Hebrews 2:14 teaches that Jesus became fully human so that he could die, and through that death break the hold the devil had over death. The verse explains why the Son of God took on flesh and blood: to free people who had lived in fear of dying. The writer of Hebrews is speaking to Christians who were tempted to drift back toward old patterns of fear and uncertainty, and he points them to what Christ has done for them.
Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…
Hebrews 2:14 (WEB)
What Hebrews 2:14 Means
The verse begins by pointing to a shared human condition. God’s children are made of flesh and blood, so Christ chose to share that same nature. He did not stand apart from our weakness and mortality. He entered into it completely, so that he could stand in our place.
The purpose clause is the heart of the verse. Through death, Jesus would bring to nothing the one who held the power of death, identified as the devil. The language does not mean the devil ceased to exist. It means his claim to hold humanity in permanent fear and bondage was broken. Death, which once seemed to have the final word, was defeated by the very death Jesus underwent.
What the verse does not promise is that believers will never die physically. Christians still grow old and still face death. The promise is that death no longer has the power to hold them in terror or to separate them finally from God. It has lost its sting.
The Context of Hebrews 2:14
The letter to the Hebrews is a sermon-like letter written to a community of Jewish Christians who were facing pressure, possibly hardship and temptation to abandon their confession of Christ. The author is traditionally unknown, though many church traditions have attributed it to Paul. Whoever wrote it wanted to strengthen his readers by showing the greatness of Jesus compared with angels, Moses and the old priesthood.
The verses just before this one speak of Jesus calling believers his brothers and sharing their family with them. Verse 14 explains how that kinship happened: he took on their humanity. The verses that follow describe the result, that he would become a merciful and faithful high priest. Read in this setting, the verse is not an isolated statement about the devil. It is part of an argument about how Christ identifies with people so that he can save them.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 2:14
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
55 “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(WEB)
Paul celebrates the defeat of death through Christ, using the image of death’s sting being removed. It echoes the same victory described in Hebrews 2:14 and shows how the early church understood the resurrection as the answer to humanity’s deepest fear.
Colossians 2:15
Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
(WEB)
This verse speaks of Christ disarming the powers and authorities through the cross. Like Hebrews 2:14, it portrays the crucifixion as the place where spiritual enemies were defeated, showing the wider scope of Christ’s triumph.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 2:14
Lord Jesus, you did not stay distant from our weakness. You took on flesh and blood and walked fully into the reality of death so that we would not be held by it forever. Thank you for breaking the power of the one who used fear to keep people in bondage. Where I feel anxious about dying or about the losses I cannot control, remind me that you have already faced those things and overcome them. Help me to live today in the freedom you have given. Amen.
