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Epiphany · The Presentation of Our Lord · Year C

Hebrews 2:14-18

Jesus Made Like His Brothers

February 2, 2028

The Holy Family with a Little Bird, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
The Holy Family with a Little Bird, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1650Museo del Prado, Madrid
Murillo's Holy Family as a Seville household: Joseph at his work with the child between his knees, Mary at her spinning, and a small dog jumping for the bird in the child's hand.Since the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things. He had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect.Bartolomé Esteban MurilloSeville's leading painter (1617-1682), known for a warm, soft handling that made his religious pictures the most copied in Spain for two centuries.Museo del Prado, MadridSpain's national collection, formed from what the Spanish crown had bought over three centuries, which is why its Titians and Rubenses are unmatched.Museo del Prado, Madrid
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 2:22-40Lk 2:22-40
EpistleHeb. 2:14-18Heb 2:14-18
Old TestamentMal. 3:1-4Mal 3:1-4
PsalterPs. 84Ps 84

Overview & Insights

“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)

Without question the greatest obstacle to the author’s argument about the superiority of the Son is the authentic humanity of the Son, which involved him in both suffering and death. For the first time our author uses the name of the man from Nazareth, Jesus (v. 9). The humanity, the suffering, and the death of Jesus all seem to point with unmistakable clarity to his inferiority in comparison with the angels. The matter obviously demands attention, if the author’s argument is to stand; and rather than shrinking from the problem, he effectively turns it to his advantage.

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Take it further: Hebrews 2:14-18

Commentary

Commentary on Hebrews 2:14-18Commentary on Heb 2:14-18 Working Preacher · Luther Seminary

The RCL's own preaching commentary on Christ's shared humanity and priesthood.

Hebrews 2:10-18 CommentaryHeb 2:10-18 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed preaching-focused reading of the wider passage covering these verses.

Hebrews 2 - Warning Against DriftingHeb 2 - Warning Against Drifting Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of Jesus sharing flesh and blood to free the fearful.

Hebrews 2:14 CommentariesHeb 2:14 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Christ's death defeating the power of death.

Hebrews 2 Verse-by-Verse CommentaryHeb 2 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

Gill's Exposition read straight through the chapter for a further expositional voice.

Background & Word Study

Hebrews 2:14 InterlinearHeb 2:14 Interlinear BibleHub

The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and lexical helps.

Book of Hebrews OverviewBook of Heb Overview BibleProject

An animated overview of Hebrews and its portrait of Christ as merciful high priest.

The Church Fathers

Hebrews 2 (Catena)Heb 2 (Catena) Catena

Patristic comments verse by verse on Christ sharing flesh and blood with the human family.

Questions preachers ask

Why did the Son share our flesh and blood?

By taking our nature and death, Christ destroyed the one who held the power of death and freed those enslaved by fear, becoming a merciful high priest able to help the tempted.

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