because He placed man in the midst of paradise. But after sin, because He did not come to his aid immediately, He seems to have forgotten. But later he seems to have become mindful of him, when He sends a Redeemer: 'Remember us, O Lord, in the favor of your people; visit us with your salvation' (Ps. 105:4). Therefore, he says, What is man that you are mindful of him? As if to say: If we consider man's vileness, it is strange that You should be mindful of him who is so vile and so small. I say vile and small in nature, especially in regard to his substance: 'God formed man from the slime of the earth (Gen. 2:7); 'And now, O Lord, you are our Father and we are clay' (Is. 64:8). Vile in his sins; hence, Augustine says on John: 'Men accomplish nothing when they sin;' 'Behold, I have made you small among the nations, you are exceedingly contemptible' (Ob 1:2). Vile and weak in his punishment: 'Man born of a woman, living for a time is filled with many miseries' (Jb. 14:1); 'Who shall raise up Jacob, for he is very little' (Am 7:5). 108. – Secondly, he mentions the Incarnation when he says, the son of man. Here it should be noted that in Sacred Scripture Christ is called the Son of man, as is clear from Daniel and from the Gospel. The reason for this is that others are sons of men: 'O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart?' (Ps. 4:3); but Christ alone is the son of man, namely, of the Blessed Virgin, and He is visited by God. Sometimes in Scripture a visitation refers to a benefit, as when 'the Lord visited Sarah as He had promised and fulfilled what He spoke' (Gen. 21:1). Sometimes it refers to a punishment: 'I will visit their iniquities with a rod' (Ps. 88:33). But here it refers to the benefit: You care for [visit] i.e., confer a most excellent gift on man, because you make him a son of God, when His humanity is assumed by the Word. Or he says this because of Christ's fullness: 'Full of grace and truth' (Jn. 1:14). Or both can be referred to Christ, so that the sense is this: You were mindful of him in the Incarnation, when humanity was assumed by Christ, but you visit him in the resurrection. Or both should be referred to the human race. But every son of man is a man, although not every man is a son of a man. For Adam was not a son of man. A man, therefore, is one who bears the image of the earthly man, namely, of Adam; and this man is called a sinner; but a son of man is one who bears the image of the heavenly man, namely Christ, Who is called the Son of man: 'Therefore, as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly' (1 Cor. 15:49). Man, therefore, is called a sinner; and because he is far from God, 'for salvation is far from sinners' (Ps. 118:155), God is said to be mindful of him, as a man is mindful of one far away. But when he is changed from sinner to just, the son of man is visited by grace: 'Your visitation has guarded my spirit' (Jb. 10:12).

The use we should make of the preceding doctrine, and the danger of neglecting this great salvation, Heb 2:1-4. The future world is not put in subjection to the angels, but all is under the authority of Christ, Heb 2:5-8. Jesus has tasted death for every man, Heb 2:9. Nor could he accomplish man's redemption without being incarnated and without dying; by which he destroys the devil, and delivers all that believe on him from the fear of death and spiritual bondage, Heb 2:10-15. Christ took not upon him the nature of angels, but the nature of Abraham, that he might die, and make reconciliation for the sins of the people, Heb 2:16-18.

But one in a certain place - This one is David; and the certain place, Psa 8:4, Psa 8:5, Psa 8:6. But why does the apostle use this indeterminate mode of quotation? Because it was common thus to express the testimony of any of the inspired writers; אמר ההוא amar hahu kethab, thus saith a certain scripture. So Philo, De Plant. Noe: Ειπε γαρ που, he saith somewhere; ειπε γαρ τις, a certain person saith. Thus even the heathens were accustomed to quote high authorities; so Plato, Tim.: Ὡς εφη τις, as a certain person saith, meaning Heraclitus. See in Rosenmuller. It is such a mode of quotation as we sometimes use when we speak of a very eminent person who is well known; as that very eminent person, that great philosopher, that celebrated divine, that inspired teacher of the Gentiles, the royal psalmist, the evangelical prophet, hath said. The mode of quotation therefore implies, not ignorance, but reverence. What is man - This quotation is verbatim from the Septuagint; and, as the Greek is not as emphatic as the Hebrew, I will quote the original: מה אנוש כי תזכרנו ובן אדם כי תפקדנו mah enosh ki thizkerennu, uben Adam ki thiphkedennu; What is miserable man, that thou rememberest him? and the son of Adam, that thou visitest him? The variation of the terms in the original is very emphatic. Adam, אדם, is the name given to man at his creation, and expresses his origin, and generic distinction from all other animals. Enosh, אנוש, which signifies sick, weak, wretched, was never given to him till after his fall. The son of Adam means here, any one or all of the fallen posterity of the first man. That God should remember in the way of mercy these wretched beings, is great condescension; that he should visit them, manifest himself to them, yea, even dwell among them, and at last assume their nature, and give up his life to ransom them from the bitter pains of eternal death, is mercy and love indescribable and eternal.

DANGER OF NEGLECTING SO GREAT SALVATION, FIRST SPOKEN BY CHRIST; TO WHOM, NOT TO ANGELS, THE NEW DISPENSATION WAS SUBJECTED; THOUGH HE WAS FOR A TIME HUMBLED BELOW THE ANGELS: THIS HUMILIATION TOOK PLACE BY DIVINE NECESSITY FOR OUR SALVATION. (Heb. 2:1-18) Therefore--Because Christ the Mediator of the new covenant is so far (Heb 1:5-14) above all angels, the mediators of the old covenant. the more earnest--Greek, "the more abundantly." heard--spoken by God (Heb 1:1); and by the Lord (Heb 2:3). let them slip--literally "flow past them" (Heb 4:1).

But--It is not to angels the Gospel kingdom is subject, BUT . . . one . . . testified--the usual way of quoting Scripture to readers familiar with it. Psa 8:5-7 praises Jehovah for exalting MAN, so as to subject all the works of God on earth to him: this dignity having been lost by the first Adam, is realized only in Christ the Son of man, the Representative Man and Head of our redeemed race. Thus Paul proves that it is to MAN, not to angels, that God has subjected the "world to come." In Heb 2:6-8, MAN is spoken of in general ("him . . . him . . . his); then at Heb 2:9, first JESUS is introduced as fulfilling, as man, all the conditions of the prophecy, and passing through death Himself; and so consequently bringing us men, His "brethren," to "glory and honor." What, &c.--How insignificant in himself, yet how exalted by God's grace! (Compare Psa 144:3). The Hebrew, "Enosh" and "Ben-Adam," express "man" and "Son of man" in his weakness: "Son of man" is here used of any and every child of man: unlike, seemingly, the lord of creation, such as he was originally (Gen. 1:1-2:25), and such as he is designed to be (Psa 8:1-9), and such as he actually is by title and shall hereafter more fully be in the person of, and in union with, Jesus, pre-eminently the Son of man (Heb 2:9). art mindful--as of one absent. visitest--lookest after him, as one present.