Hebrews 1-2 > It's About Jesus

Running the Race, Following in Faith

Spring Disciple Formation Focus


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SPU Professor Dr. Rob Wall's online commentary - www.spu.edu/lectio

Chapters 1-2: A Sermon Lifting Up Jesus
Rob Wall begins his Lectio commentary on the text of Hebrews by recounting his memory of listening to sermons in church as a child, recalling that they were "long and unintelligible to untrained ears," but that as he matured in the faith he grew in his understanding and appreciation of them.  Hebrews is a sermon (definitely in form, and very likely in function), and for many first readers of this book of the bible the word "unintelligible" makes sense.  As you read the first chapter or two, did you feel like a kid in church, with a bunch of words flying right over your head?  In the first two chapters we encounter a lot of references to angels, and it can be confusing: what is this preacher trying to say?

Dr. Wall reminds us that it helps to identify what the "big idea" of a sermon is...the main point, the focus.  This helps the hearer/reader to discern what is the point and what is being used to support that point.  This is especially helpful with Hebrews.  In the first two chapters, we encounter a lot of references to Jesus, and a lot of references to angels.  It's important to determine which character is the main character, and which is included to support what is being said about the main character.  Bottom line: the main character is Jesus, and the "big idea" is that Jesus, God's son, reveals God to us in a unique way.  Angels are mentioned to heighten Jesus' spiritual status - kind of like saying "you know how great angels are...angels are great, but Jesus is even greater than angels."

For those of us digging into the text, we'll want to be aware that there are well-worn "bunny trails" away from the main point of the text that start at the point of trying to understand all the references to angels.  It is very easy to get bogged down in trying to understand this seemingly strange world of angels and lose sight of what the text is saying about Jesus.   It helps to follow a guide who can keep us focused on the main point while explaining why the author of Hebrews is using them as an example.  In the world of the original hearers/readers, angels are understood as those spiritual beings who reveal the things of God to humanity.  And they are hearing that there's something better God has chosen to reveal himself through - Jesus, his Son.

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!(Hebrews 1:1-4, the Message translation)

Let's let these verses declare the "big idea" of the first chapter of Hebrews.  But let's also consider a theme that will occupy our reading for the next few weeks - the unique salvation work of the human Son of God.  With all this talk of Jesus being better than angels, how could his humanity be seen in a positive light?  (I mean, if angels can fly around at will, make themselves invisible, and pass through walls - like superheroes of our culture's fantasy stories - why would Jesus' flesh and blood limitations be a positive thing?  Why was Jesus' humanity even necessary?  We'll dive into the response to this question next week.  But for now, we can identify two possibilities that just might be revolutionary concepts:

1. Humanity - the this-worldly collection of flesh and blood human beings - is much more high status in God's big picture than it may at first appear, and 
2. There's something about what makes Jesus great that depends upon his being human...something angels and otherworldly superheroes could never accomplish.

If you only read one verse, make it...
Hebrews 1:3

"He (God's Son) is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Prayer...

Jesus, through my reading of this biblical sermon grow my understanding of who you truly are, and what difference you make in my life and the life of this world. Amen.