ep 19 - Hebrews 2:5-9 | What Is Man That You Are Mindful of Him?

SHOW NOTES

EPISODE TITLE: Hebrews 2:5-9 | What Is Man That You Are Mindful of Him? Jesus, the Angels, and the Salvation We've Been Given

Series: A Study Through the Book of Hebrews | Episode 6

EPISODE OVERVIEW

We are in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 5 and the author just really wants us to understand the power of what Christ has done and the beauty of what we have in our hands as Christians. This one is going to encourage you right where you are. I genuinely pray it settles into your heart.

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QUICK RECAP (Haven't listened to the Hebrews series yet? Start at Episode 1 of the series — it'll set the whole context for where we are today.)

Over the last several weeks we have established in Hebrews chapter 1 that Jesus is fully God — the radiance of the Father's glory, the exact imprint of His nature, superior to the angels in every way. In Hebrews 2:1-4 we talked about the word therefore and the warning against drifting — that quiet, unintentional movement away from the dock that happens when we are not paying much closer attention. Today we move into the beauty of what it means that God gave the world to come not to angels, but to man.

THE PASSAGE

Hebrews 2:5-9 ESV

"For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, 'What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.' Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

UNPACKING THE PASSAGE

A note before we begin: This is the first time the name Jesus is actually dropped in the book of Hebrews. Up to this point the author has been using clues, the Son, the heir of all things, the radiance of God's glory, but this is the moment the name is named. And it lands with such weight after everything that has come before it.

"For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come." — Hebrews 2:5

There is a Haitian song that I grew up singing, and the English translation is something like: "The angels of heaven do not understand the grace that God has for us." I’ve always sang it as a beautiful declaration of God's love, but reading this verse gives it even more depth.

The world to come, the kingdom that is coming in its fullness when Jesus returns, rides in on a horse, steps foot on the Mount of Olives, and brings final justice and victory was not subjected to the angels. The angels are messengers of God. They work for God. They minister to those who are inheriting salvation. But God did not give the world to come to them.

He gave it to man.

And more specifically, He gave it to the Son of Man.

"What is man that you are mindful of him?" — Hebrews 2:6-8 | Psalm 8:4-6

This passage is doing two things at the same time.

On one level it is talking about Jesus, the one who was made for a little while lower than the angels, who was crowned with glory and honor, who has everything put in subjection under His feet.

On another level it is talking about us, the humans. What is man that you are mindful of him? What is woman that God is mindful of her? Who are we that He cares for us?

"You made him for a little while lower than the angels."

This connects directly to Philippians 2:5-8:

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus willingly emptied Himself. For a little while He made Himself lower than the angels by submitting Himself to God's plan so that He could put death under His feet. So that everything could be put in subjection under His feet. So that we could find this great salvation.

It was just for a little while. That does not mean He was no longer God or that He was never God. It means He humbled Himself to the point of death. . . .even death on a cross.

"He left nothing outside his control." — Hebrews 2:8

Did you feel that?

Nothing.

Outside.

His.

Control.

That means Christ does not get caught by surprise when something happens. He is not looking at your situation going "Oh. . . I didn't see that coming." No. Everything is in subjection to Him.

Like Job, when God said to Satan "Have you considered my servant Job?" that should be encouraging to us. Satan cannot do anything unless God allows him to do it. And we have to trust that God, as our good Father, the one who knows all and is in all and loves us, has a good reason behind whatever He allows.

God is not a sky daddy who is bored and trying to figure out how He can torture His children today. That is so anti-biblical. Jesus humbled Himself, willingly, as we just read in Philippians. He allowed Himself to be made a little lower than the angels for a little while so that everything could be put in subjection under His feet. Satan has no ultimate authority. He is on a tight leash. And if God allows him to do something, it is for your benefit. It is for your good.

"I'm speaking this to you as someone who is currently, as I'm speaking to you right now, in what feels like the fight of my life when it comes to spiritual warfare and just having to keep my mind stayed on Christ so I can stay in perfect peace. I'm literally walking that right now as I'm speaking to you, but this verse encourages me so much because he has left nothing outside his control."

He sees you. He's in control. He's on the throne. Please be encouraged.

He sees the mom who is homeschooling her kids.

He sees the wife who is helping carry the weight of the household.

He sees the woman who has had to surrender unrealized dreams because of all the things she is already doing.

He sees where you are right now, and He will not let you go.

"At present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him." — Hebrews 2:8b

This verse answers a question a lot of us have wrestled with: if Jesus accomplished everything on the cross, if everything is in subjection to Him . . .

. . .why does evil still exist?

Why does it still feel like Satan is doing whatever he wants?

The answer is right here. We do not yet see everything in subjection to Him, but that does not contradict what scripture says. In the spiritual realm, we know that anything God allows to happen to us, even as far as death, but, and HUGE BUT here, He is already victorious over it. Death at this point, based on what Paul says, is just being absent from the body and present with the Lord. Everything literally is subjected to Him. We just cannot see it with our physical eyes yet.

"But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus." — Hebrews 2:9

This is the turn. And it is also the first time the name Jesus appears in Hebrews.

Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Why did Jesus have to come as a human? Why did He have to die? Why couldn't He just vanquish death and the sacrificial system without taking on flesh?

Because as God, He couldn't die. The only way He could taste death for everyone, and in doing so conquer it, was by taking on human flesh. And even when He did die in that human flesh, He was not dead the way we die. He was about His Father's business. He went to set the captives free. He took those who were in Abraham's bosom and crossed over to the other side.

There is more coming on this as we continue through Hebrews, but this is just a small preview of why the Incarnation was not optional. It was the mission. And He fulfilled it to perfection.

A NOTE ON THE ANGELS

There is no grace process for fallen angels.

When angels fall, when they sin, that is it. We do not see a repentance process. We do not see mercy extended. We do not see grace made available. This is personal conjecture, but perhaps it is because they are in the very presence of God, and if they choose to leave that, to sin against God in that proximity, there is no excuse available to them.

But us? We fall and we fall and we fall, and God gives us the strength to get back up. He actually picks us back up and puts us on our feet.

What is woman that God is mindful of her?

There was no limit God would not go through for us. He allowed Jesus to be made lower than the angels, to be put at our level, so that everything could be put in subjection under His feet and so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Are you catching what that means? Jesus got on our playing field. He allowed Himself to be made low, just like us, because He loved us that much.

CLOSING WORD FROM THE ENDURING WORD COMMENTARY (PLEASE DON’T MISS THIS!)

David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary on Hebrews 2:9:

"But we see Jesus. The promise is fulfilled in Jesus, who is Lord over all. Through Jesus, man can regain the dominion originally intended for Adam. There are things we will not understand until we see Jesus. The answers to life's most perplexing questions are not found in asking why. The greatest answer is a who — Jesus Christ.

Some wish that they might truly see Jesus with their natural eye instead of the eye of faith. Yet sight is very frequently used in scripture as a metaphor, an illustration, a symbol to set forth what faith is. Faith is the eye of the soul. It is the act of looking unto Jesus. Think of how many who saw Jesus with the natural eye resisted Him, mocked Him, rejected Him. It's better to see Jesus with the eye of faith than with the natural eye.

It does not say we can see Jesus, though that is true. It does not say we have seen Jesus, though that was true of some in His day. It does not say we shall see Jesus, though that is certainly true. It says we see Jesus — both now and continually. He is the focus, the center, the main aspect of our spiritual life.

So look unto Jesus with the eye of faith, as imperfect as your vision of faith may be. Look unto Him who is perfect.

See Him as the one who loves sinners and died for them.

See Him as your Savior.

See Him as your master.

See Him as your friend.

See Him as your forerunner.

See Him as your healer.

See Him at home, at work, out and about — not only at worship times."

See Jesus, y'all.

He is not hidden in some far corner where you have to wait until He returns to find Him. See Him now and continually. He is right there with you when you are washing the dishes. He is right there with you when you are folding laundry. He is right there with you when you have to discipline your child who just did the same thing two minutes ago. He is with you when you are homeschooling, when you are cooking, when you are worried about the food system and your finances and your car and your marriage and all the things.

See Him. Right now. With the eye of faith. Even when your vision is shaky and you cannot exactly make out what you are looking at. . . . see Him.

Because He is perfect even when our vision is not.

3 THINGS TO WALK AWAY WITH

1. The world to come was not given to the angels — it was given to us. Through Jesus, man can regain the dominion originally intended for Adam. We are not an afterthought in God's plan. We are the point of it.

2. He left nothing outside His control. Not your hard season. Not your spiritual warfare. Not the thing that feels like it came out of nowhere and has you trapped between a hard rock and a place. He is not surprised. He is not catching up. He is on the throne and He sees everything.

3. See Jesus — now and continually. The answers to life's most perplexing questions are not found in asking why. The greatest answer is a who. See Him in your everyday. At the kitchen sink. At the school drop-off line. In the broken-down car and the stretched-thin budget. See Him with the eye of faith — as imperfect as that vision may be — because He is perfect even when we are not.

APPLICATION FOR ANCHORED WOMEN

You are carrying a lot. The homeschooling and the homemaking and the marriage and the children and the dreams you have had to set aside and the weight you carry quietly so nobody else has to. He sees all of it. He has left nothing about your life outside of His control. And the same Jesus who allowed Himself to be made lower than the angels — to get down on our level, to take on our flesh, to taste our death — is the same Jesus who is right there with you in the laundry room and the grocery store and the 3am moment when everything feels impossible.

See Him. He is already there.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

• Hebrews 2:5-9 ESV — the main passage

• Psalm 8:4-6 — "What is man that you are mindful of him?" (quoted in Hebrews 2:6-8)

• Philippians 2:5-8 ESV — Jesus emptied Himself and humbled Himself to death on a cross

• Job 1:8 — "Have you considered my servant Job?" — God's sovereignty over what Satan is allowed to do

• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 — in our weakness His strength is made perfect

• 2 Corinthians 5:8 — absent from the body, present with the Lord

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik - enduringword.com

• Logos Bible Software — used for all word studies and cross-referencing

• The 7 Letters Club — theologyandtestimony.com

• Previous episodes in the Hebrews series — episodes 14 through 18

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LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

If this episode blessed you, please stop right now and share it with somebody. And leave a review on whatever platform you are listening on. I would be so grateful. I'll be checking for you on the next episode.

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COMING UP NEXT

We are continuing in Hebrews chapter 2 . . . picking up on the verses that follow and getting into even more of why Jesus had to come as human, what it means that He is the founder of salvation, and the beauty of our role in all of this. Do not miss it.

This is in case i forget, a platform created for women just like you and me to dig deeper into the Word, into theology, and to be reminded of God's everyday goodness and faithfulness through the sharing of testimony. I'll catch you on the next one. ✌🏽

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⚠️ A NOTE ON HOW THESE SHOW NOTES ARE MADE

I really do pour my heart and soul and prayers into these studies. I do not use AI to build them. Every recorded episode is purely the Holy Spirit — studied through Logos Bible Software, prayed over, and brought to you as faithfully as I know how.

However, in full transparency — because I am a mom and a wife and I am doing all the things, taking classes and everything — I do pop my transcripts into AI so that it can help me draft the initial show notes. Then I go back through and make sure everything is perfect and reflects me and the community we are building here at in case i forget.

I just want you to see my heart and hear my heart. These episodes are for you — and they always will be. 🤍

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