A Brief Review to Set the Context

The very fact that human priests are themselves sinners raises a number of important questions. How can sinful priests offer sacrifices that remove the guilt of our sin, unless they first offer sacrifices for themselves? And the sacrifices they offer–the blood of animals–only temporarily remove the guilt of our sins. Such sacrifices only delay the judgment of God and they must be continually repeated by the priests, not only for themselves, but also for those on whose behalf they are offered. It will take a perfect priest, offering a perfect sacrifice, if we are to saved from the guilt and power of sin. This perfect priest is Jesus Christ who has made himself lower than the angels, suffered on the cross and tasted death, was raised from the dead and then ascended on high, before taking his place at God’s right-hand. And yet, this perfect priest is merciful to us because he himself has suffered and was tempted, just as we suffer and are tempted.

As we continue working our way through the Book of Hebrews we come to the second half of the second chapter of this epistle, where the author continues to make his case for the superiority of Jesus Christ. As the author has shown us from the pages of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is superior to angels. Jesus is superior to Moses. And Jesus is superior to the priesthood of Israel. While in the previous verses, the author has focused upon our Lord’s superiority over the angels, in verses 10-18 of Hebrews 2, the author now addresses a topic he will develop in great detail throughout the balance of this epistle–the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is a much greater priest who offers a much better sacrifice for sin.

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