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Hebrews 1:1-14
God’s Final Word: His Son
1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to Angels
5For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?
6And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
10He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
13To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?
14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
The lectionary has now begun listing readings from the New Testament book of Hebrews. And as we have done throughout this new year, we’re going to devote a day’s Reflection to thinking about that book in general. We will also look at the first few verses of today’s’ passage from the first chapter of Hebrews, because it contains some interesting insights that are well worth thinking about.
It seems safe to say that Hebrews gets less attention than it deserves from most readers who consider themselves Christians. It also seems safe to say that quite a bit of what people think they know about Hebrews is actually incorrect. So let’s see what we have here.
First of all, we should note that earlier versions of the Bible entitled this book as “The Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews.” In fact, in some of the earlier versions of the Bible, Hebrews was placed right after Romans. But in later times and especially since the Protestant Reformation, New Testament scholars have come more and more to the conclusion that it was not written by the apostle Paul at all. So for that reason, most recent versions of the Bible have just entitled this book “Hebrews,” and left it at that.
It’s interesting to read the debates about who might have written this book, if the apostle Paul did not. The scholars have put forward a number of theories about who wrote it, some of which are interesting and exotic. For instance, the Greek of the time had some subtle differences in the way it was written by men and women, and the book of Hebrews shows a few of those nuances that suggest that it could have been written by a woman. The disciple Priscilla is sometimes named as a possibility.
But a sort of consensus seems to have formed in recent years around the idea that a man named Apollos was in fact the author of Hebrews. Apollos is described in the 18th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles as a highly educated scholar of the Hebrew scriptures who came from the city of Alexandria in Egypt. It would certainly make sense that someone from such a background would be the author of this book, since the scholars say Hebrews has the most skillful use of the Greek language anywhere in the New Testament. And clearly the author of Hebrews knew a great deal about the Hebrew scriptures, because he quotes extensively from them and fits them expertly into his arguments.
The author of this book also seems to have been highly trained in Greek rhetoric, because the scholars say Hebrews takes the form of a sermon — or even a collection of sermons — more than of a letter.
So while church tradition has probably been mistaken in saying Hebrews was written by Paul, another common error in understanding this book has continued up to the present time. It’s very common to hear Christian interpreters say that the central message of Hebrews is that everything about the ancient Jewish religious tradition was basically wrong, and that Jesus came along to demonstrate that.
This error probably falls into the category of a “half-truth.” The text of Hebrews doesn’t say that everything about Jewish religious tradition was wrong, but rather that it couldn’t complete the task of putting us in right relationship with God. For instance, Hebrews points out that temple priests conducted sacrifices daily to make atonement for the sins of the people. But since people continue to sin, the sacrifices had to be repeated day after day.
On the other hand, the author of Hebrews says that in sacrificing himself on the cross Jesus became a high priest who solved the problem of human sin once and for all. So it wasn’t that Jewish religious tradition was wrong, so much as that it was unable to complete the task of reconciling humanity to God.
This makes the book of Hebrews especially important for Protestant Christians. It clearly expresses the idea that no human priest can finish the task of changing relations between people and God. But in sacrificing himself, Jesus became the only priest we will ever need — the one and only intermediary who approaches God on our behalf.
Scholars who study Hebrews also point out that the book consistently portrays God as the actor in the life and ministry of Jesus. God is not pushed to the background while Jesus does his thing. Hebrews clearly expresses that the life and ministry of Jesus was in fact God’s action in the world.
Having said all this about the book of Hebrews in general, we should take a moment to look at the first few verses of today’s reading. This introduction begins by pointing out that although God had spoken to the people of Israel over the centuries, he began a new way of speaking to humanity through Jesus with his incarnation in the world.
The author also points out that Jesus provided the clearest representation we will ever see of the nature of God — he says it’s an “exact representation” of God’s being.
Jesus is described as having provided “purification for our sins,” and now having been seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Finally, the author closes the introduction by pointing out that Jesus, as the son of God and sharing his nature, is superior to all heavenly beings, who are servants of God but not “family,” so to speak.
The book of Hebrews includes a number of powerful passages that speak meaningfully to us about the nature of our relationship with God in and through Jesus. So we will look at some of those passages from time to time in coming weeks. But as we do, we’ll remember some of the general principles of this book that we’ve set out in today’s Reflection.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the faithful ministry of the devoted servant who spoke to us through the book we know as Hebrews. We pray that you will continue to speak into our lives of faith as we read it in coming weeks. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Grace and peace,
Henry
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