Hebrews (written)

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

…of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. Hebrews 5:11

The author continues with the thought of the previous verse. Taken together, they read –

“…called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

Understanding this, he begins the verse with, “of whom.” This translation leaves an unnecessary ambiguity in it. Who is “whom” referring to? Is it Jesus or Melchizedek? Rather, it should rightly be translated as, “of which.” He is not speaking specifically about either Jesus or Melchizedek, but about Jesus’ position and duties as High Priest in comparison to those of Melchizedek. As it says, “according to the order of Melchizedek.” It is of this matter that he then says, “we have much to say.”

He is speaking of himself, but he uses the plural “we” as a way of signifying that there is much to be said and much to be absorbed by his hearers. The word “we” is used in a manner inclusive of them, as if a dialogue between the author and the hearer is expected. However, he then says, “and hard to explain.” The word used is found only here in Scripture and it is rightly translated as “explain.” It is a compound word signifying, “difficult to interpret.” What he has to say about Melchizedek is not a light theological matter, but it is something that even his Hebrew audience will find complicated. This is because its complexity transcends the standard thoughts that had been gleaned about Melchizedek and how they point to Christ Jesus.

In other words, the passage concerning Melchizedek in Genesis is only three verses long, and it is seemingly placed there without any theological reason. Instead, it seems to be a short historical record only. However, David then shows that this is not the case in Psalm 110 (which the author of Hebrews has cited in verse 5:6 and 5:10). David referred to “the order of Melchizedek.” However, he didn’t explain what that meant. He simply made the reference and moved on.

The author of Hebrews now says that what David was referring to implied a concept which is quite complicated, and it will require careful explanation. However, there is a problem. The careful explanation of the deeper theology involved in the statement about Melchizedek will be difficult to explain to his audience because, as he says, “you have become dull of hearing.”

Here he introduces a word which will only be used one more time, in verse 6:12. It signifies “blunt,” “dull,” “lazy,” “spiritually sluggish,” etc. His audience should be able to grasp the more complicated doctrines of the faith, but they instead wallowed in shallow theology and were not ready for being introduced to concepts which required study and contemplation. For this reason, he will now divert away from the subject of Melchizedek, only reintroducing him in verse 6:20.

Life application: What importance is complicated theology to you? Are you content with simply knowing the basics of the faith? When you go to work, are you interested in only knowing the basics of your job, or do you seek out knowing everything associated with what you do? What about your favorite hobby or passion? Suppose you enjoy sports? Do you want to know more than just the basics, or are you content to just sit and watch the events of the game happen, without really knowing why they are happening? The level of interest in everything we do shows us how important each thing is to us. If your knowledge of theology is minimal, it is probably because you consider the subject less important than other things. And yet, it is the most important subject that we could ever touch upon. But sound theology is also hard work. Are you willing to put forth the effort and grow in your understanding of the things of God? With every new understanding of this matter, you show God that knowing Him is important to you.

O God! How absolutely amazing is the story of Jesus! When we contemplate what You have done on our behalf through Him, how can we do anything but praise Your glory? We’re free from sin, death, and condemnation through Him. And even more, we’re called Your sons and His brothers. How unworthy we are of this highest honor. Praise be to You. Amen.

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

…called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” Hebrews 5:10

This verse completes the thought of the previous two verses. The words, “called of God,” signify being “addressed.” The Greek word, from which they are translated, is a unique compound word signifying “towards” and “to speak in an assembly.” In other words, “to be called by name.” Thus, Jesus is “addressed by God as High Priest.” What has happened here is that the quote of the psalm from verse 5:6 is being restated by adding the word “High” to “Priest.” Putting the verses side by side will show this –

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;

&
…called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

The importance of the Melchizedek connection isn’t explained by the author here and it really doesn’t come until Chapter 7. Instead, the author will spend the rest of Chapter 5, and all of Chapter 6, addressing the surety of the hope which believers possess because of the work accomplished by Jesus, who is here designated as High Priest. The entire section may, at first, seem like an odd diversion away from this thought, but it isn’t. Instead, he will demonstrate the immutability of God’s promises which hinge on the fact that Christ Jesus is a suitable, competent, and eternal High Priest. In verse 6:20, Melchizedek will be reintroduced and, starting in verse 7:1, the significance of his office will then begin to be explained.

By having introduced Melchizedek here though, the author brings to mind the eternality of his priesthood as stated in the Psalms. The importance of this eternal priesthood is to assure the wary believer that if the priesthood is eternal, then so is the salvation – the two go hand in hand. Remember who is being addressed in the original letter – first century Jews who were considering going back to the temple rituals.

These rituals contained continual sacrifices of animals performed by priests who would grow old and die. Even the temple itself was a temporary structure requiring maintenance and which had, at the time of this letter, already been destroyed once. The only thing eternal about the temple rituals was the Object of the worship and petition – God. However, everything else was temporary and identified with a temporary covering. In other words, sacrifices were ongoing and the Day of Atonement came around each year. If it was an eternal atonement, it would have been a one-time event.

This is the importance of Jesus’ priesthood being an eternal priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek. When chapter 7 arrives, it will become much clearer. Until then, it needs to be understood that salvation – because of Jesus’ learning, obedience, and suffering – is eternal.

Life application: Everything about Jesus’ work is sufficient for all time. He lived one life under the law to fulfill the law. The law is fulfilled in Him forever. He died on the cross of Calvary as a one-time, final, and fully-sufficient atoning sacrifice for all people. He is appointed High Priest once and forever to minister for the people and to God. And so on. Nothing is deficient in the work of Christ. In Him, we have an absolute assurance that everything needed to keep us secure before God has been realized.

One time for all eternity Christ came and suffered on our behalf.
His life in exchange for ours – what an awesome trade!
Now we have comfort from His rod and His staff.
And in this life our salvation is eternally made.
Glory to You, O God, for Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah, and Amen!

Monday, 15 October 2018

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, Hebrews 5:9

The words, “And having been perfected,” hearken back to verse 2:10 –

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

As noted there, this idea of making perfect does not carry the idea of being made “better,” as if there was a lack in Christ. Rather, it speaks of bringing to completion, or meeting, the goal. Christ suffered, was crucified, and died with the intent of bringing God’s plan of salvation to fruition. In His passion, man sees the very heart of God, and then is asked to willingly respond to that glorious offering. The work of Christ makes Him fully and completely suited to bring those many sons to glory.

There was no moral lack in Him, but rather there was a necessity to complete the work set before Him. As fully God, He lacks nothing; but as fully Man, He grew, learned, developed, and matured in every way that other men do. He, unlike Adam though, was fully obedient to the Father and He was found with no fault in His person. Adam was tainted by his own sin and all who follow after him have received his fallen state. However, Jesus inherited none of Adam’s sin nature – having been born of a virgin and of God.

Therefore, His test as a Man was no different than the life of Adam. By passing the test and never sinning, He prevailed and assumed the right to be the sin-bearer on behalf of all men who, by faith, move from the line of Adam to the line of Christ. His perfection was not lacking at His birth or anytime in His development, but rather “made perfect” is alluding to the state which continued to exist from His birth even to His death.

As an example, think of a tree waiting to be used as lumber. The wood always exists in the tree, but it is complete and ready when it reaches the determined size. Jesus’ perfection of person was never lacking, but his test was complete when He had reached His goal for satisfaction of the law; He was “made perfect” at His crucifixion. As Meyer’s NT Commentary states, He was “formally and manifestly accredited by God as such.” By satisfactorily meeting all that was predetermined for Him by the Father, He prevailed over sin and death. Now all who obey Him can obtain eternal salvation through Him. We move from Adam to Jesus, never to be condemned again. This is evidenced in the words, “He became the author of eternal salvation.” Though getting ahead in the epistle, this thought is reflected in the words of verse 7:25 –

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them,”

This salvation is one of whom Christ is the Author (as is also noted in Hebrews 12:2). It is He who gave the terms of the Old Covenant to Israel. It is He who fulfilled those same words, thus annulling it in those who come to Him, and it is He who authored the terms of the New Covenant. Christ Jesus authored every step of the process in the plan in order to bring about “eternal salvation” for those who trust in Him.

To be saved “to the uttermost” is equivalent to “eternal salvation.” This term is explained by John Gill with the words, “…it was resolved upon from eternity, and contrived in it; it was secured in the everlasting covenant, in which not only a Saviour was provided, but blessings both of grace and glory: and it is to eternity; and stands distinguished from a temporal salvation, and is opposed to eternal damnation; it is the salvation of the soul, which is immortal; and it takes in both grace and glory, which are of a durable nature; and the continuance of it is owing to the abiding and lasting virtue of Christ’s person, blood, and righteousness.” Vincent’s Word Studies agrees by saying of this phrase that it is “a salvation of which all the conditions, attainments, privileges, and rewards transcend the conditions and limitations of time.”

What Christ Jesus has done is thus eternal in every aspect, and it is made available “to all who obey Him.” This idea follows immediately upon what was said in verse 5:8. As it says there, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” As Christ was obedient, now He offers this eternal salvation to all who obey Him. The way to become obedient is not through works, but it is through faith in His works. That was the point of Christ’s suffering. The words of John 6:29 explain what obedience to Him means –

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Jesus wasn’t saying, “OK, now I will fulfill the law in order to show you what works you need to do to also fulfill the law.” Rather, the gospel shows that He has fulfilled it. He has offered something new, and we are to trust in what He has done, and to rest in His accomplished works. This is obedience to Christ.

Life application: Jesus did not come to be the author of temporal or temporary salvation. Nor did He come to offer eternal insecurity to His people. Rather, He came to procure eternal salvation for them, guaranteeing them the promise of eternal life through His fully sufficient and fully effectual work. Do not believe anyone who says you can “lose your salvation” by failing to do this or that. If you have believed in the One whom God has sent, meaning Christ Jesus, you are saved. Read Romans 10:9, 10, and then ask yourself if you have done what it says there. If so, you are saved – once and forever.

Lord God, how absolutely glorious is Your promise of eternal salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus! Now, by faith in Him and His work, we are eternally secure and free from condemnation. All glory, honor, and majesty belong to You, O God! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Sunday, 14 October 2018

…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. Hebrews 5:8

The words of this verse are a part of a single thought presented by the author. Taken together, they read –

“…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”

This verse, then, continues to explain the thought presented in verses 5:1, 2. Jesus was “taken from among men” (5:1), as was seen in the words “in the days of His flesh.” He can also “have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness” (5:2). This is because “He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” With that greater understanding and explanation of those previous verses, we can then correctly evaluate the author’s words. First, he says, “though He was a Son.”

The verb is in the present tense, and so it more correctly says, “Though being a Son.” Jesus didn’t stop being a Son at some point. He was, is, and will always be a Son. Despite this, despite being God’s Son (as indicated in verse 5:5), He was appointed to be a Man, and He was willing to use that manhood to experience everything that man experiences. He did not exempt Himself from those things common to men, but He took them all upon Himself. In this, He could then suffer and learn how to be obedient in His suffering. Here, the author makes this a definite point by placing an article before the word “obedience.” As Young’s literally translates the words –

“through being a Son, did learn by the things which he suffered — the obedience.”

The thought of Christ learning obedience through His suffering encompasses every aspect of His life, but it finds its fullest sense at the end of His life. Before that came, He learned the obedience of subjecting Himself to His human parents. He learned to physically live under the law which He had given to Israel, having subjected Himself to the same terms and conditions that had established them as a people under the Lord, all the way back at the giving of the law at Sinai. He also learned to be obedient to the authorities placed over Him, both in Israel and in the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire. In these and other things, He experientially learned obedience. However, the ultimate point of all of those things was that He would carry this experiential knowledge with Him even to the obedience of death. As it says in Philippians 2:8 –

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

This is “the obedience” that is being referred to in its ultimate sense. In these words from Philippians, Paul uses the adjective form of the noun now used in this verse in Hebrews. Christ Jesus became obedient unto death. As a result, He learned what is truly “the obedience.” Everything that He had lived out in His life was a preparatory step leading to taking that obedient life and offering it up to God as a sacrifice of atonement for the people of God. Thus, in His learning, He can be a merciful, compassionate High Priest. The results and benefits of this are to be explained in the coming verses.

Life application: We are the sum of our experiences. What will we do with that body of experience? What is the most effective use of everything that makes us who we are? The answer, if desiring to please God, is to follow the example of Christ Jesus. He offered Himself, completely and wholly to God the Father, even to death on the cross. Are we willing to be found in the same state of obedience? Are we even willing to give our lives for the sake of Christ if called to do so? Let us contemplate what the Lord has done, and be willing to follow Him down whatever path God sets before us.

Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus lived a life of complete obedience, subjecting Himself to the authority of His human parents, to the authority of the Law of Moses, to the authority of the leaders of Israel, and even to the authority of the Roman Empire under which He lived. And in that obedience, He demonstrated the ultimate obedience in giving His life for the sins of Your people. Grant us the same willingness to use our lives in an obedient manner, going where You direct, even to death itself if need be, in order to lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saturday, 13 October 2018

…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, Hebrews 5:7

The verse begins with “who.” This is speaking of Jesus, not Melchizedek. Though not in the original, some translations insert the name here to ensure clarity. The words now are explanatory of verse 5:2 which spoke of the ability of the high priest to have compassion on those he ministers for. Further, the words are given in preparation for verse 5:8 to show that He “learned” through what is now stated. In essence, it was Jesus “who…learned obedience.” Everything between the words is building up that thought. Understanding this, it next says that it is He who, “in the days of His flesh,” meaning the time of His incarnation.

Christ was born into humanity and He lived out a human existence. The term “flesh” is speaking of this physical aspect of Christ Jesus as a Man. This does not mean that Christ is no longer united to a material body, as if “the days of His flesh are over and He only has a spiritual nature now.” Rather, He is still fully Man, but not in a body like ours. He has an eternal, glorified body. “In the days of His flesh” is speaking of the human nature that we possess, and that He assumed in the incarnation. This is stated to show that He can empathize with us, just as any high priest is able to do.

Next, the author tells us, “when He had offered up prayers and supplications.” The two words are close in meaning, but they cover a full range of what is lifted up. Prayer (deésis in Greek) is a strong, even emotional, petition which arises out of a deep-seated need. It is something personal based on a perceived lack that needs to be filled. Supplication (hiketéria in Greek) signifies an olive branch. Thus, it is a type of petition looking for reconciliation and relief. The olive branch is a symbol of seeking peace that we still speak of to this day. This is the only use of the word in the Bible. Christ Jesus is said to have offered these up, meaning to God, “with vehement cries and tears.”

The “vehement cries” does not speak of mourning and tears as if He were downcast. Rather, it is an outcry which arises when one suffers intensely. Examples of this are found in the gospels where it says that Jesus “cried out with a loud voice” in Matthew 27:45, and where He “prayed more earnestly” in Luke 22:44. The “tears” of Christ are specifically noted in Luke 19:41 where He wept over Jerusalem, and where He wept at Lazarus’ tomb. These two examples showed that He, in fact, wept. However, they are probably not what is being referred to here which is speaking of His tears in relation to what lay ahead for Him in regards to His own suffering. When He prayed in Gethsemane, “His sweat became like great drops of blood.” It is hard to imagine that tears were not a part of this moment, even if Luke doesn’t include it in his description. These and other such examples showed the immense depth of emotion and heartfelt petition in His time of deepest need. And these were directed “to Him who was able to save Him from death.”

This is speaking of God the Father, and it can possibly mean one of two things. First, God the Father was able to save Christ from going to death. This is noted in Luke 22:42, for example, where Jesus petitioned, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” It is also possible that it is referring to Christ being saved from out of death. Jesus noted to His disciples that He would be crucified and that He would rise again. But just as He petitioned to be saved from going to death, once it was obvious that this would not come about, His heartfelt utterances to the Father may have been redirected to His being saved out of the state of death. This would be in line with prophecies in the psalms and also in Jonah which reveal this, such as Jonah 2:6 when Jonah prayed from the fish’s belly. In both cases, in going to death, and in being brought out of death, Jesus “was heard because of His godly fear.”

Again, this was actually prophesied in the psalms and in Jonah. In Jonah 2:2 we read –

“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.”

The prophecies were fulfilled in Christ who possessed a godly fear, and who conveyed that in His prayers and supplications to His Father. All of this was not without purpose, but was to fulfill the requirements of becoming a high priest who might “have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray” (5:2).

Life application: The work of Jesus, when taken in its proper light, is more than astonishing. He, who is fully God, was willing to step out of the eternal realm and unite with humanity, taking on all of its pains, sufferings, and trials in order to redeem us; but also in order to become a High Priest who can empathize with our own shortcomings, failings, and weaknesses. Though He never was found in fault, He can empathize with us in our faults. He knows what we are going through and He is not only not unsympathetic to it, but He is minutely aware of it and caring about it. When you petition the Father through Christ Jesus, you are going through One who understands your needs and wants perfectly.

Lord God, because Jesus came in the flesh, He is completely able to empathize with us and to sympathize with our desires, wants, needs, pains, trials, and sufferings. There is nothing unknown to You, and there is nothing He has not – in one way or another – endured with us. Together, we have the perfect match up to respond to us in the perfect way. You know what we need, and You are able to assist us in our times of need. How great are the things You have done for us. Such love! Thank You for Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.