2:3
The Law had to be taken seriously, mediated by angels. The gospel was given by the Son of God, who is infinitely greater than angels. Therefore the gospel has to be taken all the more seriously. To treat the gospel lightly, to fail to appreciate the nature and seriousness of the salvation therein, is a grave danger. Since the gospel is greater than the Law (which is an underlying assumption in Hebrews) then to ignore it is to leave oneself open to dire consequences. We cannot afford to ignore such a great salvation. We should also note that the salvation is great! It is far greater than anything the Law offered, and for us is far greater than we ever imagine. The gospel was announced by the Lord Himself, and was confirmed by the apostles, by those who heard Him.
2:4
God testified to the veracity of the gospel. He did this in the life of Jesus by the “various miracles”, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, “distributed according to His will”. Now the Jews were forever demanding signs, and Jesus supplied plenty, yet they mostly failed to believe. Miracles in themselves are not sufficient, they do not guarantee faith. That takes a work of the Holy Spirit. Yet God does still use miracles to confirm the message. Likewise the gifts of the Spirit confirmed the message, and these were distributed according to His will. There are those who think the gifts of the Spirit are no longer relevant. I can find no Scriptural justification for this. Moreover, I think it is presumptuous to say they are no longer for today. God distributes His gifts and can do so however, and whenever He choses. Likewise, there are some charismatics who give the impression that we can somehow control who gets gifts. We cannot. We can ask, but God is the One who gives.
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