Hebrews Week 2: Chapters 1-2

Transcription

1 Hebrews Week 2: Chapters 1-2 Canonization Excerpts from Harry Gamble, The New Testament Canon: Its Making and Meaning. Wipf & Stock Pub; REP. edition (March 12, 2002), p. 47, 56. The Opening Line Greek: Πολυµερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις 2 ἐπʼ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡµερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡµῖν ἐν υἱῷ Greek (transliterated): Polymeros kai ploytropos palai ho theos lalesas tois patrasin en tois prophetais et eschatou ton hemeron touton elalesen hemin en uio Translation: In many fragments and many fashions in former times, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son "This is the most sonorous piece of Greek in the whole New Testament. It is a passage that any classical Greek orator would have been proud to write. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews has brought to it every artifice of word and rhythm that the beautiful and flexible Greek language could provide... The man who wrote his letter must have been trained in Greek oratory." William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, p.1 In Hebrews, the gospel is not merely an idea submitted for intellectual consideration; it is a life-embracing demand that summons to action. It finally stands or fall not on its not on its irreducible logic, but on its capacity to be the soil in which an event of faith grows in the imaginations of those who read it. Thomas Long, Hebrews, p. 6

2 The Text: Jesus as the Culminating Revelation of God The agent of God's final revelation 1:1-4 A. The final messenger (1:1-2a) 1) In many fragments--there were times when a word from the Lord was rare. (1 Sam 3:1). The Preacher recognizes that God s past messages were not the whole picture, and there were sometimes long, frustrating gaps when the fathers didn t hear from God. How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, Violence! but you do not save? (Hab 1:1) 2) And many fashions--god spoke in many different ways. List some here: 3) God spoke to the fathers (Jewish ancestors) 4) By the prophets (those sent with a message from God) 5) But in these last days The emphasis here falls on the discontinuity of this event of revelation, on the fact that God s word in Jesus marks a decisive turning point in the ages. (Long, 11) 6) He has also spoken by a Son. B. A hymn to the Son (1:2b-4) perhaps the words of a hymn known to the readers 1) whom he appointed heir of all things when all is said and done, life does not belong to the demagogue, the oppressor, the tyrant, or the warrior; it belongs to Jesus Christ (Long, 15) 2) and through whom also he made the universe the Son is pre-existent and powerful. He began before his life on Earth and continues beyond it. He is not a distant second to God the Father it was through the Son that the Father made the universe. (Gr. aiones, lit. "ages," i.e., the whole created universe of time, matter, and space). The Son was God's agent in creation (John 1:3; Col. 1:16). He created both matter and history; both ideas are in view here. (Constable, 14) 3) The Son is the radiance of God s glory The Greek word apaugasma, translated "radiance," refers to what shines out from the source of light. Jesus Christ revealed the glory of God in a veiled way during His incarnation. Peter, James, and John saw that radiance revealed more directly on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2) (Constable, 14) 4) and the exact representation of his being The Greek word charakter, translated "representation," occurs only here in the New Testament. Greek writers used it to describe the emperor's picture on Roman coins, and the clear-cut impression made by a seal (a facsimile). It did not express a general likeness, but an exact duplication of the original. (Constable, 15) 5) sustaining all things by his powerful word sustaining their motion forward in history, keeping all things going until the end.

3 6) After he had provided purification for sins through his self-sacrifice on the cross. This line anticipates the Preacher s picture of Jesus as the great High Priest later in the book. 7) he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven a reference to Psalm 110:1, a popular verse in the early church and a favorite of the Preacher. The Lord says to my lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Each one of these seven actions points to the full deity of Jesus Christ. The original Jewish audience, faced with the temptation to abandon discipleship of Jesus for return to Judaism, received a strong reminder of His deity at the very outset of this epistle. The writer also presented Him as Creator, Prophet, Priest, and King in these verses. (Constable, 16) 8) So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. This is the first of the writer's thirteen uses of the word translated "superior" or better (Gr. kreitton), all of which contrast Jesus Christ and His order with what preceded Him in Judaism (6:9; 7:7, 19, 22; 8:6 [twice]; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24). This verse concludes the opening hymn or poem, and transitions to the first major claim the Preacher makes, the superiority of Jesus over the angels. The superiority of the Son 1:5-14 Some ancient Jewish groups, especially the Essenes, had an unusually high view of angels, along with detailed and speculative angelology. It is possible that the Preacher s readers were influenced by those groups, and in danger of focusing too much on angels. Even if the readers weren t influenced by the extremes of angel veneration, all devout Jews held angels in high esteem. Angels were very important in Judaism, primarily because multitudes of them assisted God in giving the Mosaic Law at Mount Sinai (cf. Deut. 33:2; Ps. 68:17; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). They also appeared occasionally to make very important announcements (e.g., Gen. 16:9; 31:11; Exod. 3:2; et al.) (Constable, 18). This section helps prepare the audience for the Preacher s claim that the new covenant of grace is superior to the sacrificial system of Judaism, because Jesus is superior to the angels who gave the law. Also notice: the claims made in the opening hymn are supported here with quotations from the scriptures. William Lane points out the following connections. (William L. Lane, Hebrews 1 8, p. 22)

4 1:1-4 1:5-13 A Appointment as royal heir (2b) A' Appointment as royal Son and heir (5-9) B Mediator of the creation (2c) B' Mediator of the creation (10) C Eternal nature & pre-existent glory (3a-b) C' Unchanging, eternal nature (11-12) D Exaltation to God's right hand (3c) D' Exaltation to God's right hand (13) Looking at the entire passage, there are seven ways the Son is superior to angels: 1. He is the Son of God (v. 5a). 2. He is the promised son of David (v. 5b). 3. He is the sovereign (supreme authority) whom angels worship as Yahweh (v. 6). 4. His ministry is not that of a temporary servant like the angels (v. 7). 5. His ministry is that of the eternal Ruler and King (vv. 8-9). 6. He is the immutable Creator (vv ). 7. He is the sovereign (supreme authority) who will rule as Victor over all His enemies (v. 13). It is far more likely that the real issue for the first readers of Hebrews is not a problem with angels, but a problem with Jesus. The underlying issue being addressed in this section, indeed a crucial matter throughout the whole of Hebrews, is not that the readers find too much glory in angels but that they find too little of it in Jesus. (Long, p. 20) The danger of negligence (the first warning) 2:1-4 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. What have we heard? 1) The scriptures that point to the superiority of Jesus, and perhaps 2) the teaching that the congregation has received. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? If the consequences for violating the law that angels brought were severe, then the consequences for ignoring the work and message of the Son must be even more so! This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

5 (Side note: notice the Preacher did not hear the words of Jesus directly. Whoever he is, he was not one of the original disciples.) How is he defining salvation here? What did Jesus announce? And how does that connect to the experience of this church? God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Like a brilliant lawyer, the Preacher is laying out every piece of evidence he can. Witnesses confirmed the words of Jesus, but so did signs, wonders, and miracles (both by Jesus and the apostles) and so does the work of the Spirit, who continues to give gifts to the church. The humiliation and glory of God's Son 2:5-9 The parabola of salvation from Thomas Long: It might be tempting to follow the word of angels more than the word of Jesus. (And notice here the preacher uses the name Jesus rather than the title Son he is emphasizing his human life.) Angels are powerful, bright, and impressive. They dwell in the heavenly realms. Jesus, on the other hand, came to us as some who was weak, and poor. He suffered. No angel endured a crown of thorns. No angel was condemned as a criminal. No angel died on a cross. To follow the path of the crucified one was an embarrassment. So the Preacher must convince his audience that there is more to the story.

6 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9) The Son's solidarity with humanity 2:10-18 "The three thoughts quickly made in Hebrews 2:9 are... filled in by further theological reflection in 2: They are not taken up in distinct sections but are interwoven in the argument of the paragraph.... "The first theme... is that Jesus as God's Son came to earth to share fully in our humanity and thus to establish His solidarity [unity, identity] with all people.... "The second theme... is that in God's plan Jesus had to undergo suffering and death in order to provide salvation for humankind.... "The third theme... is that because of His obedience in carrying out God's redemptive plan despite severe temptation, Jesus has been exalted to the honored position in God's very presence as the believers' perfected High Priest." Buist M. Fanning, "A Theology of Hebrews," in A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, p. 379, 381, 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 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. The fear of death is probably a very real concern among the readers! Jesus victory over death should break them from that enslavement. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham s descendants. (Like the Jewish believers reading this sermon.) 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, 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. The incarnation, though it seems scandalous, was necessary for him to cover the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. The temptation in mind here is almost certainly the temptation to turn away from the will of God in order to avoid pain (Matt 16:22-24, 26:53-54). Jesus knew that temptation, and because he overcame, he can help those who are tempted to turn away now.