Hebrews 2:10 - Meaning and Application

After mentioning the death of Christ, the apostle now moves to remove the shame people might feel about the cross. He does this by showing both how it was fitting for God to let Christ suffer, and how greatly people would benefit from those sufferings. There was nothing unworthy of God or Christ in this, and there was great blessing for humanity.

First, he shows how it fit God’s purpose for Christ to suffer: “It was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10). God is the final purpose of all things and the source of all things. Because of that, it was right for him to act in a way that protected and displayed his own glory in everything he did.

God showed this in the work of redemption, both in the goal he chose and in the means he used. His goal was to bring many sons to glory, meaning to bring them into the blessed privileges of the gospel now, and into heaven later. Heaven is a real glory, an eternal and very great glory. Before anyone can be brought there, they must be sons of God by adoption, which means being welcomed into God’s family, and by new birth, which means being made spiritually alive.

All true believers are children of God. To those who receive Christ, he gives the right to become children of God, to all who believe in his name (John 1:12). The sons of God may seem few in one place or at one time, but when they are all gathered together, they will be seen to be many. Christ is the firstborn among many brothers. No matter how scattered God’s children are now, they will all at last be brought together in glory.

God also chose the means wisely. He appointed a captain for our salvation, a leader who could guide saved people safely to their goal. Those who are saved must come under this leader, enlist under his banner, and endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ. They must follow their captain, and all who do will be brought safely through and will inherit honor and glory.

God also made this captain of salvation perfect through sufferings. That means the Father appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to this office and equipped him for it. Christ already had perfect wisdom, courage, and strength through the Spirit of the Lord, who was given to him without measure. Yet he was made perfect through sufferings in the sense that he completed the work of our redemption by shedding his blood, and so became fully qualified to be the Mediator, the one who stands between God and man.

He found the way to the crown through the cross, and so his people must follow the same path. Dr. Owen notes that since Jesus was set apart and made complete through suffering, he has also made the way of suffering holy for all who follow him to glory. For that reason, their sufferings are necessary and cannot be avoided, but they are also honorable, useful, and profitable.

Second, the apostle shows how much believers gain from Christ’s cross and sufferings. Just as there was nothing improper in them for God and Christ, so there was great benefit for people in them. Through this, believers are brought into a close union with Christ and into a very dear relationship with him.

This union is described in Hebrews 2:11: “Both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one.” Christ is the one who sanctifies, that is, the one who makes people holy. He purchased and sent the sanctifying Spirit, and he is the source of all holy influence. The Spirit sanctifies as the Spirit of Christ. True believers are those who are being sanctified, given holy desires and powers, and set apart from low and sinful uses for holy purposes. They must be made holy before they can be brought to glory.

Christ, who works this sanctification, and Christians, who receive it, are all of one. They are of one heavenly Father, God. God is Christ’s Father by eternal generation and by the miraculous conception, and he is believers’ Father by adoption and regeneration. They are also of one earthly father, Adam, because Christ and believers share the same human nature. And they are of one spirit, one holy and heavenly disposition. The same mind is in believers that was in Christ, though not in the same measure. The same Spirit lives in the head and in all the members.

This union leads to a tender relationship. Because Christ and believers are all of one, he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Christ and believers are brothers, not only in human nature, but also in spiritual life. They are brothers in what is heavenly as well as what is earthly. And Christ is not ashamed to own them as such, which shows his great kindness and humility. Their natural weakness and sinfulness should make this even more striking. Yet he will never be ashamed of any who are not ashamed of him, and who are careful not to bring shame on him or on themselves.

The apostle supports this with three Old Testament quotations. The first is from Psalm 22:22: “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to you.” This psalm clearly points to Christ, beginning with his words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It foretells, first, that Christ would have a church, or gathering, in the world, a people who freely choose to follow him. Second, these people would be brothers not only to one another, but to Christ himself. Third, Christ would make known his Father’s name to them, meaning his nature, character, mind, and will. He did this in his own person while he lived among us, and through his Spirit poured out on his disciples, who then spread the knowledge of God through the world from one generation to another. Fourth, Christ would sing praise to his Father in the church. The glory of the Father was always before Christ’s eyes. His heart was set on it, and he wanted his people to join him in it.

The second quotation is from Psalm 18:2: “I will put my trust in him.” That psalm shows the troubles David faced as a picture of Christ, and how David trusted in God through all his troubles. This points to the fact that, besides his divine nature, which needed no support, Christ would take on another nature that would need the help God alone could give. He suffered and trusted as our head and leader.

His brothers and sisters must also suffer and trust. The third Scripture is from Isaiah 8:18: “Look, here am I, and the children God has given me.” This shows that Christ was truly and fully human, because parents and children share the same nature.

These children were given to Christ by the Father in the plan of his eternal love, in that peace agreement made between them. They are also given to Christ when they come to faith. When they accept his covenant, Christ welcomes them, rules over them, delights in them, brings their lives to completion, and then takes them to heaven. There he presents them to his Father and says, “Look, here am I, and the children you have given me.”