“But we see Jesus”is the answer given in Hebrews 2:9 for two things: first of all, to give us total confidence in God’s amazing plan for us humans, as described in the previous two verses, that we’ll be “crowned with glory and honour with everything in God’s creation given over to us” – and secondly, to give us reason for why “at present,” verse 8, “we don’t yet see” that future happening.
In other words, we’ve got a future that’s so amazing it’s hard to grasp, but also hard to grasp is why God left us stuck in a world for now that’s nothing like what he has in mind for us. What, then, gives us hope and confidence in our future when there’s little evidence of that future to give us confidence in it, and what gives us a reason for living in this world now, when it doesn’t seem to tie in with our future either?
And on top of that, imagine being a Christian like those in Hebrews 10:32-34, who were being well and truly battered for being Christian. They were insulted and abused, their property confiscated, and some even ending up in prison. It was a real struggle, therefore, to “stand their ground in the face of suffering” (32) and “not throw away their confidence” (35).
So how did saying, “But we see Jesus,” help them? Well, according to Hebrews 2:14, Jesus “shared in our humanity,” and he’s “now crowned with glory and honour” (9). In which case it needn’t be hard to believe our amazing future is possible, when a human like us is already living it. “Seeing Jesus,” then, we see in him the evidence of our future too.
But how does “seeing Jesus” help with being stuck in this world, not only facing suffering and death from being physical, but also as a Christian having to face misunderstanding and abuse, as well as being drawn away from God by “sin’s deceitfulness” (3:13)? But according to Hebrews 2:17, Jesus was “made like us, his brothers, in every way,” so he faced all these things too. But what they did for him was enable him to “become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God,” not only to “make atonement for our sins,” but also “in being tempted himself, he’s now fully able to help us when we’re being tempted too” (18).
And we get to “see Jesus” doing that for us again and again, because that’s what he’s our high priest for – and because he’s “A high priest who knows and loves us” too….(next blog)
