[Hebrews 1:1-14] Why do we keep the Old Covenant laying around?
Why not throw out the Old Testament? What relevance did it have for the early Christians? What relevance does it have for us today? If there was a New Covenant ushered in by Christ, why do we still keep the Old Covenant laying around? These are the questions that the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews addresses. It is an argument for Christianity in the light of, and even using the language of, Old Testament Hebrew rituals and practices.
No one seems to know very much for certain about the background of this letter. The general consensus is that it was not written by Paul, as many of the other New Testament epistles were. This is due to many reasons. One of which is that the letter is anonymous which is very unlike Paul’s other letters. Another difference is in the style of Greek used in Paul’s letters and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Other suggestions for authorship include Apollos (of whom we find reference at Ephesus and Corinth), Luke, Jude, and Pricilla. The bottom line is that no one knows for sure. Nor does anyone know for sure who the letter was intended for. It could have been intended for a large church, such as the church in Rome, or for a small house church. The target audience could have been almost anywhere and anyone. It seems, based on the heavy emphasis on Jewish practices in the letter, that it would be addressed to Jews recently converted to Christianity. Or it could be addressed to a group that had split off from the main church or had started a house church. These could have been men who had previously enjoyed a position of esteem within the synagogue but were disappointed when their position did not translate into the Christian church. This may have been leading some to convert back to Judaism. Or it could be written to recent Gentile converts who were seeking to understand the Old Testament in the light of Christianity. These Christians would not have had a formal canon of scripture yet other than the Hebrew scriptures, and therefore the writer of Hebrews seeks to explain Christianity and with it the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan by using the Old Testament scriptures.
Whoever wrote the letter and to whomever it was addressed, there are several purposes that are evident. First, Hebrews seeks to answer the great theological question, How can we approach God? It is also a reassurance for recently converted Jews whose religious rituals had been a celebrated part of their culture for so long. Christianity did away with almost all of these, and having to adjust to a new life apart from them must truly have been a strange reverse culture shock. Also, as Judaism was an officially recognized religion in the Roman Empire and at this time Christianity was not, new Christians would have been facing various types of persecutions, leading to a strong temptation for them to convert back to Judaism. This letter urges these new Christians that whatever suffering they might endure is made up for by following Christianity and by believing the thing it is built upon – the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice. The writer argues that now there is a better temple, a better priesthood, a better sacrifice, and better covenant. In these ways the letter was a great comfort to the new Christians and can be the same for us today. Hebrews is an attempt to explain the relevance of the Old Testament from a Christian standpoint in a Hellenistic world, and the key to explaining the Old Testament is Christ. This also helps Christians today understand the relevance of the Old Testament.
I personally seem to have a strong attraction to history. I can’t say that I’ve always felt like that, but only now after I feel like I’ve grown up and matured a bit do I start to feel it’s tug. History for me is kind of like a movie. I can put myself in the situation and almost experience it, and after I dig around a little I feel like I can take away something that will really help me in life, not just gain some abstract head knowledge. I’m a firm believer that the past, history, has always had some bearing on the present. It’s easy to always be thinking about our to-do lists and what’s coming up – this is future-thinking. Thinking about events in the past, like our memories about them, is forgotten sometimes. But everything that has come before has led us to where we are today and in some sense determines what will be on our to-do lists tomorrow. The same is true with the history of nations, and like us, the first century Jewish people’s national history had been determined by the events that can be found in the Old Testament. The Hebrews had a long history of suffering, but it is also a long history of God’s hand leading them through these sufferings. This particular history of the Jewish people can be beneficial for Christians in that it provides us with a way of understanding how we can approach God and also how God leads his people.
In the Old Testament God spoke through prophets and through other indirect means such as angels or miracles. But now, with the coming of Christ, God speaks to us directly. The father-son analogy of God the Father and Christ the Son cannot fully be understood if we think of it in human terms. There has never been and will never be a human son who is completely like his father in every way. Children receive genes from both their father and mother. Christ, however, is perfectly like God, his Father. He is the exact representation and the very essence of God. Understanding this, the coming of Christ to earth can only be thought of as a mind-blowing encounter of the Divine with humanity. God no longer speaks to his people through indirect means – now he speaks directly having sent his very essence into the world.
While Christ’s purpose in this world while he was here in the flesh was to die for our sins, his purpose now is to “uphold” the universe. The Greek word used here for “uphold” can also be translated as “sustain,” which carries with it, at least in my mind, the idea of Christ’s hands being in every little thing, working them and keeping them going on the proper course. The Deists hold that God is simply like a watchmaker and the universe is like a watch. God created the universe and now sits back and does nothing as the universe, like a watch, runs on its own. This is not the view described in Hebrews. Christ does not hold up the universe like some monumental Atlas, but rather holds it together and sets everything on its proper course, the course God has planned for us. As Christ holds everything, sustaining it in its proper course, he sits, as verse 3 says, “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This is his place as he reigns as God’s heir. In saying “he sits”, the writer is denoting that an action has been completed – namely, Christ’s sacrificial work. Sitting at the “right hand” is sitting at the place of honor. This gives Christ the ability to be our intercessor.
With a widespread preoccupation with angels in the Christian and Jewish community at the time, the writer of Hebrews needs to show that the message delivered through Christ is much greater and carries more authority than those messages (such as the Law, as is described in Acts 7.53) previously delivered by angels. Angels were held in high regard in the Qumran community and even worshiped at Colossae (Col. 2.18). The need to establish the superiority of Christ would be paramount if they were to avoid worshiping Jesus on the same level as angels. The difference in rank can be found in names. The name “angel” denotes the high rank and status of a divine messenger, but by attributing the name “Son” to Christ the idea of an intimate relationship emerges. This intimacy is the highest relationship. Philippians 2.9 says that God bestowed on Christ the “name that is above every name.” By making purification of sins, Christ has come into his name, fulfilled his destiny, and become superior to the angels in heaven.
In quoting the passages from the Old Testament in vv. 5-13, the writer of Hebrews takes them out of their original context and uses them as an address to Christ. Originally they were addressed to an Israelite king, but for the writer of Hebrews, they can be used to refer to the Messiah. This is was not a new thing. The gospel of Matthew does the same thing in Matt. 2.15. The idea is that if God has a different sense of time than man (2 Peter 3.8 says, “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years”) a prophesy can have both an immediate relevance and a complete fulfillment at a later point in time. The bottom line is, though, the Old Testament scriptures held a position of great authority in the early Christian church.
The writer of Hebrews presents God as saying five things about Christ. First, God calls Christ His Son. The two quotes from verse 5 are taken from Ps. 2.7 and 2 Sam. 7.14 respectively. Both of these quotes from the Old Testament were well known to the early Christians and were understood to be Messianic. Paul also refers to the first quote in Acts 13.33 when he is preaching to both Hebrews and other “God-fearers”. At this same time he attributes the phrase “today I have begotten you” to the resurrection of Christ. Understood as applying to the Messiah, this quote puts Christ on a higher level than angels and men. As I have stated above, when God applies the name “Son” to Christ He is putting him at a higher status than anything else. A carpenter would hold his son in much higher esteem than he would hold a table he had carved, even though he had created both of them. The carpenter’s son was actually a part of him, and this gave the son a higher status. Second, God commands all of the angels to worship Christ. The quote the writer uses here is from a Septuagint translation of Deut. 32.43. Third, God recognizes the royalty of Christ. This royal imagery can be found in the use of “the righteous scepter” and in the anointing described here. Indeed, the very name “Christ” means “The Anointed One.” Another interesting note in this quote is that Christ is the only one who has ever completely loved righteousness and completely hated lawlessness. Fourth, Christ was one with the creator. He was there “laying the foundation of the earth” and making the heavens. Fifth, as I have said above, Christ sits at God’s right hand, giving him a position of honor and the ability to intercede for us. None of the angels have this place of honor.
God only says two things about the angels. First, they are ministering spirits. Second, and similar to the first, they are sent to serve those who receive salvation. Angels are merely for the purpose of carrying out the Father’s wishes whereas verses 8 and 9 show that the Son’s purpose is ruling.
The Old Testament did have relevance for the early Christians in that it held authority as scripture, and it also was able to help them understand how Christ acts as a mediator for us. In both of these senses it holds relevance for us today as well. Later studies in Hebrews will show how Christ acts as a High Priest for us and how we can follow his example in persevering through temptation.
(This was taken from the college Bible study I led on Hebrews on Sunday night, June 25, 2006 at University Baptist Church, Houston, TX.)
No one seems to know very much for certain about the background of this letter. The general consensus is that it was not written by Paul, as many of the other New Testament epistles were. This is due to many reasons. One of which is that the letter is anonymous which is very unlike Paul’s other letters. Another difference is in the style of Greek used in Paul’s letters and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Other suggestions for authorship include Apollos (of whom we find reference at Ephesus and Corinth), Luke, Jude, and Pricilla. The bottom line is that no one knows for sure. Nor does anyone know for sure who the letter was intended for. It could have been intended for a large church, such as the church in Rome, or for a small house church. The target audience could have been almost anywhere and anyone. It seems, based on the heavy emphasis on Jewish practices in the letter, that it would be addressed to Jews recently converted to Christianity. Or it could be addressed to a group that had split off from the main church or had started a house church. These could have been men who had previously enjoyed a position of esteem within the synagogue but were disappointed when their position did not translate into the Christian church. This may have been leading some to convert back to Judaism. Or it could be written to recent Gentile converts who were seeking to understand the Old Testament in the light of Christianity. These Christians would not have had a formal canon of scripture yet other than the Hebrew scriptures, and therefore the writer of Hebrews seeks to explain Christianity and with it the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan by using the Old Testament scriptures.
Whoever wrote the letter and to whomever it was addressed, there are several purposes that are evident. First, Hebrews seeks to answer the great theological question, How can we approach God? It is also a reassurance for recently converted Jews whose religious rituals had been a celebrated part of their culture for so long. Christianity did away with almost all of these, and having to adjust to a new life apart from them must truly have been a strange reverse culture shock. Also, as Judaism was an officially recognized religion in the Roman Empire and at this time Christianity was not, new Christians would have been facing various types of persecutions, leading to a strong temptation for them to convert back to Judaism. This letter urges these new Christians that whatever suffering they might endure is made up for by following Christianity and by believing the thing it is built upon – the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice. The writer argues that now there is a better temple, a better priesthood, a better sacrifice, and better covenant. In these ways the letter was a great comfort to the new Christians and can be the same for us today. Hebrews is an attempt to explain the relevance of the Old Testament from a Christian standpoint in a Hellenistic world, and the key to explaining the Old Testament is Christ. This also helps Christians today understand the relevance of the Old Testament.
I personally seem to have a strong attraction to history. I can’t say that I’ve always felt like that, but only now after I feel like I’ve grown up and matured a bit do I start to feel it’s tug. History for me is kind of like a movie. I can put myself in the situation and almost experience it, and after I dig around a little I feel like I can take away something that will really help me in life, not just gain some abstract head knowledge. I’m a firm believer that the past, history, has always had some bearing on the present. It’s easy to always be thinking about our to-do lists and what’s coming up – this is future-thinking. Thinking about events in the past, like our memories about them, is forgotten sometimes. But everything that has come before has led us to where we are today and in some sense determines what will be on our to-do lists tomorrow. The same is true with the history of nations, and like us, the first century Jewish people’s national history had been determined by the events that can be found in the Old Testament. The Hebrews had a long history of suffering, but it is also a long history of God’s hand leading them through these sufferings. This particular history of the Jewish people can be beneficial for Christians in that it provides us with a way of understanding how we can approach God and also how God leads his people.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. [1:1-4]
In the Old Testament God spoke through prophets and through other indirect means such as angels or miracles. But now, with the coming of Christ, God speaks to us directly. The father-son analogy of God the Father and Christ the Son cannot fully be understood if we think of it in human terms. There has never been and will never be a human son who is completely like his father in every way. Children receive genes from both their father and mother. Christ, however, is perfectly like God, his Father. He is the exact representation and the very essence of God. Understanding this, the coming of Christ to earth can only be thought of as a mind-blowing encounter of the Divine with humanity. God no longer speaks to his people through indirect means – now he speaks directly having sent his very essence into the world.
While Christ’s purpose in this world while he was here in the flesh was to die for our sins, his purpose now is to “uphold” the universe. The Greek word used here for “uphold” can also be translated as “sustain,” which carries with it, at least in my mind, the idea of Christ’s hands being in every little thing, working them and keeping them going on the proper course. The Deists hold that God is simply like a watchmaker and the universe is like a watch. God created the universe and now sits back and does nothing as the universe, like a watch, runs on its own. This is not the view described in Hebrews. Christ does not hold up the universe like some monumental Atlas, but rather holds it together and sets everything on its proper course, the course God has planned for us. As Christ holds everything, sustaining it in its proper course, he sits, as verse 3 says, “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This is his place as he reigns as God’s heir. In saying “he sits”, the writer is denoting that an action has been completed – namely, Christ’s sacrificial work. Sitting at the “right hand” is sitting at the place of honor. This gives Christ the ability to be our intercessor.
With a widespread preoccupation with angels in the Christian and Jewish community at the time, the writer of Hebrews needs to show that the message delivered through Christ is much greater and carries more authority than those messages (such as the Law, as is described in Acts 7.53) previously delivered by angels. Angels were held in high regard in the Qumran community and even worshiped at Colossae (Col. 2.18). The need to establish the superiority of Christ would be paramount if they were to avoid worshiping Jesus on the same level as angels. The difference in rank can be found in names. The name “angel” denotes the high rank and status of a divine messenger, but by attributing the name “Son” to Christ the idea of an intimate relationship emerges. This intimacy is the highest relationship. Philippians 2.9 says that God bestowed on Christ the “name that is above every name.” By making purification of sins, Christ has come into his name, fulfilled his destiny, and become superior to the angels in heaven.
For to which of the angels did He ever say, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You?" And again, "I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me"? And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." And of the angels He says, "Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire." But of the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions." And, "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but you remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end." But to which of the angels has He ever said, "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet"? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? [1:5-14]
In quoting the passages from the Old Testament in vv. 5-13, the writer of Hebrews takes them out of their original context and uses them as an address to Christ. Originally they were addressed to an Israelite king, but for the writer of Hebrews, they can be used to refer to the Messiah. This is was not a new thing. The gospel of Matthew does the same thing in Matt. 2.15. The idea is that if God has a different sense of time than man (2 Peter 3.8 says, “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years”) a prophesy can have both an immediate relevance and a complete fulfillment at a later point in time. The bottom line is, though, the Old Testament scriptures held a position of great authority in the early Christian church.
The writer of Hebrews presents God as saying five things about Christ. First, God calls Christ His Son. The two quotes from verse 5 are taken from Ps. 2.7 and 2 Sam. 7.14 respectively. Both of these quotes from the Old Testament were well known to the early Christians and were understood to be Messianic. Paul also refers to the first quote in Acts 13.33 when he is preaching to both Hebrews and other “God-fearers”. At this same time he attributes the phrase “today I have begotten you” to the resurrection of Christ. Understood as applying to the Messiah, this quote puts Christ on a higher level than angels and men. As I have stated above, when God applies the name “Son” to Christ He is putting him at a higher status than anything else. A carpenter would hold his son in much higher esteem than he would hold a table he had carved, even though he had created both of them. The carpenter’s son was actually a part of him, and this gave the son a higher status. Second, God commands all of the angels to worship Christ. The quote the writer uses here is from a Septuagint translation of Deut. 32.43. Third, God recognizes the royalty of Christ. This royal imagery can be found in the use of “the righteous scepter” and in the anointing described here. Indeed, the very name “Christ” means “The Anointed One.” Another interesting note in this quote is that Christ is the only one who has ever completely loved righteousness and completely hated lawlessness. Fourth, Christ was one with the creator. He was there “laying the foundation of the earth” and making the heavens. Fifth, as I have said above, Christ sits at God’s right hand, giving him a position of honor and the ability to intercede for us. None of the angels have this place of honor.
God only says two things about the angels. First, they are ministering spirits. Second, and similar to the first, they are sent to serve those who receive salvation. Angels are merely for the purpose of carrying out the Father’s wishes whereas verses 8 and 9 show that the Son’s purpose is ruling.
The Old Testament did have relevance for the early Christians in that it held authority as scripture, and it also was able to help them understand how Christ acts as a mediator for us. In both of these senses it holds relevance for us today as well. Later studies in Hebrews will show how Christ acts as a High Priest for us and how we can follow his example in persevering through temptation.
(This was taken from the college Bible study I led on Hebrews on Sunday night, June 25, 2006 at University Baptist Church, Houston, TX.)
posted by Jonathan Womack @ 10:27 PM
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