Now since the children share in blood and flesh, he likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. 16 Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; 17 therefore, he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
In Heb. 2:5-13, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews (whose human author is unknown) explains that God’s “world to come” is not placed under angels but is ordered toward humanity. He recalls the dignity God intended for man, then acknowledges that we do not yet see that destiny fulfilled in ourselves. We do see it in Jesus, who entered our human condition, accepted suffering and death, and is now crowned with glory. Because he shares our humanity, he is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters, and Scripture can speak of us as “the children” God has given him.
Heb. 2:14-18 gives a striking reason for why Jesus embraced a mortal life: “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” The letter is not saying the devil is equal to God, or that death is a power the devil owns by right. It is describing a tragic tyranny that holds human beings: death—and the fear of death—becomes a lever by which evil gains influence. Scripture often links this tragedy to humanity’s fall into sin, where death enters human history as a wound in the human condition rather than a gift in God’s original intent for man. In that sense, the letter treats death as bound up with sin and with the one who tempts and accuses. The Son of God breaks this tyranny by using the very thing that terrifies us. He meets death head-on, and by dying, he robs death of its claim. This is consistent with Jesus’ own language in John, where he speaks of the “ruler of this world” being driven out through his saving work (Jn. 12:31).
The letter then turns from the fact of death to its psychological and spiritual grip: fear. Many people live under a quiet slavery to death, not only the fear of physical dying, but the fear that death finally separates us from God and makes our life meaningless. The letter presents Christ’s death as liberation. Because he has entered death and emerged victorious, death no longer has the final word for those who belong to him. This is why the New Testament can speak of Christ as the one who defeats not only sin but also death itself (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26), and why Jesus can speak of Satan’s downfall as part of his mission (Lk. 10:18).
The text then adds an important detail: “Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham.” The letter is making clear what kind of rescue this is. The Son did not take on angelic nature. He took our human nature and joined the family of Abraham through whom God promised to bless all nations. “Descendants of Abraham” includes Israel in the first instance, and it also extends to all who are brought into that family through faith in God’s saving promise. The focus is not on rank but on relationship: he comes to help human beings, and he does it by joining himself to our humanity.
At this point, the letter reaches the heart of what Christ’s shared humanity accomplishes: “therefore, he had to become like his brothers in every way.” This likeness is not cosmetic. It includes real suffering, real temptation, real testing, and real death. Yet the letter will later make a careful qualification: he is like us in all things but sin. Because he is truly like us, he can be our “merciful and faithful high priest.” “Merciful” means he does not stand over sinners as a distant judge who cannot understand weakness. He has lived the weight of a human life and carries compassion that is tested and real. “Faithful” means he is completely reliable before God—he does not fail in obedience, and he does not abandon the mission the Father entrusted to him.
By calling him ‘high priest,’ the letter means that Jesus stands before God on behalf of his people, acting as their representative and offering what is needed to deal with sin and restore communion with God.
The letter also says his priestly work has a purpose: “to expiate the sins of the people.” The word points to the removal of sin and defilement by a saving act that God provides. The letter will spend much of the letter showing how Christ’s priesthood differs from the old covenant priesthood. The old priesthood offered repeated sacrifices because sin remained. Christ’s priesthood is effective because he is fully human and fully divine, and his self-offering truly deals with sin at its root once for all. He does not merely teach us how to face suffering; he does something for us that we cannot do for ourselves—he takes our place and brings us back into right relationship with God.
The final line turns this doctrine into a direct assurance: “Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” The letter insists that his suffering was truly human, so he experienced real pain and real testing, not an illusion softened by his divinity (vv. 14, 17-18). The letter is not romanticizing pain. It is saying that Christ’s solidarity with us reaches into our trials. His help is not theoretical. He knows what it is to be pressed, to endure, and to suffer in a way that tests fidelity. The Gospels show this testing in the starkest form on the night before his passion, when he faces anguish and remains obedient (Mk. 14:33-36). The letter’s point is that this tested obedience is now a source of help for the tested. For anyone struggling under suffering, temptation, anxiety, or the fear of death, the letter offers a sober and strong claim: the one who saves has united himself to our flesh and blood. He has entered the very places that frighten us, and he has opened a way through them.
Lord Jesus Christ, you shared our flesh and blood and faced suffering and death for our salvation. Free us from the fear that enslaves us. In our trials, give us the help you promise, and keep us faithful as you are faithful. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). Heb. 2:14-18.
- Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Hebrews (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015), 419.
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990), 925-926 (paras. 17-18).
- The Navarre Bible: Hebrews (Princeton, NJ: Scepter Publishers; Dublin: Four Courts Press), 856-857.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu, ed., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2018), 1493.
- John J. Collins, Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara E. Reid, and Donald Senior, eds., The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, 3rd fully revised ed. (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022), 1771.
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