Hebrews 2:12 Commentary and Bible Study

Here is the Old Testament proof of the incarnation. The quotation is from Psalm 22:22, a messianic psalm. It is the words of Christ. It is a Psalm of David but he takes upon his lips prophetically the words of Christ speaking in figurative terms from the standpoint of Calvary's cross, and as part of that psalm he says ‘I will declare thy name, (that is the Father's name) unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.’ Christ does two things at once on Calvary’s cross: he redeems us by making an atonement for sin, and at the same time he glorifies God by expounding the divine attributes; he atones and he glorifies God in one great act of suffering. The way in which Christ declares the Father’s name is not only in his words, but on Calvary’s cross by his action, his obedience, his submission to the Father’s will. When he dies on Calvary, by that act he is saying, ‘See the divine love; see the divine wisdom that conceived such a way of salvation; see the divine power that by this atonement cancelled the sins of billions; see the attributes of God, all focused on Calvary and expressed there and demonstrated there.’ But the part that the author here wishes to single out is ‘my brethren’. Nothing in the word of God is without significance. Every word is important and though many may have read over this passage without noticing the word ‘brethren’, the writer to the Hebrews picks it out and under inspiration shows us its implication. The Psalm views Christ as having taking a common humanity with his people and come down to earth to worship among us. Though we know that he is with us by his Spirit, this prophecy could not have been fulfilled unless there had been a time when he was also physically present on the earth. It is therefore not an over interpretation to see here an indication of the Son of God taking a common nature with his people.Then also, the psalm views him as standing among his people as one of them: ‘In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.’ As a man he is doing what all men and women must do: he is worshipping God, for by the incarnation he placed himself among his own people and joined them in this act of worship.