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Tuesday 8 December 2009

Hebrews 2:12-18

Verse 12 quotes from Psalm 22:22. This is a Psalm that tells of great suffering, but of ultimate victory, and contains many allusions to the crucifixion. So the writer is combining both the suffering of Christ and the fact that He calls us brothers.

The next two quotes come from Isaiah 8:17 and 18. In this passage God tells Isaiah not to fear what most people fear, but to fear only Him. Then Isaiah declares his faith in the Lord. It is not clear whether the writer is using it here as indicative of the response we are meant to have, or of the response that Jesus had. Both are true. Jesus did trust only in the Father, and presents us to the Father. Likewise we are meant to trust the Father, and to bring other people with us.

Jesus became human just as we are human. It was necessary for Him to do this in order to achieve the victory of the cross. The cross was not a mere demonstration of love, nor was it merely symbolic, rather it achieved something concrete. It changed the "laws" under which life works. Now the power of death has been broken, and we are free from the fear of death.

Jesus did not come to save angels, but to save people, so He became fully human. Only then could He act as our great high priest and make payment for our sins. Moreover, He is able to sympathise with us as well when we are tempted. For though He did not sin, He knows the pain of temptation.

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