Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 2

“Therefore” most likely refers to the whole argument of 1:5–14. Since the Son is so far superior to the angels and his message is superior to theirs, we should “pay more careful attention” (GK 4668) to it. This verb means not only to turn the mind to a thing but also to act upon what one perceives. Inaction in spiritual things is fatal. The author does not explain what he means by “what we have heard,” but we need not doubt that the whole Christian Gospel is in mind. By the word “we” the author puts himself in the same class as his readers, i.e., dependent on others for the message. He was not one of the original disciples. The danger is that we might “drift away” (GK 4184). This verb is used of such things as a ring slipping off a finger; it is a vivid figure for the person who lets himself or herself drift away from the haven of the Gospel. One need not be violently opposed to the message to suffer loss; one need only drift away from it (see comment on v.3).

“Message” (Gk. logos; GK 3364) means in the first place a word spoken (as opposed to a deed) and then a series of words or a statement. What the statement is varies with the context. It can mean a message from God, a revelation, and so the Christian Gospel (Acts 4:4; Acts 8:4). The final revelation is, of course, Christ. He himself is “the Word” . In Hebrews the “word” is usually God’s word (e.g., 2:2; 4:2, 12), though it can also be the writer’s own word (5:11) or the word the Israelites did not wish to hear (12:19). Here in v.2 it is the divinely given law. “By angels” is literally “through angels,” which stresses the important truth that the law came from God. The OT does not speak of angels in connection with the giving of the law; but their presence is mentioned in other NT passages (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19) and in the LXX of Dt 33:2. The author is appealing to this accepted view for his “how shall we?” argument (v.3). If the law came through angels, how much more should respect be given the message that came, not through angels, but through the Son! The law was “binding” (GK 1010), i.e., fully valid. And it had provision for the proper punishment of wrongdoers so that every transgression was dealt with in the proper way.

The just penalties meted out under the law show that where God is concerned, strict standards apply. This makes it imperative that those to whom a great salvation is offered do something about the offer. The disaster that threatens is brought on by nothing more than mere neglect. It is not necessary to disobey any specific injunction. This is the first of a number of warnings to the readers not to surrender their Christian profession. The writer is determined to guard against the possibility of losing salvation. This salvation is distinguished from the many other kinds of salvation offered in the ancient world by calling it “such a great salvation” and then by telling us three things about it . In the first place, it was “announced by the Lord.” The salvation originates with the Father. The author’s use of “announced” (GK 3281) makes a point of contact with the gospel of Luke, for there only does Jesus announce salvation (cf. also 1:69, 71, 77; 2:11).

The second point about salvation is that it “was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” The author is here again appealing to the first hearers as those to whom the authentic Gospel was entrusted (cf. Lk 1:2). Any later preaching must agree with theirs. If it does not, then it will stand convicted of being an innovation instead of the genuine thing. For this writer, as for his readers, the message was “confirmed” (GK 1011) by the original disciples. This verb is used as a legal technical term to designate properly guaranteed security; the certainty of the message is guaranteed to us, and there cannot be the slightest doubt about the genuineness of the offer of salvation.

The third and clinching point about our “great salvation” is that God himself has also “testified” to it. Preachers are not left to bear their witness alone. No less a one than God himself has shared in this. In John’s gospel we have the bold thought that God has borne witness to Christ . Since anyone who bears witness commits himself by that very act, God has gone on record, so to speak, that he too is a witness to the great salvation of his Son. Here, however, we have an even bolder thought: God has been pleased to commit himself through the original disciples. He gave the “signs” (GK 4956) or miracles that attested their preaching. The Gospel is not a human creation, and the early hearers were not left in doubt as to its origin. They actually saw the miraculous way God attested it. Miracles were not pointless displays of power but they pointed beyond themselves to the message of salvation. “Wonders” (GK 5469) emphasizes the marvelous aspect of the signs. They were such that no mere person could produce them, nor were they explicable on merely human premises. It is this wonder-producing aspect that comes spontaneously to mind when we think of miracles. “Miracles” (GK 1539) is properly “mighty works” and is the term usually employed in the Synoptic Gospels. It brings out the truth that in Christ’s miracles there is superhuman power. They prove something about the Gospel because they are not of human origin and thus show that the Gospel they attest is not human either. It is not clear whether “gifts of the Holy Spirit” refers to gifts that the Holy Spirit gives (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:11) or the gift of the Holy Spirit himself (cf. Galatians 3:5). Either way, there were manifestations of the Holy Spirit in believers, and the author sees these as confirming the Gospel. Most likely the author is speaking about God as giving people the gift (and the gifts) of the Holy Spirit. The supreme God does this as he wills.

Having looked at “such a great salvation” that Christ won for his own, the author goes on to the further point that the subjection of the world to the human race spoken of in Ps 8 is to be seen in Christ, not in humanity at large. “Not to angels” implies that the subjection was made to someone other than the angels. “The world” (GK 3876) is a term that normally denotes the inhabited earth (a term used by both Greeks and Romans for the spheres of their earthly influence). It is unusual to have it employed of the Messianic Age.