"I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."

Transcription

1 JUST JESUS The Book of Hebrews Lesson Three T EXT It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet. In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers 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. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 1

2 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. Hebrews 2:5-3:6 C ONTEXT The Letter to the Hebrews isn t actually a letter at all, but a 1 st century sermon that was written and sent to a small house church, probably in the city of Rome following the increased persecution of 65 A.D. under Nero. The recipients were likely Roman Jews who had become Christians, and the author knew them personally. The first section of the sermon is 1:1-2:4 1:1-4 God spoke his final word through his Son 1:5-14 God s Son enjoys an exalted status, far superior to the angels 2:1-4 Consequently, the message delivered through the Son has the highest importance for us regardless of circumstances The preacher confronts his distraught and frightened friends with the realization that God comes before them in a vivid and loving way in the new revelation they have received through the Son. The spoken word of God is the awesome reminder that God is with his people, even when they have an impression of his felt absence. (Lane, p. 41) This emphasis is continued in 2:5-18 where our author directs our attention to the fact that Jesus (the final, ultimate revelation of God whose message is of the utmost importance) also shares our situation. He is like us in every way, which gives him the right and power to be our Champion and our High Priest. For the remainder of Chapter 2, the author develops four major themes. The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to: experience death on behalf of others (v. 9) bring us to glory (v. 10) vanquish our adversary, the devil (vv ) become a fully qualified high priest (vv. (17-18) Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 2

3 S UBTEXT It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet. In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. I Thought We Were Finished With Angels? The point of departure for our preacher in establishing Jesus solidarity with the human race is Psalm 8. There is wonder that creature-kings and creature-queens are given such an exalted place by the Creator-king in his world. As sons of Adam and daughters of Eve we not only are given stewardship over this world, but a unique place in the world to come which not even angels can share. And Jesus, the Son of Man, has for our sake taken on this nature which is a little lower than the angels so that ultimately he could be crowned with glory and with everything under subjection to him. It is clear that in Psalm 8 humans are in view. The preacher is now making clear that in Psalm 8, Jesus as the ultimate human is in view also. The Blessed Double Negative The preacher picks up the idea from Psalm 8 of putting everything under his feet when he starts with the sentence In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. In Greek double negatives are permissible and are used to show extreme emphasis. Literally, Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing that was not under his control. Colloquially, Now in putting everything under him, there is not one single thing, anywhere or at anytime, that is not under his control. Believing What We See or Seeing What We Believe Despite the truth of this, the situation facing the Hebrews looked and felt very different. With imperial Rome beginning to breath down their necks and having already been scorned by their Jewish community for accepting Jesus as Messiah, it is easy to see how these lofty words seem to be not just lofty, but also empty. Like a legal sentence that has been passed, but not yet executed, our author points out that yet at present, we do not see everything subject to him. Nevertheless it is still true: Jesus became incarnate for our sake (we see him who was made a little lower than the angels); he is now exalted (crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death); and he will have final victory over death because he has conquered it on our place (by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone). Lane summarizes the author s opening statement of Jesus solidarity with his human family this way, The exalted Son of God made the human condition and especially its liability to death, his own in order to achieve for them the glorious destiny designed by God. (Lane p. 46) In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 3

4 All Part of the Plan The author affirms that it was always part of God s plan to bring many sons and daughters to glory (i.e. into a saving, living, breathing, growing relationship with himself). The phrase for it was fitting that God is really meant to illuminate the phrase by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone from the previous verse. It is appropriate that God the Father allowed God the Son to taste death on behalf of humans since this was always part of his ongoing plan. Our rebellion in the garden has not thwarted God s plan. His design in the incarnation was always to secure our salvation through the death of Christ. And Now, In This Corner, From the Shores of the Sea of Galilee Verse 10 also contains the Greek word archegos (αρχηγος ) which has a very broad meaning and is translated in this verse variously: leader (NEB); pioneer (RSV); author (NIV and NASB); founder (ESV); perfect leader (NLT). Lexically all of these are appropriate. However, in light of the context of Chapter 2, the word is best translated as champion (or hero; perhaps even as our trail blazing champion ). In defeating Satan, Jesus is portrayed as the champion who came to the aid of God s oppressed people. He identified himself with them, became locked in mortal combat as their representative with their archenemy who held them in slavery through death, and then defeating Satan through his own death on the cross and his resurrection, frees his captive people. The precedent for this type of saving champion who fights on behalf of his people has a rich OT background (I Samuel 17, David and Goliath), and God himself is pictured as Israel s champion (cf. Isa 42:13, 49:24-26). In Luke 11:21-22, Jesus refers to himself in this way referring to someone who is even stronger than the armed strong man who binds the armed strong man and then plunders his house. Jesus, as the one who opened a new way to God for the People of God, did so by being their champion, the one who fought and won on their behalf. Moreover, this champion, is so thoroughly associated with us, so like us in every way, that he considers us to be his brothers and sisters Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says One can imagine the effect of such an idea to people who had become in the eyes of the most powerful nation on earth, and in the eyes of their Jewish kinsmen, outcasts people who were being hunted down, arrested, humiliated and then summarily executed. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. The purpose of Jesus becoming our brother through the incarnation and then stepping forward as our champion was twofold: 1) to destroy Satan and by doing so: 2) set us free from death s power over us. Jesus being made perfect through suffering is what qualifies Jesus to be both our champion and our new high priest. (Cf. Lane p. 49 for the parallelism in these verses, which emphasize Christ s identification with us and victory over Satan). The primary goal of the incarnation was the Son s participation in death, through which he nullified the devil s ability to enslave the people of God through the fear of death. Jesus death was the inevitable consequence of his determination to identify himself so completely with his brothers and sisters. (Lane p. 49) For this reason he had to be made like his brothers 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. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 4

5 Our author, having hinted at it linguistically in 1:3 where Jesus is described as having made propitiation for our sin, he is now explicit Jesus is our high priest. The ideas of Christ as our champion and as our high priest share at least 2 common elements: representation and solidarity (Cf. Lane 52). Both the champion and the high priest stand in place as representatives of their people while remaining vitally linked to them, chosen from among them. To be like his brothers in every way is a phrase that covers the entire gamut of human experience. The incarnation was a complete identification, a total taking on of our human nature in addition to his divine nature, for Christ. He is in every sense imaginable, one of us. The purpose of this is twofold: 1) so that he might be qualified to be our merciful and faithful high priest; 2) as that high priest to offer himself up as the ultimate offering for our sin. Both of these themes will be continued throughout the rest of the sermon. Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. Although this really begins the next section of our sermon, our author now turns his attention to the fact that as one who is both fully human and fully God, Jesus is superior to everything that has come before. Jesus is the ultimate, faithful high priest. For the purposes of comparison, our author puts Jesus side by side with the greatest prophet of the OT, Moses. Moses was obedient to God s calling and appointment as the leader of the nation even though it meant standing up to Pharaoh, he lead the nation to freedom, he mediated the covenant of grace embodied in the Law to the people from God, he was the leader for an entire generation, and received revelation in a way that set him apart (cf. Numbers 12:6-8). Moses is a big deal. However, Jesus is still superior to Moses. Moses Was faithful in God s house Was a servant in God s house Testified to what God would do What happened to Moses house? Moses was not perfectly faithful Jesus Built God s house Is a son over God s house Is the revelation of what God has done We are God s house Jesus was and is perfectly faithful Adapted from Doriani, Hebrews to Revelation WHERE DO WE GO FROM H ERE Where are you currently being exposed to circumstances of testing or difficulty in your life? Where are you most tempted to believe that God loves you but doesn t like you? Have you felt alone in these, or other, struggles that you face? What in this passage speaks to these orphan tendencies in our lives? Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 5

6 Are you experiencing the sort of peace and quietness that is appropriate for someone who is confident that Jesus stands at your side? Thinking back through the points our author is making in this passage, how do they encourage you to move into a deeper rest in Christ? Hebrews, L3 (2:5-3:6), p. 6