August 23, 2014 Hebrews Chapter 1

Hebrews Chapter 1

Originally posted October 10, 2008

General Comment: Hebrews is more appropriately understood as a sermon on the superiority of Christ as the replacement of Jewish traditions than it is a letter. It is addressed to a congregation (of multiple house churches). It has no salutation or thanksgiving and it is not addressed to any specific person or place. The author's name and writing location is unknown. Paul's name was attached no earlier than the end of the 2nd century. From the internal evidence it seems certain that the work addressed a community in which there had been persecutions and a significant falling away from the faith. As we noted in the Pastoral Epistles, many had become enamored of the roots of Christianity in Judaism and were turning toward the past for their understanding of God's redemption. Thus the work becomes an exhortative correction directed toward both Jewish and Gentile Christians who have begun to doubt the value of a faith-only centered approach to God's promise of eternal life in Christ (see 1 Tim. 1:3-7; 4:1-5; 2 Tim. 2:16-18; Titus 1:10-14).

While the author and place of writing are not known, the recipients are probably in Rome, a community established by Jewish Christians by 40 CE. From Paul's letter to the Romans we know there were many Gentile Christians in Rome who had first learned the Old Testament in the Synagogues or from those Jews who had brought them to Christianity. Again from the internal evidence, the work can be dated near 80 CE, for it is frequently cited by Clement of Rome in his letter to the Corinthians written ca. 95 CE.

Hebrews 1:1-4 God has Spoken by the Son - Expository Preaching

The author opens his work with a statement of faith by establishing the primacy of a Son over the prophets and the angels. He acknowledges - as did Paul, that in the past God had addressed the Israelites through the prophets. It is implied that the word which God spoke through the prophets was an unheeded word of salvation (often referred to as "God's gift of rest"). But in the "last days"(a probable reference to the delayed Parousia) God "has spoken to us by a Son." The author will later elaborate on this comparison. For now it is important to note what authority and status God has invested in a Son. The Son is the "heir of all things" (God's kingdom), the agent of God's creative work (Jhn. 1:3; Col. 1:16), the "reflection of God's glory," the perfect image of who God is (Col. 1:16), and the sustainer of all things (Col. 1:17). It is evident that the author understands the Son as pre-existent in the same way it is expressed by John (Jhn. 1:1), Paul (Phil. 2:5-11) and the writer of Colossians (Col. 1:15-17).

It is this Son who "made purification for sins" (the cross). As a consequence of the cross he now sits at God's right hand - the hand of honor, where he and his inherited name (Lord) are greater than that of the angels.

Hebrews 1:5-14 The Son is Superior to Angels

The author, reading from the Greek Old Testament, cites a number of Psalms and Isaiah to prove the point, "But to which of the angels did God ever say...?" The quote of vs. 5b is also used in Mark and Luke in connection with Jesus' baptism (some would say 'adoption'). The first two quotes establish the difference between a Son and an angel with respect to exalted status. The Son is begotten; God as his Father is declared; the Son is worshipped by the angels. While the angels are temporary (winds and flames of fire) the Throne of the Son is forever. 

Beginning with vs. 8 we will see a change of language by which the Son is referred to as God, e.g. "But of the Son he says, 'your throne, O God, is forever.'" In vs. 9, "...therefore God (the Son), your God (God) has anointed you (the son)." The author is not creating an equivalency of the identities of God and Son. This is liturgical language representing creeds, hymns and psalms of early church worship. Vss.10-12 are centered on the activity of "the Lord" (the Son) who "founded the earth and the heavens." While all this will "wear away" like a worn out cloak, the Son will remain the same forever. The closing vss. 13-14 add one final comparison between angels and the Son. While the Son is exalted to sit at the right hand of God with his enemies becoming a footstool, the angels are "spirits in the divine service of God on behalf of those who will receive God's salvation.