At Many Times and in Various Ways

Hebrews 1:1-2:4

 

Introduction

Though the Book of Hebrews has given us many familiar and uplifting passages, it is not often studied as a whole. Our study will show that it is an interesting and delightfully well-written book, worthy of our careful attention.

The questions with which we usually address any new book are difficult to answer for Hebrews. We begin with the question of the author, and immediately come up short. Traditionally, the book had been attributed to Paul, but experts in literary analysis tell us that the writing is simply not Paul’s. The Greek is very good, perhaps the best of the New Testament, and certainly better than Paul’s.

There is a good deal of Pauline agreement, or perhaps Pauline influence. The manner in which the author quotes the Old Testament, for example, is similar to Paul. And though it is a very different book than Romans, it does have a similar feel. This similarity is probably due, at least in part, to a similarity of audiences. Paul was writing to Jewish Christians in Rome, and the author of Hebrews was certainly writing to Jewish Christians somewhere, sometime.

Hebrews pays more attention to the encouragement of weary and wary Christians, which may indicate that it was written later than Romans, or may indicate that it was written to Christians in Jerusalem, where trials and tribulations came earlier than in the Gentile territories that were the domain of Paul. But like Romans, the focus of Hebrews is the sufficiency of Christ, particularly in contrast to the traditional religion of the Jews.

He Has Spoken

One of the best examples of writing in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews starts with one of the most powerful passages in the Bible (1:1-4). The passage is not only beautifully moving, but also establishes the theme and theology of Hebrews.

For us the Word of God has become a book – a powerful, dependable, enigmatic guide to life. A book like no other, but one we can open when we wish and leave on the coffee table when we wish. For the Jews, the Word of God was the inescapable power of the universe (Genesis 1:1-3).

That Word that created us has continued to pursue us throughout history, and the Old Testament echoes with the call of God, calling us ever back to him, that he may be our God, and we may be his people (Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12; Deuteronomy 29:12-13; 2 Samuel 7:24; Psalms 100:3; Jeremiah 24:7; Ezekiel 11:19-20). The author of Hebrews at once connects Jesus to all of this, and at the same tells us that Jesus is better than all of this. He was the very word of God become flesh (John 1:14).

Angels

Just as we begin to soar with the majestic opening passage which is the preview and the foundation for what is to follow, the author takes us down into some rabbit-hole of angelology (1:5-14). This passage, in its way is also a preview – giving us a taste for the way the author swings from idea to idea and metaphor to metaphor, as well as his ready knowledge of scripture.

The author seems to feel strongly about the issue of angels, as he devotes considerable space to the presentation of Jesus as greater than any angel. It may be that by the time Hebrews was written, there had developed a significant amount of interest in angels. Though angels play important roles in the Old Testament and there is mention of cherubim, seraphim, and arch angels, there is no unified, organized presentation of their origin, makeup, and function. By the first century, it appears that a significant angelology had been developed, much of which is now lost to us. Paul, for example, says with his characteristic confidence that we will judge angles (1 Corinthians 6:3) but we are at a loss to understand what he might have meant.

But it does seem that angels were understood to be powerful beings who performed the will of God without any fear of retribution from humans, who were incapable of harming them or deterring them from their mission. Having placed Jesus “a little lower” or, as it may be translated “for a little while, lower” than the angels, the author now goes to some length to establish that this was a voluntary, temporary status which was not characteristic of Jesus. He will later make the point that this willingness to become lowly was characteristic and was a part of the exalted nature of Jesus (2:9, for example).

Such a Great Salvation

It is this very willingness that has afforded us, as the author says “such a great salvation” (2:1-4). Perhaps as a way of keeping the Holy God unsullied by congress with even the best of men, the idea had developed that the law was delivered to Moses through angels (Acts 7:51-53; Galatians 3:19). The author compares this indirect, ancient law to the New Covenant, which many had heard first or second hand from the Lord.

What a blessing it must have been to be among those who personally witnessed the ministry of the Lord and of the apostles. Such tangible experience would certainly have changed our lives. And yet, the people to whom our author wrote, the people who were afforded that experience, seem surprisingly similar to us. They became distracted, weary, and disheartened. But our author also tells us that even though we have missed the Advent, God continues to speak in signs and wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The God who has spoken at many times and in various ways continues to call us to himself through his Son. How can we escape such a great salvation?