Life Project Blog

 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again he says,

“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Hebrews 2:10-13

This is another section of text that is breathtaking if you’ll relax and let its full significance settle in.  Check out that first paragraph…  Yes, it was quite fitting for God to make Jesus perfect through His suffering, but that isn’t the breathtaking part, at least not for me.  It is the part about bringing many sons (and daughters) to glory.  Jesus attained glory through His suffering; we attain glory through His suffering. Jesus is in glory- we are headed for glory.  Wow!

Note: If you are wondering why I put “sisters” and “daughters” in parentheses, it’s because those words are not in the Greek. It’s “brothers” and “sons”. If you would like to accuse the “new” NIV of being politically correct, I would join with you here, and it is irritating to me too.  However, it does capture the full intent of the original, because while they didn’t come out and say it literally, those were inclusive terms in context.  Sometimes we forget that in Middle Eastern cultures back then, and even today, it is not polite to refer to women in this fashion; the masculine form represents the whole.  By adding those terms, the NIV has captured this and made it clear to modern Western readers that it was intended in the inclusive form. Back to the text…

The one “who makes people holy” is obviously a reference to Jesus. We who are His followers are the ones made holy (set apart), and another “wow” moment: Both are in the same family: Welcome to God’s family, we are the brothers and sisters of Jesus! Therefore, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Jesus Christ, as He sits on the throne at the right hand of God, ruling heaven and earth is not only King of kings and Lord of lords, but He is also our “big brother”.  If you aren’t filled with awe right now, please slow down and read that again.

The Old Testament quotes that follow are placed there to demonstrate that this is something that has been foretold in Scripture, even though people may not have comprehended it at first.  Imagine how early Jewish Christians in the circumstances of their time would have reacted to this.  Being the brother of the Son of God, a God whose name it was unlawful to even say out loud: Amazing!

I hope that it strikes you the same way.  So many of us go through our lives filled with guilt, grief, and fear, not ever comprehending how precious we are in God’s sight… Brothers, in the family… relations…  Not evil, wretched sinners.  Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and your acceptance of His grace, all of that is so far away, and God remembers it no more… Brother! Sister! Son! Daughter!

Welcome home!

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 2:1-4

This letter was sent to Jewish Christians in Rome during the time of Nero’s persecution, and it has a theme that carries from front to back that screams ‘Persevere in times of trial! Hold on firmly to what you have in Christ and don’t let go!’ As you might imagine with such a theme, there are several warnings in the letter, and here is the first one.

Like the opening of the first chapter, this one has an opening paragraph that is heavy on content.  The content here is a contrast between the Old and New Covenants

Simply stated, these verses are telling us that we must give our relationship with Jesus Christ (New Covenant) the highest possible priority.  In fact, this is the thesis for the entire chapter.  

Now, let’s think about this another way.  The author has included a contrast between the Old and New Covenants here, as well as throughout this entire letter: Why?

I think the reason is a simple one, but maybe not as obvious to the modern reader as it would have been when it was written.  Remember, it is written to Jewish Christians. Of course, they would be interested in this comparison, just on general principle, but there is a deeper reason.  Nero persecuted Christians in his day.  Remember the story of the great fire in Rome that burned out the center of the city, and resulted in a whole new building program by Nero that seemed to be his way of immortalizing himself as a Roman Emperor?  Who did Nero, who probably had quite a bit to do with starting the fire, blame for the fire?

Exactly: Christians!  The Christians were the specific target of his persecution, not Jews.  Thus, a Jewish Christian might have felt pressure to renounce Christ and just be an innocent Jew again to avoid Nero’s persecution. That, dear reader, is the historical context of this letter.  Hold on to what you have in Christ.  The author is constantly reminding his readers how much better their lot as Christians is, in spite of Nero… so this theme is oft-repeated.

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (2:1) 

We need to pay careful attention to what we have in Christ (what we have heard) lest we drift away.  Thus “drift away” would mean going back to the old ways to avoid trouble in this life. He goes on in verse 2 to describe their situation under the Law with its system of rules and punishment for infractions, and then verse 3:  how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? refers back to “drift away”. If they would be ignoring their great salvation and returning to the old system, they would find themselves in a world of hurt with God.  On the one hand, they turned their backs on salvation, and on the other hand, they’d be returning to the condemnation of the Law; a lose – lose situation. Verse 4 underscores the fact that God Himself has confirmed to them the validity of the New Covenant in various ways. As we continue through the rest of the chapter, our author will build this case even more.

We might not have been Jewish, and we might not be living under Nero’s persecution, but are we ever tempted to “drift away?”  Are we ever tempted to slack off, get lazy, not care…? What will be running through your mind if this kind of temptation ever comes your way?

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but 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. The 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. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Here we are at the beginning of a tour of a new book from the New Testament, my very favorite book of all, a book that will show you how the Old and New Covenants come together, a book that will both challenge and encourage each one of us.  I sure hope that you will have the time and inclination to be fed and encouraged on our tour: Here we go!

The book begins with a bang in these four verses!  Take a minute to drink them in; they are simply amazing.  Look first of all at the contrast between God’s former ways, and His ways now.  In the past, He spoke through the prophets.  Now, He speaks directly by His Son.  Can you see the difference?  In the Old Testament, there is always an intermediary, but in the New Testament, God speaks directly to us by His Son; a paradigm shift of massive proportions.  This Son by whom God speaks is not just some kid, He is not only heir of all things, He is also the one by and through whom God created the entire universe.  When God spoke the words “let there be light” it was the Son’s lips that were moving… Just let that sink in… This is a huge statement. There’s more coming, catch this one:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. The “radiance” of God’s glory!  Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory, and God sent Him to be with us, to teach us, to have relationships with us… and to die for us.  It’s one thing to be amazed at God’s unending love for us in sending His Son to die for us, but when you combine that kind of love with just exactly who this Jesus is… WOW!

Jesus is also the “exact representation of His being”:  Jesus is in fact God. This is what Jesus meant when He said “the Father and I are one.”  WOW! If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. If you want to know what God thinks, look at Jesus. If you want to know if God loves you, look at Jesus on the cross.

“…sustaining all things by his powerful word.”  Ever wonder why the planets don’t just fly off into space?  Ever wonder why the seasons keep coming at the right time after all of these years?  Ever wonder who made up the laws of physics, of nature, of right and wrong? Ever wonder why your head doesn’t explode?  The entire universe is sustained by His Word!  Ever wonder why so many people seek to denigrate the Bible? Now you know why; it is His Word. It is so powerful that it could call the universe into existence.  It is nothing to be trifled with, as so many philosophers have found out. It is a force that we cannot even begin to fathom, and God sent Him to give us direct access to Him.  If this does not inspire you, then maybe you need to see if you can still fog a mirror!

After He finished His work on the earth, He was returned to the glory from whence He had come, superior to the angels, yes. Superior to all living beings everywhere? Yes. This is our Savior, with whom we have a relationship.  I wonder, do we value that relationship as we ought?

Hebrews is simply an awesome book. I think you’ll see as we continue going through it, that it is like no other.