Hebrews Lesson 1 Commentary Fulfillment in Jesus Hebrews 1:1-4 Welcome to the unique book of Hebrews! Unlike any other New Testament writing outside of the Gospels, it is not strictly a letter but more like a well-crafted sermon. Among New Testament writings, Hebrews alone presents Jesus Christ as High Priest notably in 7:1 10:18. Early Christianity (like Judaism) accepted the divine inspiration of Scripture, and the author of Hebrews uses the Old Testament to prove the priority and superiority of Jesus over all who had gone before. Salvation, foreshadowed in an imperfect priestly system, now celebrates its fulfillment in the one eternal High Priest whose offering of Himself meets all requirements for the salvation of man. By means of a typological use of the Old Testament worship system (one reality used as a pattern for a higher reality), believers gain a fuller understanding of how their Savior represents them before God the Father. The author of this book has two purposes: to instruct and to challenge. The goal of the instruction is to prove that Jesus is God s perfect revelation of salvation. The focus of his challenge is threefold: (1) an emphasis on God s Word (1:1 4:13); (2) a call to perseverance (4:14 10:39); and (3) a call to obedience in faith (11:1 13:17). An uninterrupted reading of the entire book helps us see the connection of these purposes. God s grace is revealed on our behalf in the Incarnation, self-offering, and exaltation of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Two vital questions are asked: (1) What is the place of Jesus Christ in the scheme of redemption? and (2) How do we understand God s Word as given in the Old and New Covenants? The writer intends to show from Scripture that Jesus is the uniquely begotten (not created) Son of God, yet a truly human mediator. Thus, He became the representative of all mankind in the judgment of sin. By offering His life, He paid the death penalty due all who ever have lived or ever will (Romans 3:23-26; 6:23). The author establishes that the Mosaic system is no longer binding upon New Testament believers. We now have a new standing before God because Christ has made obsolete the law of sacrifice and ritual by His blood atonement. Yet Hebrews does not negate the Old Testament; rather it sums up its Law because the Law finds its fulfillment in the finished work of the Son of God. The Old and New Testaments are inseparably linked as God s revelation of Himself. The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed. The writer is nowhere named, and the term Hebrews does not occur anywhere in this letter, which is written to a community of believers in whom the author takes a personal
2 Hebrews Lesson 1 Commentary interest (Hebrews 6:9-10; 13:19). He refers to their past experience and warns them against certain dangers. They are probably Jewish not Gentile Christians, possibly second-generation believers who have never heard or seen Jesus in person (13:7). They have suffered some persecution and their spiritual progress has been arrested (10:32-36). Some scholars think their problems arose from a reluctance to sever ties to Judaism, a religion that enjoyed the protection of Roman law, while Christianity did not, or from a refusal to abandon worship traditions of Judaism that were so much a part of their family histories. The writer hastens to assure them that they have everything to lose if they revert to their former traditions, but everything to gain if they go forward in faith. Think about change. Change is hard, especially if believing a new truth might damage our relationships or lifestyle. Instead, we cling to the status quo. Just as those who first read these words were challenged to accept New Testament truth, some reading them now may be challenged to consider the reliability of Old Testament truth. If our faith is to be our own, we must evaluate biblical truth and not be afraid to differ (kindly!) with those we love and respect. We, like the Hebrews, have everything to lose if we rest on tradition, and everything to gain if we go forward, study the Bible, and practice what we learn. Who wrote the book of Hebrews? The attempt to identify the author has gone on for centuries. Some ancient churches suggested the apostle Paul, but that theory was rejected (for good reason) by most early churchmen and later by Luther and Calvin. Internal evidence that seems to point to Paul includes the letter s typical closing (13:25; compared to 2 Thessalonians 3:17-18) and the association with brother Timothy (13:23). The excellent use of language and well-reasoned argument sound like Paul, a brilliant writer. Yet he usually identifies himself, and no name is given here. Also, the writer says the message of Christ was confirmed to him by others (2:3), while a major theme of Paul s was that he had received the gospel as a revelation from God, not from man (Galatians 1:11-12). The writing style is an educated Greek mode more polished than Paul s bold manner. The book of Hebrews actually bears a greater similarity to the style of Luke, the Greek author of one of the Gospels as well as the book of Acts. The idea that Paul s co-worker Barnabas authored Hebrews was first asserted by Tertullian of Carthage (AD 180-222). As a Levite, Barnabas would know Jewish ritual, and being from Cyprus, he would know Hellenistic thought, which is reflected here. (Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, ideas, and language.) Apollos authorship was claimed first by Luther, and later by other theologians. Apollos, an eloquent Jew from Alexandria (Acts 18:24), taught very precisely about Jews the theme emphasized in Hebrews (Acts 18:24-25). Yet there is no evidence in the early church for this view, which is surprising because Apollos was prominent in the Alexandrian church, the headquarters of Eastern Christianity. In fact, the Alexandrian church favored the
Commentary Hebrews Lesson 1 3 authorship of Paul and explained away the difficulties of style by saying that someone else (possibly Luke) translated the work from Hebrew (Aramaic) to polished Greek. Adolf Harnack (d. 1930), a church historian, suggested that Priscilla and Aquila wrote Hebrews. Their quality as teachers was well attested. They knew Timothy, as did the author of Hebrews. But this position is completely speculative. Who then? Other proposals include Clement of Rome, Silas, Philip, and John Mark, but no consensus has been reached. The 3 rd -century historian Origen said, As to who actually wrote the epistle, God knows the truth of the matter. Think about how in the ancient world, writers felt no obligation to identify themselves, often naming works in honor of someone else. Some books of the Bible have their author s name, others the name of their recipients. Most likely, Moses wrote the Pentateuch, and writers of other historical Old Testament books remain mostly anonymous. The prophetic books often bear the names of those prophets who spoke the word of the Lord. Our faith in the Bible as God s Word does not rest in individual writers being identified but in the assurance that God s message has been captured. The important fact is that God has spoken to us through His Holy Spirit! Where did the recipients of this letter live? Some say Jerusalem, because Jewish sacrifice and ritual are stressed. Yet references to the tabernacle, sacrifices, and the high priest relate to the ancient tabernacle of Israel s desert experience, not to the temple of Jerusalem. Other places have also been suggested: Samaria, Caesarea, Antioch, Syria, Colossae, Rome, and Alexandria. Those from Italy send you their greetings (13:24) implies that the letter was written in Italy to Hebrew Christians elsewhere. But it may mean that the letter was written from an unknown location to Christians in Italy. Due to a lack of compelling evidence, we must accept uncertainties about the author, the audience, and the origin. The time and purpose of writing the letter is clearer, falling firmly in the 1 st century AD. Clement of Rome (writing in AD 96) showed undeniable familiarity with it. Use of the present tense in referring to the ministry of the Levitical priesthood strongly suggests a date prior to Jerusalem s destruction in AD 70. Surely the author would have mentioned the temple being in ruins had that event already occurred. The rebuke in 5:12, that by this time they ought to be teachers, impiles that the recipients had been Christians for a while. But their conversion could have taken place at any time after Pentecost. The letter s urgency seems to indicate that the judgment predicted by Christ upon the temple and Judaism was close at hand. Considering all available data, a reasonable date for the composition of Hebrews is between AD 60 and 70. The abrupt beginning of the epistle with no address, greeting, or mention of author or recipient, as is commonly associated with a letter suggests that was meant to be an admonition in the form of a treatise, rather than a letter. The author describes what he
4 Hebrews Lesson 1 Commentary has written as a word of exhortation (13:22). Yet there is no reason why a letter cannot be described that way to indicate its content. And it certainly ends like a letter, with brief personal news, greetings, and benedictions. The theme of Hebrews can easily be determined. The supremacy of Christ over the Old Testament sacrificial system is proved through the use of scriptural records from Psalms, the prophets, and the Pentateuch. Christ s superiority is linked to the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31), of which He is the mediator, and to the (limited and temporary) Old Covenant, of which He is the fulfillment. The author of Hebrews also means to encourage weary Christians by reminding them that Jesus identifies with them and enables them to endure hardship. He alone is the object of their confidence. Hebrews is a literary work of art. The language is magnificent, the images vivid. The well-formed arguments are subtle, yet powerful. To comprehend the world of ideas and meanings underlying the book, however, we must consider the background and intellectual foundation on which it is built. Three influences are seen: Christianity, Judaism, and, some believe, Platonism. First, the writer thinks deeply about his background of Christian belief and practice (2:3) and states it clearly. Second, he holds heroes of Judaism up to his readers as examples of the faith (Hebrews 11). Jewish Apocryphal writings and works of Hellenistic Judaism in the 1 st century AD came mostly out of Alexandria, Egypt, a city that had a large Jewish population since the 3 rd century BC. It was there that the Old Testament was translated into Greek a translation called the Septuagint (seventy), as 70 men were thought to have jointly translated it. The Septuagint was widely used by the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews living outside Judea, far from Palestinian kin. When variations occur, the author of Hebrews follows the Septuagint text rather than the Hebrew version of the Old Testament. Third, some believe that the Jewish philosopher Philo (20 BC AD 50) influenced Jewish thinking by interpreting Judaism in terms of Plato s philosophy of Realism, which says that earthly things are transitory, unreal the material world is of little value; salvation exists only for the soul s escape from the prison of the body. When the writer of Hebrews speaks of the earthly tent as but a shadow of the heavenly (8:5), he appears to parallel the Platonic argument. Unlike Plato, though, he does not devalue the physical world, but applauds the entry of God s Son into human existence. Hebrews is a statement of the Christian gospel in terms of Judaism colored by Hellenistic and, perhaps, Platonic ideas, while based on the Septuagint version of Hebrew Scriptures. Think about how Hebrews clarifies the Christian gospel in terms of Judaism using Hellenistic ideas a striking example of the many ways God communicates His truth. He comes to us where we are and speaks in terms we can understand. For instance, the book of Matthew was written primarily for Jews, while Mark used a style Gentiles would understand. To reach people today, we must use the language they comprehend and answer the questions they are asking. We begin where they are but present an
Commentary Hebrews Lesson 1 5 unchanging truth: Jesus is the full expression of God s Word to man. God is concerned about what concerns us, and as He cares for us, so we must care for others if we are to speak for Him and gain a hearing for His truth. Jewish Christians had to grapple with several basic problems: the relation of Christ to Old Testament passages the relevance of the Old Testament system of worship and sacrifices in regard to Christian worship persecution threatened by non-christian Jews and the resulting temptation to abandon the Christian faith the relation and relevance of Jewish religious practices for Gentile converts The author plunges directly into an explanation of the great truth he wants his readers to know the uniqueness and finality of God s revelation through His Son, Jesus Christ. This revelation was given in two stages: first, to the Jewish forefathers through the prophets, and finally, to us by His Son. The prophets agents of God in the period of history recorded in the Old Testament included not only canonical prophets (those whose writings are included in the Bible) but also men of God who preceded them, such as Abraham (Genesis 20:7), Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18), and Elijah (1 Kings 18:22). Early revelations of God s mercy and judgment were given in a variety of ways. He spoke in smoke and fire to Moses (Exodus 19:18-19; Deuteronomy 5:22) and in a gentle whisper to Elijah (1 Kings 19:12). This pre-christian revelation is now contrasted with the common experience of Christians in these last days (1:2). With the coming of the Son, a whole new era has begun, superseding the old order. The progression is from the promise of the old to the fulfillment of the new the life and work of Jesus. Old Testament people did not experience the whole purpose of the divine promise, but they trusted that God s promises would be fulfilled. Two distinct eras are involved the first marked by incompleteness and anticipation; the second marked by permanence, completeness, and finality. There was continuity, for in both instances God was speaking. Thus the opening statement of Hebrews sets forth the theme of the epistle: the superiority of Christ s revelation over all that had preceded His breaking in on human history. Being appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe (1:2) cannot mean that the Son has been given something He previously lacked, or that ownership has passed from the Father to the Son. Since Creation, the universe has always belonged to the Son, for it was through Him that all forms of created existence came into being (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16). This statement concerns instead the appointment and benefits of Christ s mediatorial office. His heirship is seen in relation to His work of redemption. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul illustrates this idea. God the Son, who creates and rules (Colossians 1:15.), also, by His choice to identify and save, inherits the right to be worshiped on bent knee, both in heaven and on earth. Psalm
6 Hebrews Lesson 1 Commentary 2:7-8 speaks of this Messianic fulfillment: The Son is Creator in the beginning, and in the end, the Inheritor of what He created! Hebrews 1:2 establishes the exclusiveness of the Son. Christians are also called sons and heirs of God, but solely by virtue of their incorporation by faith into the only begotten Son (Galatians 4:4-7). Because all things are Christ s, and Christ is God s, believers are assured that all things are theirs through Christ (1 Corinthians 3:21-23). To declare that it is through the Son that God created the world is to say that both creation and redemption are the work of God the Father. The Hebrews text addresses the involvement of Christ: He pre-existed all created things and co-existed with the Father from the beginning. The Son is the radiance of God s glory and the exact representation of His being (1:3). The idea of a brilliant reflection, used only here in the New Testament, does not imply inferiority of the Son to the Father. It is in agreement with the statement in John s Gospel: We have seen the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father (John 1:14). It is also consistent with Paul s words at his conversion encounter with the resurrected Lord: God made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). The author refers to the glory of the Son s eternal nature. It is stated as a reflection of being. It speaks clearly of essence. Here, we are tempted to wander into complex formulas to express the mystery of God the Son bending down and assuming human limitations. But instead we choose to rely on simplicity when faced with the mystery of God s presence with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus, born of a woman and truly man, is of the same order of existence as God in fact, is God. His radiance reminds us of the shekinah glory, which in the Old Testament signified the very presence of God among the people, and also of the revelation of glory seen by the friends of Jesus at the time of His Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-7). God is light; therefore, there is radiance. You cannot have one without the other. As the radiance reveals the light, so the Son reveals the Father. At all times the activity of the Son while He walks on earth is one with the Father (John 8:25-42). The Hebrews writer sets forth immediately the deliberate cooperation of the Father and the Son, saying that the Son is the exact representation of His being. The Greek word translated exact representation suggests an engraving or imprint on a coin; the Greek word translated being denotes the very substance of God. The substance or essential nature of God is in Christ. The Son does not merely resemble certain aspects of His Father; He is the exact representation of His essence. The Son Himself said, Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9; see also John 8:25-42). No wonder then the author asserts the claim that Jesus is sustaining all things by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3). Just as the universe was called into existence by the word of the Father, so it is actualized and sustained by the utterance of His Son. Similarly, Paul wrote to the Colossians that the One in whom all things were created is also the One in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
Commentary Hebrews Lesson 1 7 Think about how Scripture shows clearly that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in essence, thus one in purpose. Early heresies demanded an essential difference between the Father and the Son. Some saw the God of the Old Testament as vengeful and tried to soften that portrayal by claiming that the Son was more loving and merciful than His Father. Others had a flawed view of either the humanity or the deity of Jesus Christ. But the church has held to the biblical truth that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, one with the Father in purpose and personality (John 5:19-23; 8:19, 24; 10:30). This has great implications for us. Just as Jesus Christ and the Father are one, so all believers are to be in the unity made possible for us through the Son (John 14:11-14). Jesus prayed that we would be in the Father and in Him, just as the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father (John 17:21). It is God s desire and plan that we are to be one with Him in purpose and in behavior. God uses even the bad things that happen to us to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Just as the Son delighted in and was strengthened and fed by doing His Father s will (John 4:31-34), so He desires that we submit ourselves to Him so that His will becomes ours. Then we can say with Jesus, By Myself I can do nothing (John 5:30), and with Paul, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 1:3). This imagery draws us to the theme of Jesus as our High Priest. By providing purification for sins, the Son accomplished something no other representative could do. This done, He sat down, a description signifying completion of the work of purification rather than merely resting. The phrase Majesty in heaven denotes the quality of Christ s exaltation and supremacy. The Son is the Prophet through whom God has spoken His final word to men; He is the Priest who has performed the perfect work of cleansing for His people s sins; and He is the King who is exalted to a place of majesty. From passages such as Hebrews 1, medieval reformers drew this threefold designation for Jesus Prophet, Priest, and King. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs (1:4). The comparative adjective better appears 13 times in Hebrews to denote Christ s superiority to all other beings or systems. The author will further explain this superiority in 10:11-12. For now, we must understand that the Son completes a work of redemption far superior to Old Testament Law, which was communicated by angels (Hebrews 2:2). The Son, who for our redemption humbled Himself for a time to a position lower than that of the angels, has been exalted by His Ascension to a position higher than theirs. The eternal character of the Son is not suddenly superior, as though that could change, but the work of the Son is proven incomparable. The name that distinguishes Christ from the angels and elevates Him above them is that of Son.
8 Hebrews Lesson 1 Commentary Personalize this lesson. No indecisiveness is recorded in the opening paragraph of the book of Hebrews. The author wants the reader to know that God has inaugurated a new and unique way of communicating. In these last days [God] has spoken to us by His Son. There is a great distinction between what went before, and the present, which is said to belong to a final period of God acting in history. Biblical time is not strictly linear, so it is not a final point or last act of God that last days describes. Rather, a consummation of God s purpose is meant, and with the coming of Jesus, the last days have begun. The final accomplishment of God s purpose, to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:20), has clearly commenced. How long will these last days continue? As surely as only God knows the name of the author of Hebrews, only He knows how long the last days will last. Meanwhile, the church waits. How it waits is a part of the concern of the book we now open for study. How we live and wait can be radically and richly affected by a study of the book of Hebrews. The exhortation before us calls again and again for confidence to be placed in the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder, then, that the opening of this letter soars with exaltation of the Savior. The author begins with what he wants us to remember: Jesus is the fulfillment of all that was previously spoken and the One who now speaks for God. He is the heir of all things, the Creator and Sustainer of all He created, the purifier of sins, the radiance of His Father s glory, and the One exalted to majesty. To Him our attention will be directed and, hopefully, our hearts drawn as we study the book of Hebrews. Review: Fulfillment in Jesus 1. Perhaps in no other book of the Bible do we have an introduction of such depth. Here, in a matter of a few sentences, the author covers basic Christian theology. a. Explain any new understanding you have gained from this Commentary on verses 1-4 of the first chapter of Hebrews. b. From the many subjects presented in these four verses, which do you find most significant? Why?