An Encouragement to withstand Suffering, by Walter and Sandra Robinson
In bringing many sons to glory it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings, for he who consecrates and those who are consecrated are all of one stock. That is why he does not shrink from calling men his brothers, when he says ‘I will make your fame known to my brothers: in the midst of the assembly I will praise you’. . . . Since the children share in flesh and blood, he too shared in them, so that by dying he might break the power of him who had death at his command, that is, the devil, and might liberate those who all their life had been in servitude through fear of death.
Hebrews 2:10-15 (Revised English Bible)
The Creation of a New Season of Brotherhood obtained through Suffering
With the coming of Spring, we are reminded of a promising change when all has been relatively lifeless for a season. The book of Hebrews turns this dormancy on its head, with the promise of a new season of creation. God has bonded his son with humanity for a multitude of blessings.
The developing argument in Hebrews leads us to a spiritual level rarely ascended. The lament of Psalm 22 refers to the frailty of flesh and blood. As usual is with other Psalms, its latter verses state that God in his might will eventually save believers. Hebrews complements the Psalmist by showing that there is a new creation in the advent of his son (chapter 1, verse 5). The new creation is described in the second chapter: that of brotherhood of humankind with Christ himself. The transformation of a new brotherhood will culminate with the final erasure of pain and death itself. Notice that the devil is stated as “had” death at his command, referring to an event already realized. Jesus is identified as the “pioneer” of their salvation through his own sufferings.
Not all humanity has reached this new togetherness. The suffering of the Christ shows us how inequities can be overcome, or at least mitigated, by sacrifice and suffering itself.