Глава II

An exhortation to pay attention to what you have heard (1–4). The Humiliation and Exaltation of Jesus (5–9). The necessity of His suffering death (10–18). Hebrews 2:1. Therefore, we must be especially attentive to what we hear, so as not to fall away. “Therefore...” - an exhortation to attention regarding what was heard is deduced as a practical conclusion for readers from the above about the superiority of Jesus Christ over the Angels in power and dignity. - “To what has been heard” - not only in Chapter I, but in general in the Gospel sermon about salvation. - “So as not to fall away” μή ποτε παραπυώμεν ... - glory. “Let us not fall away” so as not to pass by the ongoing work of salvation, not to lose participation in this saving current, not to move away from it and not to perish. Hebrews 2:2. For if the word proclaimed through the angels was established, and every crime and disobedience received a righteous reward, “The word spoken through angels” is undoubtedly the Law of Moses, as more clearly mentioned in Galatians 3:19. Here, obviously, the general Jewish tradition is reproduced about the giving of the Law not directly from God Himself, invisible and incomprehensible, but through the mediation of Angels, just as the adoption of this Law did not take place directly by the people, but through Moses, who stood between the people and the Angel (cf. Acts 7:53). Hebrews 2:3. then how can we escape by neglecting so much salvation, which, having first been preached by the Lord, was confirmed in us by those who heard from Him, “How will we avoid...”, i.e., the same righteous reward or punishment for crime and violation of the New Testament of God, given by the Son of God Himself, without the mediation of Angels and people? - “Those who heard from Him,” that is, the Apostles and direct disciples of the Lord. And here several times, with various intensified shades of expression, the apostle shows the superiority of the Son of God over the Angels and His works before their ministry. Thus, it is worthy of note that he calls what was proclaimed through the Angels a word, and what was preached by the Lord “salvation.” External evidence of the truth and inviolability of the Angel’s word was almost exclusively retribution for its violation, while evidence of the truth of the Lord’s preaching was long-standing signs and wonders that showed the special power and greatness of the new salvation (“about the capital of salvation”). Hebrews 2:4. attested by God with signs and wonders, and various powers, and the dispensing of the Holy Spirit according to His will? “With testimony from God...” συνεπιμαρτυρούντος τοδ Θεού... - glorified: “I bear witness with God.” The Slavic text here more accurately expresses the idea of ​​the original about the close interaction of God with man in various signs, the variety of which showed how great God's care is for the fullness of the influence on people and how people will be unrequited if they do not accept the preaching that is certified in such a variety of ways. Preparing to prove that Jesus Christ is the head of the New Testament, the Apostle says that His humiliation before the Angels in suffering not only did not diminish His dignity, but even more elevated it and was included in the plans of the Divine economy as the most salvific means of sanctification of all people. Hebrews 2:5. For God did not subject the future universe of which we are speaking to the Angels; The meaning of what has been said is this: nowhere in the Old Testament is it promised that the future world, that is, the Kingdom of the Messiah, which we are talking about now, will be subdued by the Angels, but there is one place where it is said that God will subdue this new world to the Son (Heb. 2: 6–8), who, therefore, is higher than the Angels, although he seemed to be humbled before them. The temptation of this is sufficiently eliminated both by the subsequent exaltation of the Messiah, and by the fact that this derogation was revealed by God and found a most beautiful image in the Psalmist David, about whom the apostle expresses himself here in secret (“someone nowhere”), so that this wonderful testimony of the well-known and beloved prophet appears in greater strength and meaning. Most closely, what was said by David relates generally to man, as he should have been, and perhaps was for a short time (before the fall) - according to the original thought of God (cf. Gen. 1:26). Understanding what was said beyond the past, one must relate David’s words entirely only to Christ, who accepted humanity without sinful infection, and only then in connection with Him - to the rest of humanity renewed by Him, and then to a lesser extent: Heb. 2:8 in its full sense refers only to Him alone (cf. 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22). Hebrews 2:6. on the contrary, someone testified nowhere, saying: What does it mean to a man that You remember him? or son of man, that You visit him? Hebrews 2:7. You did not humiliate him much before the Angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands, “You have made Him a little lower than the Angels” - the Hebrew text, instead of before the Angels, has: before the deity, (elohim), better expressing the special closeness of man’s relationship to God and at the same time his dignity. “Not much” - “not a small thing” - βραχύ τι - in a double sense: either - for a short time - for the duration of Jesus’ earthly life (cf. Heb. 2:9), or in the sense of allowing a small (however, also temporary) difference in dignity (the perception of human flesh and the enduring of suffering and death), then filled with superior glory and honor. Hebrews 2:8. He put everything under his feet. When he had subdued everything to him, he left nothing unsubdued to him. Now we still do not see that everything has been subjugated to him; Hebrews 2:9. but we see that for suffering death Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, Who was made a little lower than the Angels, so that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for all. The meaning of these verses in general connection is this: God subjected everything to man, leaving nothing unsubdued to him. However, today we do not yet see that everything has been subjugated to him. This is because we will see it again in due time, and precisely in the person of Such a Man, to Whom in the proper and full sense the real words of the Psalmist in the person of Jesus should be applied. He was the One whom God made a little lower than the Angels by suffering death, but for this same suffering of death He crowned with the highest glory and honor, granting not only to Himself all power in heaven and on earth, but also returning true human dignity to those who believe in Him. This shade of thought is better expressed in the Slavic text, where, citing the words of the Psalmist and establishing that at the present time they have not yet found full fulfillment, the apostle, as if explaining this and indicating where and when to wait for this fulfillment, interprets the words of David as applied to Jesus: “but we see Jesus who was made a little little by the angel,” with special emphasis on the last word (“Jesus”!) To Him, Jesus, therefore, everything, and if not everything, was subjugated still submissively in fact, it is only because the time has not yet come for everything (cf. Heb. 1:13). “For enduring death” δια τό παθημα τού θανατου - some connected it with the expression of the humbled, assimilating to this place the meaning that Christ, by His suffering and death (or for the sake of suffering and death), in order to endure them for us, was humiliated for a short time before the Angels. Others, and more correctly, connect this expression “For enduring death” with the thought of being crowned with glory and honor of Jesus, since the next verse 10 serves to confirm this very thought (cf. Phil 2:9-10; Luke 24:26). – “By the grace of God, to taste death for all” Here the idea is expressed that the tasting of death by Jesus Christ was a work of God’s love for fallen people (cf. Rom 5:8; Gal 2:21). Hebrews 2:10. For it was fitting that He, for whom are all things and from whom are all things, bringing many sons to glory, should make the leader of their salvation through suffering. “For it was necessary” - as most consistent with the Divine wisdom, love and glory of Christ and as most appropriate to the position of fallen man, so that the ruler, that is, the main author of human salvation, would achieve the goal of His service to the human race through suffering. – “For Whom are all things and from Whom are all things...” God the Father is depicted here as the fundamental principle and ultimate goal of all that exists; under this condition, He was completely free to take and actually took the best and wisest measures to save people. The Slavic text of verse 10, when compared with Greek and Russian, has a curious feature that opens up a wide field for interpretation. This feature consists in the expression “I will bring many sons to glory,” supplied depending on “Him” (“like Him...”, i.e., God the Father, I will bring... etc.). The Russian text puts the said expression in the accusative case, apparently coordinating it with what follows - “the leader of their salvation” (“bringing many sons”, etc.). The Greek text does exactly the same thing, although, according to some, the Greek accusative case could be used here instead of the dative case in order to more closely associate the participle with the indefinite mood τελειώσαι, and allows it to be attributed not to the “leader of salvation,” but also to God the Father, about whom we speak above. Both interpretations have their own justifications, but it seems better to do as the Russian text and literally translated Greek do. Τελειωσαι - to accomplish, - in the sense of making perfect, leading to one’s goal, implementing in accordance with the intention. “To make the leader of salvation” means to achieve the fact that Jesus became the true finisher and author of the salvation of all people, sacrificing Himself for them with His suffering and death and leading them (αρχηγός - going ahead, leading) on ​​this path of salvation. In further verses (Heb. 2:11–18), the apostle tries to substantiate and better clarify the idea of ​​why it was the Lord’s desire to accomplish our salvation through suffering. Hebrews 2:11. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from One; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: For this is an explanatory conjunction for a whole series of thoughts about how the sufferings of the Lord made Him the leader of salvation for us. In the closest way, this also explains the thought expressed further, why the Lord is not ashamed to call us brothers: because (for) both He, who sanctifies us, and we, who are sanctified by Him, are all from One. By “One” here we can mean either God the Father, if we mean the human nature deified by Christ, the fruit of which was our deification (“he gave to believers the power to become children of God”, John 1:12–13), or by “One” we can mean Adam, if we mean the incarnation of the Divinity of Christ by the birth of the Virgin Mary, the daughter of the common progenitor of all people - Adam, however, again leading to the “One,” the True Author of everything, united in Adam by bodily birth and in Christ by spiritual birth. Hebrews 2:12. I will proclaim Your name to My brothers, in the midst of the church I will sing Your praises. The verse cited by the apostle receives special power in view of the fact that it is borrowed from a psalm unanimously recognized by all as Messianic (Ps 21:23). Hebrews 2:13. And one more thing: I will trust in Him. And one more thing: here I am and the children whom God gave Me. The verses from the prophet Isaiah (Is. 8:17–18) are meant to mark the human nature of Christ by assimilating to Him human properties - prayerful trust in God and devotion to Him both for Himself and for all posterity, in this case - spiritual. By first calling people brothers of Christ, and then children, the apostle means to note in general the unity of Christ’s nature with ours, especially since by His incarnation the Lord not only became our brother, but, like the second Adam, also our father (cf. John 17:6). Hebrews 2:14. And just as children partake of flesh and blood, He also received them, in order by death to deprive him of the power of the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, “Participating in flesh and blood” is a descriptive expression for human nature. In order to become more like His children - His brothers - more perfectly, and to more accurately deliver them from the power of death that dominated them, the Lord, just like them ("sincerely" - παραπλησίως, completely, perfectly) took on their nature in order to defeat the devil in it, the author of sin and death (cf. 1 Cor 15:20-26 and Gave. 1 Cor 15:53–57). This victory took place through the satisfaction of the truth of God with the death of Christ for human sins, that is, the devil was defeated from the side from which, apparently, the least could have been expected - from the area in which he was έχων then κράτος, in other words, his own weapon. Death remains, apparently, as before, but it has become no longer terrible, for it defeats itself, allowing those who die from it to enter into the beginning of eternal life. Hebrews 2:15. and deliver those who from the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. “From the fear of death... they were subject to slavery,” that is, they experienced an extremely painful state, being under the constant fear of death, which was the only master of people. Hebrews 2:16. For He does not receive angels, but He receives the seed of Abraham. The verse indicates a deeper justification for the need for the incarnation of our Deliverer from death. It was not the Angels who needed deliverance, but people, which is why He did not take on an angelic nature, but a human one - for deliverance. Instead of “Abraham’s seed,” one would, apparently, expect the apostle to use “Adam’s seed” as a generally human one. The name Abraham is preferred because it more closely pointed the Jews to the promises given to the “seed of Abraham,” who appeared to be less suffering from the horrific consequences of Adam’s sin and more worthy of being the Redeemer of people to borrow from him his kinship with people. Hebrews 2:17. Therefore, He had to become like the brethren in everything, in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest before God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:18. For just as He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted. In order to save a suffering person, the Deliverer had to not only perceive human nature, but also suffer Himself in it, so to speak, practically study the suffering of humanity, and, moreover, suffer in such a way that His suffering would be enough once and for all to propitiate God for the sins of the entire people. Such suffering, surpassing all human suffering, was endured by the Lord, moved towards this by both His mercy and the demands of God’s truth (“the high priest is merciful and faithful”). You might be interested in: