Digging Deeper Reading

Week 97

Monday, Hebrews 2:1 - 18 

The author has emphasized angels in his writing so far and continues to refer to them in chapter 2 because the Jews of his time placed great emphasis on angels as the bearers of God's truth. They were often God's messengers in the Old Testament, and we see their work as messengers in the New Testament in situations like the birth announcement to Mary, the shepherds on the hill outside of Bethlehem , the women approaching Jesus' tomb, and the apostles after the Ascension.

Chapter 2 begins with a caution to the original readers of the epistle not to drift away from the true gospel. In his time, he referred to drifting back into the legalism of Judaism, but in our own time we can also see the value of his words. Many Christians who do not “pay close attention” ( NASB ) to what we have heard about Jesus and salvation drift into various false teachings and contradictions to the true gospel. Some blend spiritism with Christianity; others adopt the fiction of reincarnation ( up to one third of Christians according to one study ); some blend a worship of nature with their Christianity; a few even adopt feminist goddesses as a part of their faith. None of these is any less harmful to the believer, or to the church, than the legalism creeping into the Hebrew- Chris tian congregations of New Testament times. The truth presented to us by God in Jesus Christ cannot be “adjusted” to fit our desires or our presumptions.

Verse 3 is one of the defining verses as to the authorship of Hebrews. Unlike Paul, the author cites the fact that his knowledge has come directly from those who had first heard the words of the Lord. Paul, on the other hand, always makes it clear in his writing that he had received his teaching from the Lord Himself, just as had the other apostles. His time with Christ, however, occurred after the Resurrection.

We don't often think of ourselves as the ones to whom the earth has been subjected, but the writer reminds us beginning in verse 5 that this was God's intention from the beginning with Adam and Eve. The fall of the first couple, however, destroyed this perfect union of man and nature and his good rule over the latter. These verses are a preparation for the next section of the chapter.

Beginning in verse 9, we learn about Jesus' role as our God who was made “for a little while lower than the angels,” and under whom all things, including the universe itself and all of creation and His “brethren” are subject. From verse 9 continues a description of the wonderful work of our Savior. The chapter ends with the description of Christ as our High Priest which the author will pursue further in chapter 3.

Tuesday, Hebrews 3:1 – 19

“Therefore” ( verse 1 ) having summarized the work of Jesus and indicated that He was the perfect high priest, the author goes on to encourage his readers to never forget that Jesus is indeed our High Priest before God. He has not only offered the last sacrifice for sin, He was the last sacrifice.

Beginning in verse 2, the writer compares Jesus to the Old Testament hero of the Hebrews, Moses. Moses had been a great servant of God, but Jesus' position was different. He was the Son of God sent to oversee His people and His world. While Jesus did describe Himself as a servant, the writer's purpose in this passage is to point out to the Hebrew Christians that Jesus' position as Son transcends Moses' position as servant. He is also our High Priest at the Father's throne, our King, Savior, and Lord. He is all of this though for a little while He humbled Himself to be Man ( 2:9, 14, 17-18 ).

Verses 10-11 tell us that the rebellious unbelievers of the Old Testament did not enter the kingdom of God . In verse 12 the author warns his readers to truly believe and not hold an “evil, unbelieving heart” within them. In the case of the original readers, this was probably directed at the Hebrew Christians lapsing back into their traditions of having to make themselves worthy of salvation, and rejecting the truth that salvation is a gift of God's grace.

Today, we sometimes forget that not every member of every church is a Christian. They are in the church because it is good business, a family tradition, Aunt Martha got them into the habit, or they are hoping for a little “fire insurance” when they die. No one knows the heart except God, and it is never offensive to encourage fellow church members to stay strong in their belief, live in the love of Christ, or remain faithful to God. One never knows what difference the words of the gospel may be making in a heart.

We should not read the author's words with a fear-filled heart, wondering if we are really saved! We cannot accidentally walk away from Chris t. We should, however, take these words about the tragedy of unbelief as a reminder to continually cling to our Lord and trust His word and the Holy Spirit to guide us through the temptations we face every day.

Wednesday, Hebrews 4:1 – 16

At the end of chapter 3 the writer pointed out that in the wilderness after leaving Egypt , God said that the disobedient would not enter “His rest”. Most presumed that God meant that they would not be allowed into the Promised Land; that was true but He meant even more. The message for the Hebrew Chris tians was that there is still a rest to come; a rest that cannot be entered by works. It is only by resting from working for salvation and accepting it as a gift of God's grace ( verse 10 ) that one could enter the ultimate rest of God's kingdom.

Verse 14 begins an encouragement for the believer to cling to the grace of God in Chris t, who was tempted as a Man, but never sinned, and therefore became the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of all.

Thursday, Hebrews 5:1 – 14

Chapter 5 begins with “for”, another way of saying “therefore”, connecting what is to come with what has already been said. We can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace” ( 4:16 NASB ) because Jesus did not elevate Himself to the office of the ultimate High Priest. As with other high priests of history He was appointed by God, in addition to being the Son of God, and therefore is trustworthy as the supreme priestly Advocate in the presence of the Father. Jesus is referred to after verse 5—“So also Christ…”.   Unlike the former high priests of God in verse 3, Jesus did not offer sacrifice for Himself because He was sinless.

Verses 7-10 tell us some of the aspects of Jesus' ministry on earth as true Man, at the same time that He continued His eternal existence as the Second Person of the one Triune God. ( Which we can see and read about, but little understand—the Trinity is an aspect of our God that we will only fully understand after we join Him in eternity. ) In verse 8 the writer is not saying that Jesus learned to be “perfect” in the sense of becoming sinless. He was always sinless. In this case the word means that Jesus' life as Man was completely fulfilled by His obedience and suffering. He had done both without sin and therefore was the only Sacrifice worthy enough to pay for the sins of all.

In verses 11-14 the writer of Hebrews shows his frustration at his fellow Jewish Chris tians who have reverted to their old righteousness-by-works mode to the point that they have become “dull of hearing” ( verse 11 ). He is amazed that they would fall back away from the grace of God in order to again become slaves to the law and to self-accomplished righteousness. They have not grown as Chris tians, but remain ignorant because of their unwillingness to trust only in Chris t for salvation. He accuses them of intentionally remaining infants in the faith and therefore prone to error. In verse 14 the writer tells us why this has happened. There is a responsibility in the life of the Christian to grow to maturity; to become they “who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Without that the Christian remains immature and an easy prey for Satan in the form of false teachers.

We are indeed saved by God's grace. There is nothing we can do to bring ourselves to God or make ourselves worthy of His love, but the authors of the epistles of the New Testament all maintain that once saved by the grace of God through faith, that we do take on the responsibility of growing daily in our walk with Him. To do this, we cling to God and focus on Him daily—and as Paul said about his own walk of faith as a minister to the Gentiles, it is all done “according to the work of His [God's] power.” We need never be discouraged in our path to maturity as God's children because the Holy Spirit walks with us every day, influencing, guiding, warning, empowering, and loving us with all of His heart.

Friday, Hebrews 6:1 – 20

The author begins chapter 6 with a determination to leave behind his chastisement and move on, but he continues on a somber note of warning. He indicates that there may be a point at which an immature believer could fall away from God's grace. Whether the writer's words in verses 4-6 refer to actual persons who had fallen from grace; or those who had heard the gospel but not believed; or to hypothetical Christians the author used to illustrate the seriousness of the Hebrew- Christian problem is argued among commentators and denominations. His main point seems to be that if a person reached that point of total rejection of God's grace, he or she could not be brought back. Therefore it is of paramount importance to cling to the gospel of grace in Christ. 

It is also very important to remember that the writer is talking about a sincere and determined rebellion of the heart, not a moment of doubt or fear, not a sinful action of the flesh, as Paul would call it. In the garden outside of the high priest's house in Jerusalem Peter denied that he had ever known Jesus. Paul heard the gospel from the lips of Stephen, but denied its truth and proceeded to persecute the faith. Both of these men went on to become two of the strongest leaders in the church and both died as martyrs. There is a vast difference between our struggle against sin and the determined rebellion of the heart to which the author refers.

In verse 9 the author changes tone and explains that his harsh words are not meant to reject them, but are out of a deep concern that they remain true to Christ; that they will not fall victim to the false doctrine of salvation by the law. All believers can be sure that they are already anchored to God. Jesus, our High Priest, has passed through the great veil separating the holy of holies from the rest of the temple, and into God's presence. No man had ever been able to stand within that place, but Jesus entered as our Priest and brings us with Him into the Father's presence.

The chapter ends with yet another mention of the priest/king Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). Chapter 7 expands on Chris t as a high priest “in the order of Melchizedek,” or “like Melchizedek,” as we would say today.

Saturday, Hebrews 7:1 – 28

In chapter 7,, the author presents a logical and irrefutable argument as to the citation of Messiah as a priest of the order of Melchizedek ( Psalm 110 ), the fulfillment of this prophecy in Jesus of Nazareth, and His permanent priesthood. He also demonstrates the superiority of the priesthood of Melchizedek over the priesthood of the descendants of Aaron.

First the author establishes that Melchizedek was two things. He was a king of righteousness according to the meaning of his name. He was also the king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem ). Since the name “ Salem ” related to “peace” Melchizedek was both king and priest. Messiah was both King and Priest. This is important in this particular epistle because the believers being addressed were falling back into the requirements of the law, believing that in this they established their salvation. If another “Melchizedek” would come after the establishment of the priesthood of Aaron through Moses then the law, established through Moses and administered by the priests descended from Aaron, had to change (vs.11).

Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of the vision begun in Melchizedek. He was without known male lineage, He was both King and Priest, He was appointed by God alone. The believers to whom the writer spoke had accepted Jesus as King. They needed to be reminded that He was also the eternal Priest who stood before the Father, and was the last sacrifice for sin. As our Sacrifice He died on the cross. As our Priest He ascended to the Father and presented the final payment for sin. Though the old covenant was valid, it had been fulfilled and superseded by Christ Who guaranteed (vs.22-28) the new covenant of grace which was established in Himself.

Copyright © 2004 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church