Session 11 - Lecture #2 Hebrews opens with a formal prologue written in classical style, not unlike the opening to Luke s Gospel, which introduces all that will come later in the book. The first part (vv. 1-2a) is a statement of the supremacy and finality of Christ. God s former revelations came through a variety of channels, but His last and ultimate message came through His Son. The second part (vv. 2b-4) contains a sevenfold exaltation of Jesus: (1) He was appointed the heir of all things (v. 2b) (2) Through Him God made the world (v. 2c) (3) He reflects God s glory and bears the very stamp of God s nature (v. 3a) (4) He sustains/upholds the universe by His word of power (v. 3b) (5) He made purification for sins (v. 3c) (6) He sat down at God s right hand (v. 3d) (7) He became superior to he angels (v. 4). 1:5-14 expands upon this last point as the author uses three pairs of Old Testament passages to show how the Son is superior to angels. The opening question To which of the angels did he ever say is rhetorical (also 1:13) implying an answer To none of them! The Son has a unique relationship to the Father (1:5 Ps. 2:7, 2 Sam 7:14). The angles worship the Son and they are His servants (1:6, 7 Dt 32:43, Ps 104:4; cf. 1:14). In verse 8 the quotation blatantly ascribes the word God to Jesus as well as Lord in verse 10. He is enthroned over the universe and eternal sovereign over creation (1:8-12 Ps 45:6-7, Ps 102:25-27). These six quotations are followed by a seventh from the most quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament, Psalm 110. Jesus was seen by the church to be the One seated at the right hand of God the Father, the position of power and honour and authority and blessing. The string of quotes were used by the author to set up his first warning to his readers. Is the Son greater than the angels? Yes, indeed! On that basis how much more important is it for us to be hear and obey the Son?! (The author uses this device of logic regularly, an argument from lesser to greater, called a fortiori.) The Jews understood the Torah to have been delivered through angels on Mount Sinai. If God punished the Israelites for disobeying His word delivered through angels, how much more accountable are we to the word brought to us by His Son. We must pay careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away (like a boat that drifts off with the current when the anchor has been lifted, 2:1-4).
In 2:5 the author returns to the comparison of the Son and the angels noting it was not to angles that God subjected all things. But the superior Son temporarily became positionally lower than the angels through His incarnation (Ps 8:4-6). In verse 9 he clarifies that this is Jesus and that He suffered death on behalf of everyone. Presently He is crowned with glory and honour, everything being subjected to Him, though we don t presently witness this aspect of His majesty (v. 8; the already but not yet tension). Through Christ s suffering He brought many sons to glory (2:10) making them members of His family, His brothers (v. 11; supported by Ps 22:22 and Is 8:17, 18). It was not the form of an angel that Christ took on. But He shared in our humanity so that He could set us free by destroying Satan, who held the power of death (vv. 14-15). It was through His incarnation that He was able to become our High Priest, seeing that the high priest was always chosen from among the people (2:17; 5:1). As high priest He could offer the atoning sacrifice for us. And because he suffered through temptations, he knows what it is like to be human and can help us in our temptations too (2:18; also 4:15). Chapter three begins with a strong exhortation to focus upon Jesus (compare 12:3), our faithful high priest. In this capacity he was similar to, but also greater than, Moses. Moses was a faithful servant in God s house, but Christ was the faithful Son over God s house. (The author also makes the comparison of the builder being worthy of more honor than the house itself.) In 3:6 and 3:14 there are conditional statements related to the promise of our being in the house if we hold on to our courage and hope and if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. The key consideration is not how well we started in the past but in persevering until the end. These verses bracket a long quotation from Israel s history (Ps 95:7-11). Israel presumptuously thought that since they were delivered from Egypt in the exodus they would make it into the Promised Land. Not all made it, and those that did had to press on as they were led by God through the wilderness. This is a primary motif of the Christian life pilgrimage, traveling through a world that is not our home. The author is writing from a pastoral concern for his readers. He is exhorting the church as a whole and not singling out anyone. He expects that they will arrive safely to their destination, but he cannot give unconditional assurance to those who may be drifting away from the faith (2:1) or turning away from God (3:12). As ministers it is the sheep that we can give exhortation. It is the sheep that we should give exhortation. Believers are exhorted to encourage each other daily so that none are hardened by the deception of sin. The negative example of the Israelites who died in the wilderness is explained, who were not able to enter God s rest because of unbelief. The author continues in chapter 4 with the idea of rest, which is a complex metaphor used in a variety of ways. First there is the idea that God rested on the seventh day after six days of creating (4:3-4). Also there is the idea of a Sabbath rest commanded by God for His people reflecting God s Sabbath rest after creation. These point to a third Sabbath rest, a redemptive rest for God s people in the eschaton (4:1). In these verses there also seems to be a reference to rest as a present reality for the believer, or at least a promise
that is presently embraced (note the emphasis on today perhaps another example of the already/not yet aspect of salvation). In 4:11 we see another example of the paradox of the spiritual life true rest can only be experienced through concerted effort. The commonly quoted verse about the word of God being like a sword (4:12) is actually in the context of another warning. God will lay bare the deepest thoughts of a person s heart when we give an account of our lives to him, and He will determine if we trusted Him or lived like the hard-hearted Israelites who died in the desert. The idea that the author introduced in 2:17, Jesus as our High Priest, resurfaces at this turning point in the book and continues all the way to the middle of chapter 10 (the great center section of the book). Because we have such a great high priest we are encouraged to hold fast to our faith (4:14) and to draw near to the throne of grace to find help in the time of need (4:16). (Note that these two commands are repeated in reverse order in 10:22-23, forming a bracket around this section.) Just as Aaron and the other priests were called by God to their office, so Christ was chosen by God as a priest in the order of Melchizedek (a second quotation from Psalm 110, this time verse 4). The author will come back to this reference in chapter 7 to explain more fully (where Ps 110:4 is quoted again in 7:17). A reference is made to Jesus prayers with loud cries and tears (probably a reference to his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane). Also we learn that from the Father s perspective the Son learned obedience through His suffering, and being made perfect he became the source of salvation (5:9). This is not a reference to Jesus moral imperfection before His passion, but the Greek word has the idea of completion. By struggling all the way through the path laid out for Him, Jesus was made complete by doing the Father s will. Jesus was God, as we saw in the opening verses. But in the incarnation there was a functional subordination of the Son to the Father. He is also our example of how to surrender control of our lives to God even if it should lead to pain and suffering. In 5:11 the author reveals that he ahs a lot he wants to say to his readers, but these are difficult concepts to grasp. He rebukes his readers for still wearing spiritual diapers when they should be dining on (Alberta) beef. He exhorts them to leave the baby food and move on to maturity (6:1). (It would be nice if we possessed a discipleship manual from the early church explaining the six topics the author lists among the elementary teachings. Some of these are not so clear to readers in the 21st century.) Now we come to one of the most controversial passages in the New Testament. 6:4-6 is a highly crafted and stylized Greek sentence (similar to 1:1-4). The core of the sentence is the independent clause it (is) impossible (the verb being supplied in English not being present in the Greek verse). This statement is similar to the one made in 6:18, it is impossible for God to lie. The subject of this independent clause (the it ) is a complex infinitive phrase with a five part direct object. What is impossible is to renew again to repentance certain people. The description of those certain people comes in the form of five aorist participle phrases (for those of you who have had Greek). Those phrases consist of those who have
(1) once been enlightened (v. 4) (2) tasted the heavenly gift (v. 4) (3) been made partakers of the Holy Spirit (v. 4) (4) tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (v. 5) (5) and have then fallen away (v. 6). The rest of the sentence brings out the two reasons for the impossibility (two one-word participles): (1) since they crucify again the Son of God and (2) they hold (him) up to open shame. There have been basically four theological approaches to the text. (1) There is the possibility of a true Christian s reverting to a lost condition with no possibility of returning to Christ. [This must be kept in balance with those New Testament passages that teach the eternal security of the elect, for example, Jn 6:39, 40; 10:27-29; Rom 11:29; Phil 1:6; 1Pt 1:5; 1Jn 2:1.] (2) This passage poses a hypothetical rather than a realistic possibility. If it were possible to fall away there would be no more sacrifice possible. Therefore, we must go on. [But the repetition of this urgent warning here and elsewhere in Hebrews (especially 10:26-31) argues against this idea.] (3) The author is talking about the loss of reward with the bare retention of salvation as in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. They fall away from the goal of the Christian life. [But the implication of 6:9 is that the threatened judgment is the opposite of salvation (cf. 10:27).] (4) The author is addressing those who are almost Christians rather than writing to full Christians. [But this approach does not seem to deal adequately with the intention of the text, especially the series of participles in vv. 4-5.] Perhaps the dilemma here is one of perspective. Assurances of eternal security reflect a divine perspective. God knows the hearts of men perfectly, and He will forever keep His own. But this warning and others like it reflect a human perspective. Christians, who know their own hearts imperfectly, must outwardly demonstrate to themselves and others that their profession of faith is real. This does not mean sinless perfection but perseverance against opposition and temptation. (This can be compared to Paul s justification by faith [in the sight of God] and James s justification by works [in the sight of man]. It is necessary to recognize the validity and seriousness of both perspectives.) Thus the author of Hebrews addresses his readers as Christians, because
that is what they profess to be. Yet, unlike God, he cannot know their inward spiritual state. He must warn against the danger of false profession, ultimate apostasy by willful and final denial of previously professed Christian faith, and the resultant irrevocable judgment. The purpose of the warning is not to upset conscientious Christians, but to caution careless Christians lest they turn out not to be Christians at all. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). There is a fine line between Peter and Judas! The writer of Hebrews refuses to judge people; instead he warns them not to fall into the same error of the Israelites. These warnings must be taken seriously. He encourages his readers to grow spiritually and to continue to obey God s word. And surely in this we find value for preaching and teaching today. To not move on to maturity is unhealthy and dangerous. Without indulging in morbid introspection, it is appropriate for all believers to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5). We should concern ourselves with our own spiritual standing and admit our limited knowledge concerning the eternal destiny of others (cf. 2 Tm 2:19). I personally believe that true saving faith is enduring faith. If someone whom we thought to be a true believer at the judgment proves otherwise, then he or she was not one from the beginning (1 Jn 2:19). It is significant to note that vv. 4-6 are followed by an agricultural metaphor in vv. 7-8, an extension of the warning. Land that is unproductive and produces only thorns and thistles is of no value and will be burned. These verses reflect the same imagery a found in Isaiah 5, where the vineyard received all the care and attention that God could give, and yet did not produce fruit. Subsequently the vineyard, a picture of Israel was judged. We also see the same pictures being used by Jesus in the parable of the four soils (Mk 4:3-20 and parallels) and in his teaching on the vine and the branches (Jn 15:1-6). Jesus declared that not everyone who called him Lord would enter the kingdom (Mt 7:21). His warnings should be heeded as well.