ep 22 - Hebrews 2:14-17 | Why Jesus Had to Become Human, and Why That Changes Everything About How You Face Fear

EPISODE TITLE:
Hebrews 2:14-17 | Why Jesus Had to Become Human, and Why That Changes Everything About How You Face Fear

Series: A Study Through the Book of Hebrews | Episode 8

EPISODE OVERVIEW

We are wrapping up Hebrews chapter two today and the goal is to get through all four remaining verses. This passage answers one of the most fundamental questions we have about Jesus: why did He have to become human? Why did He have to die? Why was there not another way? The answer is in these verses and it is more personal, more practical, and more encouraging than we might expect.

We are also talking about the fear of death, postpartum anxiety, Gandalf, and what it means to steward the time we have been given. Y'all, it is a lot and it is really, really good.

FIRST: 500 DOWNLOADS!

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THE 7 LETTERS CLUB

Before we jump in, a quick word about the 7 Letters Club.

I created this club specifically with you in mind because I know we are all being overwhelmed by social media, by AI, by just all of the noise. This is an opportunity to slow down and put your heart to paper. I personally have had the privilege of writing letters to a really close friend and I cannot tell you what it did for me and what it did for her. What I am inviting you into is not just letter writing for the sake of letter writing. I genuinely believe that God would want to use this process in your spiritual walk with Him, as you sharpen one another, as you grow, and as you heal.

There is also a quiz on the website now to help you figure out what kind of pen pal you might be. Go check it out.

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QUICK RECAP OF HEBREWS CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO

Before we land on verses 14 through 17, here is where we have been:

Chapter one established that God spoke to us through the prophets long ago, but now speaks to us through His Son, who is God in the flesh, not like the angels by any means, who made purification for our sins, and who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Chapter two has been walking us through the significance of that. The world to come is not subjected to angels. It is subjected to man, and more specifically to the Son of Man. Everything is in subjection to Christ and nothing is left outside His control. Jesus has been crowned with glory as the founder of our salvation, made perfect through suffering. He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters because we who are being sanctified and the one who sanctifies share the same source. And He became the founder of our salvation by wearing every hat, paying every cost, and traveling every path required to bring us to glory.

Now we land here in verses 14 through 17, where the author of Hebrews answers the question we have all had: why did He have to become human?

THE PASSAGE

Hebrews 2:14-17 ESV

"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

UNPACKING THE PASSAGE

"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things." — Hebrews 2:14

The children here are the children of God, those who are to inherit salvation. We saw at the end of chapter one that the angels minister to those who are to inherit salvation. That is who the children are. And the children share in flesh and blood.

You and I are flesh and blood. We bleed. We get sick. We die. We do all these very human things. And in order for Jesus to destroy death and destroy the one who has the power of death, He had to partake in the same things.

This is the answer to the question the messianic Jew raised in the conversation from the last episode. This is why keeping 613 laws would never have been enough. The problem was not just behavior. The problem was death itself. And in order to destroy death, He had to enter it.

How did death enter the world in the first place?

Death entered the world because Satan tempted Adam and Eve. He challenged what God had said in the garden. God said if they ate of the tree they would die. Satan said they would not die but would become like God. They ate. They fell into disobedience. And sin, death, sickness, and brokenness entered the world through that moment.

This is why there is so much evil in the world. It is not because God designed it this way. It is because sin entered through disobedience and brought all of its consequences with it.

"That through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." — Hebrews 2:14

The devil had the power of death. He held the keys to death, hell, and the grave. And the only way to destroy that power was for Jesus to enter death as a human and conquer it from the inside.

As God, He literally could not die. But as God in the flesh, He willingly laid down His life, entered death, took the captives from Abraham's bosom and brought them to freedom, and then rose again victorious.

We still see Satan active on the earth. We see that the lion seeks whom he may devour. We see that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But that does not mean Jesus is not victorious over death. Everything is in subjection to Christ even if we do not yet see it fully with our physical eyes. And for those of us who are believers, death no longer has the final word. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord.

"And deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." — Hebrews 2:15

The author of Hebrews compares fear of death to a lifelong slavery. That is not a small comparison. Fear of death was the power that Satan held over people. A carrot dangling just overhead that he could use to control and manipulate. But because Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, we no longer have to be slaves to that fear.

I want to be honest with you here because I think this is important.

After giving birth to my son I experienced postpartum anxiety and a lot of what I dealt with was a very real, very heavy fear of death. I would drive over the Buckman Bridge in Jacksonville, a bridge I had driven over hundreds of times, and clutch the wheel so hard because I had this overwhelming sense of impending doom. I would go into panic attacks before I even had the racing thoughts. And the racing thoughts, when they came, were almost always around death.

More recently, in a quantitative reasoning class at Liberty University, one of the discussion questions asked about our concept of death. And I was able to honestly say that I no longer fear the concept of dying. I understand we all have an appointment with death unless we are here when Jesus returns. But I will admit that I still wrestle with how I am going to die and when. And I think that is a real and honest thing that a lot of women carry quietly.

Which is where Gandalf comes in.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." — Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings

My husband and I were watching the extended version of the Lord of the Rings and there is this conversation between Frodo and Gandalf where Frodo essentially says he wishes the ring had never come to him. And Gandalf says there is a lot we cannot control. But all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

When I heard that in the context of what I had been studying in Hebrews, it hit me in a completely new way. Because a lot of us can spend our entire lives in the slavery that Hebrews 2:15 is talking about. Fearing death. Fearing circumstances. Obsessing over what we cannot control. And the invitation from both Gandalf and from this passage is the same: we have been given time. Steward it well.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12

"For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham." — Hebrews 2:16

Remember the original audience here. This letter was likely written to new Jewish believers who were direct descendants of Abraham. He is speaking directly to them. But for those of us who are Gentiles, we have been grafted into the tree of Jesus. We are grafted-in offspring of Abraham. He helps us too. The world was not subjected to angels. It was subjected to the Son of Man and because of His victorious mission, we get to share in that inheritance.

"Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest." — Hebrews 2:17

He had to be made like us in every respect. Every respect. That means He knows what it is like to be hungry. To be tired. To be grieved. To be betrayed. To be physically brutalized. To feel abandoned. To face temptation. He did not sit on His throne in heaven and look down on us from a safe distance. He left all of that, voluntarily, to come down here and experience what we experience so that He could go to the Father on our behalf as a high priest who actually knows what He is talking about.

As our high priest, Jesus does not just say to the Father: forgive them. He says: Father, forgive them. I know what it feels like. I remember the holes in My hands. I suffered for them. I understand. That is what makes Him merciful and faithful in a way no other intercessor could ever be.

"To make propitiation for the sins of the people." — Hebrews 2:17

Without the spilling of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Jesus had to come as a human to take on flesh and blood, to die the death that only humans die in this context, in order to make propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means a sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God. He became the satisfying sacrifice so that the wrath due to us was poured out on Him instead.

That is the gospel summed up in three verses.

"For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." — Hebrews 2:18

There is no temptation that is known to man that He has not been tempted with and that He is unable to provide an escape for. He traveled through temptation as a human and He came out victorious. And because He did, He is able to help us when we are being tempted. Not from a distance. Not theoretically. From the position of someone who has already been there.

THREE IN CASE I FORGET MOMENTS

1. Jesus became like you so He could walk in your shoes.
He did not stay on His throne. He left all of it, voluntarily, to suffer alongside us and to understand from the inside what it means to be human. And because He did, He is that much more merciful and faithful as our high priest.

2. Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death.
You are not a slave to the fear of death. When you close your eyes on this side and open them on the other, you have an eternity to spend with the Father of lights, with the glorious radiant Christ, with the Holy Spirit unfiltered. There is so much to look forward to. Death does not get the final word.

3. There is no temptation He has not walked through ahead of you.
Whatever you are facing right now, whatever you are being tempted with, He has been there. He understands. And He is able to help you find the way out because He already took it.

APPLICATION FOR ANCHORED WOMEN

You have been given time. Not an unlimited amount of it. Not an amount you get to control. But time. And all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

Whether you are a student, a single woman, a career woman, a mother, a wife, wherever you are in this season of life, there is a mission for you. There is a purpose. There is something God is calling you to. And you do not have to do it while being enslaved to fear.

Jesus walked through your shoes so He could intercede for you with full understanding. He destroyed death so you could breathe. And He is right there with you in the temptation, in the anxiety, in the grip-the-wheel-so-hard moments, ready to help.

Breathe in. Breathe out. He has left nothing outside His control.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

• Hebrews 2:14-17 ESV — the main passage

• Genesis 3 — the fall of man, sin and death entering the world through disobedience

• 2 Corinthians 5:8 — to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord

• Psalm 90:12 — teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom

• 1 Peter 5:8 — the devil seeks whom he may devour

• John 10:10 — the devil comes to steal kill and destroy; Jesus comes to give life abundantly

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 — no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man; God provides a way of escape

• Romans 3:23 — all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (referenced in context)

• Hebrews 9:22 — without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (referenced in context)

• Colossians 1:16-17 — all things created through Him and for Him; in Him all things hold together

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Enduring Word Commentary by David Guzik — enduringword.com

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

• The Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien / Peter Jackson film adaptation; Gandalf and Frodo's conversation referenced

• The 7 Letters Club — theologyandtestimony.com, click the Seven Letters tab

• The 7 Letters Club Matchmaking Quiz — available at theologyandtestimony.com

• Previous episodes in the Hebrews series — Episodes 1 through 7

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LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

If this episode blessed you, please stop before you move on to your next thing and leave a review on whatever platform you are listening on. It takes 30 seconds. It helps me reach more women and remind them of God's faithfulness and help them stay anchored when life would have them drift. I would be so grateful.

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A NOTE ON HOW THESE SHOW NOTES ARE MADE

Every recorded episode is purely the Holy Spirit, studied through Logos Bible Software and brought to you as faithfully as I know how. I do not use AI to build the studies or the teaching. The show notes are drafted with the help of AI directly from my transcripts, then reviewed to make sure everything reflects me and this community. Full transparency always. 🤍

If you are anything like me, it does not take much to forget God's faithfulness and His goodness. Between social media distractions and life's everyday dose of hardships, I am fighting for my life trying to hold on tight to the hem of Jesus. Don't think I've got it all together. I don't. But that's why I'm inviting you into this space with me for on-point and on-time biblical truths to help us anchor when life would have us burn out and drift. This is in case i forget. I am your host Miki. I look forward to chatting soon. ✌🏽

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