He Has Himself Suffered | Hebrews 2:5–18 | The Perfect Savior for a Real and Fallen World

Watch This Sermon: “He Has Himself Suffered”

In this sermon on Hebrews 2:5–18, Pastor Mark Groen explores the profound reality that Christ’s perfection came through suffering. The Son of God took on human flesh—not just to identify with us, but to save us. This is not abstract theology; it’s the real, embodied truth of our salvation. Jesus suffered for sinners, was crowned with glory through death, and now reigns as our merciful and faithful high priest. This message challenges us to reflect on the practical reality of the gospel: we are valued, we are redeemed, and we are called to live as those who belong to Christ.

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So, I have been recently informed that I can be kind of fussy. Now, I should probably clarify what that means. That doesn't mean that when I get hungry, I cry until somebody feeds me. That's not what I'm saying. It means that as I've gotten older, I like things to be a certain way. Specifically, somebody who's in this room says I'm fussy about the way I make my coffee. I won't mention any names. I'm not defending myself here. I'm sure if you were to watch me, you would agree that I am kind of fussy about the way that I do things.

I guess it is kind of complicated. I guess it would seem that as I'm getting older, I like things a certain way, and it isn't just coffee either. There are other things that I enjoy being a certain way. And I'm sure that many, if not all of us, have things like this. Whether it's a favorite food that we like made a certain way, a particular chair that we have to sit in to watch something. Maybe it's you're very particular about the way you set the seat when you drive. We all have things that we like to get a particular way.

We have to get it just right. And while we don't believe that there is anything perfect on earth, When we do these things that we like a particular way, we would probably say, now that's perfect. That's the way I like it. That's perfect for me. And as we come to our passage today, we see a phrase telling us that the founder of our salvation was made perfect. But we have something interesting that we read after that. The founder of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. The perfection that the author of Hebrews is talking about isn't arbitrary though.

It's not like the way, the perfect way I like my coffee or the way you like to have something yourself. The perfection of Jesus is a necessity because the problem that Jesus solves when he brings salvation to his people solves a very specific problem, a very specific issue that needed to be dealt with. You see, our sin is real. And we need a savior who saves us from that sin. We don't need a pretty good savior. We need a perfect one. And what is most surprising about how this occurs is that the perfection comes through suffering.

As we see so many times in scripture, the work of God for his people comes to us in lowly ways. And God is glorified not by the power and strength like we would expect as humans, but God is most glorified in weakness. God is most glorified in suffering. And this is an important truth for us as the people of God. And this is gonna be one of our three main points that we're gonna see as we come to our scripture passage this morning. Now the first important truth of this passage that we need to see today is that Jesus humbled himself and took on human flesh.

This is an important truth. It means that Jesus can take on the punishment for our very real sin. If Jesus was merely a spirit, he would not have been able to be our representative. Jesus taking on human flesh shows us that the issues that we have in our world are real. And so we need someone who is able to defeat them in our very own flesh in a very real world. And secondly, this defeat of sin and death takes place through suffering. God did not come down, God the Son did not come down to defeat sin, death, and hell by waving a wand and saying the magic words, poof, your sin and rebellion is taken care of.

That's not what happened. Instead, in Christ, God himself did something. He bore the wrath, the very real wrath that we deserve for our sin. And this is difficult for us to wrap our minds around in a world where we're obsessed with easy solutions. But it's the truth of scripture, and it's vital that we understand this truth, that salvation comes through suffering. And lastly, we see that all of this was for us. The author of Hebrews keeps driving home this point over and over. Jesus died for us. It wasn't for angels. It was for those who are subject to the curse.

It is for humans who fell in sin. The overarching theme in what we've read this morning from Hebrews is that we need this. We need this. It isn't just an intellectual exercise. This isn't just conceptual. The salvation that God in Christ brings to his people is real and it is practical. It is about reconciling sinners. It's about reconciling you and I and saving us from sin, death, and hell. And so as we start off today, we see again something we saw back in the first chapter of Hebrews. The author, as we look at the first few verses here, is using passages from the Old Testament to drive his point home.

And what we see here is so important that we understand It's so important that we grasp something here, what the author of Hebrews means by the world to come. Now this idea would have not only been a big idea for the Hebrew Christians that this book is written to in the first century, it's a big idea for Christians of every century, because our hope is not here and now. Our hope is in the age to come. The hope of heaven is not simply ethereal, it's not abstract, as if it's out there someplace somewhere all floaty and spiritual only.

As Christians, we hope and we confess a belief in a new heaven and a new earth where creation, all of creation is restored, where all of creation is renewed. This is not simply just a spiritual thing. It is all of creation being renewed and restored. We believe that there is a rest coming for the people of God. but we also believe that this isn't just something in the future. We have a foretaste of all of this with the enthronement of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father. Right now, even right now, Jesus Christ is ruling over his people, right now.

And that's the key idea here, that he's ruling over his people. Jesus did not ascend on high. just to have authority over angels. He came and He suffered and He died for people. And in doing so, He brings dignity to humanity and brings honor to us because the Lord of heaven and earth thinks highly enough of His creation to become one of us to redeem us. So to drive this point home, we see that the author of Hebrews is going to call upon the Old Testament, and chances are that you're familiar with the passage used here.

It is well known. In fact, I paraphrase it in the congregational prayer quite often. And you'll notice that the book of Hebrews, though, seems kind of unconcerned about where this passage is from, right? Look at what it says here. It's been testified somewhere. Why didn't he say that it's from Psalm 8? We know it's from Psalm 8, but while it doesn't seem like that's a very strong quotation of Scripture here, that wasn't how it worked back then. The first thing we have to remember is that the Psalms wouldn't have been numbered off like they were for us back then.

Our chapters and verse numbers, as we've talked about before, were added much, much later. Also, it's likely that the author of Hebrews is quoting this psalm from memory. Now, you and I, we can very easily grab a Bible and flip to a page, or we can do a search on a digital platform of some kind and get right to the verses that we want. But back when the author of Hebrews would have been writing, you would have needed to have access to a scroll, which was very rare. And even then, could you imagine trying to find some specific verses in a scroll?

Imagine trying to find a specific psalm. I tried to imagine myself doing this, you know, coming up here and going through it and sliding through it. There were some pretty funny images in my head of myself trying to find something in a scroll. I don't even know how to use a scroll. But the author of Hebrews here knows what he's quoting. He doesn't need to look it up. This would have been a song of their worship. This would have been something that they knew by heart. And when he says that it's testified somewhere, it isn't to make us feel like this scripture isn't important.

the author of Hebrews would have felt, would have known, would have believed that the author of Scripture is divine. All of Scripture, no matter where it comes from the Old Testament, is authoritative. And so the audience that the book was written to, when he says it's testified to somewhere, they would have understood. Oh, he's saying Scripture, this is important, we need to pay attention. And again, they would have known this because it wasn't just Scripture to them. These Psalms were the music. They were the songs of their worship. They knew them. They were embedded in who they are.

So what is significant about the author of Hebrews quoting this Psalm? It's showing us how God the Son was prophesied to take on human flesh, to be lowered, that he would lower himself to be like us. And notice the phrase, son of man, is in this psalm as it's quoted here. It's not only telling us about God's care for humanity here, but that phrase, son of man, is messianic. This is a prophecy. And the idea is that Jesus is going to lower himself from the glory of heaven. That was the idea in the psalm, and then now as it's being quoted, the author of Hebrews is saying, this has been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

For a little while, he was lower than the angels, but now he is crowned with glory and honor, and he's now ascended to the right hand of the Father, and everything has been put under his feet. Jesus has ascended and is ruling on high. He is God. And the author of Hebrews uses this language to help us understand that this is the work of Jesus. He is the Messiah. And that's the idea coming through here in the text, that Jesus took on our flesh and ascended. And He is our true heavenly King. And as we see, everything is subjected to Jesus.

Nothing is outside of His control. But let's be honest. Let's be honest about reading that statement. Because there are times where even though we believe like Jesus is in control and everything is subject to Him, there's time where it doesn't feel like God is in control when we look at our world. Sometimes it feels like the world is just random. And we think that if everything was under the control of Jesus, the world wouldn't look the way it does. We wouldn't have these problems. Now that's a very real struggle that we are faced with. It requires that we trust in God.

It requires that we trust that He is sovereign. And that can be so hard for us. We are unable to see We're unable to see the unfolding of God's divine decree. From our perspective, the plan of God looks like maybe this room would look like without my glasses on, right? I've used this illustration before. I can't tell who any of you are. I can't even recognize my family and how far away are they from me. Our idea of what God's plan looks like is blurry. It might seem like it's out of focus. But when we understand who God is and that He's in control, we can see that He's got a greater plan.

Our vision is blurred by our humanity, our inability to see eternity. But we have a sure promise from Scripture that the vision of our Lord and Savior is perfect. It's perfect. He knows what history looks like. He gives it order, and He is in control. He works all things together for good, for those who love Him. And so we have to trust and understand in God's sovereign decree, no matter what is going on in the world, we have to trust that He is the one who saves. Because He is, and that was the purpose of His coming.

We understand why He became human for us. And as we move through this passage, we're gonna see that it was so God, or so that He could suffer for us. We see that starting in verse 9, that we come and we understand that we need to trust in His plan. And we see here that not everything is currently in subjection to Christ, but still the plan of God is that He would be made lower than the angels. But now He has been crowned and is worthy of glory and honor. And why was that? because in that flesh that he took on, and he was made lower than the angels, he suffered that he might taste death for everyone.

Now, that statement is powerful. Let's make sure we understand what it isn't saying. It's not saying that he tasted death for everyone who ever lived everywhere and so everyone is saved. That's not what it's saying. It's not saying that everyone is saved without exception. The point that's being made here in Hebrews is that Jesus died for his people. Every last one of them. It is those who have been given the gift of faith in the work that Jesus accomplished for them The honor and glory of Jesus is shown to us in his suffering. And as I always say, it's a difficult thing for us to comprehend, but the book of Hebrews help us to understand why suffering was necessary.

It tells us that it was fitting that Jesus would bring his people to glory through suffering. And why was that? Why? Why was this necessary? because suffering is a human problem that was brought about by the curse. And again, what do we do? We go back to the foundations that we have established for us in scripture, going all the way back to Genesis. Why is there death and suffering in this world? It's sin. It's sin that has brought all of this about. We are fallen creatures and the world is fallen. The suffering, the bloodshed, and the disease in the world comes from that truth that sin entered the world and because of it we have the problems, we have death, we have bloodshed, disease, we have all of this.

And if you wonder if this is true, it's a verifiable fact. This world is filled with sin. We see it every day, whether it's in our own hearts, whether it's as we step out our doors, whether it's on the news, we see this verifiable fact every day. The world is filled with sin. Suffering and death are punishment for sin. And that is at the root of the Christian understanding of the world. But we as humans, we want to reject this. We like to believe that all we need is a tweak in our system, right? All we need is a tweak here or there, and then we will have utopia.

We like to believe that we're just a medical advance or two away from not having to worry about death anymore. But neither this utopian idea or the idea that we can somehow be saved by medicine, neither of these ideas are true. Let's be very clear. They are delusions of the human mind. That's what they are. They're delusions of our fallenness. And we need to reject these ideas and instead have a biblical understanding of the world if we want to understand why Jesus was made perfect through suffering. You see, he suffered what he did not deserve.

He was without sin, and yet he received the punishment for my sin. And what the book of Hebrews is driving home for us is that if we're going to be saved, If we're gonna be rescued from this mess, there has to be a punishment for sin that's paid. And it's either going to be paid, it's either gonna be paid for by us, or it needs to be paid for by another. And this is what needed to be done, and it was the plan of God all the way back in the garden when all of humanity fell, when our first parents sinned.

The plan was that God himself would pay the punishment for our sin, that we would not pay the price, but another would. And this is why verse 11 tells us that he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified have one source. God is the one who does this work, making us holy, and he did it as one of us. He did it for us in the person of Jesus Christ. And so the next few verses have one focus. They have one focus to remind us that Jesus is not ashamed to be one of us. Now have you ever been ashamed to be associated with someone?

Probably. Think of that feeling that happens in your gut when that happens. Maybe you're just embarrassed to be seen with them or Maybe you're embarrassed to have your name associated with them. It's a terrible feeling. If anyone could ever feel that way, legitimately, it would be God. If he were to look at the pinnacle of his creation, humanity, the pinnacle of his creation, created on the last day, made in his own image, and what did we do? We rebel against him every day. we filled the world with sin and depravity. God has every right to be ashamed.

Our rebellion against God would give him every right to abandon us. But instead, what do we read here? He is not ashamed to call us sisters and brothers. Despite our unbelief, despite our sin, he still came and did the work that was required to bring us to Himself even though the requirement was suffering. And that's our final point, that He did it for us and we see it as we come to verse 14 here. We see this spelled out for us And it's been a theme throughout the passage today. But here, everything gets really clear.

The reason Jesus took on flesh and blood is because that is what it takes for us to be saved. It was necessary to destroy the work of the devil. And this is why understanding the whole story of redemption found in scripture is so important. It's so important that we understand this. As we have seen, this is why the story of Scripture matters. This is why Genesis matters. This is why Exodus matters. It matters why everything going forward matters. It's why we remember every year. It's why we remember Good Friday. It's why we remember Christmas. It's why we remember Easter.

Because the purpose of Scripture is to point us to salvation. That salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. A very real Savior who took on human flesh for us The salvation that He won for us. Because the Bible, the words of Scripture, are more than just words of inspiration. It tells us the story of where we come from, why we need to be saved, and how we are saved. And as the author of Hebrews points out, Jesus didn't do this to help angels. The cross was not a victory to save fallen angels. It was a victory to save the offspring of Abraham.

And the point here that the author of Hebrews is making isn't that this is just about the physical offspring of Abraham. Because what's being said here is said and seen so many times in the New Testament. The true offspring of Abraham are not just those who are descended from him physically. The offspring of Abraham are any of those who have faith in Christ. And you know this because you sang the song. Right? Father Abraham had many sons. I am one of them and so are you. Now the point of that song wasn't to get your arms swinging and to get you worked up so your Sunday school teacher couldn't get you to behave after you sang the song.

That wasn't the point. The point was so that you would sit at home reading your Bible or sitting here in church and you would see the children of Abraham and you would know that I am one of them and so are you. This is about us. The point here is that if we are in Christ We are the offspring of Abraham, and that is why Jesus came to save us, to make a people for himself, and to unite us, not by earthly markers, but by faith in him. See, as this passage says, we are the children of Abraham.

We see here so clearly as this passage finishes up, we see a good summary of what the book of Hebrews is trying to tell us. He was made like his brothers in every respect, but then we see a new twist that we're gonna see as we continue into the book of Hebrews. We see that he became like his brothers, but he is merciful and he is a faithful high priest. That's a huge part of the story. Because what does it say? And there's a big word here. It says that he makes propitiation for the sins of the people.

And we've seen this idea before. But now it's getting new words and new images as we continue. You see, the idea here is that in the Old Testament, the priests would make a sacrifice. And the purpose of that was to turn aside the judgment of God. But the book of Hebrews is now helping us to understand that Jesus is the one who does this for us. Jesus is the one who turns aside God's wrath. We've seen this word propitiation many times in the past. It means to turn aside the wrath of God. In other words, it acts as protection.

It acts as covering for the punishment that you and I deserve for our sin. But when we look and when we continue with this idea, as we'll see later on in the book of Hebrews, We'll see that Jesus being and doing this for us makes him greater than any high priest that we find in the Old Testament. And why was that? is because Jesus himself was the sacrifice. In the Old Testament, a priest needed to bring a sacrifice, but Jesus didn't need to offer a sacrifice for his own sin, like the priest who came before him.

He didn't need the wrath of God to be turned aside for his sin. So Jesus is able to perfectly do that for you. And so with this truth, comes a beautiful assurance for us as we come to verse 18 here. Because Jesus himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. It's because Jesus is like you in his flesh, but unlike you in resisting temptation and resisting sin, that you can rest in him. Jesus felt the temptation to sin. And we see this in the temptations that were presented to him by the devil in the book of Matthew.

How was Jesus tempted? He was tempted with hunger. He was tempted with pride. He was tempted with power. Notice what those are. Those are very real, very human temptations. But what did Jesus do? He stood in the face of them. and he resisted them and he did it for you. And so what we're seeing here is you have a Savior who not only sets you free from sin, but he understands temptation. He is not a distant God who oversees and looks down in derision. He is the one who came and did what needed to be done to save you.

This was not something mystical It was not something conceptual. No, Jesus came in real time and space history to live for you, and he died for you, and he rose again for you, and now for you, he is really at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you. And that is the big point here. Jesus has done all of this for you. So why would we abandon it? Why would we turn away from this? Why would we seek out anything else? We have a God who humbled himself, who took on our very own flesh and suffered to pay the price for our sin.

He did it for us. And so we need to trust in Him alone. And we know this truth. And it's a truth that we're called to step out into the world with each week. This important passage draws out two specific challenges that I want us to think about this week. And the first is that we need to remember the truth of Jesus taking on our flesh. You know, I don't know about you, but I sometimes forget the practical nature of what we believe. I know all this stuff conceptually, but practically, sometimes the doctrine that we believe can feel distant and abstract.

We can check all the boxes of what we believe, why we believe it, but sometimes that stuff can feel kind of distant. It's easy to think that this stuff matters only for going to heaven. Now we know intellectually, we understand, we know that isn't the case. We know scripture applies all the time, but we aren't always certain what that looks like for us, right? Well the truth of the Incarnation, the truth of Jesus taking on human flesh is an important reminder for us of the practical nature of what we believe. Because God the Son really came here.

and he did it for us. The truth of God's Word isn't abstract, it's practical. It not only shows us how to respond to temptation, that temptation that we have to sin, but it also drives home for us the need that we have for forgiveness and how Jesus accomplished that for us. And so as we go out this week, I want to challenge you to take time to reflect on the practical nature of what we believe. and remember that Jesus is able to help you. Not simply in the abstract, he's able to help you because he was one of us, he is one of us.

He took on our flesh and he accomplished this for us. Now maybe, maybe what this looks like for us is adding a praise to our prayers this week that God became like us so that we remember that he was able to face temptation that he was like us in every respect. Maybe there's some other practice that can remind you of that truth this week. Something that can remind you that Jesus lived a practical, real life to save a very real fallen world. But we need to remember this truth, that Jesus is like us. It's a beautiful truth that has practical application.

If he came to redeem this world, then we should be stepping out. and holding that world in high esteem too, proclaiming that gospel. If he came in real flesh to proclaim real words to us about real salvation, we should be stepping out, serving and loving our neighbors and proclaiming that same gospel. Practical, real, real ways that we can live out this truth. And secondly, I believe we need to walk this week and we need to remember the value of what Jesus did for us. It gives our life meaning. It gives our life purpose. Because despite our sin, despite our rebellion, God was mindful of us.

And our value as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is rooted in the truth of what Jesus did for us. Your confidence does not lie in what you've done. It does not lie in what you will do. It lies in the truth that Jesus did everything to rescue you. We were beggars, hoping for a crumb. We were beggars. We had no hope of being saved, of being brought into the kingdom of God by ourselves. But what did God in Christ do? He didn't just throw us a crumb. He made us children. He made us heirs of his glory, heirs of his kingdom.

He brought us from the outside as beggars into his kingdom to share in his glory. We are a righteous people. And how did Jesus do that for us? He himself suffered. He brought us to glory and made us perfect by his suffering. And so our value does not lie in our accomplishments, Our value does not lie in our popularity. Our value does not even lie within our personal piety. Our value lies in the one who saved us. And as we saw today, he is crowned with honor and glory because of the suffering of death. And so step out into the world this week living this truth You are Christ's own.

You have value because He suffered and died for you. He did what needed to be done to rescue you. You are Christ's own. And so may that translate into our lives this week. May this idea that we are Christ, that we were worth suffering and dying for translate into our lives this week. May that translate into holiness. living sanctified lives, proclaiming the Word of God so that this story of God's salvation might be heard, that all honor, glory, and praise might go to Christ alone for who He is and what He has done. Amen.

See the Gospel in All of Scripture

Hebrews 2:5–18 shows us the beauty of a Savior who took on flesh, suffered, and died for us—not in theory, but in real time and space. This is the heart of the Bible’s message, and it changes how we read all of Scripture.

➡️ Want to see how the whole Bible points to Jesus? Read Reading Scripture with Christ at the Center for a deeper look at how the gospel is woven through every part of God’s Word.

➡️ Looking for the full sermon series? Explore the rest of Once for All on our Hebrews series page.

➡️ Curious about our approach to Scripture and theology? Visit our Presbyterian Identity page to learn how Scripture shapes every part of our life and worship.

➡️ Need to revisit the foundation? Go back to God Has Spoken in His Son to see why Jesus is the final and sufficient Word.