“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”
–Hebrews 2:10 (NASB 1995)
The Pioneer of Salvation
In Hebrews 2:10, Jesus is called the “author” of salvation. However, the word archegos (ἀρχηγός) can also be understood here as “pioneer” (NET). Christ went first to lead His people to salvation, meaning He pioneered salvation. This Greek word is used four times in the New Testament, always of Christ. He is the “Prince of life” (Acts 3:15; 5:31), and He is the “author” of salvation (Hebrews 2:10) and of faith—“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
It is fitting and proper that God “perfected” Jesus in bringing many sons to glory. As Hebrews 2:10 says, the author and pioneer of salvation was made “perfect…through sufferings.” But how exactly was the Son of God “perfected”? This Greek verb used here (τελειόω) means to be made “perfect” or “complete.” Surely this is not saying that Christ was lacking in some moral quality. Rather, it is best to understand this in a vocational manner. That is, Jesus suffered so as to become fully equipped for His office as high priest. Suffering did not make our Lord more divine, but it perfected Him in relation to us who are brought to glory.
Christ “tasted death” for His people, becoming our substitute on the cross (Hebrews 2:9). But He also suffered to help us as we are sanctified—“For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father” (2:11). And because He suffered, Christ helps us now—“For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham” (2:16). This ties back with the purpose of the incarnation. Jesus is able to help those who are human because He became human. Hebrews 2:16 literally says that Christ “gives help to the seed of Abraham.” This seed language goes back to the promises of Genesis. If you read Genesis 15 and 17, and even later promises, God is constantly referencing Abraham’s “seed” (often translated “descendants” or “offspring”). While there was a natural component to “seed,” the language is ultimately spiritual—“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants [lit. “seed”], heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29).
Made Like His Brethren
In order to help Abraham’s seed, the Son of God had to come in the form of Abraham’s seed—“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). As our elder “brother” (2:11-12), Christ had to be made like us. He “partook” of “flesh and blood” and “was made like His brethren in all things”—meaning He was incarnated—in order to render the devil powerless and make propitiation for sin (2:14, 17).
There were many heresies in the early church that denied that Christ was fully human. Some said He only appeared to be human (Docetism). Yet one heresy affirmed that Christ had a human body but denied that He had a human soul/mind (Apollinarianism). Apollinarians noted texts like Hebrews 2:14 that only speak of “flesh and blood.” However, Hebrews 2:17 says Christ was “made like His brethren in all things.” This means Jesus was and is fully human. He took on all that is essential to humanity, and that includes the soul and mind. As the church father Gregory of Nazianzus said, “That which is not assumed is not healed” (from his letter to Cledonius). The mystery, of course, is that Christ was and is also fully God. He is both. He is one person (the Son) with two natures (human and divine).
The full humanity of Christ was necessary for Him to fulfill salvation—“so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God” (Hebrews 2:17). High priests in the Old Testament were not described as “merciful.” That language was reserved for God—which shows that Christ is God, as well as high priest. He is the divine mediator between God and man. And thus Christ’s incarnation perfected Him for our salvation.
Conquering Temptation to Help the Tempted
Christ the high priest did not offer the sacrifice of an animal, but He offered up Himself as the sacrifice. Christ executed the office of priest “in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God” (WSC 25). While Hebrews 2:17 speaks of Christ as the high priest and sacrifice, 2:18 specifically speaks of Christ’s suffering and temptation:
For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Christ surely suffered physical pain and even death. But v. 18 focuses on Christ being tempted amidst His suffering. How was Christ tempted in His suffering? It does not say here. But Hebrews 4:15 says Christ can “sympathize with our weaknesses” because He “has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Surely, therefore, Christ was tempted to walk away from the mission. He was tempted to forsake the Father. Like all humans, He was tempted to give in to the devil. But Christ did no such thing, for He was “without sin.” He overcame temptation. He pressed on amidst suffering. He trusted God and was faithful.
Christ obeyed the Father, and as the incarnate Son, He even “learned obedience”—“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:8-9). Christ became perfect in that His experience fully equipped Him for His office as high priest. He is the “source” of salvation for those who obey Him who obeyed the Father. And thus, Christ pioneered salvation for us. His saving work brings us forgiveness, sanctification, and deliverance from death.
The Perfect Helper
Recall that Hebrews 2:10 speaks of Christ being “perfected…through suffering.” This ties in with 2:18, which says that Christ was “tempted in that which He has suffered.” And since He has defeated temptation, “He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Here we see the truly practical aspect of this passage. If you believe in Christ, then you are being saved. But you still face temptation. And the good news is that Jesus Christ underwent temptation just like you—as one who was fully human. So we can look to Him for help. This is how Christ was made “perfect”—for our sake. He is the perfect helper for us.
Francis Sampson (1814–1854), an old Virginia theologian, said of these last verses:
While we must believe that the divine omniscience, without an incarnation of the Son in human nature, would see and fully appreciate all the trials of the saints, and while we must believe that the divine mercy and pity are not less tender than those of a perfect man, since the divine is the source and pattern of the human; yet every believer feels how much more familiar and consoling is the sympathy of a Redeemer who is both God and our brother.
John Calvin said:
The Son of God had no need of experience that he might know the emotions of mercy; but we could not be persuaded that he is merciful and ready to help us, had he not become acquainted by experience with our miseries; but this, as other things, has been as a favor given to us. Therefore whenever any evils pass over us, let it ever occur to us, that nothing happens to us but what the Son of God has himself experienced in order that he might sympathize with us; nor let us doubt but that he is at present with us as though he suffered with us.”
In other words, while God in His omniscience understood our plight, Christ’s human suffering helps persuade us that God understands us and wants to help us in our suffering. Christ’s incarnation unites the divine and the human. This is a gift to us as Christians. Christ our merciful high priest sympathizes with us. So we must turn to Him for help amidst suffering. We must turn to Him for strength amidst temptation.
Fellow Christians, we have a great high priest in Jesus Christ. He is not just God—perfect and transcendent. But He is also fully man—He suffered, and He is near. And as the God-man, He brings us to God. He shares our flesh and blood. He partook of this body of death. He suffered pain and temptation. And He conquered it by faith. Now He is risen at the right hand of the Father. And He is able to help those who are tempted. Christ does not give help to angels (Hebrews 2:16), but to men and women—men and women who believe in Him. So turn to Christ and find help amidst your trouble.