Hebräer 2:3

we--who have received the message of salvation so clearly delivered to us (compare Heb 12:25). so great salvation--embodied in Jesus, whose very name means "salvation," including not only deliverance from foes and from death, and the grant of temporal blessings (which the law promised to the obedient), but also grace of the Spirit, forgiveness of sins, and the promise of heaven, glory, and eternal life (Heb 2:10). which--"inasmuch as it is a salvation which began," &c. spoken by the Lord--as the instrument of proclaiming it. Not as the law, spoken by the instrumentality of angels (Heb 2:2). Both law and Gospel came from God; the difference here referred to lay in the instrumentality by which each respectively was promulgated (compare Heb 2:5). Angels recognize Him as "the Lord" (Mat 28:6; Luk 2:11). confirmed unto us--not by penalties, as the law was confirmed, but by spiritual gifts (Heb 2:4). by them that heard him--(Compare Luk 1:2). Though Paul had a special and independent revelation of Christ (Gal 1:16-17, Gal 1:19), yet he classes himself with those Jews whom he addresses, "unto us"; for like them in many particulars (for example, the agony in Gethsemane, Heb 5:7), he was dependent for autoptic information on the twelve apostles. So the discourses of Jesus, for example, the Sermon on the Mount, and the first proclamation of the Gospel kingdom by the Lord (Mat 4:17), he could only know by the report of the Twelve: so the saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Act 20:35). Paul mentions what they had heard, rather than what they had seen, conformably with what he began with, Heb 1:1-2, "spake . . . spoken." Appropriately also in his Epistles to Gentiles, he dwells on his independent call to the apostleship of the Gentiles; in his Epistle to the Hebrew…

In this chapter the apostle, I. Makes some application of the doctrine laid down in the chapter foregoing concerning the excellency of the person of Christ, both by way of exhortation and argument (Heb 2:1-4). II. Enlarges further upon the pre-eminence of Christ above the angels (Heb 2:5-9). III. Proceeds to remove the scandal of the cross (Heb 2:10-15). IV. Asserts the incarnation of Christ, taking upon him not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham, and assigns the reason of his so doing (Heb 2:16 to the end).

2:3 So what makes us think we can escape? Here the author presses the full force of the danger of turning away from Christ and his salvation. There is no escape from punishment for those who walk away, and the punishment will be of the greatest severity (cp. 6:4-12; 10:26-31; 12:29; Rom 2:5; 1 Thes 2:16). • Salvation refers to God’s acts on behalf of his people. For example, God saved his people through the exodus from Egypt (Deut 26:5-9). In the New Testament, salvation primarily refers to Christ’s work of rescuing people from the penalty of sin and giving them new life by his sacrificial death on the cross (Heb 5:9-10). This salvation was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself (e.g., Matt 4:17; 9:35; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5). He then delivered (or validated) the message through those who heard him speak (e.g., Mark 6:12; Acts 2:38; 3:19-20).