It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet."
(Heb 2:5-8, NIV)
The writer quotes a familiar psalm to prove the superiority of Jesus. It was not to angels that God has subjected the eternal world, but to Jesus. This "Son of Man" has been crowned and exalted as lord of the universe.
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Heb 2:8b-9)
The subjection of all reality to the authority of Jesus is total. What is the Son of Man? He is everything; there is nothing that is not subject to him. Yet, the author notes, at present we do not see everything subject to him. The day to day experiences of the community reading this book contradict the belief that the Son of Man has been made Lord of all. The community bears the burden of disgrace and thankless, painful labor everyday, and Christ does not seem to be Lord. When their backs and hearts break with all the sufferings these people face, it seems that there is much which is not in subjection to him.
One of the fundamental divisions of reality for the author of Hebrews is between what we can see and what we cannot see. Here, as is often the case, what is unseen is more real than what is seen. Although we do not see everything in subjection to Jesus, we do see Jesus, the same Son of Man who was "crowned with glory and honor" (vv. 7, 9). We see that he was crowned because he suffered death, in order to suffer for others. The sufferings of the readers take on a new light. Their own struggle is a proclamation that the world is subject to Jesus. Everything was subjected to Jesus because of his death, and so the willingness of his followers to suffer for others is a pronouncement that Christ's victory is won.
This is a completely different view on endurance and perseverance. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time swallowing the "go to church and keep on trucking" mantra sometimes. When you're bone-tired, feeling depleted and unappreciated, you need something else to pull you through, because at some point you can't simply pull yourself up by your boot straps anymore.
What if we recast our weariness as an announcement to the world that Jesus suffered and the world has therefore been placed under his authority? What if when we are in danger of loosing our grip, we had someone who has been there to hold onto? Most importantly, what if we looked beyond the lack of subjection that we see and simply saw Jesus - Jesus who was crowned because he suffered? Jesus has been there, and so we go through pain and fatigue and loss with him. Now that's a reason to keep on going.
Blessings,
Greg and Tiffany
