Hebrews 2:16 "Surely He did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham."
This passage may at first glance be understood as showing that given a choice, the Lord, preferred to save the descendants of Abraham and not the angels. The passage however does not talk about a decision made in favor of one group over the other. Rather, the statement reiterates a central truth about the plan of salvation already mentioned in verse 14 and further elaborated in verses 17-18: that the Lord liberated humanity from death and is able to help them even now because he made himself one with them.
In verses 14-15, the author of the letter to the Hebrews explains how the Lord's solidarity with "all the children" made it possible for him to beat the devil at his own death game. By becoming mortal ("he shared in them (=blood and flesh)") he, so to speak, puts himself under the power of death so as to free those who were under the fear of death (cf. a similar idea in Gal. 4:4 about the law). The author however leaves "the children" unqualified here. In verse 16, he narrows the scope of "the children" and focuses on the descendants of Abraham. The focus on the children of Abraham is easily understandable because Jesus is "son of David, son of Abraham (cf. Matthew 1:1)" and he is identified by Paul as THE seed of Abraham through whom all nations will be blessed.
The salvific implication of the Lord's solidarity with "the children" is reiterated in verses 17-18 but with a new twist. Jesus' solidarity with humanity made it possible for him to defeat the devil, but what does this solidarity do for humanity? In this paragraph, the author points out two things. Because he identified himself with all men:
- He can now atone for their sins; and
- He can now aid them in their temptations because he himself has been tested
The whole passage of Hebrews 2:14-18 therefore is about the effects of Jesus' solidarity with humanity and continues the argument that begins with the author's exegesis of the psalm passages in verses 11-13. Given this fact, then, what is the role of Hebrews 2:16 in this argument?
On one level, one can say that the passage prepares for the saying in verse 18 about temptation and the implicit allusion to human weakness, i.e. temptation. On another, it serves as a transition point for the argument in verses 14-15 (solidarity:liberation from death) to shift on another idea in verses 17-18 (solidarity:help in temptation).
But how does one explain the mention of "angels" here?
The author of the letter to the Hebrews uses the word "angel" (singular or plural) in these verses: 1:4.5.6.7;2:2.5.7.16;12:22 and 13:2. Note that the use of the word is found in the first two chapters of the Letter and towards the end of the letter (twice in the exhortatory part). One can immediately see that "angels" were a theme of 1:1-2:7 because the author explains how "he (the Son) took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." (vv3d-4). 2:16 is the last time the author mentions the angels before the moves on to the real topic of the letter: Christ the Great High Priest.
