Hebrews 2: Watch Out That You Do Not Drift Away From Jesus

Introduction

"What are you doing in your life to stay close to God and to the person he has called you to be?" Becca Jupp, who leads Arun Church, opens this message with a minute of personal reflection. The church is continuing its "Life by the Sea" series: after rivers, it now turns to direction and drift.

The image comes from the nearby sea. A boat without a solid anchor always ends up drifting, carried by the current and the wind. Life of faith works the same way: you can drift off course very easily when you are not paying attention.

Starting from Hebrews 2, the preacher asks a simple question: how far are we from the humanity God had in mind when he created us? Her answer runs through our influences, a superhero story, and the example of Jesus, who gave his life.

Message Outline

1. Nobody Drifts on Purpose

As a child in the 1980s, Becca Jupp used to play in the sea at Rustington beach. After a while she would look up and think: "I was sure I was in front of that breakwater." She had drifted a long way along the shore and was searching for her mother.
You do not decide to drift. You think you are on course, you think you have been careful. "We think we have been paying attention to God, then we realize: we are miles away."
It is like the pupil whose attention drifts during the maths lesson. Drifting is natural, and it can be dangerous, like someone who goes too far out in a dinghy.

2. Hebrews 2: Pay Attention, Jesus Is Above Everything

Becca Jupp reads the whole chapter in The Message, which begins with the call to keep a firm grip on what we have heard and not to drift. In the World English Bible: "Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away" (Hebrews 2:1).
She admits the text puzzled her at first: "I wish I hadn't chosen this passage." Then she decided to tackle it, study it and understand it. She found "so many treasures" in it.
The passage speaks of angels because the law was passed on through them at Sinai (Galatians 3:19). If that message was valid, we cannot neglect so great a salvation, announced by the Lord himself.
We do not know who wrote the letter (perhaps Apollos or Barnabas) or who it was first addressed to. But its message is clear: Jesus became human, and he is above everything. "Don't drift. Pay attention. Jesus is very, very important."
By quoting Psalm 8, Hebrews 2 also shows what God wanted for humanity: "You set him over the works of your hands." Hence the question: are we becoming those whom God created? How far are we from that purpose?

3. What Shapes Your Worldview

Everyone has a worldview, shaped from birth: upbringing, school, the culture of the home and town where we grew up, relationships, hard or easier experiences. It shapes how you see yourself and how you see the world.
Social media shapes us too. Becca Jupp invites a young woman from the church, a community manager by profession, to explain. Each platform learns what you like, share and comment on, and builds an algorithm that feeds you similar content. It also learns what irritates you and pushes you to react.
This creates an "echo chamber": you are only shown what confirms what you already think, to the point that you never see another way of doing things.
Social media is not bad in itself. "As long as we are aware of the content we are taking in, we can do something about it." Follow people who share your convictions and check what you consume.
What we hear, in the news as much as on our screens, shapes us. That is why it matters to come back to the question: what does it mean to be human according to God?

4. Jesus' Story Is Not the Avengers' Story

The preacher's grandson loves Marvel films, with his shield and his figurines. The Avengers is one of the most popular films of our time.
The story is simple: humans with superpowers defeat the bad guys and get rid of them. "Our flesh loves this story." Otherwise we would not go and see these films.
"It's a great story, but it's not the story God tells." In Jesus' story, the man who lived for goodness and justice is killed by those who wanted him dead. Evil is defeated by his death, because he gave his life.
This story is wonderful when we recognize ourselves in the role of those who did wrong and for whom Jesus died. But Jesus adds: the story you are to live is to give your life for others.
"It's a hard story. It's something I struggle with, something we struggle with all the time."

5. Jesus, the Pioneer Who Gave His Life

In Hebrews 2:10, Jesus is called the "author of their salvation," made perfect through sufferings. The preacher links this title to Hebrews 12:2, where Jesus is "the author and perfecter of our faith." The Greek word means author, source, pioneer, the one who opens the way.
While studying the text, Becca Jupp discovered that this same word was commonly used of Hercules, the hero with superpowers who triumphed by killing his enemies.
"It's provocative, isn't it?" The first readers knew Hercules. Hebrews tells them: the true pioneer is Jesus. He defeated death in a completely different way, by giving his life.
Through his death he brought to nothing the one who had the power of death and freed those who lived in fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). He lived through everything, pain and trial, and is able to help those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).
"This is the story of our humanity. This is what Jesus asks us to be."

6. A God-Centered Worldview

According to Hebrews 2, God set human beings over the works of his hands. We are called to govern the world with goodness and justice, and to give our lives.
A worldview according to God affirms that God is at the center of reality, that every human being has a dignity given by God, that humanity has a purpose and a responsibility, that truth and goodness are not personal preferences, that love is the right use of power, and that the world is broken but redemption is possible.
It changes our questions. Instead of "What can I get out of it?", it asks: "How can I use it to serve what is good?" Instead of "How powerful can I become?": "How can I faithfully use the power entrusted to me?" Instead of "My success proves my worth": "How can I faithfully use my gifts?"
Instead of "I must do what seems right to me," it asks: "Is this consistent with God's truth, wisdom, love and character?" Instead of seeing the world as a resource to exploit, it learns to cultivate creation and take care of it.
Becca Jupp quotes Elisabeth Elliot: God's Word is like a straight ruler that reveals our crookedness. We do not see how crooked our thinking is until we line it up against the straight ruler of Scripture.
The gospel comforts the broken, but it confronts the proud. It offers forgiveness, but it calls for repentance. It was offensive to many because it was inclusive: Gentiles and the poor had a place in it.

7. Come Back: Drift No More

In a marriage, it is easy to drift. If both spouses give their lives for each other, thinking about what really loves the other, it is hard for things not to go well. If only one does, it does not work well.
"If you are drifting in your marriage, don't tell yourself: it will all work out one day. Pay attention." Think about what you need to do so as not to drift away from your spouse, and from God.
Parents know this kind of sacrifice: the sleepless nights, and the Sunday afternoon spent at the park in the cold rather than in front of the television. To those who are already giving their lives, she says: "God sees it." He says: "That's good."
That week, at the optician's, a simple question about his job opened up a long conversation. The man, more drawn to scientific thinking, sometimes went into a church for the singing. She invited him, and they talked about Jesus. "This is what I was created for. I want to see people find Jesus."
God says: "Come back." To those who were prophetic, evangelists, on fire, and who have drifted. To the church too: do we come only to sing, or are we burning for the Father?
In the face of the world's fear and conflicts, we must remember who we are: not to be afraid, but to give our lives so that others can flourish.

Key Takeaways

Nobody drifts on purpose. Without an anchor and without attention, we move away from God while believing we are on course.
Hebrews 2 calls us to pay attention, because Jesus, made human, is above everything.
Our worldview is shaped by what we consume, including algorithms. It must be measured against the straight ruler of Scripture.
Jesus is the true pioneer: he did not triumph by killing his enemies, but by giving his life.
Being human according to God means giving your life for others, in marriage, family, church and the world.

Personal Application

What are you concretely doing today to stay close to God and to the person he has called you to be?
In which area of your life have you drifted without realizing it: your faith, your marriage, your relationships, your calling?
What shapes your worldview the most right now? Does what you watch and follow help you stay close to Jesus?
In which relationship is God inviting you to give your life, or to ask forgiveness, this week?
How can you use the power and gifts entrusted to you to serve what is good?

Bible Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "do not drift" mean in Hebrews 2?

Hebrews 2:1 calls us to hold firmly to what we have heard, lest we be carried away. For Becca Jupp, nobody drifts consciously: you believe you are on course, then you realize you have moved away from God and from the person he called you to be. So we need to pay attention, and keep Jesus at the center.

Why does Hebrews 2 talk about angels?

The author reminds us that the law was passed on through angels. If that message was already valid, we cannot neglect so great a salvation, announced by the Lord himself. The central message, according to Becca Jupp, is that Jesus, made human, is above everything.

What does it mean that Jesus is the pioneer of our salvation?

The Greek word used in Hebrews 2:10 means author, source, pioneer, the one who opens the way. At the time, it was also used of Hercules, a hero who triumphed by killing his enemies. Hebrews applies it to Jesus, who defeated death in a completely different way: by giving his life.