Jesus Sanctifies His Brothers: Observations from Hebrews 2

Sometimes profound, biblical truths take hours to unearth. They are the result of long wrestling and deep exertion.

At other times, deep doctrine lies right on the surface. We can walk by and snatch it from the ground, like a ripe pear on a bed of orchard grass.

Observation is the foundation of any good Bible study method. We often think of interpretation as the Bible study phase which produces life-changing, paradigm-altering conclusions. But on occasion, we can spot gems in the first stage.

I’ve recently been studying the book of Hebrews with my small group. I was shocked how many statements of life-giving goodness jumped off the page as I was observing Hebrews 2 this week. In an effort to encourage our readers in their Bible study efforts, below I present 35 observations from Hebrews 2:10–18. I don’t claim these are the only observations one could make from these verses (they’re not!), nor even that these are the most important. But, since interpretation is built on observation, holding a passage under the microscope is a necessary first step to understanding.

Observing Hebrews 2

Here are some of the wonders I spotted in Hebrews 2:10–18.

1. God the Father is the one “for whom and by whom all things exist.” (Heb 2:10)
2. God the Father brings “many sons to glory.” (Heb 2:10)
3. Those God brings to glory are called “sons.” (Heb 2:10)
4. Jesus is the “founder” of the sons’ salvation. (Heb 2:10)
5. God the Father made Jesus perfect. (Heb 2:10)
6. God made Jesus perfect through suffering. (Heb 2:10)
7. This perfecting of Jesus was “fitting.” (Heb 2:10)
8. Jesus is the one who sanctifies the sons. (Heb 2:11)
9. The sons are sanctified. (Heb 2:11)
10. Jesus and the sons have one source. (Heb 2:11)
11. This common source is why Jesus is not ashamed to call the sons “brothers.” (Heb 2:11)
12. Jesus calls the sons “brothers.” (Heb 2:11)
13. Jesus shared in “flesh and blood.” (Heb 2:14)
14. Jesus shared in “flesh and blood” because the children do. (Heb 2:14)
15. The devil “has the power of death.” (Heb 2:14)
16. Jesus destroyed the one with the power of death. (Heb 2:14)
17. Jesus destroyed the one with the power of death through death. (Heb 2:14)
18. Through death Jesus delivered many. (Heb 2:15)
19. Those Jesus delivered were subject to slavery. (Heb 2:15)
20. This slavery was lifelong. (Heb 2:15)
21. This slavery happened through fear of death. (Heb 2:15)
22. Jesus does not help angels. (Heb 2:16)
23. Jesus helps the offspring of Abraham. (Heb 2:16)
24. Those Jesus delivered are again referred to as his “brothers.” (Heb 2:17)
25. Jesus was made like his brothers in every respect. (Heb 2:17)
26. Jesus became a high priest in the service of God. (Heb 2:17)
27. Jesus became a high priest who is merciful. (Heb 2:17)
28. Jesus became a high priest who is faithful. (Heb 2:17)
29. Being made like his brothers was necessary for becoming a high priest. (Heb 2:17)
30. Jesus’s work as a high priest involved making “propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Heb 2:17)
31. Jesus suffered when tempted. (Heb 2:18)
32. Jesus suffered. (Heb 2:18)
33. Jesus was tempted. (Heb 2:18)
34. Jesus is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb 2:18)
35. Because he suffered when tempted, Jesus is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb 2:18)

More Work To Do

Now, after observing the text there’s more work to do. We must ask and answer questions and work to determine the author’s main point.

But careful observation gets us going in the right direction.