John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 2:13

"And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me." — Hebrews 2:13 (ASV)

I will put my trust in him, or, I will confide in him. As this sentence is found in Psalm 18:2, it was probably taken from that passage; and Paul, in Romans 15:9, applies another verse to Christ concerning the calling of the Gentiles. Furthermore, the general contents of that Psalm clearly show that David spoke in the person of another.

Indeed, in David there appeared only a faint shadow of the greatness which is set forth there in such magnificent terms. He boasts that he was made the head of the heathen, and that even foreigners and unknown peoples willingly surrendered to him at the mere report of his name.

David subdued a few neighboring and well-known nations by force of arms and made them tributaries. But what was this compared to the extensive dominions of many other kings? Furthermore, where was the voluntary submission? Where were the peoples so remote that he did not know them? In short, where was the solemn proclamation of God’s glory among the nations, mentioned at the end of the Psalm?

Christ, then, is the one who is made head over many nations, to whom strangers from the farthest borders of the earth submit, roused merely by hearing of him; for they are not forced by arms to take up his yoke, but, being subdued by his doctrine, they spontaneously obey him.

In the Church, that feigned and false profession of religion, which is referred to in the Psalm, is also seen; for many daily profess the name of Christ, but not from the heart.

There is then no doubt that the Psalm is rightly applied to Christ. But what has this to do with the present subject? For it does not seem to follow that our being one with Christ is the reason He would especially put His trust in God. To this I answer that the argument is valid, because He would have had no need of such trust if He had not been a man, exposed to human necessities and wants.

Since, then, He depended on God’s aid, His lot is the same as ours. Surely, it is not in vain or for nothing that we trust in God; for if we were destitute of His grace, we would be miserable and lost. The trust, then, which we put in God is evidence of our helplessness. At the same time, we differ from Christ in this: the weakness that necessarily and naturally belongs to us, He willingly undertook. But it ought to greatly encourage us to trust in God that we have Christ as our leader and instructor; for who would fear going astray while following in His steps? Indeed, there is no danger that our trust will be useless when we have it in common with Christ, who, we know, cannot be mistaken.

Behold, I and the children, etc. It is indeed certain that Isaiah was speaking of himself. For when he offered hope of deliverance to the people, and his promise was met with disbelief, the Lord commanded him to seal the doctrine he had proclaimed among a few of the faithful, lest he should become disheartened, broken down by the perverse unbelief of the people. This was as if God had said that, though it was rejected by the multitude, there would still be a few who would receive it. Relying on this answer, Isaiah took courage and declared that he and the disciples given to him would always be ready to follow God (Isaiah 8:18).

Let us now see why the Apostle applied this sentence to Christ. First, no one of sound mind will deny that what is found in the same passage—that the Lord would become a rock of stumbling and a stone of offense to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah—was fulfilled in Christ.

Doubtless, just as the restoration from the Babylonian exile was a type of prelude to the great redemption obtained by Christ for us and for our ancestors, so also the fact that so few among the Jews availed themselves of God's kindness (with the result that only a small remnant was saved) was a foreshadowing of their future blindness. Through this blindness, they rejected Christ, were in turn rejected by God, and perished.

For we must observe that the promises found in the Prophets concerning the restoration of the Church, from the time the Jews returned from exile, extend to the kingdom of Christ. This is because the Lord, in restoring the people, had this goal in view: that His Church might continue until the coming of His Son, by whom it was finally to be truly established.

Since this was so, when God commanded Isaiah to seal the law and the testimony, He addressed not only Isaiah but also, through him, all His ministers who would have to contend with the people's unbelief. Therefore, He addressed Christ above all, whom the Jews resisted with greater stubbornness than all the previous Prophets.

And we see now that those who have been substituted for Israel not only repudiate His Gospel but also furiously assail Him.

But however much the doctrine of the Gospel may be a stone of stumbling to the household of the Church, it is not God’s will that it should completely fail. On the contrary, He commands it to be sealed among His disciples. And Christ, in the name of all His teachers as their head—indeed, as the only true Teacher, who rules us by their ministry—declares that amidst this deplorable ingratitude of the world, there will always be some who will be obedient to God.

See, then, how this passage may be fittingly applied to Christ: the Apostle concludes that we are one with Him, because He unites us to Himself when He presents Himself and us together to God the Father. For those who obey God under the same rule of faith form one body.

What could have been said more suitably to commend faith than that through it we are the companions of the Son of God, who by His example encourages us and shows us the way? If, then, we follow the Word of God, we know with certainty that we have Christ as our leader; but those who turn aside from His word do not belong to Christ at all.

What, I ask you, can be more desired than to agree with the Son of God? But this agreement or consent is in faith. Then through unbelief we disagree with Him, than which nothing is a greater evil. The word “children,” which in many places means servants, here means disciples.

Which God hath given me. Here the primary cause of obedience is pointed out: namely, that God has adopted us. Christ brings no one to the Father except those given to Him by the Father; and this giving, we know, depends on eternal election. For those whom the Father has destined for life, He delivers to the keeping of His Son, so that He may defend them.

This is what He says in John: All that the Father has given me, will come to me (John 6:37). Therefore, that we submit to God through the obedience of faith, let us learn to ascribe this entirely to His mercy; for otherwise we will never be led to Him by the hand of Christ. Besides, this doctrine provides us with a strong basis for confidence. For who can tremble under the guidance and protection of Christ? Who, while relying on such a keeper and guardian, would not boldly disregard all dangers? And doubtless, when Christ says, Behold, I and the children, He truly fulfills what He elsewhere promises: that he will not suffer any of those to perish whom he has received from the Father (John 10:28).

Lastly, we must observe that though the world with mad stubbornness rejects the Gospel, yet the sheep always recognize the voice of their shepherd. Therefore, let not the impiety of almost all ranks, ages, and nations disturb us, provided Christ gathers together His own, who have been committed to His protection. If the reprobate rush headlong to death by their impiety, in this way the plants which God has not planted are rooted up (Matthew 15:13). Let us at the same time know that His own are known to Him, and that the salvation of them all is sealed by Him, so that not one of them shall be lost (2 Timothy 2:19). Let us be satisfied with this seal.