The three passages already considered from the Epistle to the Romans

are matched for importance with the three we are now to consider from

'Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He

also Himself likewise took part of the same' (Heb. 2:14).

'Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and

supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to

save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared' (5:7).

'Through the veil, that is to say, His flesh' (10:20).

It would be pardonable for the English reader to assume that the two

verbs, 'to be partaker', and, 'to take part', that are found in Hebrews 2:14,

are one and the same in the original.  This is not so however.  Koinoneo, 'to

be partaker', is primarily a word that means having something in common, but

metecho, which is translated in five places, 'to be partaker', means to have

something in association with another.  Metochos, 'fellows' (Heb. 1:9) could

be translated, 'associate'.  The R.V. reads:

'Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood (margin Gk.

blood and flesh), He also Himself in like manner partook of the same'

When dealing with the proof of the Lord's resurrection as given in Luke

24, we drew attention to the fact that the phrase, 'flesh and bones' was the

common phrase of the Old Testament and that the phrase, 'flesh and blood'

does not occur until we reach the New Testament.  Even so, the order of the

words, 'blood and flesh' in Hebrews 2:14 (Greek) which sounds somewhat odd to

us, only emphasizes the more how careful we should be not to attempt to make

Scriptural phraseology square with more modern usage.  The word 'likewise'

must not be passed by without comment.  Paraplesios means literally 'to come

alongside of'.  Schrevelius says of this word, 'making a very near approach

to a person, akin to, like, equal, near, contiguous'.  Paraplesion is used by

Paul in Philippians 2:27, 'He was sick nigh unto death'.  Romans teaches that

Christ came not only in literal flesh, but in the likeness of sinful flesh,

so that natural children shared in common flesh and blood which He also

partook of by 'coming alongside', or as the parable has it, 'He came where he

was'; for in His case, the entry into the life of flesh and blood was

voluntary; no ordinary son of Adam has ever said at the moment of his birth,

'A body hast Thou prepared Me ... Lo I come ... to do Thy will'.  While,

therefore, He was very man and flesh and blood, He was at the same time,

'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners'.  The rest of mankind were

born of the will of the flesh; He was begotten of the Father, and given to

the world.  The second passage, Hebrews 5:7, takes us to Gethsemane and we do

well to take off our shoes, for here we stand on holy ground.  We will first

record the passage as it is found in the A.V.  Then we must consider one or

two important revisions in the translation and observe the general trend of

the epistle and the way in which the introduction of this most sacred

experience furthers the purpose of the Epistle:

'Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and

supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to

save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; though He were a

Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and