ABRAHAM’S DESCENDENTS. Hebrews 2:16 Our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t come into the world to help the angels, even though they are superior to us. He came to seek and to save those who were lost in their sins. Spiritual and physical death came upon all men because of our sinful nature. So that the sin that separates us from God be removed, we need a high priest to make us right and keep us right. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ deliberately took on Himself the “seed of Abraham.”
This use of words would likely have held significant meaning for Jewish believers who were descendants of Abraham’s natural human seed. He was an actual human being who was here on earth in fashion as a man, but He was a sinless Man whose human seed was that of “the seed of the woman.” The Lord Jesus didn’t come into the world to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. These are not only the Hebrews who are natural descendants of Abraham. People of any nationality who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are also of Abraham’s “seed,” who put his faith in God before he was separated by the act of circumcision, which has been a sign of Jewish separation. Christians are Abraham’s spiritual descendants.
In the first chapter, the writer quotes Old Testament scriptures to help readers understand the truth and meaning of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, there are quotations in this chapter that state the truth and meaning of our Lord’s humanity. This verse begins a statement that is hard for us to comprehend. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by whom and for whom all things are and were created, took on Himself humanity and became one of us.
Our Lord Jesus “takes hold” of individuals and enters into a personal union and relationship with them. He shares His eternal life with those who are of the seed of Abraham. He voluntarily took hold of us, and by doing that, made Himself obligated to do for us what we could not ever do for ourselves. “He suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.”
To understand “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us,” we need first to remember that God’s plans and purposes are connected with “man,” whom He made “In the image of God.” Second, His delight was with the “sons of men.” God found His delight in the perfect Man who came to earth to dwell among us. Thirdly, God’s love for us was so great that He “gave His only begotten Son.” Our Lord did not come here because He pitied us, nor did He come with the desire to have a whole lot of servants, but because He “loved us,” He gave Himself for us. Such love for us who did not deserve anything from Him should make us shed tears of joy and gratitude. We are so thankful that we want to express our love to Him with enthusiastic service to the best of our ability, and love Him with all of our hearts.
A fourth reason the Lord Jesus came down past the angels to be found in fashion as a man was simply because He wanted to. He is the Sovereign. He has the right to do what He wants. A fifth reason for Jesus not to take hold of angels, but humans instead, was to reveal God's grace to all families on earth and in heaven for the eternal ages to come. The lowest of morally conscious beings He created are humans, who chose to sin instead of obeying Him.
That left us, who are lost sinners by nature and practice, to choose whether we want to continue in sin or put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from our sins. When we trust in Him alone as our Savior, He saves us by His grace through our faith in Him. Those who do repent of their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will forever be showing the “exceeding riches of His grace” through eternal ages to come.