A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Part 2

Let us begin to examine the sermon of Saint Paul the backsliding Jewish Christians in Palestine.

THE SERMON OF SAINT PAUL TO THE HEBREWS

GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of Majesty on high; 4 being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Wow, that’s a lot of sentence. And the Greek doesn’t break the sentence there. It runs on…. But what is he saying and why. First let’s look at why. The consensus among early Church Fathers is that the Jewish Christians were beginning to return to the Old Testament way of worship and ignoring Christ because there was a false teaching that He is just another prophet. Jews of the First Century had a lot more respect for angels than modern Jews. And these Jewish Christians were placing them above the Messiah.

The author and preacher of this sermon is obviously out to convince them that Christ is superior to the angels, and all other beings. He points out that in the past God only spoke through angels and prophets. But in the New Covenant, He speaks to us directly in the Person of His Son. Jesus is so much more than a mere prophet or an angel. He is the heir to the created universe.

Verse two states that Jesus is the instrument by which God created the universe, not just another man. And verse three is even more explicit that Jesus is God. If that isn't enough to make the listeners understand the supremacy of Jesus Christ over the angels, verse four plainly states He is better than the angels.

5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he sayeth, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he sayeth, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he sayeth, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom, 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

The preacher is really making his case for the supremacy of Christ over all other claimants to our religious attention. Jesus is more than any other being, He is God in the person of the Son. When Enoch met Him in heaven, Jesus wore the title of Son of Man. Jesus used this title in reference to Himself exclusively. The Pharisees and Saducees understood the ramifications of the divine title, they each derived their fundamental doctrines from Enoch’s book. But the Christians of Jewish background in Palestine were wavering.

To be continued….

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