Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
The Letter to the Hebrews
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
February 22, 2026 :: Hebrews 2:5-9
We’re going to start today with a pop quiz. See if you’ve been paying attention! Are you ready? Five questions.
QUESTION #1. “In the past God spoke to [us] through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by...[What? Or Whom]”?
ANSWER: His Son! The owner of all things, the maker of all things, the sustainer of all things. The Son! He’s the “radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.” He’s the full and final revelation of God to us! The Son.
QUESTION #2. Which is greater...this Son or the angels of God?
ANSWER: The Son is infinitely greater than the angels. Angels are great! Angels are amazing. But they are nothing compared to the Son. Angels are created. The Son is the Creator. Angels are winds and fire. The Son never changes. We don’t worship the angels. We join the angels in worshiping the Son.
QUESTION #3. On Whom should we, as Christians, fix our eyes?
ANSWER: Jesus! We should fix our eyes on the Son. That’s the whole point of this letter.
Chapter 12 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
The Son is worthy of our attention. He’s worthy of our focus. Last week, we learned in the first four verses of chapter 2 that we should pay careful attention to the Son so that we don’t drift away. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus so that we don’t neglect this great salvation that He has announced and provided.
QUESTION #4, if we ignore His great salvation, will we escape? Yes or No?
ANSWER: No. We will not escape if we ignore such a great salvation. That’s the flipside. That’s the warning of what will happen if we refuse to fix our eyes on Jesus. We will drift away, and we will not escape. There’s so much at stake.
One more question in our pop quiz for today. Well done, so far. One more question, and [big hint] I have already said the answer in the last few minutes!
QUESTOIN #5. According to the Book of Hebrews, where is Jesus right now?
ANSWER: At the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
I quoted it already from chapter 12, verse 2. It’s also right there in verse 3 of chapter 1, and the writer also quoted Psalm 110 verse 1 in chapter 1, verse 13, as applying to Jesus when he asked, “To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?”
What’s the answer to that one? To which of the angels? Not one of them! But He did say that to the Son. He did say that to Jesus. “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for you feet.” And He did!
Right now, the Son is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Now, I think that’s what’s uppermost in this pastor’s mind as he writes this letter to this struggling church of primarily Jewish believers.
Jesus sitting at the Father’s right hand.
And this writer so wants to encourage these precious saints to focus on Him!
But it’s hard. It’s hard for them to focus on Jesus because life is hard. And because they are starting to be persecuted for following Jesus. And because they are feeling alone and insignificant and scared. And things just aren’t the way they are supposed to be.
Do you ever feel that way? “This is not how things are supposed to be.” I feel that way a lot. There’s a reason we feel that way. It’s because they aren’t!
So this shepherd wants to encourage these struggling sheep to focus on the One who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high because that will get them through.
He reminds them, “We See Jesus.”
Those words are in verse 9. “We see Jesus.” We lift up the eyes of our hearts to see Jesus where He is. And we fix our eyes on Jesus. We see Jesus, and it makes all the difference.
Let’s work through the passage. It’s really part of a longer section that goes to the end of the chapter, but I felt like studying all of that was biting off more than we could chew. So we’re just focusing today on verses 5 through 9. The writer picks up his argument again about how much greater Jesus is to the angels. Verse 5.
“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.”
Same deal. The angels are amazing, but they are not everything.
The angels are not going to be the rulers of “the world to come.” That’s an interesting phrase isn’t it? He says he’s been writing about a new world coming, and the angels are not going to rule it. They are servants but will not be the masters (see 1:14).
Now, that might be surprising. There are some ways in which angels are currently ruling this world. Remember back in the book of Daniel chapter 10, where the curtain was peeled back a little bit, and we learned that the archangel Michael was some kind of a “prince” (see also Daniel 12:2). And Paul’s letter to the Ephesians says that there unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (KJV: “principalities” and “powers”).
But in the world to come, it will not be angels who will be at the top of creation, ruling all of the world.
So, if not angels, what kind of being will rule the world to come?
I don’t think it’s the hippopotami.
The answer may surprise you.
Of course, God is the Ruler over all. That’s the same forever and ever. The Ancient of Days sits on the eternal throne. Always has, always is, always will.
But the writer of this letter says that God has made a certain kind of being who He’s going to place over all of the world to come.
And it’s going to be the kind of being that He originally intended to rule over all of creation. And he’s got the Bible to prove it. Look at verse 6.
“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet’” (2:5-6). Stop there for now.
What kind of being will rule over the world to come?
It will be human beings.
Not angels, amazing as they are. It will be you and me. The Bible says so.
Isn’t it funny in verse 6 where he says, “There is a place where someone has testified...” Like he doesn’t remember where it is in his Bible. I feel that don’t you? That happens to me, too. “I don’t know. It’s in there somewhere.”
Actually, he’s probably assuming that they do know exactly where it is. So he can be vague, but they all know where it says:
“What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
and put everything under his feet.”
Where does it say that?
That’s in Psalm 8, which we read at the head of our worship time this morning.
It starts, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
You might want to read it again this afternoon.
You know how I said, that Hebrews is a lot like a sermon? It’s a letter, but it reads a lot like what I do every Sunday in explaining and applying the Bible to the flock. Well, here in the first part of chapter 2, the writer is preaching on Psalm 8. He’s taking it out and looking at it and applying to their lives.
And Psalm 8 marvels at the placement of humanity in the world. The focus here is on humanity. Look again at verse 6.
“...there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
King David was astonished to think that God would think about little old him!
David was blown away that the majestic God of the universe would care two figs for little David.
David says in the verse right before the one Hebrews quotes, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place...what is man that you are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3).
I have four implications of this passage for our lives today as applications for us this morning, and here’s the first one.
#1. BE AMAZED.
Let yourself be amazed at your place in the world and in God’s own heart.
David looked up at the night sky. He had been a shepherd, you know. A lot of nights looking up at the Milky Way, smelling sheep, and he says, “When I look up there and see just how small I am...the heavens, the moon, the stars...I am so small.”
And those things up there are just your “fingerwork.” Like Heather’s knitting. The stars the galaxies are just the fingerwork of God.
And when I think about that, I feel so small. And that’s right! We are small.
We like to think about ourselves as big. As the measure of all things. We act like we are the center of everything. No! God is the center of everything. God is the measure of all things. And He is immense!
He’s majestic! But He’s also “mindful” of us. He cares about us?
What I always say about Psalm 8 is that it puts us in our place. Which is small and also significant. It’s tiny and also beloved. God knows your name. God cares about little you.
I would imagine that the first readers felt insignificant, especially if they were experiencing government sponsored persecution. I mean, when the government comes after you, you can feel so small and defenseless. Who do you call?! You can’t call the police. They’re the problem. You feel so alone. And in the big old universe. So alone.
But Psalm 8 says that we are not alone. And that God has His mind on us. And that blows David’s mind! Because we’re not just loved, but we we’re given a position of authority in this world. Verse 7.
“You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet’”
That’s amazing! Human beings were made just “a little lower than the angels,” and we were given “crowns.” King Adam and Queen Eve were made the rulers of Creation. They were given the glory and honor of bearing the very image of God. Listen to Genesis chapter 1:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Genesis 1:26-28).
That’s amazing?!!
That’s what human beings are supposed to be!
You and I were made to wear crowns.
That’s why we are supposed to be so respectful of other human beings.
Because they bear the image of God and are therefore royalty.
That’s why abuse is so evil. That’s why mistreatment of other humans, no matter who they are, is so wrong. Inhumane means ungodly. That’s why we honor both men and women. Not one or the other. Both of the two sexes are made in the image of God. That’s why we put money in baby bottles to help convince parents to carry and raise their little princes and princesses. And it’s why take we responsibility for our domains. Because we were given a job to do. We’re supposed to tend the garden, so to speak, of this world.
God crowned us with glory and honor and put everything under our feet.
And by everything, what do you think he means? V.8
“In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him.”
“Everything” means “everything” in all creation! Human beings were made to rule wisely and well.
And yet...Look again at verse 8.
“Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.”
Things are not the way they are supposed to be.
Do you feel it? We all feel it. This world is broken. And we broke it! We are broken, and we broke the world. We failed to rule it well. We failed to rule it wisely. We failed to reflect the image of God. We fell into sin, and we spread it all around. And we invited the curse and death.
We’ve done a bad job of ruling the world. So much so that a fallen angel is often right now called, “the prince of this world.” We do not see everything subject to humanity.
Oh, we still throw our weight around, but it’s nothing like what it’s supposed to be.
Do I need to convince you of this? Just scroll on your phone, and you will see. We are doing a bad job of ruling the world, and creation isn’t cooperating either. Our enemies are exercising dominion over us.
Death, for example, is the reigning champion. Everybody here is living with it. It’s coming for everyone in this room.
We were made for so much more, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to” us.
But! There is more to the story, isn’t there? Here’s our key sentence. Verse 9.
“But we see Jesus...”
This is the first time his personal name is written in this letter. Jesus. It always emphasizes His humanity and His mission to save us. “But we see Jesus!” And that makes all of the difference. Because see what Jesus has done?
The writer uses the language of Psalm 8 and takes it all to a new level. V.9
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels [He became a human like you and me! Stepping down from heaven and assuming a human nature just like ours, taking a spot as a servant, a little lower than the angels, we see Jesus], now crowned with glory and honor [not just because He’s the image of God but] because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
What’s He talking about? He’s talking about where Jesus is right now.
Church, where is Jesus right now?
He’s at the right hand of the Majesty on high. How’d He get there? He is crowned with glory and honor. How come? Because He suffered death, even death on a Cross.
And He was victorious! He came back to life. He was raised on the third day and ascended into heaven! And all God’s angels are worshiping Him (1:6).
That’s where we see Him. We don’t see Him with our physical eyes. We see with the eyes of our heart where Jesus is.
He is crowned!
He is honored!
And He’s waiting until the Father makes His enemies a footstool for His feet. And then He’s coming back to rule here as He does there.
Implication number two:
#2. BE PATIENT.
Be amazed at your place in the world and in God’s heart, and be patient while you wait for Jesus to take His place over the world.
“It is not to angels that [God] has subjected the world to come...”
It is to humans that He has, and most specifically one particular human has led the way.
We see Jesus!
Jesus is the quintessential human. He’s everything that we are (barring sin) and everything we were supposed to be! And He’s coming again to rule the world as it should be.
I can’t hardly wait. But we have to wait.
But while we wait, we wait in hope. We wait, understanding where we are in the story. Creation, Fall, Redemption. New Creation.
We are not forgotten.
We are not alone.
We are small, but we’re on God’s mind and in His heart.
Things are not the way they are supposed to be, and it’s our fault.
But Jesus has tasted death and spit it back out!
Jesus has conquered death so that death will not have the last word for you and me. Jesus is going to fix it all. He’s going to fix everything. And everything is going to be put under His feet.
Implication number three:
#3. BE THANKFUL.
We see Jesus...suffering death, by God’s grace, in our place.
He tasted death, experienced the full force of death, for every one of us who are His. He died the death that we deserved.
We’re going to talk more about this next week because Jesus’ flesh-and-blood-humanity and death is the focus of the whole rest of the chapter. And all of what His death means to you and me.
But we know just from verse 9 that it was “for” us. And that it was a gift. It says “by the grace of God.”
We didn’t deserve. We couldn’t deserve it.
We didn’t earn it. We couldn’t earn it.
We can’t even pay it back. It’s got to be a gift or nothing.
And, praise God, it is a gift!
Have you received the gift? The gift of eternal life that comes from the death of Jesus Christ? If you have not, you are headed to destruction. You are headed towards Hell. And you deserve it. But you don’t have to go there. There is such a great salvation you can have instead! You are invited to turn from your sins and trust in the Savior. To put your faith in Jesus and what He did on the Cross.
He endured the Cross.
He scorned the shame.
And He sat down at the right hand of throne of God!
And one day, He’s coming back to set everything right.
Jesus is the quintessential human. He’s the Son of Man (like in verse 6) and also like in Daniel 7 which we learned about this time last year.
Where Daniel saw, “...one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
Remember, all bad things must come to end.
And then we will reign with Him!
Daniel 7 also said, “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him” (Daniel 7:27).
You and I will get to wear those crowns after all!
In fact, the Bible says that one day we will in some way judge the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)?!
Be amazed.
Be patient.
Be thankful.
And lastly:
#4. BE FOCUSED.
Be focused on Jesus. Because it’s all about Him. Don’t take your eyes off of Jesus. Not for one second.
Do you see Him? He’s seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High.
Yes, things are a mess right now. Things are not as they ought to be. But things are going to change. Guaranteed by the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the accession of Jesus, and the present session of Jesus at the right hand of the throne of God.
Let’s stay focused, not on angels, not on ourselves, not on how hard life is, not on what we cannot yet see, but let us stay focused on Him.
We see Jesus.
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Messages in this Series:
01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
