Hebrews
2:5-9
The Proposition, 2:5-9
The author of our salvation to perfection
ArgumentAgainst the drift towards a CROSS + mentality, our Rhetor sets out to show that God's gift of salvation to perfection and glorification rests on the faithfulness of Christ (the CROSS), and that alone.
The Rhetor has just established the superiority of Jesus, his pre-existence, deity and messianic significance, and therefore the need to HEAR him. Now, before developing his argument in full, he outlines the proposition upon which his argument will rest. He does this in an exposition of Psalm 8:4-9. Jesus was lower than the angels for that time, when he took upon himself human flesh to suffer and die on behalf of broken humanity, but as the representative of glorified man, he now reigns over everything, and in the age to come, if we stand with him, we will reign with him.
Issues
i] Context: See 1:1-4.
We now come to the thesis, partitio, upon which Hebrews rests. This, of course is a matter of conjecture, but we are best to follow Koester who argues strongly that 2:5-9 serves as the central proposition upon which Hebrews rests.
ii] Background: A general introduction; See 1:1-4.
The problem addressed by Hebrews: Hebrews addresses an assurance problem. The Rhetor has before him an audience which is unsure of their eternal salvation. Underlying sin, recurrent sin, doubts, all the stuff of everyday life, are undermining the firm conviction they once held when they first believed. The Rhetor has an answer to their lack of assurance, nicely put by Philip Yancey, "There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less". The reason is simple, we have a high priest who has cleansed us from all sin, past, present and future, and who now acts on our behalf before the throne of the living God. All we have to do is persevere in faith; trust him.
It is quite possible that some in the audience have sought to deal with their assurance problem by adopting a CROSS + form of Christianity. Paul faced the problem of nomism / sanctification by obedience, a CROSS + a faithful obedience to the Law of Moses ("trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey"). As for the Rhetor, the problem he addresses seems to be a CROSS + a devotion to the atoning rites and teachings of Judaism. Either way, the answer is FAITH in the faithfulness of Christ, and that alone. A + added to the CROSS devalues faith and leaves one faithless, 6:4-6 - Christ supplemented = Christ supplanted.
The Pauline formula, one that the Rhetor also aligns with, is simple enough:
FAITH = RIGHTEOUSNESS = BLESSINGS = WORKS.
As opposed to Paul's nomist opponents,
FAITH = RIGHTEOUSNESS + WORKS = BLESSINGS.
And as opposed to the Rhetor's waverers,
FAITH + WORKS = RIGHTEOUSNESS = BLESSINGS.
iii] Structure: Christ made perfect through suffering:
In the age to come, angels don't reign, so who does? v5;
Text, Psalm 8:4-6, v6-8a:
Exposition, v8b-9:
He subjected all things to him, v8b:
= nothing is unsubjected to Christ;
He was crowned with glory and honour, v9:
opwV, in order that
by God's grace he might taste death for everyone.
iv] Interpretation:
Jesus' perfect sacrifice saves, sanctifies and glorifies.
Some commentators see no special significance in this passage. Koester, on the other hand, suggests a very particular role for these five verses. In his analysis of Hebrews, Koester argues that this passage serves as the central proposition of the letter: The proposition presents in the form of an exposition of Psalm 8:4-6; it "states the themes that will be developed in the remainder of the speech: Christ's movement from suffering to glory, his suffering on behalf of others, and the idea that one can see the fulfilment of God's promises in Christ, despite their apparent nonrealisation in human experience", cf. v9.
In moving from the proposition to his arguments, the Rhetor in v10-11 restates his proposition as a lead into the first argument. As such, it serves as an effective clarification of the proposition:
God, who created everything and will complete everything, brought Jesus to perfection through his life, death and resurrection ("sufferings"), ie., he bore his sufferings rightly. The intent of this divine design was both to save and to lead to glory (ie., to share the heavenly glory which belongs to God) those who seek his grace ("many sons"), and as such, Jesus, the one who makes holy ("sanctifies"), and those who are made holy, share together their being in God.
So, to counter the CROSS + heresy, the Rhetor establishes the central plank of his argument, namely that God's gift of salvation to perfection and glory rests on the faithfulness of Jesus, and that alone.
v] Homiletics: Reigning with Christ
It's one thing to live in a world where there is little evidence of Christ's eternal reign, but another to experience in our own life a similar vacuum. Our reading today reminds us that, for a time, the Lord Jesus experienced what we experience, and did so that we might experience the glory that he now experiences.
Our reading makes a number of great truths about the reign of Christ:
•i Christ now reigns in eternity, in "the world to come."
•iAll authority rests with Christ in his reign; everything is under his feet.
•iChrist reigns on our behalf, on behalf of those who have failed to reign.
•iChrist's authority came through humiliation, suffering and death; he tasted death on our behalf.
•iThe reason for his path of humiliation is so that broken humanity might ultimately share in his reign in glory.
Text - 2:5
The proposition, v5-9: Jesus' perfect sacrifice saves, sanctifies and glorifies those who stand with him, v5-9.
i] In the age to come, angels don't reign, so who does? It is Jesus who reigns and we reign with him, v1. The statement serves as a rhetorical ploy, prompting the audience to ask the question, "Who does?". The Rhetor goes on to answer the question in his exposition of Psalm 8:4-6, a Psalm which affirms the future dominion of mankind over God's domain. The play of words in the Psalm between the singular "man" and the collective "man" enables the Rhetor to establish that it is Jesus who reigns, and that we reign with him.
In first century Judaism, angels held an important place in God's dispensation; they are "spirits in divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation," 2:1. It was commonly held that angels actually played an important part in human affairs, ministering to people's needs, physical and spiritual, assisting in the atonement of sins, even assisting in government, but irrespective of what may, or may not have been commonly believed, the Rhetor will go on to make the point that in the age to come, in the heavenly kingdom, angels don't reign; Jesus and those who stand with him will reign.
gar "-" - for. More reason than cause, explanatory; see 1:5. "Let me come to the nub of the issue at hand".
aggeloiV (oV) dat. "[not] to angels" - [he did not subject the coming world] to angels. Dative of indirect object. The totality of spiritual beings may be intended, both good and evil, but it is more likely that ministering messengers of God are intended, 1:14. For the author of Hebrews, angels are specifically God's messengers who mediate the covenant to Israel. This is very much a Jewish understanding of the function of angels. Our author has established the superiority of Jesus over the angels, 1:2-2:9. The superiority of Christ to the angels serves to establish the superiority of Christ's revelation of the covenant / gospel, over that of the angels. In this passage, the Rhetor recognises that when Jesus took upon himself human flesh, he was, for a short time, "lower than angels." Yet, as representative "man," the last Adam, he secured the redemption of mankind through the cross and is now "crowned with glory and honour." For the idea that the nations have angelic powers overseeing their life, see: Deut.32:8, Dan.10:21, 12:1.
uJpetaxen (uJpatassw) aor. "he has subjected" - he subjected, subordinated to one's authority. There was a common idea among the Jews that angels assisted in the role of government, but our Rhetor makes no comment on the matter. The point he makes is that the coming kingdom of God will not be under the governance of angels. The coming kingdom will be under the governance of "a man" - Christ and those who stand with him.
thn mellousan (mellw) pres. part. "to come" - [the world] the one coming. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "world"; "the coming world / the world which is about to come." The world to come is the new heavens and the new earth of Revelation 3:21; the "eschatological consumption of the Son's reign," which coming reality is assured through "Christ's exaltation," Attridge.
peri + gen. "about" - about [which we are speaking]. Reference / respect; "concerning which we are speaking."
v6
ii] Text, Psalm, 8:4-6, v6-8a. The Psalm celebrates the fact that God has entrusted the created order to the care of humanity. The Rhetor sees this fully realised in one man, and those men and women who stand with him.
The author of Hebrews uses the Psalm to describe the humiliation and exaltation of the last Adam, namely, Jesus. In his humiliation, Jesus the man was less than angels, but in his exaltation all things are subject to him. Those standing with Jesus will experience a similar journey from humiliation to exaltation, ie., believers will reign with Christ, the last Adam.
It is possible that the Rhetor understands "son of man" in the terms of Daniel's "Son of Man," namely, the messiah. Yet, it is more likely that he retains the original sense of the Psalm, of a lowly man, and applies it to Christ.
de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument, here to a quote; "Now it has been testified somewhere."
tiV " someone" - a certain person [somewhere]. The Rhetor is probably not being indefinite, but rather presupposes a knowledge of the reference, allowing the source to be identified as divine revelation. "There is a passage in scripture, in which one of the sacred writers puts it on record," Barclay.
legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - [testified] saying. The classification of redundant participles like this is disputed. In the HGT series produced by Baylor University Press, they are often classified as adverbial, usually modal, expressing manner (possibly instrumental, means, "by saying"). In this series of commentaries, such participles are classified as attendant circumstance, redundant / semi-redundant, here expressing action accompanying the verb "to testify"; "testified and said". Either way, they simply function to introduce direct speech and are usually not translated - here a direct quote from Scripture.
anqrwpoV (oV) "man / mankind" - [what is] man. Nominative subject. A Christological interpretation of this passage is popular such that the "man" is Christ. Jesus certainly serves as the true man, the Adam type, but the Rhetor has not abandoned the Psalm's reference to mankind. "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals that you care for them," NRSV.
oJti "that" - that. It would be unusual for this conjunction, and the one following, to introduce a causal clause, "so that you", Lenski, rather, it is more likely epexegetic, specifying the question in mind; "what is man, in the sense that you are mindful of him."
autou gen. pro. "of him / them" - [you remember] him. Genitive of direct object after the verb mimnhskomai, "to remember = be concerned about."
h] "-" - or. Disjunctive, "or," although emphatic is possible, "indeed", Zuntz; "indeed, a mankind that you care for? It may just be intended to serve as a transitional marker introducing the second line of the stanza and so not translated, as NIV.
anqrwpou (oV) gen. "of man" - [the son] of man. The genitive is adjectival, relational. As noted above, the phrase "the son of man" is understood by many commentators as a messianic reference to Christ. This is unlikely. Even the lower case "son of man," NIV, is misleading, best "mortals," NRSV.
episkepth/ (episkeptomai) pres. "you care for" - [that] you visit, consider [him]. Usually in a positive sense, so "that you are concerned about him."
v7
auton bracu ti "a little [lower]" - [you made him] a certain little [lower]. An adverbial construct, of degree. The NIV opts for a quantitative sense, although a temporal sense is possible. Such an interpretation fits a Christological understanding of the Psalm, cf., Bruce. "You made him for a little while lower than the angels," TEV.
par (para) + acc. "than" - than. Comparative use of the preposition.
aggelouV (oV) "the angels" - angels. In the MT it is "God," but the LXX has "angels."
auton pro. "them" - [you crowned] him. Object of the verb "to crown". The pronoun is singular, "him" - he is the representative of mankind, so the NIV "them". Of course, the Rhetor will go on to explain that Jesus is the representative man who through suffering gained a crown, a crown we may share with him.
doxh/ (a) dat. "with glory [and honour]" - in glory [and honour]. The dative is adverbial, manner or accompaniment, as NIV.
v8a
In quoting Psalm 8:4-6, the Rhetor only mentions the response for v6:
You established him over the works of your hands;
You placed all things in subjection under his feet.
A Variant exists which includes the first line of the stanza, "you made him ruler over everything", but it is obviously an addition. The first line may have been left out to emphasise the last line.
uJpataxaV (uJpotassw) aor. "put" - you subjected [everything under, beneath, the feet of him]. The aorist verb is perfective, punctiliar / point of action. The auton, "him", is still "mankind", although the Rhetor is about to make an important point, with respect to the use of the singular. "God has subjected everything under the rule of glorified mortals."
v8b
iii] Exposition of the text, v8b-9: In the exposition of the Psalm, the Rhetor annunciates his proposition / thesis, a truth which will address the CROSS + heresy that some church members had adopted to deal with the supposed limitations of Christ's atonement - something more than the cross was needed for full salvation, sanctification and glorification. From the Psalm, the Rhetor will show that nothing more is needed, for God has bestowed glory, honour and dominion on the one once lower than angels, the Son of Man, who through his suffering and death is now crowned with glory and honour, a crown which we share with him.
Koester suggests that the thesis / proposition progresses in three steps:
a) Inference, v8b. Translations don't always draw out the exegetical methodology of Hebrews where the Rhetor quotes a phrase from the selected passage and then exegetes it. He certainly does that here. "In reference to the text 'He subjected all things to him', the implication is that he left nothing unsubjected to him". The inference can be drawn from the Psalm that God's representative man reigns over everything, even though we don't see his reign at present.
gar "-" - for. More reason than cause, explanatory, introducing a conclusion from the quotation, although possibly causal, pointing back to v5, so Westcott; "God did not subject the future world to angels for he promised man an absolute sovereignty which has still to be assured in that coming order.",
en tw/ + inf. "in [putting ... under]" - in the [to subject]. This construction normally forms a temporal clause, contemporaneous time, "while subjecting", although it is sometimes treated as causal. None-the-less, from a rhetorical perspective, the prepositional phrase may serve as a marker for a quote, "in that", Lenski; "In reference to the text 'He subjected all things to him', the implication is that he left nothing unsubjected to him".
ta panta adj. "everything" - all things [to him]. Accusative object of the infinitive "to subject". A cosmic sense is intended, so Ellingworth.
anupotakton adj. "that is not subjected / subject" - [he left nothing] unsubjected. This adjective, modifying / limiting the substantive adjective "nothing", takes the sense "undisciplined, disobedient", but shifts in meaning with the verb "subjected." Possibly "not capable of being subjected," Vahhoye.
autw/ dat. pro. "to him / them" - to him. Dative of indirect object / interest. Note NRSV "them" takes the antecedent "man" to mean the collective, "human beings." A Christological interpretation takes the antecedent of "him" to be "the Son of Man." "In subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control," NRSV.
8c
b) Objection. The Rhetor, on behalf of the audience, states the obvious, the subjection of all things under "the man" is in no way evident and "sharply calls into question the idea that God has placed all thing in subjection either to Christ or his followers", Koester.
nun de oupw "yet at the present" - but/and now not yet. The adversative use of de with the adverb "not yet / however", and the temporal adverb "now", establishes a strong contrast with the preceding clause; "but we do not yet see all things under his (their) control," Phillips.
uJpotetagmena (uJpotassw) perf. mid. part. "subject" - [do we see all things] having been subjected. The participle serves as the accusative complement of the direct object "all things", standing in a double accusative construction and asserting a fact about the object.
autw/ dat. pro. "to them" - to him. Dative of indirect object.
v9
c) Response - proposition / thesis. The Rhetor counters the objection by taking the two parallel lines of the Psalm in v 7, applying them to Jesus, and treating them as sequential, rather than as synonyms. "What we are able to deduce from this Psalm is that Jesus, 'the one made lower than angels for a little while', and this because of his suffering and death, is now 'crowned with glory and honour', so that by God's grace he might taste death for everyone." Christ reigns, having fully paid the penalty for mankind's sins, and so, through faith, we will reign with him, saved, sanctified and glorified.
In his first argument, 2:10-3:6, the Rhetor introduces the argument in v10-11a by restating his proposition / thesis. God's sons and daughters, believers, find in Jesus' faithfulness (his "sufferings" / the CROSS) a complete / perfected salvation and glorification, such that the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all share their being in God. So, who needs the +?
Jesus' perfect sacrifice saves, sanctifies and glorifies.
de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument, although here somewhat contrastive; "Yet in contrast."
blepoumen (blepw) pres. "we see" - we see. In the sense of "realise / know / understand."
hlattwmenon (elattow) perf. pas. part. "who was made lower" - [jesus] having been made lower [beside = than the angels]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Jesus". Note the argument that since Jesus is made a little lower by taking on human flesh and since this action is expressed with the perfect tense indicating completed action, then, by implication, Jesus still retains his human, although glorified, body. Of course, Christ does indeed retain his human glorified body, although this truth cannot be substantiated by the tense of this verb. The unstated agent of the action is obviously God.
bracu ti adv. + pro. "a little" - a certain little = for a short time. As noted above, a temporal sense may apply "a little while [lower]", so TNIV. Obviously referring to Christ taking on our human nature. He is lower than the angels from the time of his incarnation to his glorification.
estefanwmenon (stefanow) perf. pas. part. "now crowned" - having been crowned. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Jesus". The Rhetor clearly indicates with this anarthrous participle that the one who was made lower is crowned. It is Jesus, the representative "man," "son of man," who is crowned.
doxh/ (a) dat. "with glory" - with glory [and honour]. An instrumental dative, manner or accompaniment.
dia + acc. "because" - because of, on account of. Causal. By virtue of his suffering, Jesus is crowned with glory and honour.
tou qnatou (oV) gen. "[he suffered] death" - [the suffering] of death. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, limiting "death"; a suffering which was unto death.
oJpwV + subj. "so that" - in order that .... [he might taste]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose / hypothetical result. The reason Jesus progressed his enthronement in glory through suffering and death was so that, as a gift of God's grace towards lost humanity, Jesus might vicariously suffer death (the due punishment for sinful humanity) on our behalf. "That Jesus should experience death for all," Barclay.
cariti (iV ewV) "by the grace" - by grace [of god]. Instrumental dative, expressing means, "by". Variant "apart from God," REB note, is usually not accepted, although as the more difficult reading it is more likely to be original. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle adds a note on the reign of Christ, indicating that his reign is not over God the Father, 1Cor.15:27. It is possible that "by the grace of God" in v9 was originally an editorial note on v8b, reading "apart from God." On the surface at least, "apart from God" doesn't seem to make sense and this could explain why the phrase was possibly changed to "by the grace of God."
uJper + gen. "for [everyone]" - [he might taste = experience death] on behalf of [all]. Expressing advantage / benefaction; "for the benefit of everyone." Christ died for the advantage of all believers and this "by the grace of God" / wholly out of God's mercy and kindness.
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