Human Glory and the Suffering Jesus
Pastor David Jang’s Hebrews Exposition, Lecture 4

Introduction

Hebrews 1 testified to the glory and superiority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In these last days God has spoken through the Son, and that Son is proclaimed as one far superior to the angels. Hebrews 2:1-4 then warned believers not to neglect so great a salvation. That warning was not a word of fear, but a gracious exhortation that leads us to see again the magnitude of the gospel.

Hebrews 2:5-18 shows how this great salvation was accomplished. The Son of God became human in order to save humanity, and he passed through suffering and death. By tasting death he broke the power of death, calls us brothers and sisters, and became the merciful and faithful high priest who is able to help those who are being tempted.

This passage is the first place in Hebrews where the priestly ministry of Jesus is treated in earnest. That theme will unfold more deeply throughout Hebrews 4-10. The seed of that majestic theology is already planted in this short passage. In it, believers discover both the certainty of salvation and deep comfort in the suffering Jesus.

Passage Overview

Hebrews 2:5-18 begins with humanity’s purpose in creation, exposes the loss of glory caused by sin, and moves toward restoration through the incarnation and suffering of Jesus Christ. The passage is one unified story of salvation that begins with the question, “What is man?” and turns toward the answer, “We see Jesus.” Seeing this structure first helps the theological movement of each paragraph become clear.

1. Why Hebrews 2:5-18 Speaks of Human Glory

After speaking of the Son who is superior to the angels, Hebrews 2:5-18 turns to human glory and honor. This movement is extremely important. Hebrews does not simply state that Jesus is higher than the angels. It shows why the exalted Son of God became low. Here the direction and purpose of salvation are revealed.

God’s salvation does not end with rescuing human beings from sin. Salvation is the restoration of humanity’s lost glory and created purpose. Humanity was originally made to be remembered and cared for by God, and to be called to rule over all things. Yet under sin and death, human beings could no longer fully enjoy that glory. Standing before this contradiction, Hebrews exhorts us: “Look only to Jesus.”

The world to come was not entrusted to angels

Hebrews 2:5 says, “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.” The world to come, the world in which God’s salvation is brought to completion, is not an angel-centered world. It is the world of humanity restored in the Son of God. Angels are ministering spirits, but at the center of salvation stands Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became human in order to restore humanity.

Humanity is not accidental, but exists within God’s purpose

Hebrews 2 quotes Psalm 8: “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?” This question reveals both the smallness of humanity and the grace of God. Human beings are not great in themselves. They are creatures and they are weak. Yet because God remembers and cares for them, human beings are precious. Human dignity does not arise from human ability, but from God’s will and love toward humanity.

2. Humanity Crowned with Glory and Honor

Hebrews 2:6-8 reveals the original place of humanity. God made human beings lower than the angels for a little while, yet crowned them with glory and honor and subjected all things under their feet. This is connected to the calling given to humanity in creation. Human beings were made in the image of God and called to care for and govern the world God created. Therefore human glory is not a glory of self-exaltation, but the glory of fulfilling God’s will under God.

Human smallness and God’s care

The question “What is man?” helps us realize how small human beings are. Humanity is weak before time, powerless before death, and unable even to hold on to its own life by its own strength. But Psalm 8 does not end with human smallness. God remembers and cares for this small humanity. Human beings are small, but not forgotten by God. They are weak, but not abandoned by God. The logic of salvation is built upon this grace.

Humanity called to rule over all things, and the reality after the fall

God crowned humanity with glory and honor and put all things under its feet. This is the mandate of dominion given to human beings. Humanity was called to rule the created world as stewards who obey God. Yet after the fall, human beings do not rule all things fully. Instead they are ruled by sickness, fear, desire, and death. By showing both humanity’s original glory and its present misery, Hebrews 2 explains why the salvation of Jesus Christ is necessary.

3. A Reality We Do Not Yet See, and Faith That Sees Only Jesus

The second half of Hebrews 2:8 is profoundly honest: “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.” Humanity was crowned with glory and honor, yet present reality appears to contradict that word. The world is still chaotic, the body becomes sick, relationships are broken, and death cannot be avoided. Hebrews does not ignore or deny this reality.

We do not yet see everything subjected to humanity

Human beings say they rule nature, yet they are shaken by a small illness. Human beings speak of freedom, yet live like slaves before sin, fear, and the power of death. This is the reality of humanity under sin. Humanity was created in glory, but through sin it lost that glory. Those who were meant to rule all things came instead to be ruled by all things and by the fear of death.

Yet we see Jesus

After seeing the collapsed human condition, Hebrews says, “But we see Jesus.” The gaze of believers must not remain fixed on the despairing condition of humanity. Faith does not deny reality, but looks to Jesus Christ, who is greater than reality. In Jesus, humanity’s lost glory begins to be restored. Jesus came down to the place where humanity failed, passed through the suffering of death, and was crowned with glory and honor. Therefore believers do not collapse in discouragement by looking at themselves, but rise again by looking only to Jesus.

4. Jesus, Made Lower Than the Angels for a Little While

Hebrews 2:9 speaks of Jesus as the one “who for a little while was made lower than the angels.” This does not mean that Jesus is essentially lower than the angels. Jesus is the Son of God and far superior to the angels. Yet in order to save us, Jesus became low for a little while. This is the incarnation. The Son of God’s coming down into the human place was not degradation, but the way of salvation.

The incarnation is God’s self-humbling

The incarnation declares the gospel truth that God did not save humanity from a distance. Jesus did not merely observe human pain. He took on flesh and blood and entered the human place. Though he had no sin, he came down into the place of human weakness and suffering. The incarnation and suffering cannot be separated. That the Son of God became human means that he entered humanity’s deepest pain and limitation.

Jesus tasted death for everyone

Hebrews 2:9 says that Jesus, “by the grace of God,” tasted death for everyone. The death of Jesus was not an accidental tragedy. It was a redemptive death for all. The expression “tasted death” shows that Jesus entered the deepest fear and limitation of humanity. For human beings, death is the final boundary that cannot be crossed by our own power. Yet Jesus descended even to that place of death and tasted death on our behalf.

5. The Founder of Salvation Made Perfect Through Suffering

Hebrews 2:10 says that God, in bringing many sons to glory, made the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. This does not mean that Jesus had a moral defect. Jesus is the sinless Son of God. Here, “made perfect” means that Jesus completed the mission of the Savior. By personally walking the path of suffering, Jesus became the complete Savior who leads suffering people into glory.

Jesus leads many sons to glory

Salvation does not mean only the forgiveness of an individual’s sins. Hebrews 2 shows salvation more broadly. Jesus leads many sons to glory. Humanity cannot restore its lost glory by itself. But Jesus came into the human place, tasted death, passed through suffering, and leads believers into glory. In Jesus, believers are restored as children of God and live while looking toward the glory that will one day be completed.

Suffering was not failure, but the way of salvation

The suffering of Jesus looked like defeat. In the eyes of the world, the cross was shame and failure. Yet Hebrews says that this suffering belonged within God’s plan of salvation. Suffering was the path that revealed Jesus as the founder of salvation. Because the Lord passed through suffering, he is able to help those who suffer. Therefore believers do not conclude in suffering that they have been abandoned. The suffering Jesus knows that path and holds us fast on it.

6. Jesus Calls Us Brothers and Sisters

Hebrews 2:11-13 says that Jesus is not ashamed to call believers brothers and sisters. This is an astonishing declaration of the gospel. The Son of God calls weak people like us his family. Jesus is the one who sanctifies, and believers are those who are sanctified. Yet Hebrews says that both are from one source. This shows the deep grace of union between Jesus and believers.

The one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified

Jesus is the one who sanctifies us. Believers do not become holy by their own power. In the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, they are set apart as a people who belong to God. Holiness is not merely ethical improvement. Holiness means being made new as those who belong to God. Jesus establishes those who were under sin and death as God’s own people.

The Lord is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters

Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Because of our sin and weakness, we often want to hide before God. Yet Jesus does not turn away from us. This word renews the identity of believers. We are not defined by failure and shame. In Christ, we have been called into God’s family. If Jesus calls us his brothers and sisters, we no longer need to live bound by fear and shame.

7. Christ Shared in Flesh and Blood

Hebrews 2:14 says that since the children share in flesh and blood, Jesus likewise partook of the same things. This emphasizes the full humanity of Jesus. Jesus did not merely appear to be human. He truly became human. He took on a human body, entered human life, and bore even human death.

The incarnation is solidarity for salvation

Jesus took on flesh and blood not merely so that he could understand humanity. He did so as redemptive solidarity. To save humanity, he had to come to the human place; to rescue those under death, he had to descend even to the place of death. The incarnation reveals how deeply God’s love came down. God did not look upon human suffering from far away. In Christ, God came down into the human place and tasted death on our behalf.

8. Jesus Destroyed the Power of Death

Hebrews 2:14-15 says that through death Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. This is the central redemptive declaration of Hebrews 2. Jesus did not conquer death by avoiding it. He entered death and conquered death from within. The cross was not defeat, but the victorious path that broke the power of death.

Christ conquered death by death

For humanity, death is the final enemy. Death brings down human strength and wisdom. No matter how strong a person may be, before death no one can hold on to life by their own power. Yet Jesus passed through death and made the power of death powerless. His cross and resurrection proclaim that death is not the final lord. The final word for believers is not death, but resurrection life.

Believers set free from the fear of death

Hebrews 2 says that human beings are enslaved through the fear of death. The fear of death is not only terror before physical death. The fear of loss, the fear of failure, the fear of being abandoned, and the fear that everything has an end all bind human beings. Jesus broke those chains of fear. Believers still suffer and face death, but they do not live under the power of death. We are people who have received freedom in Jesus, who tasted death and conquered death.

9. Jesus, the Merciful and Faithful High Priest

Hebrews 2:16-18 says that Jesus does not help angels, but helps the offspring of Abraham. It then declares that he became like his brothers and sisters in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. This theme of the high priest is very important throughout Hebrews. Introduced in Lecture 4, it will be developed more deeply in Hebrews 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10. Jesus is the perfect mediator who leads us to God.

Jesus helps the offspring of Abraham

Jesus does not help angels, but helps the offspring of Abraham, the covenant people of God. Believers are not people who hold themselves up; they are people held fast by Christ. The life of faith does not depend only on how strongly I hold on to the Lord. More fundamentally, it depends on the grace by which the Lord is holding on to me. Even in trial and suffering, believers do not collapse completely because the merciful and faithful high priest holds them fast.

The high priest who makes atonement for the sins of the people

The high priest stands between God and the people as mediator. Hebrews 2:17 says that Jesus became a merciful and faithful high priest in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus’ priestly ministry does not treat sin lightly or simply overlook it. The Lord truly made atonement for sin. By his own body and blood, he opened the way to God. Therefore believers do not draw near to God by their own righteousness, but by relying on the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is able to help those who are tempted

Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Jesus does not know our pain only in theory. He personally endured temptation and suffering. This truth gives deep comfort to believers. The believer who is tempted is not alone. The believer is not abandoned in suffering. We have a merciful and faithful high priest who knows our weakness, makes atonement for sin, and helps us in our time of need.

10. The Gospel Flow Witnessed by Psalm 8

Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8 to show humanity’s original glory. Yet Hebrews does not read that word merely as a doctrine of humanity. It speaks of the human glory damaged by sin, and then finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The psalm asks who humanity is, and Hebrews answers, “Look only to Jesus.”

Humanity’s true glory is not completed in humanity itself. Human glory is restored and completed in the suffering Jesus Christ. Psalm 8 sang of humanity in creation, but Hebrews reveals that the true place where that song is fulfilled is Jesus Christ. The human glory to which the Old Testament pointed has first been realized in Jesus, and believers share that glory in him.

11. The Fourth Movement in Pastor David Jang’s Hebrews Exposition

In the Pastor David Jang Hebrews Exposition Archive, Lecture 4 continues the flow of the first three lectures. Lecture 1 dealt with the declaration that in these last days God has spoken through the Son. Lecture 2 showed through Old Testament quotations that this Son is far superior to the angels. Lecture 3 addressed the first warning: do not neglect the great salvation proclaimed by the Son. Lecture 4 now shows how that great salvation was accomplished.

If Lectures 1-3 proclaimed “who the Son is” and “how great his salvation is,” Lecture 4 explains “how that salvation was accomplished.” Why did the Son of God become human? Why did he pass through suffering and death? Hebrews 2:5-18 is the gospel’s answer to those questions. Proclaiming the Son’s glory and explaining the Son’s humiliation are not contradictory. Rather, his humiliation reveals the depth of his glory even more fully.

Lecture 4 also introduces one of the most important theological themes in the whole book of Hebrews: “Jesus the high priest.” This theme begins in Hebrews 2:17-18, is treated directly in Hebrews 4:14-16, and then unfolds fully through chapters 5-10. For that reason, Lecture 4 is a theological key for understanding the entire latter half of Hebrews. Readers who dwell deeply in this lecture will be able to understand the later expositions much more richly.

12. Application for Today

Conclusion: Look Only to Jesus

Hebrews 2:5-18 begins with deep reflection on humanity and ends with salvation in Jesus Christ. Humanity was created for glory and honor, but under sin and death it lost that glory. Yet God did not give up on humanity. The Son of God came down to the human place, passed through the suffering of death, and became the founder of salvation who leads many sons to glory.

Hebrews compresses all of this into one phrase: “We see Jesus.” However dark human reality may be, and however deep suffering may become, the gaze of believers is directed only to Jesus Christ. He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, took on flesh and blood and came to our place, conquered death, and sat down at the right hand of God. Even now, as the merciful and faithful high priest, he holds us fast and is able to help those who are being tempted.

What believers need is not a stronger will or a more perfect faith. We need to look only to Jesus. Whenever that gaze wavers, Hebrews speaks again: “Look only to Jesus. Look to the suffering Jesus, the Jesus who conquered death, the Jesus crowned with glory, the Jesus who calls us brothers and sisters, the Jesus who holds us fast.” In that Jesus, humanity’s lost glory is restored, and the faith of believers is kept to the end.