Hebrews 2 - What is Man?

Hebrews 2:6 (HCSB) "What is man, that You remember him, or the son of man, that You care for him?" This verse is a reference to Psalm 8 which is the source for one of my favorite choir anthems, "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name". In the Psalm, David was praising God and ask the rhetorical question of why God would care about man. David's response is as if to say "I'll never understand..." and concluding in Psalm 8:9 (HCSB), "Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!"

What we see in Hebrews is the answer to the rhetorical question. A savior who understood that in order for him to be a sacrifice for us, He had to become like us in every way. Hebrews 2:9-10 (HCSB), "But we do see Jesus- made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God's grace He might taste death for everyone-crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. For it was fitting, in bringing many sons to glory, that He, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

The author of Hebrews goes on to show us a glimpse into the heart of Jesus in 2:14-15 (HCSB), "Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, He also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death-that is, the Devil- and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death." Matthew Henry summarizes this passage by saying, "Here the wonderful love of God appeared, that, when Christ knew what he must suffer in our nature, and how he must die in it, yet he readily took it upon him. And this atonement made way for his people's deliverance from Satan's bondage, and for the pardon of their sins through faith."

Take refuge! We have a Savior that understood that he too must be like man, "a little lower than the angels," so that he could be the purging sacrifice for our sins. Oh God, how truly majestic is your name!