"But we see Jesus...." (Hebrews 2:9a)
Hebrews 2:3 speaks of, "so great a salvation," which is not a change of subject; it is the "natural" progression of chapter one. Read Hebrews one and you have the, "so great a salvation." To that person who would say, "There's no reference to, "salvation," in the first chapter, just talk of Jesus," I would say, "You're learning."
The writer then goes on to talk about the subjugation of the earth to man, "You have put all things in subjection under his feet." I am not going to speculate here, just take the phrase, "all things," for what it means, "all things. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him" (v. 8). Now if you and I do what the writer apparently did, we would come to his next conclusion, "But now we do not yet see all things put under him."
Ah, but no despair; the Holy Spirit immediately brings us to the whole issue of life, "But we see Jesus, who was made a littler lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." The word, "taste," here does not mean what some may think. If I say I tasted something, it means I have just taken or experienced a little of that something. Strong's says that the Greek word means, "to experience, to eat, partake fully of." It was not just a "sampling" of death which Jesus bore for you and me. He "part[ook] fully of" death on that Cross.
After our Lord Jesus took the, "death for everyone," which was necessary for the complete remission of sin, the Bible tells us, "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (NIV). So now today you and I know what to do if we wish to glorify, "God the Father."
Father, in Jesus' Name, may my worship begin and end with, "Jesus Christ is Lord." Amen.
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Hebrews 2:3 speaks of, "so great a salvation," which is not a change of subject; it is the "natural" progression of chapter one. Read Hebrews one and you have the, "so great a salvation." To that person who would say, "There's no reference to, "salvation," in the first chapter, just talk of Jesus," I would say, "You're learning."
The writer then goes on to talk about the subjugation of the earth to man, "You have put all things in subjection under his feet." I am not going to speculate here, just take the phrase, "all things," for what it means, "all things. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him" (v. 8). Now if you and I do what the writer apparently did, we would come to his next conclusion, "But now we do not yet see all things put under him."
Ah, but no despair; the Holy Spirit immediately brings us to the whole issue of life, "But we see Jesus, who was made a littler lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." The word, "taste," here does not mean what some may think. If I say I tasted something, it means I have just taken or experienced a little of that something. Strong's says that the Greek word means, "to experience, to eat, partake fully of." It was not just a "sampling" of death which Jesus bore for you and me. He "part[ook] fully of" death on that Cross.
After our Lord Jesus took the, "death for everyone," which was necessary for the complete remission of sin, the Bible tells us, "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (NIV). So now today you and I know what to do if we wish to glorify, "God the Father."
Father, in Jesus' Name, may my worship begin and end with, "Jesus Christ is Lord." Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
