Hebrews 2, Our Suffering Brother

The writer of Hebrews has spent the first chapter emphasizing that the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, is the exact imprint of God, having created the universe.  This Jesus is greater than the angels.

Why is this important?  Jewish tradition (and the Septuagint translation) has the angels giving the law to Moses. So the angels are the agents through which the Law was passed down.

But if Jesus is even greater... then we must take Jesus very seriously!

2:1-4, A great salvation
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,  how shall we escape if we ignore such a great 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 gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The salvation offered by Jesus has been passed on by those followers who personally saw and heard Him. Unlike Paul, the writer of Hebrews appears to have received this message from one of those followers.

Like the miracles of the Exodus, this message has been confirmed by similar miracles in Jesus's day, including the gifts and confirmation of the Holy Spirit.

2:5-8a, The Son of Man over all things
It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.  But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor  and put everything under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him.

"It is said somewhere" -- the writer knows the passage (from Psalms 8:4-6) and knows that his (her?) readers know the passage also. There is no need to mention David. The Davidic passage appears to be talking about mankind but the writer interprets it as speaking of the Son of Man, the Messiah. (For some reason, the author leaves out a phrase "You made him rulers over the works of your hands".)

Here we are reminded that although Jesus is superior to all angels ("elohim"), he stooped to become a man, for just a time lower even than the angels.

2:8b-10, Exalted by death
Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

The suffering Messiah (of Isaiah 53) was, just for a time, lower than the angels, in order to lift mankind up.  So we too are (eventually) even superior to angels, as we are lifted up by the Messiah.

Verse 9 is the first time in this letter that Jesus is explicitly named! Until this point, he has been called "The Son".  The next occurence of "Iésous" will be in verse 1 of chapter 3.

The phrase "author of their salvation" could be translated "captain of their salvation."

In the next passage, we are told that Jesus is both "brother" and "high priest".

2:11-13, Our brother
Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation 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." 

These passages are from the messianic Psalm 22 (verse 22) and from Isaiah 8:17-18.

The NIV translation apparently inserts the word "Jesus" in verse 11 as it is implied.

2:14-18, Brother and high priest!
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

This passage has a theme we will hear a number of times. Jesus, the exact imprint of God (verse 1:3, at the beginning of this letter) was also human, so that he might be a sympathetic representative for us.

Note that final verse, Hebrews 2:18.  Don't pass it by.  We have a "brother" who has been tempted and suffered as we have.  As his brothers and sisters, we have One who wants to help.

This passage has some similarities with Philippians 2:5-11, which also describes Jesus's willingness to step down from heaven.

In the next passage, the writer will move away from angels and compare Jesus to Moses, that ancient hero who brought the divine Law to the people of Israel.

Hebrews 1, Jesus, Angels, Representation Theory

The letter to the Hebrews opens with an eloquent statement for the Jewish readers.

Hebrews 1:1-2, Final heir of all things
In the past God spoke to our forefathers 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 he made the universe. 

This is a clear statement claiming that "the Son" is the fulfillment of the Judaic plan of God ... and that this has been part of that plan from the beginning.   Jesus is both an heir at the end of history and the creator of the universe at the beginning of history.

The text looks at history as composed of two times, before the promised Messiah (that is the time of the forefathers), and that time following the Messiah's appearance.

Hebrews 1:3a, The Representation of God
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. 

In my mathematical research area, a representation is a mapping that takes an abstract idea, one complicated and difficult to understand, and creates a concrete example of the idea, an example where one can do precise mathematical computations, where one's understanding is achieved by "concreteness."  (Yes, there is a whole mathematical theory of this -- I have books on "representation theory" in my office!)  A representation is "faithful" if it carries all the properties of that difficult abstract idea.

When we humans ask about the abstract, strange, scary idea of "God" and want to understand who God is, we have been offered the "exact representation" of God, that is, God in human form (Jesus), as a concrete example.  If you wish to understand God, look at Jesus.

Hebrews 1:3b, The Representation of God
After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The first two verses could be understood by Greek philosophers.  But this concluding sentence returns to God's work in the Jewish nation, for "the Son" is indeed the Jewish Messiah, the Jewish sacrificial Lamb, the Savior of all mankind.

Hebrews 1:4, Better than angels  

So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 

After a strong thematic opening on the identity of "the Son", we have a transition to a lengthy passage about angels.  Of course, if "the Son" is the exact representation of God and was involved in Creation then this Messiah is above all created things, including angels.  But the author wants to dwell on that a bit... and that will be the next half of chapter 1.

The author of Hebrews ends our first chapter with a flurry of Old Testament references to prove that the Jewish Messiah is greater than angels.

Hebrews 1:5, Jesus greater than the angels
For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"?  Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?  

These two quotes are from Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:13-14, part of God's promise to David and his descendants.  (A passage parallel to 2 Samuel 7:13-14 is 1 Chronicles 17:13.)

Hebrews 1:6, Angels worship Jesus
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

This quotation is an interesting one, for it is from the Pentateuch, from Deuteronomy 32:43.  Modern translations like the NIV, based on the Masoretic text, don't mention angels, but the Septuagint does, and the Septuagint was the Greek version of the Old Testament available for Greek readers of that day.  The Jewish readers would have been familiar with this quotation.

Hebrews 1:7-9, Angels serve the One with the eternal throne
In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire."

But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

These two quotations are from the psalms, first Psalm 104:4 and then Psalm 45:6-7.

Hebrews 1:10-12, Jesus -- from the beginning
He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

This beautiful cosmological scene is from Psalm 102:25-27. 

Hebrews 1:13-14, Angels are different
To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The final Old Testament quote in this passage is from Psalm 110:1.  Clearly the psalter and the book of Moses were well known to the readers.  The psalms will be used as references throughout the letter.

Why, suddenly, this essay on angels?  There are two reasons the writer pauses to compare Jesus and the angels.  

First, the Jewish reader of that time would believe (of course) that there is only one God.  But he/she might also believe in other divine beings between God and man, that is, spirits or "angels" or "sons of God" (such as those who showed up in Old Testament episodes with Abraham or Daniel.)  Jewish followers of Jesus might be tempted to believe that Jesus was a spiritual hero, a divine spirit, therefore relegating Him to angelic status.  The author of Hebrews wants the readers to understand that this demotion is unacceptable.  Jesus is far above the angels!  This is intended (with verse 3) to be a clear statement about Jesus's divinity: Jesus IS God.

There is a second reason the author of this letter want to compare Jesus with angels.  That will become clear in the next chapter of the letter.

The Epistle to the Hebrews

Towards the end of the New Testament one finds a fascinating little book often called "The Epistle to the Hebrews".  It consists of 13 short chapters.  It is absent an "addressee" and it is absent a claim of authorship.  Indeed, like the book of James (which follows it in the English Bible), it reads more like a sermon.

Its authorship is a mystery.  But the audience is most like Jewish Christians in the first century who, probably under persecution, were beginning to drift back to Judaism and away from following the teachings of this Messiah named Jesus.

The book gives some of the clearest statements about the role of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, as the both the perfect Lamb of God and as a High Priest serving mankind.  The letter has some strong statements about commitment to Christ and about thinking longterm about our pilgrimage as Christians.  It also includes some strange passages, emphasizing Melchizedek (who is he?!) and a number of passages about "falling away" and what that might mean.

It has a "boot camp" emphasis about getting back on track and being serious about being Jesus's disciple.  That theme got the letter in trouble with Martin Luther, who did not like its emphasis on "works".  Luther was uncomfortable with this "works" emphasis in both the letter to the Hebrews and the letter of James.  I understand Luther's frustration with the letter of James but the beauty of Hebrews, as it describes Jesus's priesthood, gives us important insight to the Jewish-ness of the gospel.  Every Christian should spend some time meditating on this book!

The book quotes use the Septuagint for its quotes from Psalm 2, Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 102, etc. The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Old Testament, more widely available to the Greek world.

(In the fall semester of 2015, I led a Bible study in the Epistle to the Hebrews at Elkins Lake Baptist Church on Wednesday nights.)

It is fitting, as we finish our study of the Gospel of Mark, that we move on to a book that describes how Jesus met the Old Testament expectations about the servant Messiah.  We will begin a study of Hebrews this week.

Mark 16, Easter Sunday

Jesus has been crucified and buried in a tomb.  After a Sabbath (Saturday) day of rest, his grieving followers arrive to show their respect for their rabbi, the one who claimed to be their Messiah.

Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

"Go tell his disciples ... and Peter."  Why is Peter singled out?  

The remainder of the gospel of Mark does not appear in the most ancient manuscripts.  The original ending was probably been lost and a conclusion later added.  It seems clear that the gospel was not intended to end here.

Mark 16:9-13
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

Luke records Jesus appearing on the Emmaus road to two disciples, while they were walking "in the country".

Mark 16: 14-20
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

This passage has some standard statements that appear in the other gospels and then some weirder ones that probably are an attempt to explain some events that happened later.  Especially interesting is verse 18, on handling snakes and drinking poison.  

Now that we have finished the gospel of Mark, the recollections of the devout Jew, Peter, it is appropriate that we move on to an interesting New Testament letter that describes how Jesus fits the role of the Jewish Messiah and the Jewish Passover Lamb.  We will look next at the book of Hebrews.

Mark 15: 21-47, Road to Golgotha

Jesus has endured a trial before religious leaders and then a trial before the Roman ruler, Pilate. Pilate, somewhat reluctantly, has just sentenced Jesus to be crucified.

Mark 15: 21-32
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!"

In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." 

Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The third hour would have been sometime in the midmorning.

Note the reference to Simon "of Cyrene", as the father of two named individuals, as if maybe the readers know of Alexander and Rufus?

Some manuscripts add to verse 27 an explanatory phrase, "and the scripture was fulfilled which says, 'He was counted with the lawless ones'."  (The quote there is from Isaiah 53:12.)

The crowd hanging out at the cross (other than frightened family members and friends) are probably people who like to watch Roman executions. (Their descendants are today's internet trolls?)  So these execution-watchers are prepared to insult the dying. But some of them know enough about Jesus to mock his statements about the temple.

Mark 15: 33-39
At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, <"Eloi, Eloi, lama> "--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah." 

One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

The sixth hour is noon.

Jesus's cry on the cross is the beginning of the Messianic psalm, Psalm 22. The Aramaic/Hebrew begins with Eloi, a name for God, but the listeners mishear this as a call for Elijah.

Mark 15: 40-47
Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.

Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Pilate is surprised that Jesus is dead. Crucifixion was designed to be a lengthy painful death.

The writer presumes that the readers knows who "Mary, mother of Joses" is.

Some followers -- women are especially named here -- remember the location of the burial site so that they can give honor and respect to the dead after the Sabbath is over.  It is good that they do this....

Mark 15: 1-20, Pilate's verdict

The Jewish leaders want Jesus killed for "blasphemy".  But now they need the help of the Romans.

Mark 15: 1-5
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. 

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."

But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Jesus is quiet and confident before Pilate, not the typical behavior of a man about to be executed.  The Jewish charge of blasphemy is not particularly important to Pilate and so he is attempting to get more information and find a greater crime.

Mark 15: 6-14
Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.

The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

"Crucify him!" they shouted.

"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. 

But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

Pilate believes that the crowd is not particularly sympathetic with the self-righteous religious leaders and expects Jesus's popularity with the common people will play out here.  He sees a route out of his dilemma: let the crowd ask for the release of Jesus.

But the religious leaders have outplayed him; they have "stirred up" the crowd, possibly bringing their own supporters, very likely drumming up the charge of blasphemy. Once Pilate has offered the crowd a choice, he has implicitly agreed to condemn one of the two men, Jesus or Barabbus, and so he is trapped.

Mark 15: 15-20
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"

Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Releasing the prisoner to the soldiers for crucifixion gave implicit permission for the soldiers to play with their victim.  They take advantage of it.