What does it mean that the founder of our salvation is made perfect through suffering?

Explanation:

The Greek text leaves no question that the one being perfected in Hebrews 2:10 is the founder. This is because the founder is the direct object of the verb to perfect. The action of the verb is directed at the direct object. So, the one who is made complete is the founder. The question is, What does it mean that Jesus is made complete through suffering? Why is suffering the mechanism that completes Jesus? Is not Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, perfect and complete through all eternity? The context surrounding Hebrews 2:10, and the rest of Hebrews, provide us with some answers. For example, in Hebrews 1:3 we learn that Jesus made purification for sins and then sat at the right hand of God. In the Old Testament, the priest was appointed to offer purification for sins (Leviticus 4:2–35). This implies that Jesus holds an important priestly office. Also, in Hebrews 2:17 Jesus is explicitly named as high priest. (The author of Hebrews will go on to spend considerable effort explaining why Jesus is the high priest par excellence.) In the Old Testament, the priest’s role was to act as a mediator between the people of Israel and God. When the leaders (Leviticus 4:22), the congregation (Leviticus 5:13), the common people (Leviticus 4:27), or even the priest himself (Leviticus 4:3) sinned, an animal sacrifice was made, after which the priest was required to sprinkle some blood from the sacrifice onto the altar. In this way, the priest made atonement, and the party who sinned was forgiven (Leviticus 4:31). The priest acts as a representative of the people. Jesus has been called to a similar role, and in order to be a faithful representative he must be like the people he represents in every way (Hebrews 2:14).³ This includes enduring a lifetime of suffering, and even death, after which, Jesus’ vocation as high priest is completed/perfected.⁴

Counterargument:

In the incarnation, the eternal Word of God enters into humanity and takes on a second nature. In this sense, Jesus was one person, with two natures, divine and human. We know from elsewhere in Scripture that in his human nature, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature before men and God (Luke 2:52). This implies that like the rest of humanity, Jesus developed in his capacities as a human through the course of time. Added to this, in Hebrews 2:10 the direct object of to perfect is not a vocation, or an office, but a person, represented by the noun the founder. Since we know that Jesus grew in his capacities as a human, and that he is the direct object of the verb to perfect, it makes more sense to take Hebrews 2:10 as describing Jesus’ person being completed through the process of suffering, not his office. It is Jesus, in his human capacities, who develops through time, and the mechanism that completes his development is suffering.⁵

Response to counterargument:

While it is the case that Jesus grew in his human capacities, and, that Jesus’ humanity was shaped in part through the mechanism of suffering, for Jesus, growing in human capacities is not an end in itself. Rather, the reason Jesus had to suffer was because he was to act as a high priest, and as a high priest he had to sympathize with the people for whom he intervened.⁶ Jesus’ purpose was not to simply grow in virtues like perseverance, but to be the pioneer who brings many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). To accomplish this, he had to be made like his brothers in every way (Hebrews 2:17). And since his brothers suffer in life, and in death, Jesus had to share in these suffering.

Explanation:

Before the incarnation Jesus dwelt in a state of perfect union with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 1:1–2; John 17:5). Jesus is the eternal creator of the universe who existed before all things and created all things (Colossians 1:15–17). Jesus is God, who shares in the divine nature, and the perfection of God is perfect beyond comprehension (Isaiah 40:25–28; Romans 11:33–34). In this sense, there can be no question that Jesus is wholly complete. Still, the office of high priest demands a truly mediatorial role. This means that for God to reconcile sinners to himself, he requires a high priest who is like the people in every way, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Hebrews explains that because humans face temptations and death, the only way for Jesus to become our high priest is if he too faces temptations and death. Of course, these aspects of human existence entail suffering, so for Jesus to fulfil his role as high priest, he must suffer. Jesus dwelt in eternal glory with the Father from eternity past; he did not need to develop for the sake of morality or virtue. But he could only be high priest by enduring the process of suffering in obedience to God, and Jesus’ love compels him to do just that.

Counterargument:

Surely it is the case that Jesus was complete in the Godhead before the incarnation, but Hebrews 5:7–9 seems to indicate that in his humanity, Jesus’ perfection has to do with being obedient to God, not fulfilling an office. Recalling the substance of Hebrews 2:10, the author in Hebrews 5:7–9 seems to expand on what it means that Jesus was perfected through suffering. The passage indicates that Jesus offered prayers and supplications, and because of his godly fear, God heard his prayers and saved him from death. Similar to Hebrews 2:10, Hebrews 5:8 states that Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered, and this made him perfect (Hebrews 5:9); therefore, he became the source of eternal salvation. This seems to imply that because Jesus grew to perfection in his humanity (not his office), he is designated a high priest. In other words, Jesus’ perfection is a necessary condition for his being named a high priest. Until he is made perfect through suffering, he is not a high priest. Once he is made perfect through suffering, he qualifies.⁷

Response to counterargument:

The definition of the term τέλειος (perfect) carries nuance among ancient writers. Stoic philosophers might use the term to denote someone who has reached completion through growing in virtues.⁸ For others, such as Philo, it could mean living an ethical life, or that one who has a true vision of the divine is τέλειος.⁹ Glosses for the term include perfect, complete, fulfil, and accomplish. With all this nuance in meaning, it is important to use indicators from the author of Hebrews to clarify its usage in Hebrews 2:10. Does Jesus qualify as a high priest because he has been perfected through suffered, or is Jesus’ work as high priest perfected only after he has suffered? The difference between these two options is subtle but important. In the first case, Jesus is not technically a high priest until he has been perfected by learning obedience through suffering. In the second case, Jesus is the high priest. This means that he had to learn obedience to God under the same conditions that a human might learn obedience. This involves being subject to temptation, and even death. Since Jesus did these things, his office as high priest is fulfilled. In the latter, being like his brothers is the necessary condition for being a high priest. If this involves suffering, so be it.

So is Jesus high priest because he suffers, or does he suffer because he is a high priest? On this matter the author of Hebrews is not silent. First, Hebrews 2:11 nods toward the fact that the sanctifier and the sanctified originate from the same source, this implies a similarity between them. Hebrews 2:14 clarifies this notion by explaining that because the children are flesh and flood, Jesus partook of the same nature. In Hebrews 2:17 we find that Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every respect, and Hebrews 2:18 notes that because he suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. All of this implies that the necessary condition of a high priest is not suffering per se, but being like the people who are saved, even if this involves suffering. In Hebrews 4:15 the author explains that Jesus is a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, and in Hebrews 5:7–10 we reach the climax of Jesus’ suffering. As a human, Jesus faced death, and so he called out to God for deliverance. Because of his reverent submission, God heard Jesus’ prayer and raised him from the dead. Through this process, Jesus is called the faithful high priest (Hebrews 3:2), not because he suffered, but because he became like the people he was appointed to save, and this entailed great suffering.

This view is strongest in light of the whole of Hebrews. This is because the author spends great energy articulating the significance of Jesus' office as high priest throughout the book. The theme of high priest is so strong that if one is not careful, it can colour one’s thinking such that every verse is interpreted in light of this theme. Such a narrow focus can cause an exegete to overlook the direct context, which might give the passage the correct meaning aside from the broader motifs (Hebrews 2:9 may add such meaning, as we will see in Interpretation 2). Still, considering the broader themes of a book is an important exegetical principle, both when the themes are subtle and when they are overt.

Explanation:

Based on the immediate context of the passage, the most likely interpretation is that Jesus has been made perfect through the suffering of his death. The sense is that by dying on the cross, Jesus has accomplished God’s plan. Just as God’s plan is made complete through Jesus’ death, so Jesus is made complete. The evidence for this view comes from Hebrews 2:9, where we read that Jesus is crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death. The Greek construction uses the preposition through/by means of. In other words, the instrument through which Jesus acquires glory and honour is the suffering of his death. This implies that when Hebrews 2:10 states that Jesus is completed through suffering, the suffering in mind is that of the death Jesus endured. By means of his death, Jesus is fulfilled, just as God’s plan is fulfilled.

Counterargument:

The author of Hebrews mentions suffering in a variety of contexts, including the suffering of death that Jesus endures. For example, in Hebrews 2:18 the author connects suffering with temptation, and in Hebrews 5:8 suffering is a mechanism for learning obedience. Later, in Hebrews 10:32 suffering has to do with enduring hardship for the gospel. This variety, along with the rest of the context, should be considered when determining the meaning of suffering in Hebrews 2:10. When we do this, we find that Jesus is the high priest who is counted worthy because he was faithful to his task (Hebrews 5:9–10). His task entailed suffering and death, and by accomplishing those, he was made complete.

Response to counterargument:

When we look at the earliest manuscripts, we find that there is no paragraph break between Hebrews 2:9 and Hebrews 2:10.¹² This means that the original author wants us to take Hebrews 2:2–13 as one thought. With this in mind, there is a strong connection between the suffering of death as the instrumental means by which Jesus is crowned with glory, and the notion that by suffering Jesus is perfected. When taken together, we see that by suffering death, Jesus is perfected, therefore receiving the crown of glory and honour.

Explanation:

The subject of the verb to perfect is God. We know this because the verb is in the infinite, the subject of which is normally in the accusative case. The personal pronoun he is the one who found it fitting/appropriate that Jesus should be perfected through suffering, and this is God the Father. In other words, God the Father found it fitting that Jesus should be perfected through suffering, which means that Jesus is perfected because he perfects God’s plan.¹³ We find a similar notion in Hebrews 3:2, where it says that Jesus was faithful to him who appointed him. That is to say, Jesus was faithful to God’s plan. As such, as God’s plan comes to completion through Jesus’ suffering of death, Jesus is also made complete.

Counterargument:

We know that God’s plan through Jesus was to reconcile humanity to himself through the death of his Son (Romans 5:10), and that Jesus destroyed the power of the devil through his death (Hebrews 2:14). Still, the direct object of the verb to perfect in Hebrews 2:10 is the founder. In other words, it is the founder, Jesus Christ, who is made perfect through suffering. One could argue that God’s plan also comes to fulfilment through Jesus’ death (although one could plausibly argue that this happens through the resurrection), but based on the grammar, this is not the intention of Hebrews 2:10. Rather, Hebrews 2:10 is about the fact that Jesus is made complete through suffering.

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that Jesus is the direct object of the verb to perfect, the subject of the verb is God. This means that God is the one who found it fitting to make Jesus complete through the suffering of his death, and the reason is that this would reconcile humanity to himself. Jesus’ death marks an end to God’s plan, paving the way for many sons and daughters to be brought to glory.¹⁴

While it is important to clarify a passage by looking to the immediate context, this view might do so to its own detriment. The author of Hebrews spends a lot of effort explaining and expanding on the notion that Jesus is the perfect high priest. It seems like this motif ought to be considered when trying to understand Hebrews 2:10, because it deals with the culmination of Jesus' ministry. Of course, we know (along with the fact that Jesus was God) that God the Father found it fitting to use his Son to reconcile sinners to himself, and that this reconciliation work culminates on the cross. Still, the author has put so much emphasis on Jesus as the perfect high priest who sympathizes with his brothers in every way, that it is hard to say that the author is reducing the completion of Jesus' work to one event.