Hebrews 2:18

‘For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succour those who are tempted.’

The reason that He can adequately fulfil this role is because as a human being He knows and has experienced the powers of temptation to human flesh, and the awfulness of being tested by intense persecution and the many troubles of life. He has suffered, being tempted and tested. Every day he felt the disturbances to the spirit caused by living in a sinful world, he knew its disappointments and sorrows, its physical pains and the frustrations of life.

He grew weary and sore, hungry and thirsty, and often longed for rest and comfort. He was argued with, lied to, falsely reproved, disliked and deceived by others. He knew to excess the temptations of the Devil, and constantly faced the opposition of men (compare Hebrews 12:3), including sometimes even that of his own disciples. He was tested to the full. Thus He is able to bring to men succour and help when they too are tested in the fires of persecution, or facing the desires of flesh and mind or the problems of a sinful world.

‘He is able to succour.’ Let this be our confidence, that He is able to provide all the help, sustenance and enablement that we will ever need as we seek to serve Him.

So we may summarise the activity of the Son in exalting men above the angels as follows;

1) He was by His own consent made lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), emptying Himself of His heavenly status of equality with God (Philippians 2:6-7), so that He might be truly man.

2) He was ‘crowned with glory and honour’, a way of saying that He, as the ‘second (representative) man’ and ‘the last Adam’ was given the status which had originally been Adam’s as lord of creation thus making Him a suitable sacrifice for sin for mankind (Hebrews 2:9).

3) As such He ‘tasted death for every one’ who would believe, making purification for sins (Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 1:3).

4) He was made the perfect trek leader through His sufferings so that He might lead many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

5) He did this partly by becoming the sanctifier of those many sons, through His sacrifice of Himself making them separate to God for a holy purpose, and pure before Him, uniting Himself with them so that He could call them ‘brothers and sisters’ (Hebrews 2:10).

6) In the course of all this He became truly human that through His death He might bring Satan, the death dealer, to naught, delivering His own from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14).

7) He laid hold of the true seed of Abraham, those who believe and are accounted righteous, in order to be their Helper (Hebrews 2:16).

8) And thus, having by His own choice become truly human like His ‘brothers’, He became a merciful and faithful High Priest on their behalf in order to ‘help’ them, enabling Him to make reconciliation for the sins of His people, to restore them to God, and to deal once and for all for ever with the consequences of their sins (Hebrews 2:17).

9) Thus did He, by becoming human and facing all men’s temptations and testings, become the One Who could come to the assistance of those who are tested in whatever way and under whatever circumstances (Hebrews 2:18).