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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Hebrews 2:10 - 2:10
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
It became him (eprepen autōi). Imperfect active of prepō, old verb to stand out, to be becoming or seemly. Here it is impersonal with teleiōsai as subject, though personal in Heb 7:26. Autōi (him) is in the dative case and refers to God, not to Christ as is made plain by ton archēgon (author). One has only to recall Joh 3:16 to get the idea here. The voluntary humiliation or incarnation of Christ the Son a little lower than the angels was a seemly thing to God the Father as the writer now shows in a great passage (Heb 2:10-18) worthy to go beside Phi 2:5-11.
For whom (di' hon). Referring to autōi (God) as the reason (cause) for the universe (ta panta).
Through whom (di' hou). With the genitive dia expresses the agent by whom the universe came into existence, a direct repudiation of the Gnostic view of intermediate agencies (aeons) between God and the creation of the universe. Paul puts it succinctly in Rom 11:36 by his ex autou kai di' autou kai eis auton ta panta. The universe comes out of God, by means of God, for God. This writer has already said that God used his Son as the Agent (di' hou) in creation (Heb 1:2), a doctrine in harmony with Col 1:15. (en autōi, di' autou eis auton) and Joh 1:3.
In bringing (agagonta). Second aorist active participle of agō in the accusative case in spite of the dative autōi just before to which it refers.
The author (ton archēgon). Old compound word (archē and agō) one leading off, leader or prince as in Act 5:31, one blazing the way, a pioneer (Dods) in faith (Heb 12:2), author (Act 3:15). Either sense suits here, though author best (Heb 2:9). Jesus is the author of salvation, the leader of the sons of God, the Elder Brother of us all (Rom 8:29).
To make perfect (teleiōsai). First aorist active infinitive of teleioō (from teleios). If one recoils at the idea of God making Christ perfect, he should bear in mind that it is the humanity of Jesus that is under discussion. The writer does not say that Jesus was sinful (see the opposite in Heb 4:15), but simply that “by means of sufferings” God perfected his Son in his human life and death for his task as Redeemer and Saviour. One cannot know human life without living it. There was no moral imperfection in Jesus, but he lived his human life in order to be able to be a sympathizing and effective leader in the work of salvation.