¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

Another reason Christ suffered in His humanity is that He might become a High Priest who intercedes for His people.

Verse 16 moves from proclamation to reason. The Son gives aid to believers, not to angels.

¹⁶ For indeed [surely, doubtless]

The “for” sets forth a summary of verses 10–15; it gives the reason for the incarnation of Christ. The emphatic “indeed” gives strong affirmation of this statement—”we all know this to be a fact.”

He does not give aid to angels,

It was not Jesus’ purpose on earth to help angels. He did not come to earth to redeem angels but human beings.

“Give aid” means to appropriate or to lay firm hold of. The idea is to rescue someone from peril to help them. Paul used this term with the idea of taking hold of eternal life (1 Ti 6:12, 19). Jesus did not take hold of angels to minister to them but to believers.

but He does give aid to the seed [descendants] of Abraham.

Although the “seed of Abraham” generally means Jews, it can refer to Gentile believers as well (Ga 3:29). However, the primary argument of Hebrews was to warn converted Jews not to revert to Judaism.

Jesus was a descendant of Abraham (Mt 1:1). The Abrahamic Covenant promised that Israel would be a great nation in certain geographical boundaries (Ge 12-15). Jesus was born a physical Jew. Not only was He incarnate but He was born into a Jewish body.

PRINCIPLE:

Jesus came to save human sinners, not angels.

APPLICATION:

Jesus’ ministry was to the redeemed, not angels. His work on Calvary’s cross did not provide for the salvation of angels but for mankind. His work saves the inferior being between the two.