“Dios vio todo lo que había hecho y era muy bueno” (Génesis 1:31a).
“…Maldita serás entre todos los animales…Maldita la tierra…” (Génesis 3:14a, 17b).
Dios creó el orden, la vida y la luz de una tierra caótica, inanimada y oscura. Por acto divino, la vida surgió de la nada, la luz apareció en la oscuridad y el orden reformó el caos. La oscuridad vacía y sin forma se convirtió en una realidad ordenada, empapada de luz y llena de vida.
Dios creó un jardín en esta tierra (Edén) donde reinaban la vida, la comunidad y la paz. Lo que creó fue “muy bueno”. Y Dios descansó en la creación, disfrutando de su mundo y deleitándose en su pueblo. La creación estuvo llena de paz o shalom (en Hebreo).
La historia del Génesis, sin embargo, pasa de la paz a la violencia, de la comunidad a la sospecha, de la vida a la muerte. El caos entra en la experiencia humana, el mal crece en el seno de la libertad y la muerte humana se convierte en una realidad en la tierra buena que Dios creo.
La transición del shalom al caos, iniciada por el deseo humano de autonomía, es a lo que me refiero con “maldición”. Dios usa este lenguaje cuando se dirige a la serpiente y al hombre en Génesis 3. La serpiente está maldita (3:14b) y la tierra está maldita (3:17b).
Este no es lenguaje científico. Es una metáfora de la expansión del caos en la buena creación de Dios. Es una metáfora del quebrantamiento, del vandalismo del shalom (como lo llama Cornelius Plantinga). Es un desvío del propósito divino de vida, paz y comunidad hacia la muerte, la violencia y la tiranía. La maldición de Génesis 3 anticipa la espiral humana hacia la inhumanidad en los capítulos 3-11. La humanidad, diseñada para ser la imagen (representar) de Dios en el mundo como gobernantes en su buena creación. Por el contrario, la humanidad por sus ojos crearon ídolos que podían alcanzar los cielos y crear un nombre para ser famosos ellos mismos. (Génesis 11:4). La humanidad se convirtió en su propia maldición mientras vivía en un mundo roto.
La maldición, o el quebrantamiento, se representa una y otra vez en el drama humano. Es una historia de muerte, destrucción y deshumanización. En lugar de ser la imagen de Dios, la humanidad creo sus propias imágenes para adorar. Sus imágenes no son meros ídolos de madera y piedra, sino superestructuras de codicia, poder y genocidio. Derramaron sangre inocente. Construyeron palacios a costa de los pobres. Tomaron el poder para el beneficio de ellos mismo. La humanidad alcanzaría el poder y la riqueza a través de la violencia y la codicia.
Esta es la condición humana. Se ha vuelto natural para los seres humanos, prácticamente su “segunda naturaleza”. Aunque los humanos están diseñados para el bien: la paz, la comunidad y la alegría, están deformados hacia el mal: la violencia, la tiranía y la angustia.
Pero la gracia de Dios no nos deja en nuestro dolor y esclavitud. Más bien, Dios actúa para redimir, restaurar y renovar. Lo vemos en Génesis. Adán y Eva tienen hijos, Dios llama a Abraham para que bendiga a todas las familias de la tierra, y Dios guarda para sí un pueblo que bendecirá a toda la tierra. Dios renueva la faz de la tierra con su gracia.
Mi escena favorita en La Pasión de Cristo de Mel Gibson es cuando Jesús, cargando la cruz, cae de rodillas debido a el peso. Su madre corre hacia él y sus ojos se cruzan. Con sangre corriendo por sus mejillas y sosteniendo el símbolo del poder y la violencia romana, Jesús dice: “He aquí, Madre, yo hago nuevas todas las cosas”.
Esta es la promesa de Dios. Será el acto escatológico de Dios en la nueva creación, en los nuevos cielos y la nueva tierra. Allí el viejo orden habrá pasado y la voz de Dios declarará: “Yo hago nuevas todas las cosas” (Apocalipsis 21:5a).
Se acerca el día en que “no habrá más maldición” (Apocalipsis 22:3). No habrá más oscuridad. La gloria de Dios llenará de luz la tierra. No habrá más violencia. Las naciones recibirán sanidad y caminarán a la luz de Dios. No habrá más muerte, ni luto ni lágrimas. El Árbol de la Vida y el Agua de la Vida nutrirán al pueblo de Dios para siempre.
Se acerca un día en que la maldición será revertida, revocada y rescindida.
“Ya no habrá muerte, ni llanto, ni llanto, ni dolor” (Apocalipsis 21:4b)
About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And we will dothis, if God permits.
One of the most fundamental definitions of theology is an ancient one: “faith seeking understanding.” Believers seek to understand the faith they profess more deeply so that they might more fully practice the faith with healthy (sound) words and good deeds. At this point in his sermon, the preacher interrupts his argument for a side comment. It is one of those asides that a congregation does not want to hear but must if they are to continue the journey of seeking understanding. It is important for them to understand their faith more deeply in order to more securely profess it and persevere in it.
After a generation of living out their faith, some—if not many—had become “dull of hearing” which makes it “hard to explain” the faith in ways that would ground their confidence in Christ. The preacher wants to explore the meaning of Psalm 110:4 (“you are a priest according to the order of Melchizedek; you are a priest forever,” quoted in Hebrews 5:10), but the congregation is not prepared to hear that message. The preacher wants to say a lot about Melchizedek; he wants to speak a “word” (logos, as in Hebrews 4:12). But it is a difficult word that needs some maturity to hear well.
Perhaps the first step in pressing forward with the search for understanding is to recognize where we are. This means we are called to humbly recognize our deficiencies, our prejudices, and our inability to hear well or listen attentively. We may hear the sounds, but the meaning escapes us because we perhaps don’t want to learn, our faith is weak, or we are distracted by the cultural hostility or preoccupations that surrounds us.
The preacher contrasts where they are with where they should be after this much time in the faith. We don’t know how long of period this is, perhaps a generation: something like 20-30 years in the faith. I understand his contrasts as the difference between immaturity and maturity. The following chart represents some of the key ideas in the text.
Immaturity and Maturity (5:11-14)
First Principles of Word
Word of Righteousness
Infants
Mature
Milk
Solid Food
Untaught
Teachers
Unskilled
Skilled
Untrained
Discernment
The distinction is most clearly seen in the contrast between “infants” and “mature,” and this entails various characteristics. Infants need milk, need to be taught, are unskilled, and are untrained. They must grow up. The mature, on the other hand, eat solid food, teach others the faith, are skilled in the understanding of the faith, and employ wise discernment to distinguish between good and evil.
Immature believers are not cast from the community; they are still part of it—and the preacher is even hopeful about them as we will see in Hebrews 6:7-20. Instead of exclusion, they are called to grow up into the faith and become mature. The expectation has been there from the beginning. The danger is not exclusion but weakness. A weak faith may ultimately lose confidence and drift way or reject the work of Jesus altogether.
The community needs mature believers who have the wisdom to discern through their own practice of the faith and who are able to teach others—not only with milk but solid food. The health of the community depends on mature leaders who are skilled in the “word of righteousness” rather than remaining stuck in the first principles of the word (or literally, “the first elements of the words of God”). Both refer to the word (logos) of God. One word consists of the initial principles (perhaps the roots of saving faith in conversion through the gospel), and the other word—which is a deeper grasp of God’s work of redemption—refers, in this sermon, to the preacher’s exposition of Melchizedek (which will begin in Hebrews 7). The word of righteousness is the word of God that more fully explores and explains the righteous acts of God to redeem the world, secure our confidence, and give victorious life over death.
But what are the first principles (elements) of the word? Our preacher explicitly identifies them. The following chart interprets the preacher’s language. Generally, repentance and faith function as a comprehensive description, and the following four elements (baptisms, laying on hands, resurrection, and judgment) are specifications that fall under the initial comprehensive language. It seems to me this is the language of conversion: faith and repentance, which involves baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection, and judgment.
Moving from Basics toward Perfection (6:1-3)
Comprehensively,
repentance from dead works
καὶ (and)
faith toward God
Specifically,
(asyndeton; no conjunction)
teachings about baptisms
τε
laying on of hands
τε
resurrection from the dead
καὶ (and)
eternal judgment
The structure of this list is shaped the use of the conjunction καὶ (and): repentance from dead works καὶ (and) faith toward God, teachings about baptisms, τε laying on of hands, τε resurrection from the dead, καὶ (and) eternal judgment. Repentance and faith are comprehensive descriptions of conversion, but the preacher particularizes those teachings that are important for the experience of conversion: baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection, and judgment. More specifically, baptism and laying on of hands are joined together by the particle τε (usually untranslated but functions as a conjunction) and resurrection and judgment are also joined together by an additional use of τε.
This movement is not a movement beyond Judaism but within the Christian Faith. It moves from immature believer in Christ to a matured believer in Christ (from milk to meat). To understand that movement in its full and profound depth one must understand the theological point that lies behind the declaration of Psalm 110:4 about Melchizedek.
As such, “dead works” does not refer to the works of Judaism or the Mosaic covenant, but to sinful deeds that characterize all who come to Christ in faith and repentance. “Baptisms” (baptismon; sometimes translated “washings”) probably refers to the distinction between the various washings that were part of both Jewish, Gentile, and Christian religiosity (cf. Hebrews 9:10). “Laying on of hands” probably refers to the blessing of the Holy Spirit associated with baptism, much like the hands of God (the dove) descending on Jesus at this baptism; the preacher links baptisms and laying on of hands with the particle τε. “Resurrection” refers to the future of believers who share in the resurrection of Jesus himself. “Eternal judgment” refers to the future adjudication of the righteous and the wicked before the throne of God. The preacher links resurrection and judgment with the particle τε.
These six elements reflect the emphases of apostolic preaching in the book of Acts. I think they represent the basic elements of a conversion narrative: repentance from sin, faith in God, baptism into Jesus and the reception of the Holy Spirit, and salvation through resurrection and the function of judgment. This is how believers responded and began their journey in the Christian faith as followers of Jesus.
But it is insufficient to understand the “word of righteousness.” Believers must pursue “perfection,” and the preacher urges them to do so. Building on the foundation of their conversion, believers must journey toward perfection.
I don’t think “perfection” here only means maturity or completeness. While it includes those aspects of our present pilgrimage in the wilderness (we do seek maturity), it points ultimately to the perfection that God will work in our lives through participation in the perfection (resurrection) of Jesus. As perfected people, we will serve as priests in the heavenly courts alongside Jesus. And that is what the preacher wants to explain in Hebrews 7:1-10:18.
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
The first part of the sermon (Hebrews 1:1-4:13) reminded us that God has spoken in many ways through prophets, angels, and Moses, and the Spirit continues to speak through Scripture. At the same time, God has now also spoken by the Son who, though the instrument of creation and the radiance of God’s glory, became human so that he might become a high priest for humanity.
In this second section of the sermon (Hebrews 4:14-10:18) the preacher explores what it means for Jesus, the Son of God, to become a high priest who represents humanity before God. The preacher answers the question how Jesus, descended from the tribe of Judah, can be a priest when only Levites were authorized (Hebrews 5:1-10; 7:1-28). Then he addresses the work of Jesus as a priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 8:1-10:18). The middle section (Hebrews 5:11-6:20) is a digression to motivate his audience to listen carefully and think deeply so that they might flourish as God’s people who have an anchor of hope for their souls.
Hebrews 4:14-16 is sort of thesis statement for the whole second section of the sermon (Hebrews 4:14-10:18). First, Jesus is our high priest who represents us in the heavenly temple (“passed through the heavens”). This points to the work of Jesus as priest in the heavenlies, and it is discussed more fully in Hebrews 8:1-10:18. Second, Jesus is a sympathetic high priest who has been tested in the wilderness of life just as we have though without sin. This points to the humanity of Jesus, which is a qualification for priesthood, which is discussed in Hebrews 5:1-10.
The humanity of our high priest is stressed in two ways. First, our high priest shares our weaknesses; he can empathize with us. He understands our frailties. He knows the pull of temptation and the struggle of testing. Unlike the wilderness generation, however, he was faithful and did not sin in his journey through the wilderness. Second, our high priest has been tested (a theme noted in Hebrews 2:18). This is the word that describes Abraham’s trial (Hebrews 11:17; also Genesis 22:1). It is important to remember that the wilderness generation was tested in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:5-6) which Jesus quotes when he is in the wilderness himself for forty days (Matthew 4:1-11).
Because of this priesthood, we have bold access to the throne of grace. Believers are invited into the presence of God (before God’s own throne) to seek mercy and grace in their wilderness struggles. The verb “approach” is a key word in the sermon, and it appears here for the first time (see Hebrews 7:25; 10:1, 22; 11:6; 12:18, 22). It is a liturgical word that describes the way the Levites drew near to God before the tabernacle (Hebrews 10:1; Leviticus 9:5,7-8; 10:4-5; 21:17-18, 21, 23), and it is used in the context of assembling together in Hebrews 10:22 with Hebrews 10:25. This is a communal act rather than an individual one (though the latter is not necessarily excluded). We draw near to the throne of grace as a community, and we enter the presence of God together.
The preacher turns his attention to the legitimacy of the priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews 5:1-10. He notes two important qualifications in Hebrews 5:1-4: (1) God choses human priests, and (2) God calls them into service. The first is important because priests share the experience of those they represent. They are compassionate and sympathetic with people because they themselves participate in the same weaknesses. The second is equally important. Only God calls people into this honor; they do not appoint themselves. Aaron, for example, was called by God; he was not self-appointed. The high priest is both human and called. And this is also true for Jesus (Hebrews 5:5-10).
Jesus did not appoint himself. Quoting both Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:4, the preacher locates the calling of Jesus as priest in these two royal Psalms. Psalm 2:7, quoted earlier in Hebrews 1:5, identifies the appointment of Jesus as a royal heir (probably, as we will see later in the sermon) due to his resurrection. It is as the resurrected one, who passes through the heavens, that Jesus becomes a high priest. He was appointed; he did not glorify himself. God called him.
Psalm 110 is also a royal Psalm. It is the most quoted text in the whole New Testament, and it is the most quoted in Hebrews. The Psalm begins with the appointment of the Lord to the right hand of God, which is understood in Hebrews (and throughout the New Testament; cf. Acts 13:33) as the exaltation and enthronement of the resurrected Son. The last line of the Psalm is the important one for Hebrews, and the sermon alone in the New Testament quotes it and builds a theological argument based on it. “You are a priest forever,” the preacher recites, “according to the order of Melchizedek.” As Hebrews 5:10 says, God “designated” or called him a priest; God appointed him to the order of Melchizedek.
Yet, the preacher is not yet ready to take a deep dive into this topic, though he will in Hebrews 7:1-28. He will quote it again in Hebrews 5:10 before he entertains a digression that contains both warning and hope in Hebrews 5:11-6:20. Instead, in Hebrews 5:7-9 the preacher explores the fuller meaning of the humanity of Jesus as a priest.
While he was on earth, Jesus offered fervent prayers “with loud cries and tears” to the Father. While this most likely remembers Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, it may also allude to the totality of his life as he struggled in the wilderness along with the rest of humanity. Nevertheless, the language evokes the garden scene: a cry for life to the one who could save him from death. The preacher says “he was heard” in the light of his reverence and godly acceptance or his obedience. In the light of the rest of Hebrews, it is best to understand this as a reference to the resurrection of Jesus. The Son was heard; that is, he was not saved from dying but saved from death through resurrection.
As a son, he obeyed the Father, and having obeyed, he was perfected with the result that “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” What does perfect mean here? Some suggest it refers to Jesus’s maturity and growth, that is, through the process of life he constantly yielded his will to the Father and thus became obedient. That obedience was his perfection. However, it is important to note that he obeyed, suffered death, and then was perfected. In other words, this perfection follows his death. It is more probably a reference to his resurrected state. And it is as the resurrected Son who becomes the source of eternal (resurrected life) salvation for those who follow him.
The Son was obedient unto death. He shared the weakness of humanity, including death. He submitted to death. But the Father heard his cries and raised him from the dead. He perfected the Son as the new human, as a high priest who could administer eternal redemption and eternal life by sharing his own everlasting life. Unlike the Levitical priests who died but were not raised, the Son died and was perfected (raised).
Consequently, he is a “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” He lives forever as the resurrected Son, a royal priest over God’s house.
But who is Melchizedek, and what is his priestly order? How does this apply to Jesus? Those are the questions the preacher will address in Hebrews 7:1-28 but first a warning followed by a promise in Hebrews 5:11-6:20.
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“As in my anger I swore,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”
though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day—“today”—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. 9 So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.
Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
Though the wilderness generation in Israel’s past did not believe the good news, the promised rest still remains for believers today. The rest, however, is something more than what Joshua promised or provided. The promised land is more than Canaan; it is a rest in God and a participation in God’s own rest. The promised land is where we presently rest with God in God’s own seventh day rest. We rest with God in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, Mt. Zion, though we do so as we await the fullness of that rest when Jesus returns for our salvation. Let us, therefore, persevere in faith that we might enter that eternal rest.
This text opens and closes with an exhortation.
Let us take care that none of you should seem to fail to reach it (4:1b).
Let us make every effort to enter that rest (4:11a).
The exhortations are combined with warnings.
For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened (4:2).
So that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs (4:11b).
The warning comes from the path that the wilderness generation embraced: it was one of unbelief and disobedience. They hardened their hearts and did not trust the promise. Consequently, they disobeyed and failed to enter the promised land. This disobedience is emphasized in Hebrews 4:6 and Hebrews 4:11.
The exhortation comes from the fact the rest still remains. The rest that was promised to Israel is still available. This rest is the good news Israel heard, and it is the good news we still hear when the gospel is preached. It is the good news the preacher in Hebrews offers: the gospel has come to us just as it had to Israel at Sinai and in the wilderness.
The preacher knows this rest still remains because it is part of Psalm 95, which is quoted twice in this section. The first quote identifies the rest: “my rest” or God’s rest. The second quote provides a warning: “do not harden your hearts.” Both the rest and the warning still apply because it is still “today” as Psalm 95 declares. In one sense, it is always “today,” because that is the day of salvation. The offer of the promised rest is always present while the journey continues. Whether it is Israel in the wilderness of Zin, or the Psalmist in the wilderness of sin, or the preacher’s audience in Hebrews in the wilderness of a hostile environment, or ourselves in the present wilderness of cultural shifts, the promised rest remains good news. It is still available for those who trust in God’s promises.
But what is this rest? On the one hand, it is not what Joshua was able to accomplish. Joshua led the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 21:44; 22:4; 23:1) and his work ultimately led to the “rest” God gave David and Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel (2 Samuel 7:1, 11; 1 Kings 5:4; 8:56). There is a limited sense in which God gave Israel rest in the land. But this is not the ultimate rest to which Psalm 95 refers. The preacher says, “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day” (Hebrews 4:8).
On the other hand, the preacher grounds the rest described by Psalm 95 in Genesis 2:2-3. On the seventh day, God rested. This is God’s rest (“my rest”). God invites us to enter God’s own sabbath rest within the creation. I suspect this refers to entering God’s own life to commune with God and participate in that rest. But this is not a passive rest. In God’s own rest, God is active in communing with God’s people, filling the earth with God’s people, and sustaining the creation. We enter the rest to participate more fully in that communion. We don’t enter to become coach potatoes or passive observers. Our rest in God is an active one. Yet, still a rest free from the anxieties, toils, and burdens of the wilderness. We will cease from the labors of a world filled with hostility and pain and enjoy the fullness of God’s promised land in the new heaven and new earth.
The last two verses of this reading in Hebrews function as a conclusion to the first section of the whole sermon. Throughout this first section from Hebrews 1:1 through Hebrews 4:11, the speech of God has been the main topic. God spoke through the prophets, God spoke through the angels who mediated the law, the Son spoke to Father on behalf of his brothers and sisters, God spoke through the Son, and God spoke through the Holy Spirit in Scripture. God has spoken in various ways and times and continues to speak.
This speech is the “word of God” in Hebrews 4:12. It is neither a dead letter nor a blunt useless instrument. It is living, that is, it continues to speak in the present as well as in the past. It is active, that is, it works effectively. It is a sharp sword, that is, it opens up our most secret and hidden thoughts in our hearts. The word of God confronts us in our nakedness as nothing is hidden from God. The word of God exposes us.
This word of God comes to us in the embodied life of Jesus whom the original witnesses saw. This word of God comes to us through Scripture as it continually calls us into God’s mission, confronts our sins, and heals our wounds. This word of God is the exhortation of the preacher in Hebrews. His own homily is the word of God. As the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) says, “The preaching of the word of God is the word of God.” When Scripture is faithfully preached, it, too, is the word of God.
God has spoken. The word (logos) of God comes to us in various ways and now especially through the Son. It demands a response, an accounting. Just as the paragraph began with “word (logos) of God,” so it ends with the term logos (word, account). When God speaks the living word (logos) of God, we must respond with our own word (logos).
When God spoke in the wilderness, how did Israel give its own word (logos) in response? When the Psalmist sang his poem, how did the congregation respond with its own word (logos)? When the preacher in Hebrews delivered his sermon as the word of God, how did the assembly respond with its own word (logos)?
When we hear the voice of God, the Spirit who continues to speak through the words of Scripture, what kind of word (logos) will we offer in response? Belief or unbelief? Obedience or disobedience? However we respond, we must give an account (logos).
Therefore, make every effort to come together more frequently to give thanks and glory to God. For when you meet together frequently, the powers of Satan are overthrown, and his destructiveness is nullified by the unanimity of your faith. There is nothing better than peace, by which all warfare among those in heaven and those on earth is abolished (Ephesians 13).
I was recently asked to give a lecture on Ignatius. I choose to talk about his theological understanding of the assembly. I have uploaded the handout from the talk here.
The assembling of Christians is, it seems, on the decline such that only 16% of the US attends weekly and only 30% monthly. Ignatius offers a timely reminder of the importance of regular, frequent assemblies.
and I said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts,
and they have not known my ways.’
As in my anger I swore,
‘They will not enter my rest.’”
Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient?
“Today,” and it still is “today,” the invitation to God’s rest remains open. Liberated from Egyptian enslavement, Israel was invited to enter God’s rest, but that wilderness generation hardened their hearts in unbelief. But it is still “today” for the generation the preacher in Hebrews addresses, a generation struggling to persevere in faith. Though journeying through their own wilderness, the readers are encouraged to hear God’s voice and follow God’s Messiah into the promised land which is God’s own rest, while it is still “today.”
The first few chapters have emphasized God’s speech. God spoke through the prophets, through angels in the delivering of the law, through Moses, and through the Son. That speech continues in the quotation of Psalm 95:7b-11 as the voice of the Holy Spirit. Divine speech comes to us through the incarnate Son and through the words inscripturated in what we call the Bible. God speaks through the Son, and God also continues to speak through the Holy Spirit in Scripture. The Holy Spirit speaks not only in the past but in the present through Psalm 95 (as well as the rest of Scripture). The Spirit continues to say “today,” and the message still rings out with meaning and purpose.
Psalm 95 begins with shouts of praise as the people of God enter God’s presence with thanksgiving. It extols the work of God as creator, in terms of the sea and dry land as well as Israel’s relationship to God as God’s flock. As their shepherd God warns the people about testing God and going astray. The Psalmist remembers the ordeal in the wilderness when Israel tested God at Meribah and Massah (Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13, 24; Deuteronomy 6:16; 9:22; 33:8; Psalms 106:32) and concludes the Psalm with the withdrawal of God’s offer of rest. In his own setting, the Psalmist calls the worshipping assembly of Israel to reject the path of their ancestors and embrace the promise of God’s rest through faith. The preacher in Hebrews is doing the same thing.
Israel’s wilderness experience serves as a warning to not only the assembly of Israel whenever this Psalm was written and later sung, but it also serves as a warning to the generation of Messianic believers who hear this sermon we call Hebrews. It is still “today,” and the voice of the Spirit through the Psalm still speaks.
When quoting the Psalm, the preacher adds a word at the beginning of verse 11, “therefore.” This does not appear in either the Hebrew text or the Septuagint (LXX), which the preacher often quotes (including here). Apparently, the preacher wants to make clear that when Israel tested God in the wilderness, that testing had severe consequences. That generation did not enter God’s rest, that is, the promised land. That generation neither embraced God with their hearts nor followed God’s ways, even though they had seen God’s work in Egypt (liberation) and the wilderness (manna, water, etc.). This resulted in their exclusion from God’s rest, a consequence of their unbelief.
The Psalm is the basis for the preacher’s exhortation in Hebrews 4:12-15. It is still “today,” and if one will hear the voice of God and obey it rather than hardening one’s heart, then the promise of God still remains: you may enter God’s rest.
What is the root problem? The obstruction is an “evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from God.” It is heart-based, not rule based. The problem is not an occasional slip, mistake, ignorance, or occasional sinful acts. The problem is an evil heart that does not believe or trust God’s promises, and this sort of heart leads one away from God. “Turn away” is the Greek term apostenai, which means to remove, depart, or even revolt. It is apostacy, and this is defined not by occasional sins but by unbelief—the unbelief of an evil heart. Whoever fears they have committed apostacy, if their heart is filled with repentance and faith, they have not committed apostacy since they do not have an evil, unbelieving heart.
What is an appropriate response to this problem? Pay attention (“take heed” or “take care”) and encourage (“exhort”) each other while it is still “today,” while the promise still remains in effect. We need community. We don’t walk through the wilderness alone. Rather, we gather together (assembling is assumed as well as the context of the sermon itself), exhort each other, and encourage each other. As a community we recognize the deceitfulness of sin and the danger of hardening hearts. Sin can suffocate us, delude us, and blind us. We need a community to help us, and when we journey together, we share each other’s burdens and remind each other that we are not alone.
Does the community do this alone? No, we are “partners of Christ” or “partakers of Christ.” We are people who share in who the Messiah is as Son and what the Messiah has done. We are partners and fellow heirs with the Messiah. He does not leave us alone to suffer and die but empowers and enables us to resist unbelief and persevere in faith. The Messiah is our help in times of testing. Just as he proved faithful in his testing, so he can help us in our wilderness testing. In this way, we—as in Hebrews 3:6—hold on to our confidence in Jesus, who is our Apostle and High Priest. We persevere in the boldness of our faith because we know whom we trust and we know what he has done for us.
The leadership of Moses did not prevent those who heard the voice of God in the wilderness from rebelling. The Exodus did not hinder their rebellion. The works of God in the wilderness did not keep them from unbelief. Their disobedience arose from their unbelief. Everyone, we might remember, disobeys throughout their lives in one way or another, perhaps every day of every year. But the problem with the wilderness generation was not simply occasional disobedience, it was a disobedience that arose out of unbelief. These are the people who sinned and fell in the wilderness. They were unbelievers; they did not believe or trust God’s promises.
However, the promise of God’s rest remains—it is still “today.” Yet, the danger also remains. The question is not whether we will occasionally sin or not, or whether we are ignorant of important doctrines or not—both of those conditions are universal among believers. Rather, the question is whether we will continue in faith. Will we maintain our allegiance to the Messiah? Will we persevere in our confidence? Will we follow the Messiah through the wilderness? Is our heart one of unbelief or faith? That is the question; it is about the perseverance of faith, not the perfection of our lives, theology, and works. It is more about direction (following the leadership of the Messiah) than it is perfection. The key is heart-felt faith that seeks the way of Jesus and follows his leadership.
Wes McAdams leads the ministry at Radically Christian. He interviewed John Mark Hicks about hermeneutics, reading the Bible, and the prospects of unity within the Restoration Movement.
Moses prophesied that one like him would come after him (Deuteronomy 18:15), and the preacher identifies Jesus, the Messiah, as that one. To be sure, Moses was a faithful servant among God’s people in the wilderness, but Jesus is the faithful Son over God’s people whose glory far exceeds the glory that reflected off Moses’ face. Consequently, let those who have ears to hear pay close attention to the identity of Jesus and hold on to the confidence and hope Jesus has brought us.
Hebrews 3:1, to some degree, summarizes the substance of the sermon. It opens with a thesis (1:1-4), moves to a transitional exhortation (4:14-16), and concludes with the final transitional exhortation (10:19-26). The parts of the sermon are illustrated and anticipated by Hebrews 3:1.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all God’s house.” Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. 6 Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.
Moses prophesied that one like him would come after him (Deuteronomy 18:15), and the preacher identifies Jesus, the Messiah, as that one. To be sure, Moses was a faithful servant among God’s people in the wilderness, but Jesus is the faithful Son over God’s people whose glory far exceeds the glory that reflected off Moses’ face. Consequently, let those who have ears to hear pay close attention to the identity of Jesus and hold on to the confidence and hope Jesus has brought us.
Hebrews 3:1, to some degree, summarizes the substance of the sermon. It opens with a thesis (1:1-4), moves to a transitional exhortation (4:14-16), and concludes with the final transitional exhortation (10:19-26). The parts of the sermon are illustrated and anticipated by Hebrews 3:1.[1]
Hebrews 3:1
The Structure of Hebrews
Jesus as Apostle (Sent Messenger)
Listen to the Son’s Speech (1:1-4:13)
Jesus as Heavenly High Priest
Embrace Jesus as Our High Priest (4:14-10:18)
Partners in the Heavenly Calling
Live as Participants in the Drama (10:19-12:29)
Naming Jesus as an apostle highlights that he was sent as a messenger to God’s people. God has spoken through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1), the angels (Hebrews 2:2), and Moses (Hebrews 3:5), and now speaks through the Son, who is God’s apostle. He is superior to the prophets, angels, and even Moses who was God’s servant (therapon) in Israel (the only one so named in the Torah).
Naming Jesus as a high priest anticipates the main theme of the second section of the sermon which emphasizes the nature of his priesthood and how Jesus offered himself to God in the heavenly sanctuary.
Identifying his readers as partners or participants in what God is doing in the world, the preacher reminds them that God has graced them and welcomed them into God’s story so that they might share in the benefits, glory, and mission of the Son. The preacher says we are (participants, sharers):
Partakers in a heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)
Partakers in Christ (Hebrews 3:14)
Partakers of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:4)
Partakers of the discipline of suffering (Hebrews 12:8).
The preacher uses this word to highlight the high nature of our calling and in what sort of world believers participate. It is a heavenly calling, that is, our calling is characterized by the heavenly work of Christ and our own entrance into heavenly spaces. We participate in Christ, and we participate in the Spirit. As we journey through the wilderness on our way to enter the promised rest, we also share in suffering, just as Jesus did, even though he was Son.
This is the Christian profession. We confess Jesus as our apostle and high priest. This may reflect some kind of formal confession, whether at baptism, in the assembly, or some summary of the faith. The focus is the identity and work of Jesus, and this the center of the Christian Faith itself and its central confession.
Moses was the lawgiver, the liberator of Israel from Egyptian slavery, and a prophet who foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah. Yet, the Messiah is worthy of more glory than Moses. Hebrews 3:2-6 compares Moses and the Messiah.
Faithful Moses
Faithful Jesus
Faithful Servant (ὡς θεράπων)
Faithful Son (ὡς υἱὸς), the Messiah
In (ἐν) the house
Over (ἐπὶ) the house
Glory (of face to face with God)
Worthy of more glory (radiance of God)
Israel as God’s House
Divine Builder of God’s House
This comparison is grounded in Numbers 12:7. Both Moses and Jesus are faithful. Moses is called a “servant,” and, in the Greek translation, uses a word that primarily describes Moses in the Torah (Exodus 4:10, 11; 14:31; Numbers 11:11; 12:7; Deuteronomy 3:24; Joshua 1:2; 8:31, 33). He is the servant, not merely a servant (as some translations might leave the impression in Hebrews 3:5). Yet, at every point, the Messiah is superior to Moses. This does not diminish Moses but recognizes that Jesus the Messiah is God’s goal and the savior of the world as well as the one who shares the divine nature (Hebrews 1:1-3).
While Moses is a servant in the house, Jesus is a son over the house. The house refers to the people of God rather than a concrete building. The house is the assembly of the Lord in Israel and ultimately the whole assembly gathered around God’s throne (Hebrews 12:23). God in Jesus has built this house, and Jesus is the heir of God’s house. Moreover, Jesus participated in the building of this house; the Son is the instrument of creation (Hebrews 1:2).
Therefore, Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. This was part of the point in Numbers 12 where Moses is the who had seen God’s glory “face to face.” Miriam and Aaron resented the role Moses had, but Moses is called God’s servant and the one who had experienced the glory of God. The face of Moses shone with glory whenever he met with God. Yet, the glory of the Son is not derived or a mirror but the radiance of God’s own glory (Hebrews 1:2). The glory of the Son is a not only different in degree from the glory of Moses but different in kind.
The preacher is saying, “Listen to Moses, yes! More importantly, listen to the Son!” This is the profession of our faith, that is, Jesus, the Son of God, is God’s faithful anointed whom God sent as an apostle and high priest for our sake. The Son is unique. He is the Son over the house of God. Therefore, hold on to this confession because it is our confidence and hope!
Now [because] God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But [and] someone has testified somewhere,
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet.”
Now [because] in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is [but now], we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
[Because] It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For [because] the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”
And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Here am I and the children whom God has given me.”
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For [because] it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
God did not subject the world to come to angels but humans. Now, however, chaos reigns and death enslaves. But God made the Son a little lower than the angels, a human being named Jesus. As the appointed heir of all things, the Son of God who is Jesus will bring “sons” (his siblings) into God’s glorious presence as a new humanity. Consequently, it was necessary for this Son to execute a new Passover/Exodus by sharing the flesh and blood of Abraham’s descendants in order to defeat death, liberate those enslaved by death, and free them from the fear of death. For this reason, the Son became a heavenly high priest of Jewish descent to liberate the people of God so that all “sons” (siblings) might inherit what God has promised from the beginning.
The Son Becomes Lower than the Angels (2:5-9)
There is a trajectory within the Old Testament that angels were set over nations to govern them (Deuteronomy 32:8 [see footnotes]; Daniel 10:20-21; 12:1). So, one might surmise that God intended to rule the coming world by angels or, as Job 1 calls them, “sons of God.”
Our preacher, however, identifies humanity as God’s intended ruler over creation, including the coming world. That world is, in the language of Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21, the new heaven and new earth. Both creation and new creation were not the inheritance of angels, but the inheritance of humanity.
Psalm 8:4-6 testifies to God’s intent in creation. God crowned humanity with glory and honor, even though they were created less than (“lower”) the angels. Remember angels serve the heirs; they are not themselves the heirs (Hebrews 1:14). Humanity was given royal dignity from the beginning, and they were intended to rule over the whole creation.
The present reality, however, is otherwise. Now the creation is unruly, and everything is not subject to human rule. Specifically, and ultimately, death reigns rather than humanity. Chaos infects the creation in such a way that humanity is enslaved to death and fears death (Hebrews 2:14).
But God responded to this chaos through the Son who became human. We see Jesus. This is the one who was made, for a time, a little lower than the angels, but is now exalted above the angels as the royal Son who sits at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3, 13; the latter quoting Psalm 110). He was exalted because he suffered death for everyone and having suffered as a human being amidst the chaos of the world, he was enthroned at the right of God. Now, because of his death, he has been crowned with glory and honor as the heir of the world to come and present king over creation.
Moreover, remembering the previous section (Hebrews 1:5-14), the one who was higher than the angels now became lower than the angels and suffer death in order to be crowned the royal son who is greater than the angels. The divine Son humbled himself to become a human being (lower than the angels) so that he might lead other human beings (“sons”) into the glory of God’s presence.
The Son has defeated the reign of death by sharing our human weakness in death, but then restored human honor by his enthronement as the royal Son. This is the great reversal! The Son becomes human to reverse what had been lost, to restore human dignity and honor to their royal priesthood upon the earth. The Son, as royal priest, restores humanity as royal priests through dying and rising—rising from the grave and rising to the right hand of the Father.
The Son Speaks to the Father with Other “Sons” Present (2:10-13)
God the Father, for whom and through whom all tings exist (cf. 1 Corinthian 8:6), purposed to bring, as the NRSV says it, “many children to glory.” The NRSV, while seeking to be gender inclusive (often a healthy impulse), obscures the connection between the Son (ton huion; Hebrews 1:8) and these “many sons” (huios). It is important to highlight the sense of sonship because inheritance belongs to sons. This, of course, does not exclude women because women are also heirs; they, too, are “sons” in this sense (cf. Galatians 3:26-29). The point here is that God purposed to bring many heirs (sons) into the family through the one whom God appointed heir over all things (the Son).
How did God do this? He made “the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” What made the Son perfect? We might think of this as a process of sanctification whereby the Son learned and grew into moral perfection. In this sense, then, some suggest the Son became a morally perfect and unblemished sacrifice for sins.
However, it may be that the Son was perfected in his sufferings, specifically his dying. He became perfect when he suffered death (Hebrews 5:7-10). His obedience to the will of the Father through death perfected him and enabled him to become a merciful and faithful high priest. He was perfected in the sense that he completed his race; he stayed the course. He persevered to death in full obedience to the Father.
This enabled Jesus to be the “pioneer” (archegon) of our salvation. There are several options for the translation of this term: trailblazer, author, source, champion (like Hercules). However we translate it, it is a word that describes one who goes before others to forge a path. Here the point is that Jesus goes before us and blazes a trail so that other “sons” may follow him. Interestingly, the spies Moses sent into the land were called archegoi (plural of archegon; Numbers 13:2-3) in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. They were supposed to forge a path but failed (at least 10 of them did). Jesus is our archegon!
The one who became human is the one who sanctifies those who are being sanctified, but they are both, literally, “out of one.” [Some translations supply “Father” or “family.”] To whom or what does the word “one” refer? It may refer to the fact that they are both related to the one God who sent the Son and makes others sons. Or, it may refer to the fact that both the sanctifier and those being sanctified are of the same nature, one humanity. It is a present ongoing activity that is both sourced by God the Father and shared through their common humanity. Translators must interpret the meaning here, but both translations are theologically legitimate. I lean toward the latter: a common humanity, and primarily because it is the main topic of this section of the sermon.
Because the Son was made a litter lower than the angels as Jesus, because the Son came to share our humanity, we are the “brothers” (adelphous) of Jesus, which includes male and female (“brothers and sisters”).
Turning to Psalm 22:22, the preacher quotes his Bible. He places the words in the mouth of Jesus so that the Son now speaks to the Father whereas in Hebrews 1:5ff, the Father spoke to the Son. The Son is present in the “assembly” or “congregation” (ekklesias, the church), praising God and announcing God’s name. Ekklesias is a common word for the assembly of Israel throughout the Hebrew Bible in its Greek translation. The Son joins the assembly of God’s people as one of God’s “sons” to worship God and bless God’s name. In other words, we may envision our assemblies as spaces where Jesus the Messiah is present with us to join the praise of God the Father. It was the Father who made the Son a little lower than the angels so that God the Father might bring many “sons” into the divine presence, into the assembly of the people of God. The Son assembles with and worships with the “sons.”
To further his point, the preacher quotes the Prophet Isaiah (8:17-18). The larger context of Isaiah 8 is the stress of Judah’s future war with Israel (the northern kingdom) and Syria due to their aggression against Judah. Ultimately, this will entail the fall and exile of the northern kingdom. Isaiah 8:17 affirms trust in God, and Isaiah 8:18 rests in God’s promises to God’s faithful servants.
Jesus affirms his trust in the God who sent him, and he claims the children (not “sons” here but paidia, children) God has given him. In other words, our archegon faithfully trusted in God through his obedience and thus made a path for others to enjoy God’s presence and glory. These are the children God gave him. This emphasizes the familial nature of the relationship between Jesus and his siblings. He is our brother—one who shares our human nature and one who leads us into glory.
The Son Serves the Descendants of Abraham (2:14-18).
The Son became a Jew, a descendent of Abraham. Jesus shared the “flesh and blood” of the children (particularly Israel, though not necessarily excluding Gentiles). The word “share” is the term communion, that is, Jesus participated in” flesh and blood.” He became truly human so that he shared the same human condition as others, particularly living under the reign of death and with the weaknesses humanity experiences as “flesh and blood.”
But God purposed that through sharing this human condition and suffering death Jesus would (1) destroy the destroyer who had the power of death, and (2) liberate the children from their enslavement to the fear of death. These points remind us of the Exodus story. There was the destroyer of death, and there was liberation. The Passover protected Israel from the destroyer and liberated them from slavery. The Exodus is also recalled by the language of a “merciful and faithful” high priest in Hebrews 2:17 because this language describes God in Exodus 34:6 where the Lord passed before Moses proclaiming God’s presence. Moreover, Jesus serves as high priest for the “people” of God in Hebrews 2:17. This recalls the Exodus and Mt. Sinai, the institution of the law, and God’s relationship with Israel. God promised to help Abraham’s descendent, not angels. This is about God’s relationship to Israel. Whether it is the angels who mediated the law to Israel, the Passover that liberated Israel, or Moses who led them in the wilderness (see Hebrews 3), God honors the people of Israel and now seeks to fully redeem them through the Son who became a Jew, died for them, and was raised to serve as their high priest.
At the same time, as Psalm 8 reminds us, God intends to bring many “sons” to glory from all of humanity. Jesus will be a high priest for his people Israel, but he will also serve all humanity through his priestly order, which is the order of Melchizedek (more about that in chapters 5-7).
The middle part of the sermon will explore the meaning of the high priestly work of Jesus, and I’ll save comment until we begin to explore that in more detail there. But here the preacher anticipates his point: Jesus, both faithful and merciful, made purification for sin as our high priest and then sat down at the right hand of God (remembering Hebrews 1:3). With this status and function, Jesus brings many “sons” to glory through forgiveness and intercession.
The emphasis in Hebrews 2:5-18 is the radical nature of the Son’s incarnational act by which the Son became human and served humanity, particularly in his empathy for their condition. This included temptation or testing. That ultimate test was whether Jesus would obey God by suffering death. As the preacher’s audience faces trials and temptations—including the temptation to abandon their faith or the testing of potential martyrdom, Jesus understands their journey. He has run the race (Hebrews 12:1-3), and Jesus, as a merciful and faithful high priest, can help them finish their race because he knows the trials believers face.
Theological Take-a-Aways
The incarnation lies at the heart of the Christian faith because this is how God brings many “sons” to glory.
The incarnation was authentic and real; Jesus became truly human in every respect, evening suffering trials, temptations, and death.
The obedience of the Son through dying resulted in his exaltation to the right hand of God to serve as a merciful and faithful high priest.
This obedience enabled him share family life with those whom he sanctified, to be siblings who together praise God the Father in the assembly of God’s people.
Jesus, because he was tested and was in every respect like his by sharing our flesh and blood, is not only a model for perseverance but also blazed a trail for us as our champion.
Because Jesus shared our human condition, he is able to help us persevere and run the race to the finish line.
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.” [quoting Deuteronomy 32:43 (LXX, cf. also Dead Sea Scrolls)]
Of the angels he says, [Psalm 104:4]
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”
But of the Son he says, [quoting Psalm 45:6-7]
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
And,[quoting Psalm 102:25-27]
“In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like clothing;
like a cloak you will roll them up,
and like clothing they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.”
But to which of the angels has he ever said, [quoting Psalm 110:1]
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.
This Son, who was appointed heir of all things, has inherited a more excellent name than any of the angels.
This conclusion, found in Hebrews 1:4, raises at least one question. Why does the preacher introduce angels into his sermon? There is a clear contrast between this son and the angels, and that contrast is grounded in the fact that the one appointed heir is a son but the angels are not sons (or at least not appointed as heirs as sons). The point is this son is heir, not the angels.
What was the problem with angels in the community he addresses? Some have suggested that some worshipped angels (and that is always a danger as we see, for example, in Revelation 22:8), but there is no indication that this is what was happening in the community. Some have suggested that some believed Jesus was only an angel, but there is no indication that anyone affirmed such a low Christology in the community. Rather, it seems to me, the text explicitly says why the preacher speaks of angels.
Hebrews 1:5 offers a reason why this son has a more excellent name. The word “for” (gar) provides a rationale. This son is superior to the angels because this son is a unique son, one begotten by the father. This son is the son in Hebrews 1:8. God, by a clear declaration, addresses this one as Son and his relationship to God as a father-son relationship. The rest of Hebrews 1:6-14 explores the status of this son in contrast to the angels. In other words, this son is more than any angel in terms of the inherited name and the very being or nature of this son. This son is divine and has a different ontology than angels.
But why is it important to ground the excellency of this son in his status as both divine and heir? How does this point further the logic of the sermon? How is this related to the first point of the sermon in Hebrews 1:1-4 that God has spoken?
The key is the preacher’s “therefore” (dia touto) in Hebrews 2:1-4. The argument runs something like this:
God has spoken through a son whose name is more excellent than angels.
Because God has recognized the royal inheritance of this son.
Therefore, pay attention to what you have heard.
Because this son’s word is weightier than the word delivered through angels.
The point about angels is their function as mediators of the word, particularly the Torah. According to Jewish tradition, reflected in Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19, angels ordained or mediated the deliverance of the law at Mount Sinai. Angels are messengers, and they minister to God’s people. They also deliver messages to the people on occasion.
What the angels mediated was true and serious. The Torah included penalties, even severe ones. Consequently, if the word through angels was weighty and demanded attention, how much more the word of the Son?
This word (message) was given by the Son during his ministry in the flesh upon the earth, and it was continued through his own messages who first heard him and who were equipped with the Holy Spirit. That message came to the preacher’s audience through the ministry of the word. Therefore, they must regard it as weightier than the Torah itself since it bears the authority of this son.
Name (1:4)
Angels
Son
Inheritance (1:5-6)
Worship the Son
Firstborn into the World
Function (1:7-12)
Liturgical servants (leitourgous)
Divine King
Status (1:13-14)
Ministering servants (diakonian)
Sits at the Right Hand of God
The first contrast is between the inheritance that belongs to the Son in contrast to the obeisance the angels render to the Son. The angels worship the Son because he is God’s firstborn Son in the world. Firstborn does not refer to chronology but to status—he is firstborn because he is the heir of all things. His relationship to God is one of Father-Son; it is a familial relationship. The Son inherits from the Father. Both Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 are dynastic texts, that is, they are God’s speech to royal sons. The Son has a royal inheritance, but this Son is not one among many sons but the firstborn, the one whom God intended to give all things from the beginning. The angels worship the Son.
The second contrast identifies angels as messengers and liturgical servants, quoting Psalm 104:4. The Son, however, sits on a throne as a divine representative. Indeed, he is called divine: “your throng, O God, is forever and ever . . .” (quoting Psalm 45:6-7). The Psalm speaks to the royal character of the Son. He carries the “scepter” of his kingdom, and he has been anointed as king because he “loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” The Son is not only an heir of the Father, but is an enthroned divine king. The preacher further affirms the divine nature of the Son by quoting Psalm 102:25-27. God says of the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth. . . you are the same and your years will never end.” Son was the agent of creation and shares the eternal nature of his Father. At the end of his sermon, the preacher will remind us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:7). The angels are messengers, but the Son is king.
The third contrast recognizes angels as God’s servants are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation while the Son sits at the right hand of God. These spirits participate in the divine leitourgous (service) as they minister (diakonian) to the many sons and daughters of God who will share in the inheritance of the Son. The dignity of the Son is royal heir shared with his brothers and sisters, and the status of the angels are spirits in service to the Son and his siblings.
God has spoken through the prophets, including through the Torah mediated by angels. And now God has also spoken through the Son. Given the dignity, status, and function of the Son, his word is weightier than that which came through angels. If what was mediated by angels carried severe penalties, then surely the word of the Son will carry much more severe penalties.
In effect, yes, listen to the Torah. Obey the Prophets. And also, due to the Son’s dignity, status, and function, listen to the Son. Do not neglect the great salvation received through the Son, which was promised by the Torah and the Prophets. The Son is the heir of all things, including what was part of the promises of the Torah and the Prophets.
This salvation was first declared by the Son himself while he ministered upon the earth in the flesh. It was passed on and attested by those who heard him, that is, eyewitnesses. And this eyewitness testimony was further attested by signs and wonders, various miracles, and “by gifts of the Holy Spirit.” The preaching of the word of the Son was confirmed by God’s active works among the people who heard that word.
I don’t think this simply refers to miracles. In fact, the word “gifts” does not appear in the Greek text. It simply says, “of the Holy Spirit.” I think this more than charismata or extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. Rather, the Holy Spirit has been distributed among the co-heirs of the Son. Heirs are partakers of or participants in the Spirit (Hebrews 6:4 just as we have been partakers of the heavenly calling in Hebrews 3:1 and partners with Christ in Hebrews 3:14). The Father spoke through the Son and also poured out the Spirit upon the Son’s siblings for the sake of the message the Son brings.
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Theodrama, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: caos, creacion, Eden, Maldicion, muerte | 
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Posted by John Mark Hicks