The One who became Jesus did not take upon himself the nature of angels. Rather he took the form of “flesh and blood” (Hebrews 2:14, cf. John 1:1, 14), specifically that of the family of Abraham (verse-16). I believe the Jews misunderstood this concept, believing the Messiah was exclusively for them. Yet, we are told from the very beginning of God’s relationship with them, that “all nations would be blessed **IN** Abraham. That is, when each man, Jew and gentile, trusted Jesus as their Savior, that one became a spiritual descendant of Abraham (Galatians 3:8, 11-14, 16; cf. Genesis 22:18; Romans 4:11-16).
Some folks try to say Jesus was an angelic being before he became man, but this is a logical impossibility, if one takes the text of Hebrews 2:16 seriously. If the One who became Jesus (John 1:14) didn’t take upon himself the nature or form of an angel, that implies he wasn’t an angelic being to begin with. In other words, if the Word were an angelic being prior to his becoming man, he would have already possessed an angelic form, which would mean he couldn’t be equal with the God (Philippians 2:6; cp. John 1:1). Angelic beings don’t exist in the form of God. To say they do has no Biblical foundation. Therefore, if the Word existed in the form of God prior to his taking on flesh, this tells us Jesus couldn’t have been an angelic being before he became man. So, those who teach he was an angel prior to John 1:14 are clearly wrong.
Many centuries prior to Jesus’ birth, Job desired a mediator between himself and God, because Job thought he was being mistreated (Job 9:32-35). In order for a mediator to be merciful to the weaker of two adversaries but at the same time faithful to the requirements of the stronger of the two, he needed the confidence of both parties. He had to be able to show to the weaker party that he was for them, and at the same time exemplify that he wouldn’t betray the interests of the stronger party. It, therefore, behooved the Word (God—John 1:1) to become flesh (John 1:14) and share in the same weak form (flesh and blood – Hebrews 2:14; cf. Philippians 2:7-8) as men have. In other words, the Word took on flesh in order to walk a mile in our shoes, and in so doing he could to be trusted as our Mediator. Since, prior to his becoming flesh, the Word had been equal with God (Philippians 2:6; John 1:1), it is self-evident that he also had the Lord’s interests at heart.
One of the major duties of a high priest is to offer a sacrifice for the people, once in the year in the very presence of God. It is interesting that Hebrews is the only book in the New Covenant that mentions Jesus as Priest, i.e. the High Priest. It often speaks of his Kingdom and on the day of his crucifixion the empirical accusation against him was that he was King of the Jews, which was written in three languages – Greek, Latin and Hebrew / Aramaic.[1] Therefore, when the whole world was told this was the King of the Jews, Jesus was offering himself as the Propitiatory Offering to God for the sins of mankind (1John 2:2; 4:10), thus fulfilling his office as High Priest.
Paul tells us that Jesus suffered being tempted (KJV; i.e. experienced temptation). In all of the New Covenant passages that show Jesus was tempted (peirazo – G3985) it is in the sense that he was being persecuted and efforts were made in an effort to trip him up and cause him to fail in some manner. Traps were often set for him to catch him in his words, whereby he might be taken into custody, if a specific charge could be made against him. He was constantly being put down by his adversaries and made to look like he was in league with the devil, because he wouldn’t perform specific miracles at the command of the Jewish authorities. These things were almost daily occurrences made in an effort to wear Jesus down.
Therefore, it seems to me, that it is in this sense that Jesus helps those who are tempted (cf. Colossians 1:24; Philippians 3:10). The Jewish Church in Palestine was undergoing persecution of this nature, when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. They were being beaten and expelled from the synagogues, intimidated and made to feel like they were traitors to their nation. Jesus knew this type of test or temptation (G3985), and it was this sort of thing that Paul was referring to in Hebrews 2:18. Thus, Jesus proves himself to be a very merciful High Priest, in that he not only offers himself as the Propitiatory Offering to satisfy the requirements of a holy God (under the Law), but he also offers his help, as his people go through the same type of persecution that he went through during his public ministry on earth.
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[1] The three languages in which Jesus’ accusation was written were Greek, the universally understood western language, Latin, the western legal language, and Hebrew, actually Aramaic, the universally understood eastern language. See Philip Schaff’s People’s Commentary; Bob Utley’s Commentary; Jamison Fausset & Brown; Lightfoot; and the Expository Notes of Dr. Constable.
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