Jesus’ Help For the Seed of Abraham

October 9th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 2:16-18 For assuredly [God] does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Nowhere in all of Scripture is Jesus ever seen giving help to angels. There is no doctrine in Scripture that even comes close to teaching that Jesus came to save angels, serve them, or redeem them. On the contrary, the teaching of Hebrews 1-2 not only concerns Jesus’ superiority over the angels, it also centers on His concern for mankind. He came to the earth and was thus “made for a little while lower than the angels” (2:9) so that He could sympathize with mankind, suffer for mankind, taste death for mankind, and be resurrected for mankind. So mankind was who Jesus came to help, not angels. But did Jesus come to save all of mankind? The answer is that He came to die for all of mankind, but His death “gives help” only for the “descendant of Abraham,” namely those who believe in and trust Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ (Gal. 3:29).

Beginning in Genesis 12:1-3, 7 God called Abram (later named Abraham) and made a covenant with him. He promised Abram the land from the river in Egypt to the Euphrates. God also promised to bless Abram and everyone who blessed him. But he also promised Abram a “descendant” (Gr. sperma), or seed. Abram’s first two sons were Ishmael and Isaac. Passing over Ishmael, God blessed Isaac who had twin sons: Jacob and Esau. Passing over Esau, God blessed Jacob who had 12 sons, the fourth-born of which (Judah) was prophesied to bring forth the ultimate Descendant, or Seed—Jesus (Gen. 49:8-12; cf. Gal. 3:16). Of course Jesus had no sons or daughters, at least not physically. But as God’s unique Son, He was sent by God the Father to sanctify a people and to call them brothers (Heb. 2:11-13). God adopts all who trust in His Son and thus calls them His own (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5)—those who specifically call on Jesus Christ for salvation. These are the true “descendant of Abraham” (v. 16; cf. Rom. 4:11, 16-17)—all who trust in Jesus for salvation (Gal. 3:29). As Abraham “believed God,” God crediting it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6), so too do we believe God so as to have righteousness credited to us—for both Jew and Gentile. That is salvation! And it is what being Abraham’s descendant truly entails. It is this “descendant” that Jesus gives help to, for they are His children.

Verse 17 sums up the whole matter saying that Jesus “had to be made like His brethren in all things.” This means that Jesus actually obligated Himself to be like mankind. In so doing, He became our High Priest, meaning that He can represent mankind before God since He became like us. And just as the high priest in Israel offered the blood of bulls and goats to atone for sin, Jesus offered His own blood as a “propitiation” (Gr. hilaskomai) for the sins of the people. The word means “to satisfy.” Jesus thus satisfied God’s wrath by offering Himself for sin on behalf of man. He turned God’s wrath away from sinners by becoming sin even though He was sinless (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). He was tempted in all ways like a man so that He could sympathize with man.

Food For Thought
What Jesus did in the past is wonderful because it has present-day ramifications. His death continues to atone for our sins—every single day! And He knows exactly how we suffer and endure temptation because He suffered too. Jesus felt our deepest hurts because He’s been there, having been tempted, betrayed, and tortured. We note also in v. 18 which says, “He is able to come to the aid of all those who are tempted.” This phrase means “to run to the cry of a child.” How appropriate! When we cry, Christ hears us and feels us. Then He runs to us!