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Hebrews 2:10

“Jesus Made Perfect Through Suffering”Hebrews 2:10–13

King James Version
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
For G1063 it became G4241 him G846, for G1223 whom G3739 are all things G3956, and G2532 by G1223 whom G3739 are all things G3956, in bringing G71 many G4183 sons G5207 unto G1519 glory G1391, to make G5048 the captain G747 of their G846 salvation G4991 perfect G5048 through G1223 sufferings G3804.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
For it became him, for whome are all these thinges, and by whome are all these things, seeing that hee brought many children vnto glory, that he should consecrate the Prince of their saluation through afflictions.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
For it was becoming to Him, because of whom are the all things, and through whom are the all things, many sons to glory bringing, the author of their salvation through sufferings to make perfect,

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
25 Greek words
  1. ἔπρεπενeprepenIt was fittingG4241V-IAI-3SVerb Imperfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  2. γὰρgarforG1063CONJConjunction
  3. αὐτῷautōto HimG846P-DSMPersonal pronoun Dative Singular Masculine
  4. δι᾽di᾽forG1223PREPPreposition
  5. ὃνhonwhom [are]G3739R-ASMRelative pronoun Accusative Singular Masculine
  6. τὰta[the]G3588T-NPNDefinite article Nominative Plural Neuter
  7. πάνταpantaall thingsG3956A-NPNAdjective Nominative Plural Neuter
  8. καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
  9. δι᾽di᾽throughG1223PREPPreposition
  10. οὗhouwhom [are]G3739R-GSMRelative pronoun Genitive Singular Masculine
  11. τὰta[the]G3588T-NPNDefinite article Nominative Plural Neuter
  12. πάνταpantaall thingsG3956A-NPNAdjective Nominative Plural Neuter
  13. πολλοὺςpollousmanyG4183A-APMAdjective Accusative Plural Masculine
  14. υἱοὺςhuioussonsG5207N-APMNoun Accusative Plural Masculine
  15. εἰςeistoG1519PREPPreposition
  16. δόξανdoxangloryG1391N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
  17. ἀγαγόνταagagontahaving broughtG71V-2AAP-ASMVerb 2nd Aorist Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
  18. τὸνtontheG3588T-ASMDefinite article Accusative Singular Masculine
  19. ἀρχηγὸνarchēgonarchetypeG747N-ASMNoun Accusative Singular Masculine
  20. τῆςtēsof theG3588T-GSFDefinite article Genitive Singular Feminine
  21. σωτηρίαςsōtēriassalvationG4991N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
  22. αὐτῶνautōnof themG846P-GPMPersonal pronoun Genitive Plural Masculine
  23. διὰdiathroughG1223PREPPreposition
  24. παθημάτωνpathēmatōnsufferingsG3804N-GPNNoun Genitive Plural Neuter
  25. τελειῶσαιteleiōsaito make perfectG5048V-AANVerb Aorist Active Infinitive
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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In the KJVVerse 29,988 of 31,102 · 96.4%

Study this verse

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This verse

It was fitting for God, the goal and maker of all things, to bring many sons to glory by making Jesus, the captain of their salvation, complete for his work through his sufferings.

“For it became him,”

It was fitting for God. The “For” explains why Jesus was crowned with glory through the suffering of death in verse 9.

“for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,”

God the Father is the goal of all that exists and the one who made it and sustains it, so the plan that follows is his own.

“in bringing many sons unto glory,”

The sons are believers, and glory is the share in Christ’s exalted life and in God’s presence to which God leads them.

“to make the captain of their salvation perfect”

The captain goes first and opens the way for those who follow. To be made perfect is to be brought to completion for his work as Saviour and High Priest.

“through sufferings.”

The plural takes in all he underwent as a man, his temptations, his trials and the cross.

Passage studyHebrews 2:10–13

The Captain of Salvation and His Brethren

10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Summary

God, for whom and by whom all things exist, is bringing many sons to glory, and it was fitting for him to do it by making Jesus, the captain of their salvation, perfect through sufferings. Jesus makes his people holy, and he and they come from one source, so he gladly calls them his brethren. Hebrews then lets us hear him speak in the Old Testament. He declares the Father’s name to his brethren and sings praise among them, he puts his trust in God, and he stands before God with the children God has given him. These four verses show why the Son of God went the way of suffering and how closely he has bound himself to his people.

Why it was fitting for God to perfect Jesus through sufferings

Verse 10 opens with “For” because it explains what has just been said. Hebrews has quoted Psalm 8, where God gives man rule over his works, and has said that this rule is still to be fully seen in the present age. What we see now is Jesus, made “a little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7) and “crowned with glory and honour” because of “the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9). Verse 10 tells us why God would bring his Son to glory along that road.

“It became him” means that it was fitting and right for God to act this way. “Him” is God the Father, and two phrases describe him. “For whom are all things” names him as the purpose of everything that exists, and “by whom are all things” names him as the one who made it all and keeps it going. Salvation through a suffering Saviour is worthy of the God to whom the whole creation belongs, and because it comes from his own deliberate purpose, the salvation of those he calls is certain.

Many sons brought unto glory

The “many sons” are believers, who become God’s children by adoption and new birth. Glory is where he is bringing them: eternal life, a share in the risen and exalted life of Christ himself, and the full enjoyment of God’s presence. Paul gives the same purpose when he says that God means his people to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he is “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). The honour man lost in the Fall is opened to us again through Christ. Jesus has already been crowned with glory in verse 9, and the sons are being brought where he has gone.

The captain of their salvation

The word for captain, archēgós, means a chief leader, an author or a prince. It names one who goes first and opens a way that others then follow. Jesus begins our salvation and leads his people into it, as a captain goes ahead of his men and bears the hardships of the road before they do. Hebrews uses a like picture later when it calls him the “forerunner” who has entered the inner sanctuary on our behalf (Hebrews 6:20). Greek-speaking readers knew the word from military leaders and from the founders of schools of thought. A leader who suffered to win the victory was a familiar idea to them, but a Messiah who died a shameful death was a stumbling block to many, and Hebrews shows that God himself appointed that road.

Was Jesus imperfect before he suffered?

To make perfect, teleióō, is to complete something, to bring it to the goal it was meant for, and Jesus was made complete for his particular work as Saviour and High Priest. He was always sinless and always fully God. His sufferings brought him through the whole of human life with its trials and temptations, and through obedience to the Father to the very end, so that he became fully fitted to stand for us before God and to offer the one sacrifice for sin. Hebrews says it again later: “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:8–9).

The word for sufferings, páthēma, means something undergone, a hardship or a pain. It stands in the plural here, and it takes in all that Christ endured as a man: his temptations, his trials and at last his crucifixion. Paul describes the same road when he tells how Christ humbled himself and obeyed even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:5–8), and Hebrews says that he obtained eternal redemption for us by his own blood (Hebrews 9:12). In human eyes suffering looks like weakness, and God made it the very means by which his Son was fitted to save.

Because he went this way, we have a Saviour who knows our trials from the inside. Our High Priest is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, and so we may come to him with confidence (Hebrews 4:15–16).

Why Jesus and his people are all of one

Verse 11 names Jesus as “he that sanctifieth” and believers as “they who are sanctified”. Both translate the same verb, hagiázō, which means to make holy, to consecrate or to hallow, used here once actively and once passively. Jesus sets his people apart for God through his atoning work, and they are the ones he sets apart, so their holiness flows from his. Both forms are present participles in Greek, hagiazōn and hagiazomenoi, which speak of his work on them as continuing. Israel knew the language of holiness from its sacrifices and its priests, and Hebrews takes it up for what Christ does by his own sacrifice.

They are “all of one”, in Greek ek henos pantes, “all from one”. The word heîs is the number one, and the phrase speaks of a shared origin and kinship. Jesus and those he sanctifies all come from God the Father, and so they belong to one family with one life, one purpose and one destiny. Christ remains the one who sanctifies and they remain the ones sanctified, and their place in the family is his gift to them. The chapter goes on to show how this came about, for he took part in the same flesh and blood as his brethren (Hebrews 2:14). God chose his people and adopted them in love through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4–5), Paul writes of the same adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4–7), and he calls believers joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

Why it matters that he is “not ashamed to call them brethren”

The verb epaischýnomai means to feel shame over someone or something. In that day a person of standing could be ashamed to be linked with people of lower rank, or with those who had brought dishonour on themselves. The Son of God is holy and glorious, and the people he calls brethren are sinners he has redeemed, yet he owns them openly as his family. Hebrews says it as an understatement, and the understatement means that he is willing and glad to acknowledge them. “For which cause” gives the reason: they share one origin with him. Jesus did exactly this after he rose, when he called his disciples his brethren (John 20:17). Because he shares their nature, he stands with them before God as the High Priest they need.

What the Old Testament witnesses say of Jesus

Verse 12 begins with “Saying”, and from here Hebrews proves the point of verse 11 from Scripture by hearing Jesus himself speak in the Old Testament. The letter was written to Jewish believers who were likely facing persecution, or were tempted to turn back to Judaism, and it shows them again and again that Christ is the fulfilment of their own Scriptures. The first saying comes from Psalm 22:22, and the other two come from Isaiah 8:17–18, each brought in with “And again”.

“I will declare thy name unto my brethren”

Psalm 22 is a psalm of the Messiah that foretells Christ’s sufferings and his vindication, and this line belongs to the vindication. The captain made perfect through sufferings is the one who now praises God among his people. In Hebrews it is Jesus who speaks, and he calls his people “my brethren”, just as verse 11 said he would. To declare, apangéllō, is to announce, report or tell, and the verb is built from the words for “from” and “messenger”. God’s ónoma, his name, stands for who he is: his character, reputation and authority, his holiness, love, justice and faithfulness. Making that name known to his brethren lies at the heart of Jesus’s mission. John says that the only begotten Son has made the Father known (John 1:18), and Paul calls him the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

“In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee”

The word for church, ekklēsía, means an assembly or congregation, a gathering of people duly summoned. Psalm 22 speaks of the congregation, and for Jewish readers that called to mind the qahal, the assembly of Israel gathered for worship and for the covenant. Here it is the gathered people of God, the body of believers. Jesus stands in their midst and leads them in praise to the Father. We worship him, and here he is also the leader of our worship, our High Priest and our fellow worshipper together. He leads and enables all the true worship his redeemed people offer, in their gatherings on earth and at last in the assembly of heaven. He presents their praise to the Father, and by his Spirit he gives them power to offer it. Paul calls the church Christ’s body, with Christ as its head (Ephesians 1:22–23), and Hebrews tells us that through him we offer the sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15).

“I will put my trust in him”

The first line of verse 13 comes from Isaiah, who spoke of his own trust in God in a time of crisis for his nation, and Hebrews hears Jesus say it. The verb peíthō means to persuade or convince, and in some of its forms to trust or rely on, which is its sense here. As a man, the Son of God lived in complete reliance on his Father, and that trust carried him to his obedient death on the cross. Trusting God is part of human life, so these words show how fully he shared our humanity, and he lived that trust without sin. His trust is the faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6), and his humble obedience is the mind Paul holds up for us to share (Philippians 2:5–8). The rest of the chapter says that he shared our flesh and blood to destroy the power of death, and that he is a merciful and faithful High Priest who helps his people because he himself suffered and was tempted (Hebrews 2:14–18).

“Behold I and the children which God hath given me”

In Isaiah the prophet speaks of himself and his own children as “signs and wonders in Israel”, given to show God’s faithfulness while the nation was in danger. Hebrews applies the words to Jesus and to believers, his spiritual children, so that Isaiah and his family point ahead to Christ and his. The word for children, paidíon, is a diminutive of the word for a child and means a little or young child. In the New Testament it has lost most of its sense of smallness, and it may keep a note of affection.

“Given” is dídōmi, the ordinary verb to give, and here God is the giver. Believers belong to Jesus as the Father’s gift to him, and the Son receives them and keeps them as his own. Jesus says that all the Father gives him will come to him (John 6:37), and in his prayer he speaks of the people the Father gave him (John 17:6). To all who receive him he gives the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Across these verses believers are sons of God, brethren of Christ and the children given to him, and each name places them in one family with Jesus.

A Captain Who Is Also Our Brother

These verses show us God’s own purpose behind our salvation. The God for whom and by whom all things exist set out to bring many sons to glory, and he did it in the way that suited him, through the sufferings of his Son. Our salvation rests on his settled will, and the path to glory is secure because our Captain has already walked it to the end.

They show us a Saviour who knows trial, temptation and pain from his own life, and who trusted his Father through all of them. When we suffer, the God who perfected his Son through sufferings is still at work, refining our faith and making us more like the Lord who suffered and is now glorified.

And they show us where we belong. The holy Son of God calls us brethren gladly, stands among us when we gather to praise the Father, and presents us to God as the children God has given him. Our place in God’s family rests on his solidarity with us and on the Father’s gift, and when the church sings, it joins a song that Christ himself leads.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Hebrews 2:10–13. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 4 verses
Passage under commentHebrews 2:10–13
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

Having mentioned the death of Christ, the apostle here proceeds to prevent and remove the scandal of the cross; and this he does by showing both how it became God that Christ should suffer and how much man should be benefited by those sufferings.

I.How it became God that Christ should suffer:

For it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings, Hebrews 2:10. Here,

1.God is described as the final end and first cause of all things, and as such it became him to secure his own glory in all that he did, not only to act so that he might in nothing dishonour himself, but so that he might from every thing have a revenue of glory.

2.He is declared to have acted up to this glorious character in the work of redemption, as to the choice both of the end and of the means.

(1.)In the choice of the end; and that was to bring many sons to glory in enjoying the glorious privileges of the gospel, and to future glory in heaven, which will be glory indeed, an exceeding eternal weight of glory. Here observe,

[1.]We must be the sons of God both by adoption and regeneration, before we can be brought to the glory of heaven. Heaven is the inheritance; and only those that are the children are heirs of that inheritance.

[2.]All true believers are the children of God: to those that receive Christ he has granted the power and privilege of being the children of God, even to as many as believe on his name, John 1:12.

[3.]Though the sons of God are but a few in one place and at one time, yet when they shall be all brought together it will appear that they are many. Christ is the first-born among many brethren.

[4.]All the sons of God, now many soever they are, or however dispersed and divided, shall at length be brought together to glory.

(2.)In the choice of the means. In finding out such a person as should be the captain of our salvation; those that are saved must come to that salvation under the guidance of a captain and leader sufficient for that purpose; and they must be all enlisted under the banner of this captain; they must endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ; they must follow their captain, and those that do so shall be brought safely off, and shall inherit great glory and honour. [2.] In making this captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings. God the Father made the Lord Jesus Christ the captain of our salvation (that is, he consecrated, he appointed him to that office, he gave him a commission for it), and he made him a perfect captain: he had perfection of wisdom, and courage, and strength, by the Spirit of the Lord, which he had without measure; he was made perfect through sufferings; that is, he perfected the work of our redemption by shedding his blood, and was thereby perfectly qualified to be a Mediator between God and man. He found his way to the crown by the cross, and so must his people too. The excellent Dr. Owen observes that the Lord Jesus Christ, being consecrated and perfected through suffering, has consecrated the way of suffering for all his followers to pass through unto glory; and hereby their sufferings are made necessary and unavoidable, they are hereby made honourable, useful, and profitable.

II.He shows how much they would be benefited by the cross and sufferings of Christ; as there was nothing unbecoming God and Christ, so there was that which would be very beneficial to men, in these sufferings. Hereby they are brought into a near union with Christ, and into a very endearing relation.

1.Into a near union (Hebrews 2:11): Both he that sanctifieth and those that are sanctified are all of one. Observe, Christ is he that sanctifieth; he has purchased and sent the sanctifying Spirit; he is the head of all sanctifying influences. The Spirit sanctifieth as the Spirit of Christ. True believers are those who are sanctified, endowed with holy principles and powers, separated and set apart from mean and vile uses to high and holy uses and purposes; for so they must be before they can be brought to glory. Now Christ, who is the agent in this work of sanctification, and Christians, who are the recipient subjects, are all of one. How? Why,

(1.)They are all of one heavenly Father, and that is God. God is the Father of Christ by eternal generation and by miraculous conception, of Christians by adoption and regeneration.

(2.)They are of one earthly father, Adam. Christ and believers have the same human nature.

(3.)Of one spirit, one holy and heavenly disposition; the same mind is in them that was in Christ, though not in the same measure; the same Spirit informs and actuates the head and all the members.

2.Into an endearing relation. This results from the union. And here first he declares what this relation is, and then he quotes three texts out of the Old Testament to illustrate and prove it.

(1.)He declares what this relation is: he and believers being all of one, he therefore is not ashamed to call them brethren. Observe,

[1.]Christ and believers are brethren; not only bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, but spirit of his spirit-brethren by the whole blood, in what is heavenly as well as in what is earthly.

[2.]Christ is not ashamed to own this relation; he is not ashamed to call them brethren, which is wonderful goodness and condescension in him, considering their meanness by nature and vileness by sin; but he will never be ashamed of any who are not ashamed of him, and who take care not to be a shame and reproach to him and to themselves.

(2.)He illustrates this from three texts of scripture.

[1.]The first is out of Psalm 22:22, I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. This psalm was an eminent prophecy of Christ; it begins with his words on the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now here it is foretold, First, That Christ should have a church or congregation in the world, a company of volunteers, freely willing to follow him. Secondly, That these should not only be brethren to one another, but to Christ himself. Thirdly, That he would declare his Father's name to them, that is, his nature and attributes, his mind and will: this he did in his own person, while he dwelt among us, and by his Spirit poured out upon his disciples, enabling them to spread the knowledge of God in the world from one generation to another, to the end of the world. Fourthly, That Christ would sing praise to his Father in the church. The glory of the Father was what Christ had in his eye; his heart was set upon it, he laid out himself for it, and he would have his people to join with him in it.

[2.]The second scripture is quoted from Psalm 18:2, And again, I will put my trust in him. That psalm sets forth the troubles that David, as a type of Christ, met with, and how he in all his troubles put his trust in God. Now this shows that besides his divine nature, which needed no supports, he was to take another nature upon him, that would want those supports which none but God could give. He suffered and trusted as our head and president. Owen in locum. His brethren must suffer and trust too.

[3.]The third scripture is taken from Isaiah 8:18, Behold, I and the children which God hath given me. This proves Christ really and truly man, for parents and children are of the same nature. Christ's children were given him of the Father, in the counsel of his eternal love, and that covenant of peace which was between them. And they are given to Christ at their conversion. When they take hold of his covenant, then Christ receives them, rules over them, rejoices in them, perfects all their affairs, takes them up to heaven, and there presents them to his Father, Behold, I and the children which thou hast given me.

Historical interpretation

Eight Centuries of Reception

7 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

7 quotes · AD 220–990
Ante-NicenePost-NiceneEarly Medieval
2003004005006007008009001000

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceOn Exhortation to Chastity
Of course the houses of none but married men fare well! The families of celibates, the estates of eunuchs, the fortunes of military men, or of such as travel without wives, have gone to rack and ruin! For are not we, too, soldiers? Soldiers, indeed, subject to all the stricter discipline, that we are subject to so great a General? Are not we, too, travellers in this world? Why moreover, Christian, are you so conditioned, that you cannot (so travel) without a wife? "In my present (widowed)state, too, a consort in domestic works is necessary.
d. AD 373Athanasius of AlexandriaPost-NiceneSourceLETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT 2.15
If all things made by the will of God were made by God, how can God be one of the things that were made? And since the apostle says, “for whom and by whom all things exist,” how can these men say we were not made for him, but he for us?
d. AD 407John ChrysostomPost-NiceneSourceHomily on Hebrews 4
"For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." He speaks here of the Father. Seest thou how again he applies the expression "by whom" to Him? Which he would not have done, had it been an expression of inferiority, and only applicable to the Son. And what he says is this: He has done what is worthy of His love towards mankind, in showing His First-born to be more glorious than all, and in setting Him forth as an example to the others, like some noble wrestler that surpasses the rest.

"The Captain of their salvation," that is, the Cause of their salvation. Seest thou how great is the space between? Both He is a Son, and we are sons; but He saves, we are saved. Seest thou how He both brings us together and then separates us; "bringing," he says, "many sons unto glory": here he brings us together, - "the Captain of their salvation," again he separates.

"To make perfect through sufferings." Then sufferings are a perfecting, and a cause of salvation. Seest thou that to suffer affliction is not the portion of those who are utterly forsaken; if indeed it was by this that God first honored His Son, by leading Him through sufferings? And truly His taking flesh to suffer what He did suffer, is a far greater thing than making the world, and bringing it out of things that are not. This indeed also is a token of His loving-kindness, but the other far more. And the Apostle himself also pointing out this very thing, says, "That in the ages to come He might show forth the exceeding riches of His goodness, He both raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. ii. 7, Eph. ii. 6.)

"For it became Him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." For (he means) it became Him who taketh tender care, and brought all things into being, to give up the Son for the salvation of the rest, the One for the many. However he did not express himself thus, but, "to make perfect through sufferings," showing the suffering for any one, not merely profits him, but he himself also becomes more glorious and more perfect. And this too he says in reference to the faithful, comforting them by the way: for Christ was glorified then when He suffered. But when I say, He was glorified, do not suppose that there was an accession of glory to Him: for that which is of nature He always had, and received nothing in addition.
d. AD 428Theodore of MopsuestiaPost-NiceneSourceCOMMENTARY ON HEBREWS 2.9-10
And the pioneer of all men’s salvation, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the man assumed by him, is declared perfect through sufferings in such a way that both his own nature and God’s grace are made evident.
It should be noted that the Nestorians distort the Scripture, and thus they read it in such a way that He tasted death apart from God, constructing this by asserting that Christ had the indwelling of the Word of God and not a union, claiming that His divinity did not accompany Him while He was crucified.
Indeed, it has been said, they argue, "Without God he would taste death." But see how a certain orthodox one has responded. First of all, it is stated, χάριτι Θεοῦ, that is, grace or through the grace of God; yet even if it is said as you wish, χωρὶς Θεοῦ, that is, “without God”, it must be understood that Christ died without God or except for God for everyone. For he did not die only for men, but also for the heavenly powers, to break down the barrier of separation and unite the lower with the higher. (Eph. 2:14)This is similar to what has been said elsewhere. But when it is said that all things are subjected, it is evident that it is outside of the one who subjected all things to Himself. (1 Cor. 15:28)
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels.” Paul endeavors to show that what was said applies to Christ, and he says that even if he subjected all things, it does not yet seem to fit him; and yet we showed that ultimately even this will occur; but then that he was made a little lower than the angels, this fits Him rather than us. For he indeed, having been three days in Hades as a man, was a little inferior to the angels, since he was in no way subject to death there; but we, being destroyed for a long time, are not briefly but far more greatly made inferior to the angels. And that to be crowned with glory and honor because of the passion suits Him more than it does us.
“because of the suffering of death.” Having spoken of the suffering of death, he revealed true death. For it was not an illusion of death, but an active suffering.
"crowned with glory and honor." He calls the cross glory and honor. For to make heaven and earth and man and the powers above is not as worthy of God and exceedingly glorious as to deem it worthy to be crucified for us. This he says also comforting them, as if he were saying, "If Christ endured these things for us, what great thing is it if you also endure trials for him?"
"so that by the grace of God." For it is by the grace of the Holy Trinity that the Son suffered. For the Father did not give the Son according to obligation, nor did the Son accept it, nor did the Spirit cooperate in the Cross, but everything happened by grace.
It is rightly said, "he might taste." For He did not remain in death, but only in a certain manner did He taste it.
"taste death for everyone." Not only for the faithful, but for the whole world. For even if not all were saved because of their own unbelief, he himself bore his own on behalf of all and for all. And rightly so, "he might taste"; for he did not remain in death, but only in a certain way tasted it; for he immediately rose again. Therefore, in this respect, he is greater than the angels, because he proved to be superior to death.
"For it was fitting that he." It was fitting, Paul says, for God and the Father for whom are all things; he is indeed the beginning of all things.
"by whom all things exist." For if all things are indeed through him, the Father is the one who created all things, who begot the Creator.
"through whom all things exist." See the phrase "through whom," which is placed with the Father. For if there were a decrease, it would belong only to the Son, and it would be added to the Father. But what does the phrase "through whom" mean? Understand this: since he said "through whom all things," so that no one might conceive anything absurd, that he is needed by all; (for the preposition "by" also means something like this, as when we say, "through the man the creation came into being"); he introduced "through whom," explaining that "through" means in this way, "through him," that is, all things having been made by him. Therefore, also concerning the Son, when the phrase "through whom" is said, accept it thus, instead of "by whom."
"in bringing many sons." He says that the one who brought them in, in the glory of the only-begotten, through the gift of adoption, the Author of their salvation, their sons, that is, Christ, was perfected through sufferings, in order to show perfect and glorious, as through the cross.And he is a Son, and we are sons; but he is genuine; we, however, are adopted; he saves; we are being saved; we are united with him, and again we are separated; through him, who has brought many sons to glory, we share; through him, the author of their salvation, we are separated.
perfected through sufferings; that is, to complete what was lacking in Him. But what was lacking in Christ, as one might think of a man? The immortal part, namely, so that He might have the image continuously. Therefore, the Father fulfilled what was lacking to Him through the resurrection; for having risen, His death no longer has dominion; and through Him, filling all men,(Rom. 6:9) just as the same apostle says elsewhere: "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." (Heb. 5:9) Thus, the holy Cyril and in the one hundred sixty-fourth chapter of Philalethes.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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