The Sanctifier and the Sanctified

October 7th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 2:11-13 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” 13 Again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

While on the cross, Jesus not only suffered on man’s behalf, taking the penalty of sin upon Himself, v. 11 adds that His death also “sanctifies” (Gr. hagiazō) His brethren—those who trust in Him. To “sanctify” is to set apart; make holy. Now the imagery of holiness for Jews was bound up in their temple with certain men, various vessels, and appointed days being sanctified from all others. Jesus, the author of salvation, by dying on the cross, prepared the believer’s way to glory and “sanctified” them—setting them apart. By becoming a man and suffering as a man, yet being without sin, Jesus became one with humanity. As a result, humans and Jesus are of the same family, sharing the same Father since God ordained both the Sanctifier and the sanctified. It is clear that Christ came to sanctify believers (1:3), and in so doing He set us apart for God’s use. Therefore, believers are cleansed in order to serve the One who sanctified them, Jesus. It is for this reason that Jesus is not ashamed to call His sanctified subjects “brethren,” or brothers.

Notably, although Jesus said that those who do His Father’s will are His brothers, sisters, and mothers (Matt. 12:50; Luke 8:21), He never directly called anyone His “brother” until after His resurrection (Matt. 28:10; John 20:17). Before He could, He had to pay the price for their salvation. Jesus had to suffer and taste death in His humanity before calling anyone “brethren.” But now that He can, when He does call us “brother,” it signifies our complete redemption.

Now in order to validate his point, the writer once again quotes from Jewish Scripture, both a Psalm and a prophet. Verse 12 quotes Psalm 22:22, a Psalm that anticipates the future Messiah. Jesus Himself quoted its opening words as He hung on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34). In addition, Psalm 22:18 says, “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots”—fulfilled 1000 years later by Roman soldiers while Jesus hung on the cross (John 19:24). So when the author of Hebrews quoted Psalm 22:22 saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise,” he pictures Jesus placing His complete trust in God the Father during the most horrific moment of His life as a man—and the darkest moment in human history! In so doing, Jesus made brothers out of sinners, and He rejoiced! It was in that dark hour that Jesus brought sinful humans to Himself as “sons” (2:10), as “brethren” (vv. 11-12), and as “children” (v. 13).

The Hebrews author also quoted Isaiah 8:17-18 in v. 13, the context of which is also one of great hope during a time of deep despair. For while God had His face turned away from Israel due to sin, Isaiah said, “I will hope in Him” as he stood between his two sons 725 years prior, Maher-shalal-hash-baz and Shear-Jashub, sons who were named for the hope of Israel (Isa. 7:3; 8:3). These quotes show that when believers rejoice in the midst of despair, they reveal their oneness with Christ in His sufferings through faith. They are thus sanctified by Him.

Food For Thought
We Christians are all too often fully content to live far below our spiritual potential. If God made us holy, then our actions should reflect this. The sanctified (i.e., Christians) should recognize that Christ loves us and shines through us. Our behavior will be tell-tale. We ought not be about the task of spending enormous sums of money on our own self-indulgences while at the same time putting meager amounts of change into the church offering. Our time must be set apart too. Believers who set aside hours of leisure and weeks for vacations but set aside little to no time for church attendance and ministry can hardly boast about being sanctified in any practical sense. We have the potential, but too often it lies dormant within our selfish lives.