Who has the power of death in Hebrews 2:14?

Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” The Son of God took on human flesh to break the devil’s power of death. What does it mean that the devil had “the power of death”? Let’s review the immediate context of Hebrews 2:14 and related passages.

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were being tempted to abandon their faith and return to Judaism. The writer begins the second chapter by warning them not to “drift away” from their salvation (Hebrews 2:1). Salvation is grounded in God’s Son, “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). The Son descended from heaven, assumed human flesh, and “provided purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3) through His death and resurrection.

The Son of God became “fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). In atoning for sin, He also overcame sin’s penalty, our greatest enemy—death.

Hebrews 2:14 identifies the devil as the one “who holds the power of death.” Of course, God is sovereign over life and death: “See now that I am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death, and I bring to life, I have wounded, and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39). In John’s vision of the exalted Christ, Jesus says, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). How, then, can the devil hold the power of death?

The devil’s “power” of death comes through temptations, accusations, deceptions, and lies. He introduced sin into the world (Genesis 3), and with sin came death (Romans 5:12; 6:23). “The author of sin is the author of its consequences” (Jamieson, R., Fausset, R., and Brown, D., A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, Hebrews 2:14). Jesus said the devil was a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). We have all sinned, and so we all die. In that way, we have fallen into the devil’s clutches—he has the power of death, and he promotes the fear of death. Apart from Christ, we cannot escape it.

The devil can also bring about disaster and illness. In Job 1, Satan’s hatred of Job is seen in his desire to harm Job, and disaster befalls that righteous man. At the end of the day, all Job’s wealth has been destroyed, and all his children are dead. In the next chapter, Satan “afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). Of note, Satan could only do these things by God’s permission. And God specifically forbade Satan from killing Job: “You must spare his life” (Job 2:6). Unlike God, the devil is not sovereign over life and death. And he can only wreak havoc insofar as God allows him to.

Through His shed blood, Jesus conquered Satan, sin, and death. Paul writes that Christ “disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:15, NLT). Paradoxically, Jesus defeated death by dying. In His resurrection, Jesus proved Himself the Victor over death. On the future day of resurrection, Jesus will remove all vestiges of death’s power from those who belong to Him.

“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55–56). For believers, death is a vanquished enemy with no sting. Our sin has been forgiven, and we have the promise of life. The devil’s power of death has been crushed.