John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 9. But we see Jesus , etc..] Not with bodily eyes, but with the eyes of the mind, and understanding; that he is Jesus, as the Syriac version reads; and that he is designed in the above words; and that he has all things made subject unto him; and that he was humbled, and now exalted, as follows: who was made a little lower than the angels ; in his state of humiliation; (see Gill on Hebrews 2:7) for the suffering of death : this clause may be considered either as connected with the preceding; and then the sense is, that Jesus became lower than the angels, by, or through suffering death; in that respect he was lower than they, who die not; this proved him to be in a condition below them, and showed how pertinent the above words were to him, and how they were fulfilled in him: or with the following; and then the meaning is, that because Jesus suffered death in the room and stead of his people; humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross, when he was very low indeed, therefore he is crowned with glory and honour ; (see Philippians 2:8,9) and (see Gill on Hebrews 2:7). that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man ; that is, Christ was made a little lower than the angels by becoming man, and assuming a body frail and mortal, that he might die for his church and people: to taste death, is a Jewish phrase, often to be met with in Rabbinical writings; (see Gill on Matthew 16:28) and signifies the truth and reality of his death, and the experience he had of the bitterness of it, it being attended with the wrath of God, and curse of the law; though he continued under it but for a little while, it was but a taste; and it includes all kinds of death, he tasted of the death of afflictions, being a man of sorrows all his days, and a corporeal death, and what was equivalent to an eternal one; and so some think the words will bear to be rendered, that he by the grace of God might taste of every death; which rendering of the words, if it could be established, as it is agreeable to the context, and to the analogy of faith, would remove all pretence of an argument from this place, in favour of the universal scheme: what moved God to make him lower than the angels, and deliver him up to death, was not any anger towards him, any disregard to him, or because he deserved it, but his grace, free favour, and love to men; this moved him to provide him as a ransom; to preordain him to be the Lamb slain; to send him in the fulness of time, and give him up to justice and death: the Syriac version reads, for God himself through his own grace tasted death for all; Christ died, not merely as an example, or barely for the good of men, but as a surety, in their room and stead, and that not for every individual of mankind; for there are some he knows not; for some he does not pray; and there are some who will not be saved: the word man is not in the original text, it is only uper pantov , which may be taken either collectively, and be rendered for the whole; that is, the whole body, the church for whom Christ gave himself, and is the Saviour of; or distributively, and be translated, for everyone; for everyone of the sons God brings to glory, ( Hebrews 2:10) for everyone of the brethren, whom Christ sanctifies, and he is not ashamed to own, and to whom he declares the name of God, ( Hebrews 2:11,12) for everyone of the members of the church, in the midst of which he sung praise, ( Hebrews 2:12) for every one of the children God has given him, and for whose sake he took part of flesh and blood, ( Hebrews 2:13,14) and for everyone of the seed of Abraham, in a spiritual sense, whose nature he assumed, ( Hebrews 2:16).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 5-9 - Neither the state in which the church is at present, nor its mor completely restored state, when the prince of this world shall be cas out, and the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdom of Christ, i left to the government of the angels: Christ will take to him his grea power, and will reign. And what is the moving cause of all the kindnes God shows to men in giving Christ for them and to them? it is the grac of God. As a reward of Christ's humiliation in suffering death, he ha unlimited dominion over all things; thus this ancient scripture wa fulfilled in him. Thus God has done wonderful things for us in creatio and providence, but for these we have made the basest returns.
Greek Textus Receptus
τον 3588 T-ASM δε 1161 CONJ βραχυ 1024 A-ASN τι 5100 X-ASN παρ 3844 PREP αγγελους 32 N-APM ηλαττωμενον 1642 5772 V-RPP-ASM βλεπομεν 991 5719 V-PAI-1P ιησουν 2424 N-ASM δια 1223 PREP το 3588 T-ASN παθημα 3804 N-ASN του 3588 T-GSM θανατου 2288 N-GSM δοξη 1391 N-DSF και 2532 CONJ τιμη 5092 N-DSF εστεφανωμενον 4737 5772 V-RPP-ASM οπως 3704 ADV χαριτι 5485 N-DSF θεου 2316 N-GSM υπερ 5228 PREP παντος 3956 A-GSM γευσηται 1089 5667 V-ADS-3S θανατου 2288 N-GSM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
9. Jesus - made a little lower, etc. Repeated from ver. 7. To be subordinated to the angels is the same as being "made under the law," Gal. iv. 4. In that chapter Paul shows that the law under which the church in its state of pupilage was kept (Gal. iii. 23; iv. 3) was instituted through the mediation of angels (Gal. iii. 19). Then, as interchangeable with under the law, Paul has "enslaved under the elements (upo ta stoiceia) of the world" (Gal. iv. 3, 9). These elements are elemental forces or spirits, as appears from a correct interpretation of Col. ii. 8, 20. 171 The subjection to elemental spirits is only another form of subjection to the angels of the law, and our author uses this doctrine to show the mutable nature of angels in contrast with the immutable perfection of the Son (see ch. i. 7, 8). This accords with the Epistle to the Colossians which deals with the heresy of angel-worship, and in which the worship of angels is represented as connected with the service of elemental or cosmic forces. Very striking is Col. ii. 15. When the bond of the law was rendered void in Christ's crucifixion, that ministry of angels which waited on the giving of the law was set aside by God (apekdusamenov) having stripped off, revealing Christ as the head of every principality and power. God made a show or display of them (edeigmatisen) as subordinate and subject to Christ. He thus boldly (en parrhsia), by a bold stroke, put his own chosen ministers in subjection before the eyes of the world. See on Col. ii. 15. The use of the human name, Jesus, at this point, is significant. In this epistle that name usually furnishes the key to the argument of the passage in which it occurs. See ch. iii. 1; vi. 20; xii. 2.For the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor (dia to paqhma tou qanatou doxh kai timh estefanwmenon). The usual interpretation connects for the suffering of death with made lower than the angels, meaning that Jesus was subordinated to the angels for the suffering of death. But for the suffering of death should be connected with crowned, etc. Dia should be rendered because of. Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. Christ's exaltation and preeminence over the angels was won through humiliation and death. For crowned, see on 2 Tim. ii. 5. Exaltation was the logical result of Christ's humiliation (comp. Philip. ii. 9), not simply its recompense (comp. Matt. xxiii. 12; Luke xiv. 11; xviii. 14). He was glorified in humiliation. "The humiliation is only the glory not yet begun." 172 By the grace of God (cariti qeou). God manifested his grace in giving Christ the opportunity of tasting death for every man, and so abolishing death as a curse. The same thought of glory in humiliation is expressed in John i. 14. To be called to the office of "apostle and high-priest of our confession" (ch. iii. 1), an office which involved personal humiliation and death, was to be "crowned with glory and honor," and was a signal token of God's favor. Note John xii. 23, 28; xiii. 31, 32, in which Jesus speaks of his approaching passion as itself his glorification. Comp. Heb. iii. 3. It was desirable to show to Jews who were tempted to stumble at the doctrine of a crucified Messiah (Gal. iii. 13), that there was a glory in humiliation. 173 Should taste death (geushtai qanatou) The phrase is found several times in the Gospels, as Matt. xvi. 28; Mark ix. 1; Luke ix. 27; John viii. 52. See on Luke ix. 27; John viii. 52.
The following statement justifies the bold assertion of ver. 9. With a view to the recoil of Jewish readers from the thought of a suffering Messiah (1 Corinthians i. 23), the writer will show that Jesus' suffering and death were according to the divine fitness of things.
