“But we do see Jesus … now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9)
“But we do see Jesus …” This is the first time the book of Hebrews mentions the personal name of Jesus. All along the way, we knew who the author was talking about, making references to God’s Son, but now we also see his name: Jesus.
So now we can also focus on the person of Jesus. In saying his name, we think of his human nature; we think of Jesus as a person.
Jesus became a human being, lower than the angels for a while — but only until he entered again into the full glory of God in heaven. He was lower than the angels for a specific purpose: to suffer death and to “taste death for everyone.” In Philippians 2 the Bible speaks of Jesus humbling himself to the point of death on a cross. Here the writer of Hebrews points out that Jesus was made lower than the angels “for a little while” so that he could suffer death for us. As a result, he is “crowned with glory and honor.”
Jesus, God’s Son who is superior to the angels, was made lower than them for a while so that he could suffer death for us by the grace of God. And now and forever we, who were once lost, see Jesus. God’s Son, Jesus, our Savior, lowered himself to taste death for our sake so that we would not have to fear death and suffering.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you for lowering yourself to taste death for us. Because of you, we are not alone in our suffering, and we have hope. Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
