Hebrews 2:17

Hebrews 2:17. It behoved him. The word expresses moral fitness and consequent obligation, as in Hebrews 5:3; Hebrews 5:12, based on the nature of His mediatorial work.

In all things like, i.e all things essential to His mediation. The exception, ‘without sin,' is expressed later (chap. Hebrews 4:15), and is less necessary here because of the limitation implied in Hebrews 2:14.

A merciful and faithful high priest. The Greek may mean that ‘he may be merciful and a faithful high priest,' but the quality of mercy in the priest is really part of the thought. How much we need a merciful high priest, as well as one who shall be faithful to his trust, is shown by the preceding description of our state. It is the one quality which is needed to win men to God. God knew, no doubt, what our guilt and sufferings were, and felt them; but we needed proof that He knew and felt in order that we might trust in His mercy. This proof is supplied by Christ as incarnate, and perhaps Christ as incarnate and suffering became capable of higher sympathy than the blessed God Himself.

To make reconciliation for the sins of the people. It is unfortunate that this Old Testament expression is used in the N. T. only here, while the expression commonly used in N. T. to express the same Greek word, ‘propitiation' is not found in the O. T. at all. It will help the reader if he note that ‘atonement for,' ‘reconciliation for,' ‘propitiation for,' are all forms of one and the same Greek word and of one and the same Hebrew word. When followed by the word ‘sin' or its equivalent, the Hebrew and Greek mean to make atonement for; when followed by a word describing a person, they mean to pacify or appease, to make propitiation, with special reference to the moral sentiment of justice or right in the person appeased. This double sense pervades all the teaching of both Testaments.