Two things: partial fulfillment vs full fulfillment. The Angel of the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army single-handedly.
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What are you trying to say here? The angel of the lord destroying the Assyrian's is a different person being prophesized about?
I'm suggesting that the Angel of the Lord that destroyed the Assyrians is a Christophany. I like to err on the side of caution, but I think that's a very possible reading.
Micah 6
As in Hosea, God appeals to His saving act in Exodus. The Hebrews only had to look back to see that God was faithful to them. If He delivered them once, He could do it again. In much the same way, we can look back to the cross as when God saved us. We needn't wonder about God's faithfulness when Jesus had bled and died on our account.
As in Hosea, God desires mercy over sacrifice. Without faith, no sacrifice will be accepted by God. You can go through the motions all you want. God is sick of the empty sacrifices, because people do the sacrifices without faith. They're not trusting in Christ. These testimonies from the Prophets segue very nicely into Hebrews, which we will be covering next.
Micah 6
Here we get a bit of a history class:
'I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered.Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
Despite having read Exodus, I have no memory of this 'Miriam' though apparently she is the sister of Moses.
She also does some singing and dancing or something after the parting of the red sea.
Balak used Balaam to curse Israel but God stepped in so Balaam could only bless them. This takes place in Numbers, which has long been a sticking point for me.
Shittim and Gilgal are both places they camped both before and after the parting of the Jordan river (takes place in Joshua)
Ends with another diatribe about how sinners will be destroyed. As I mentioned previously, I do find the repetition of these types of verses redundant if I'm brutally honest but I need to find a different attitude to such thoughts. Maybe I'm focusing too much on my enjoyment of reading it rather than giving it the reverance it deserves.
Here we get a bit of a history class:
'I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered.Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
Despite having read Exodus, I have no memory of this 'Miriam' though apparently she is the sister of Moses.
She also does some singing and dancing or something after the parting of the red sea.
Balak used Balaam to curse Israel but God stepped in so Balaam could only bless them. This takes place in Numbers, which has long been a sticking point for me.
Shittim and Gilgal are both places they camped both before and after the parting of the Jordan river (takes place in Joshua)
Ends with another diatribe about how sinners will be destroyed. As I mentioned previously, I do find the repetition of these types of verses redundant if I'm brutally honest but I need to find a different attitude to such thoughts. Maybe I'm focusing too much on my enjoyment of reading it rather than giving it the reverance it deserves.
Micah 7
'
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.'
I feel like I've read variations of this in other books of the Bible. It does remind me a little of the unrest I felt during covid when my family turned on me and threatened to send me to an institution.
'
The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12;In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13;The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.'
This was partially fulfilled when the Jews came back from Babylonian exile and Jersualem was rebuilt. Also, jews in Assyria and Egypt eventually returned.
There is also a second layer of meaning relating to restoration through Christ.
'Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.'
Apparently there's some kind of a 'pun' here as 'Micah' is spelt somewhat similarly to 'Yahweh' in the og hebrew but not sure.
In any case, this passage was a little hard for me on a first reading as God obviously takes wrathful vengeance on sin and doesn't just pardon it but I guess it means eventually he restores after he destroys.
'
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.'
I feel like I've read variations of this in other books of the Bible. It does remind me a little of the unrest I felt during covid when my family turned on me and threatened to send me to an institution.
'
The day for building your walls will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12;In that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13;The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.'
This was partially fulfilled when the Jews came back from Babylonian exile and Jersualem was rebuilt. Also, jews in Assyria and Egypt eventually returned.
There is also a second layer of meaning relating to restoration through Christ.
'Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.'
Apparently there's some kind of a 'pun' here as 'Micah' is spelt somewhat similarly to 'Yahweh' in the og hebrew but not sure.
In any case, this passage was a little hard for me on a first reading as God obviously takes wrathful vengeance on sin and doesn't just pardon it but I guess it means eventually he restores after he destroys.
Micah 7
Micah is known for defending the cause of the poor, since he laments over the injustice rampant in the land. The SJW's of our time have bastardized social justice, they have no meaning of the word. We ought to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. God does care about justice, so should we.
Micah follows the salvific pattern of the entire Bible, and I believe he is speaking as a representative of the people. He falls so that God can raise him up again. It's never game over with God, it's only time out. What Micah is speaking of here is a kind of vindication, or justification. Take the example of Jesus. The Jews would've seen Jesus on the cross and thought "He got what was coming to him. He deserved it. He can't even save himself. He's accursed." They kicked Him while He was down, yet Jesus knew, and we know, that the cross had nothing to do with His own sin and guilt (for He had none) but for ours. He knew on the cross that God would vindicate Him, even as the people were vilifying Him. No matter what trial you're in, if you're in Christ you can rest assured that God will vindicate you on the last day.
Like Jonah, Micah foresees the ingrafting of the Gentiles, but unlike Jonah, Micah does not wrestle with it, he even looks forward to it. It was on this account that many of the Prophets were killed by the Jews.
Micah again picks up on this theme of God as the true Shepherd, and the shepherd being like a king. A theme that will directly carry over into the NT when Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
The paradigm in the OT is that Israel was weak yet chosen by God. The nations were mighty but carried out evil by their might. Putting their hand to their mouth is them shutting up after God has spoken, it's the same thing Job did when God set the record straight. Licking the dust like a serpent is invocative of Genesis 3, another way of saying that they taste of death.
Making a play off his own name, Micah asks "who is like God?" This rhetorical question is then directly tied to God's forgiving character. You may have forgiven people in your time, but no one forgives like Jesus. He took the blame for crimes He did not commit, died the death that we deserve, all to reconcile you to God. Your sins are "in the sea of God's forgetfulness" as the hymn goes. Satan got you into trouble but Jesus got you out.
Hebrews 1
The central theme of Hebrews is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Mosaic Covenant. The first Jewish converts to Christianity would've faced intense pressure from the Jews to forsake Christ and go back to Judaism. This book was written to show them that there was nothing to go back to, that the New Covenant had come and superseded the Old. Hebrews is especially useful against those who want to flatten the Old and New Covenants into one, and against those who want to downgrade the New Covenant into a repeat of the Old.
There's always been much discussion over the authorship. Who really wrote Hebrews? Many people will assert that the Apostle Paul did. I agree that the theology of Hebrews is very much that of Paul's, but the content and style would indicate another author. There is a segment where the author refers to the Apostles, but not including himself among them, whereas Paul always numbers himself as an Apostle in his letters when he mentions them. The author also defines his terms differently than how Paul does. I am no expert on the Greek, but people who are have said that the most difficult, high Greek portions of the NT are Luke, Acts, and Hebrews. I am content with the idea that Luke was the author. The first major Biblical scholar, Origen (who was one of the few church fathers who knew both Hebrew and Greek), also raised the possibility of Luke as the author.
This theme is brought up throughout the NT. Moses was a servant of the house but Jesus is the Son of the house. The prophets longed to see the days of Jesus. Notice how the author says "these last days." This is because they understood the last days to be Messianic, the days or times of the Messiah.
When it says "Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature" it is not talking about God's essence but about God's character. When it says "Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature" it is not talking about God's essence but about God's character. It is more of a personal rather than an ontological statement. Jesus having accomplished forgiveness of sins and sitting down are themes that will be picked up in a major way in Hebrews 7-10. Like John, Hebrews presents the cross as a finished work, not an unfinished work that needs to be reenacted, continued, etc.
The author makes a strong contrast between angels and Jesus. Why he is doing this becomes evident later in the book. The Jews rightly believed that the angels played a role in the mediation of the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant. In fact, the angels were present when God gave the Law to Moses. Like the Prophets and Apostles, angels are "fellow servants", ministering spirits for the Elect. But Jesus on the other hand, is the Son of God's house, the one whom even angels serve and worship.
The central theme of Hebrews is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Mosaic Covenant. The first Jewish converts to Christianity would've faced intense pressure from the Jews to forsake Christ and go back to Judaism. This book was written to show them that there was nothing to go back to, that the New Covenant had come and superseded the Old. Hebrews is especially useful against those who want to flatten the Old and New Covenants into one, and against those who want to downgrade the New Covenant into a repeat of the Old.
There's always been much discussion over the authorship. Who really wrote Hebrews? Many people will assert that the Apostle Paul did. I agree that the theology of Hebrews is very much that of Paul's, but the content and style would indicate another author. There is a segment where the author refers to the Apostles, but not including himself among them, whereas Paul always numbers himself as an Apostle in his letters when he mentions them. The author also defines his terms differently than how Paul does. I am no expert on the Greek, but people who are have said that the most difficult, high Greek portions of the NT are Luke, Acts, and Hebrews. I am content with the idea that Luke was the author. The first major Biblical scholar, Origen (who was one of the few church fathers who knew both Hebrew and Greek), also raised the possibility of Luke as the author.
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Hebrews 2
The author shows his pastoral concern. He does not want these Christians to drift away, to apostatize, to leave the faith. The way to avoid apostasy is to "pay attention to what we've heard" that is the Gospel. So I commend you to keep up with your Bible reading. Not simply to read, but to press in and seek to understand it with humble reliance on the Holy Spirit.
Take "the word spoken through angels" to mean the Law. Take "salvation" to mean the Gospel. If the Law proved to be unalterable, having the power to avenge and execute justice for every sin, how will we, being sinners, escape that penalty if we neglect the Gospel? You see, the Law is still in effect and has been since the foundation of the world. It is a reflection of God's holy character, and it is His power to crush His enemies and take vengeance on sin. The Law is simply too powerful for anyone to escape it. Even the devil and his angels cannot escape it, what chance do you have? The only thing more powerful than the Law is the Gospel. As James says, mercy triumphs over judgment. The Gospel's power to forgive is greater than the Law's power to avenge. Grace greater than all our sin. Outside of the Gospel, there is no way to escape the Law's curse.
Here is where the author speaks of the Apostles as continuing Jesus' mission of spreading the Gospel.
It was not God's intention for angels to rule the creation but for man. Even though the angels attempted to hijack it and man joined in on the conspiracy, the Gospel was given to set things right. In Christ, you are greater than the angels. We will judge angels, as Paul says.
It is by Christ becoming a man for us that we are exalted with Him. And it is by God's grace that He should die for you. Jesus is Lord over all. Though, we do not see all things as bearing evidence to that just yet. But we do see Him. Do not look at the world and try to draw your assurance from there, you won't find it. Instead, look to Christ and find all the assurance you need in Him. I would not interpret "He might taste of death for everyone" as being universal so much as covenantal. Jesus did not die for an abstract human nature, but He died for you and me, those "many sons of glory" and "those who are being sanctified" as the next verses will elaborate.
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Iakobos
Orthodox
OSB notes on Hebrews 1-2
1:1-4: These verses provide an introductory summary to 1:1-10:18. The new covenant is superior to the old, for the old is incomplete and preparatory whereas the new is complete and final. In the new, man enters into the heavenly realm through Christ and is glorified (see Php 2:5-11)
1:1,2: In time past and to the fathers are contrasted with in these last days and to us. In OT times God spoke constantly through the Holy Spirit in the Law and the prophets, leading His people into greater truth. Now He speaks directly, through His own incarnate Son. The fathers are the leaders of Israel and representative of all the spiritual ancestors of New Israel.
1:2, 3: Through whom also He made the worlds (see Jn 1:3) and upholding all things by the word of His power (see Col 1:16-17): these two phrases reveal the Son as God acting in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ is (1) the One who created the universe, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and is therefore (2) the One who sustains the Creation and has absolute authority over it. It is natural, then, that the Son, as both God and Man, is heir of all things. If the sons of Abraham hoped to be heirs of the promised land, the sons of Christ can hope to be heirs of the whole universe.
The first half of verse 3 is quoted verbatim in the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. The brightness of His glory expresses the Son's nature, His origin from and identity of nature with the Father. He is the Father's brightness because He is begotten from the Father beyond time and without change. Thus, the Nicene Creed speaks of "Light of Light." As the sun does not exist without radiating light, so the Father does not exist without His Son.
Thus, the Son reflects His Father's glory in this world. The unapproachable light of divinity, the divine energy (1Ti 6:16, 1Pt 2:9, 1Jn 1:7), is approachable only in the incarnate Christ (Jn 12:36). God's brightness, though it had been experienced at the burning bush (Ex 3:2-4), known by Israel (Ex 10:23, 13:21), and spoken of by the prophets (Ps 35:10, 103:2; Is 9:1; 10:17; Hab 3:4), is especially revealed in Christ's birth (Lk 1:79, 2:32; Jn 1:4-9), the Transfiguration (Mt 17:2) and the Resurrection.
The express image of His person ("hypostasis" in Greek) expresses the Son's Person as being distinct from the Father. The Son is the perfect and eternal "icon" of the Father. Thus, the personal distinction of God as Trinity is known only through Him (see Jn 14:9). No one knows the Father but through the Son.
Having conquered sin and death, the Son sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, a reference to the Father, showing Christ's exaltation as Man.
1:4: Having become so much better than the angels, with regard to their role in the old covenant, refers to Christ's human nature, not to His divine nature. The name inherited is an open declaration that this Man is the Son of God. In Hebrews this name is "Son"; in Php 2:11 it is "Lord."
1:5-14: Much of first-century Judaism believed angels were present at creation and had mediated the old covenant. By using the rabbinic method of demonstration, Hebrews proves to lovers of Judaism that even the OT argues for the superiority of the Son.
1:5 Christ is superior to the angels. They are, in some Judaic thought, only "the sons of God," whereas Christ is THE Son of God. (The LXX at Dt 32:43, which Hebrews paraphrases in v6, literally reads "sons of God," not "angels of God.") While Christ is recognized as God's eternal Son at His Baptism and the Transfiguration, it is His enthronement in heaven that settles the matter (v4, Rom 1:4). Begotten is a reference to the Son in His divine, eternal nature. The Nicene Creed states He is "begotten, not made, begotten from the Father before all time." Today is eternity. There never was a time when God the Son did not exist.
1:6 Christ is the firstborn (1) of God, in that He is His one and only eternal Son; (2) of all creation, in that He is the image (icon) by which creation was made and toward which creation is to move; and (3) of man, in that Christ incarnate is the model for man's creation and the goal of man's existence. The angels ... worship Him because He is God.
1:14: The role of angels is to minister for those who will inherit salvation. During the NT era, many Jews believed angels mediated the old covenant. Certainly they served the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God. In the new covenant, they serve Him in His humanity. Instead of ruling over man, angels are partners in service with us, our guardian angels.
2:1-4: An admonition against willful negligence and carelessness by a slow process, a drift, of attrition. If and how suggest a conditional statement or question. IF Israel was expected to obey the words of created angels or suffer punishment, HOW much more must we heed what God Incarnate has said through His apostles - especially when the word has been confirmed by many miracles of the Spirit, proof that the Kingdom has come upon us? When we ask in the liturgy for "pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions" and a "good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ," we affirm there is a just reward or retribution, a very real judgment.
2:5-18: The Jews expected the Messiah to be an earthly, conquering king - a political success story, not a failure. They would naturally ask, if Jesus is superior to the angels - indeed, a divine Being, as portrayed in ch. 1 - why did He die, especially in such a degrading way? Hebrews answers that Christ's humiliation is only temporary (v9), it is the only means of redeeming mortal man (vv14-16), and it reestablishes man's God-intended dominion over all creation, including the angels (vv5-8).
2:6-8: Hebrews applies the discussion in Ps 8 about man to Jesus Christ, the perfect man.
2:9: See especially Php 2:5-11. Made a little lower than the angels refers to the Incarnation, the Son becoming Man. Christ's suffering and death have highly exalted Him. The Cross, which should have brought shame and reproach, has brought Christ glory and honor. All of this is not something God has owed to man; it is by the grace of God, His gift. Taste death means to experience it fully, to know it intimately. Christ's death was a real death. He died for everyone, for the whole world, not for the faithful only.
2:10, 11: To make ... perfect through sufferings does not suggest there was imperfection in Christ before the cross. Rather He voluntarily took on human nature (all of one nature v11), which can be saved and perfected only by the suffering of death. Christ is the pioneering captain of the narrow path to God in His suffering for sin, death, descent into hell, Resurrection and Ascension. In salvation we take on Christ's way of sufferings. Our perfection requires a growth that is manifested in suffering.
2:14: In the Incarnation, God did not come in appearance only; He truly assumed flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and became the same as we are so that He could truly enter death and bring us salvation. Christ destroyed the devil's power by using the devil's strongest weapon - death itself.
2:15: There is a relationship between sin and death: each one leads to the other. Sin causes death, and the fear of death leads one to sin and thus to bondage (Rom 5:12). Christ sets us free from this bondage of sin and death.
2:17-18: In all things He had to be made like His brethren - Christ was even tempted - for what is not assumed is not healed, and what is united to God is saved. The Son is like us in His human nature; we do not become like Him in His divine nature. Hebrews moves without transition from Christ as sacrifice to Christ as High Priest, for He is the Offering and Offerer. He is merciful in behalf of those He serves and faithful in His ministry to God.
1:1-4: These verses provide an introductory summary to 1:1-10:18. The new covenant is superior to the old, for the old is incomplete and preparatory whereas the new is complete and final. In the new, man enters into the heavenly realm through Christ and is glorified (see Php 2:5-11)
1:1,2: In time past and to the fathers are contrasted with in these last days and to us. In OT times God spoke constantly through the Holy Spirit in the Law and the prophets, leading His people into greater truth. Now He speaks directly, through His own incarnate Son. The fathers are the leaders of Israel and representative of all the spiritual ancestors of New Israel.
1:2, 3: Through whom also He made the worlds (see Jn 1:3) and upholding all things by the word of His power (see Col 1:16-17): these two phrases reveal the Son as God acting in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ is (1) the One who created the universe, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and is therefore (2) the One who sustains the Creation and has absolute authority over it. It is natural, then, that the Son, as both God and Man, is heir of all things. If the sons of Abraham hoped to be heirs of the promised land, the sons of Christ can hope to be heirs of the whole universe.
The first half of verse 3 is quoted verbatim in the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. The brightness of His glory expresses the Son's nature, His origin from and identity of nature with the Father. He is the Father's brightness because He is begotten from the Father beyond time and without change. Thus, the Nicene Creed speaks of "Light of Light." As the sun does not exist without radiating light, so the Father does not exist without His Son.
Thus, the Son reflects His Father's glory in this world. The unapproachable light of divinity, the divine energy (1Ti 6:16, 1Pt 2:9, 1Jn 1:7), is approachable only in the incarnate Christ (Jn 12:36). God's brightness, though it had been experienced at the burning bush (Ex 3:2-4), known by Israel (Ex 10:23, 13:21), and spoken of by the prophets (Ps 35:10, 103:2; Is 9:1; 10:17; Hab 3:4), is especially revealed in Christ's birth (Lk 1:79, 2:32; Jn 1:4-9), the Transfiguration (Mt 17:2) and the Resurrection.
The express image of His person ("hypostasis" in Greek) expresses the Son's Person as being distinct from the Father. The Son is the perfect and eternal "icon" of the Father. Thus, the personal distinction of God as Trinity is known only through Him (see Jn 14:9). No one knows the Father but through the Son.
Having conquered sin and death, the Son sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, a reference to the Father, showing Christ's exaltation as Man.
1:4: Having become so much better than the angels, with regard to their role in the old covenant, refers to Christ's human nature, not to His divine nature. The name inherited is an open declaration that this Man is the Son of God. In Hebrews this name is "Son"; in Php 2:11 it is "Lord."
1:5-14: Much of first-century Judaism believed angels were present at creation and had mediated the old covenant. By using the rabbinic method of demonstration, Hebrews proves to lovers of Judaism that even the OT argues for the superiority of the Son.
1:5 Christ is superior to the angels. They are, in some Judaic thought, only "the sons of God," whereas Christ is THE Son of God. (The LXX at Dt 32:43, which Hebrews paraphrases in v6, literally reads "sons of God," not "angels of God.") While Christ is recognized as God's eternal Son at His Baptism and the Transfiguration, it is His enthronement in heaven that settles the matter (v4, Rom 1:4). Begotten is a reference to the Son in His divine, eternal nature. The Nicene Creed states He is "begotten, not made, begotten from the Father before all time." Today is eternity. There never was a time when God the Son did not exist.
1:6 Christ is the firstborn (1) of God, in that He is His one and only eternal Son; (2) of all creation, in that He is the image (icon) by which creation was made and toward which creation is to move; and (3) of man, in that Christ incarnate is the model for man's creation and the goal of man's existence. The angels ... worship Him because He is God.
1:14: The role of angels is to minister for those who will inherit salvation. During the NT era, many Jews believed angels mediated the old covenant. Certainly they served the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God. In the new covenant, they serve Him in His humanity. Instead of ruling over man, angels are partners in service with us, our guardian angels.
2:1-4: An admonition against willful negligence and carelessness by a slow process, a drift, of attrition. If and how suggest a conditional statement or question. IF Israel was expected to obey the words of created angels or suffer punishment, HOW much more must we heed what God Incarnate has said through His apostles - especially when the word has been confirmed by many miracles of the Spirit, proof that the Kingdom has come upon us? When we ask in the liturgy for "pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions" and a "good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ," we affirm there is a just reward or retribution, a very real judgment.
2:5-18: The Jews expected the Messiah to be an earthly, conquering king - a political success story, not a failure. They would naturally ask, if Jesus is superior to the angels - indeed, a divine Being, as portrayed in ch. 1 - why did He die, especially in such a degrading way? Hebrews answers that Christ's humiliation is only temporary (v9), it is the only means of redeeming mortal man (vv14-16), and it reestablishes man's God-intended dominion over all creation, including the angels (vv5-8).
2:6-8: Hebrews applies the discussion in Ps 8 about man to Jesus Christ, the perfect man.
2:9: See especially Php 2:5-11. Made a little lower than the angels refers to the Incarnation, the Son becoming Man. Christ's suffering and death have highly exalted Him. The Cross, which should have brought shame and reproach, has brought Christ glory and honor. All of this is not something God has owed to man; it is by the grace of God, His gift. Taste death means to experience it fully, to know it intimately. Christ's death was a real death. He died for everyone, for the whole world, not for the faithful only.
2:10, 11: To make ... perfect through sufferings does not suggest there was imperfection in Christ before the cross. Rather He voluntarily took on human nature (all of one nature v11), which can be saved and perfected only by the suffering of death. Christ is the pioneering captain of the narrow path to God in His suffering for sin, death, descent into hell, Resurrection and Ascension. In salvation we take on Christ's way of sufferings. Our perfection requires a growth that is manifested in suffering.
2:14: In the Incarnation, God did not come in appearance only; He truly assumed flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and became the same as we are so that He could truly enter death and bring us salvation. Christ destroyed the devil's power by using the devil's strongest weapon - death itself.
2:15: There is a relationship between sin and death: each one leads to the other. Sin causes death, and the fear of death leads one to sin and thus to bondage (Rom 5:12). Christ sets us free from this bondage of sin and death.
2:17-18: In all things He had to be made like His brethren - Christ was even tempted - for what is not assumed is not healed, and what is united to God is saved. The Son is like us in His human nature; we do not become like Him in His divine nature. Hebrews moves without transition from Christ as sacrifice to Christ as High Priest, for He is the Offering and Offerer. He is merciful in behalf of those He serves and faithful in His ministry to God.
Hebrews 2
Jesus never lacked for righteousness. Righteousness is not a vague, amorphous term. It is not "the virtues." Biblically, righteousness is the state of being innocent in the Law and being faithful to the Law. Jesus did not have to acquire righteousness by living out the Law, He was already righteous and carried that righteousness out in His life, never breaking the Law. Since Christ never broke the covenant, He was not subject to any of the covenant's curses. Yet for our salvation, He willingly took on the curses of the covenant to redeem us who have broken the Law, as was fitting in God's sight. So when it says Jesus was "perfected through suffering" it doesn't mean that Jesus became morally better because suffering is objectively good, it means that in saving us, Jesus was made complete by suffering, knowing both the blessings and cursings of the Law in order to redeem us.
Paul's influence on Hebrews has been talked about to death but I see very strong influence from John throughout the book too. There's parts in Hebrews where I can jump over to the Gospel of John and point to you what Hebrews is talking about. Most specifically, John 17 seems to have a recurring presence in Hebrews.
You see the necessity of the Incarnation, it points to the Atonement. Jesus had to become a man to die for our sake to set us free. In Christ, we do not have to fear the penalty of the Law, which is death, and we no longer have to be enslaved by our sin and the power of the devil. In Christ, we can live godly lives, be free in the Son, and free from the devil's control.
Jesus did not die for angels. This is why Universalism is false. He helps the seed of Abraham, the sons of Abraham by faith. Since He was made like them, He was able to represent them as their High Priest, and offer a propitiation, an atoning sacrifice on their behalf.