The Son’s Superiority Through Humility (Hebrews 2:5–18)

The Lord Jesus Christ is a person of paradox. There are realities about him that don’t immediately and obviously make sense to creatures like you and me. So, perhaps it’s unsurprising that, during his first advent, many of his greatest lessons shared that confounding quality. For example, he instructed his disciples that, “Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44–45). The Messiah will be magnified through service? The Almighty will be set above all by dying for all? How does that work? How does that make sense? How can the supremacy of the Son be seen through the the humiliation of the incarnation? Hebrews 2 explores that paradox by showcasing its paragon, the one who uniquely and perfectly exemplifies its truthfulness, the Lord Jesus Christ.