The Weekend Bible Study - with Ronald L. Dart

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus[.] This last clause can almost be taken as the theme of the Book of Hebrews—Consider Christ. Because that is what we are asked to do nearly from the get-go in this epistle. From chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, and beyond, we are asked to think about Jesus Christ—to consider him. In this sense, the Book of Hebrews is probably one of the most important books in the Bible for establishing our Christology—that is, our theology of Christ: who he is, what he is, where he fits in the overall picture of God’s plan. Between the Gospel of John and Hebrews you can form a very highly-developed Christology and understanding of Jesus. Paul (who I believe to be the writer of Hebrews) tackles this from a variety of angles. Let’s take a look at some of them, beginning in chapter three.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Therefore seeing we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1–2 KJ2000 So begins the 12th and penultimate chapter of Hebrews. But in view of what this 12th chapter is going to say, I think it's worth digressing to take a look at Jesus' commission to his 12 apostles. It's in Matthew 10, verse 5... The reply about Hebrews 11 mentioned in the introduction can be found here.

Today we come to that wonderful 11th chapter of Hebrews—the faith chapter. If you review back over what we’ve covered so far, there’s an interesting question that arises: Why does Paul embark on this discussion of faith at this point in this letter—when we consider who he is, who he’s writing to, the motivations that caused him to start the letter in the first place? But it does seem as though chapter 11 is a digression on the theme he raises at the end of chapter 10. Remember?

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 10:38–11:1 KJ2000 It does not seem as though Paul wrote most of his letters by hand. He wrote standing up, and had this poor scribe over in the corner trying to keep up as Paul strung his thoughts together. After stating that the just shall live by faith, he moves to address a logical next question: What is faith? Faith is another one of those words that has been overused to the point of abuse; or, rather, overused to the point of losing meaning, and this chapter presents a chance to rediscover it. So grab another cup of coffee, and let’s dive in to Hebrews, chapter 11.

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the ones approaching perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshipers once purged should have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering you desired not, but a body have you prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do your will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin you desired not, neither had pleasure in them; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:1–10 KJ2000 (The explanations of the ceremony of Atonement recommended in this study’s introduction can be found below.) Atonement: Why Fast? (~33:00) Atonement and Community (~30:00) Being There (~7:00)

The Temple was a stage upon which the plan of God was played out and, metaphorically, the ministry of Jesus played for all to learn of and look forward to complete forgiveness in Christ. Then truly the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the show bread; which is called the sanctuary. […] The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure […] That’s really interesting all by itself. What he’s saying here is that the physical tabernacle (which was a constructed tent laid out with very particular instructions) was a metaphor. In this place were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience. They also were a metaphor; they were external regulations applying until the time of the new order. What do these metaphors represent? What new order is spoken of? For a little insight, let’s continue in this week’s study of Hebrews, chapter 9

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum... That's the way Paul begins chapter eight. And I thought, how kind of Paul to give us a summary. This is a complicated letter, and we want to be sure we understand. In fact, this may be most theological of all Paul's letters, yet it addresses a situation in life. Now, I want to introduce you a term that crops up in a lot of biblical scholarship. If you read very far into this stuff, you're going to run into it. So much of scholarship (19th-century Protestant scholarship, especially) originated in the German language, that the scholars who read it tend to use terms that have specialized meanings, and they borrow them from the German (they are constructs). In biblical criticism, the term is Sitz im Leben. It's a German phrase that roughly translates to setting in life. At its simplest, it describes what occasions certain passages of the Bible were written for. Taken out of its original context, the original meaning of a passage is often lost. When you read the Bible, you want to look for the situation in life. Why did he write it? What did he have in mind? What was he addressing? What questions was he answering? And a lot of times, the books open up to us a little bit when we begin to understand that. With this in mind, let's look at the words (and context) of chapter eight of Paul's letter to the Hebrews.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. So God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in that it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil; Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:13–20 KJ2000

Last week, we stumbled over a reference that will dominate the next chapter. Paul recalls God saying: Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Hebrews 3:10–11 KJ2000 What Paul has introduced here is a term that will be developed thoroughly in chapter 4. The Greek word is katapausis, and is translated as rest. It is derived from a verb literally meaning to settle down or to colonize. The chapter went on and ended this way: While it is said, Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: yet not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. Hebrews 3:15–16 KJ2000 What is he talking about here? Well, let me interrupt to provide a little context. First, we have to go back to the book of Numbers and an event that occurred at a place I like to call Camp Crisis .

For unto the angels has he not put in subjection the world to come, of which we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that you are mindful of him? or the son of man, that you visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of your hands: You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Hebrews 2:5–9 KJ2000 Hello, and welcome to the Weekend Bible Study. Tonight, we join Ronald Dart as he continues his verse-by-verse look at the sometimes-enigmatic Epistle to the Hebrews.

A lot of what we hear in discussion on the Epistle to the Hebrews is conjecture—including authorship of the book—but some of that conjecture is based on sound analysis. Many scholars these days conclude that Paul did not write Hebrews. I numbered myself among them for a while, but I've come to see that those arguments are really rather thin and fairly easily explained. The dating of the epistle is another issue. Some think the book appears about the same time as when Paul's letters were collected and went into general circulation—perhaps about AD 90—but they all originate much earlier than that. Some, like John A.T. Robinson argue that the New Testament authors had no knowledge of the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in AD 70. The use of tabernacle terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before that event; the idea being that knowing of the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple would have influenced the development of his overall argument to include such evidence. No fraud, writing way down in the second or third century, could possibly match that worldview. So what we have in hand is a document written by an early Christian theologian who chose, for whatever reason, not to sign the work. (And we're fully justified in asking ourselves why he didn't.) Now, all this is highly subjective. What is not subjective is the book itself. It's there. We have it. So the way we can approach this book is simply to read it. And as we read, we can ask ourselves about the author's theology, his Christology, his view of the Law, and his relationship to Judaism. Why did he write the book? Where was he coming from and where was he going. So let's forget the scholars for a moment, be our own judge of the value of this ancient document, and open our Bibles to Hebrews, chapter 1.