9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
9 But
The “but” here shows the contrast between the world as we now see it and the future kingdom yet to come. We do not now see Jesus’ dominion over creation, but there will be a day when we will.
we see Jesus,
Hebrews now identifies the Son as Jesus (Mt 1:21). This is the first time His name appears in the book of Hebrews. This statement shows how the readers of this book should see Jesus in their time. The use of Jesus’ personal name points to His humanity. Jesus was true humanity and undiminished deity in one person.
Now the readers of Hebrews can presently see His crowning by the Father. This occurred at His exaltation after suffering on the cross.
who was made a little lower than the angels,
The Father made Jesus lower than angels to die in a human body. The purpose of His stepping foot in humanity was to die with His body. He would represent all humanity in that death.
for [because of] the suffering of death
Jesus suffered death on the cross; this was the reason He became a human being (Php 2:8). His death was necessary to pay for the sins of mankind. God placed Jesus in a human body because He needed to die as a human being, to represent humanity by paying for their sins.
crowned with glory and honor,
Although we do not see Jesus in His millennial glory and honor at this time, we can now see His exalted status. His death was the reason for the readers seeing His glory and honor at the time of writing. The humiliation of Jesus brought glory and honor to His person because it procured salvation for mankind. Upon His arrival in heaven, the Father crowned Him with glory and honor.
that He,
The “that” here expresses purpose. God had a purpose for the sequence of preceding events (humiliation, death, and glory of Jesus combined).
by the grace of God,
God gave Jesus to die for our sins out of His grace (Ro 5:17; Eph 2:6). Grace is all that God is free to do for us because Christ paid for our sins. We did not have to take the penalty for our sins because He took it for us.
might taste death
“Taste death” is to experience the reality of death, not just sample it. He partook fully of the experience of death.
for [on behalf of] everyone.
Jesus died for every person, not just the elect. “For everyone” is emphatic in the Greek. “Everyone” points to the universal nature of His payment for sin.
The word “for” means instead of (2 Co 5:15; Ga 3:13). Jesus paid for sins by His death; He personally took our penalty for committing sin. He substituted Himself for the hell we should have. He took our hell that we might have His heaven. He experienced the penalty for sin instead of us.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus took our hell that we might have His heaven.
APPLICATION:
Jesus became a man to die for the sins of mankind. He fulfilled the Father’s original purpose for creation. He restored fallen man to the place he was before the fall when we believe on Him. The glorification of the Son is the pledge of those who follow Him.
All creation will be universally subject to Christ. His dishonor will end at that point and His domination begin. Believers will also rule over creation, but it will be done under the authority of Jesus.
Why do 28 English Bible translations say: “for a little while”?
Which is correct— “a little lower than the angels” OR > “for a little while”?
Seventeen English Bible translations say: “a little lower than the angels”.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
P.S. And the NIV Bible translation actually has both.
Hebrews 2:9 (NIV)
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Martin,
Some interpret made a little lower than the angels in a temporal sense, “made for a little while,” to imply that human existence in this time continuum is only for a brief lifetime, and then we are freed to live the life of eternity.
The issue is not either/or but both/and. The Son was made a little lower than angels for “a little while.” The word brachy (lit., “little”) in this phrase can be understood in two ways: a small measure of distance or substance (“just a little lower”), or a small amount of time (“for a little while”). The latter meaning seems to fit the context better since the author is not interested in the degree to which the Son was of a lower status than the angels. Moreover, the author is expressing the thought that Christ walked the earth as a human being for a brief time before being exalted back to heaven. The humiliation to which he submitted was only temporary; it lasted “for a brief while” and has been exchanged for exaltation glory. In this regard, we need to observe that when the line from Ps 8:6a is repeated in v 9 the word order is changed to bring forward the expression βραχύ τι, “for a little while,” into the emphatic position:
v 7
ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρʼ ἀγγέλους
“You made him a little while lower than the angels.”
v 9
βραχύ τι παρʼ ἀγγέλους ἠλαττωμένον
“For a little while [he] was made lower than the angels.”
By this change the stress falls upon the momentary character of the humiliation that was necessary to the accomplishment of redemption (cf. Kistemaker, Psalm Citations, 105–6).