Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
The teacher lingered on Hebrews 2:16 and Chrysostom’s point that Christ “taketh hold of” us like someone chasing down a runaway; how does that image challenge the way you instinctively imagine God relating to humans who are actively fleeing Him?
Another way to ask: Chrysostom says Jesus “takes hold of” us like someone chasing a runaway. How does that picture change the way you imagine God treating people who are running from Him?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, the “taketh hold of” image challenges the instinct to picture God as distant or merely waiting for sinners to return; it portrays God actively pursuing fleeing people with “kindness and love and tender care.” It reframes God’s approach to rebels as personal, initiating, and rescuing rather than passive.
- The speaker explains the verb as “to lay hold of,” “to take hold of,” even “to seize,” not a detached kind of help.
- Chrysostom’s point: Christ didn’t “take His hold of angels, but the seed of Abraham,” highlighting intentional, human-directed pursuit.
- The speaker says the phrase implies “a person pursuing those who have turned away…to overtake them as they flee away.”
- Key picture: “human nature was fleeing from God…He pursued after us and overtook us.”
- The motive is emphasized: “out of kindness and love and tender care for us.”