August 27, 2014 Hebrews Chapters 4:14-5

Hebrews, Chapter 4:14-5

Originally posted Thursday October 16, 2008 

Hebrews, Chapter 4:14-5:10 Jesus the Great High Priest - Exposition

In John's Gospel the author was faced with the strong opposition of Post-Temple Judaism under the leadership of the new rabbinical efforts to define themselves as Jews. Jewish Christians were expelled from Synagogue involvement and essentially disowned unless that rejected Jesus and rejoined the Jewish fold. In the Gospel John develops this new environment by showing that Jesus was the replacement of the Temple as well as the Law. In "Hebrews" the situation was similar with respect to the Synagogue dynamics. The community's location and four decades of existence insulated it from the more organized attacks experienced in the East - Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine. In "Hebrews" we read of the enticement to slip back into the comfortable traditions of the past, with its' diminution of the role of faith in salvation. Even a casual reading of Paul's letter to the Romans gives ample testimony of the Jewish Christian base. The strong Jewish foundation of the community was well known in later centuries. Ambrose, the fifth century Bishop of Milan, noted in his comments on the Roman Church, that it was established with a strong Jewish bent.

The author of "Hebrews" appropriates as his strongest argument for faith in Jesus as the agent of God's salvation the most revered personage of Judaism, the High Priest of the Temple. For "Hebrews" Jesus is the "Great High Priest," assuming the functions of this elevated position in the minds of all Jews, Christian Jews included. This figure is mentioned seventeen times in Hebrews, directly or indirectly referring to Jesus. In 2:17 it is Jesus' full humanity which enables him to be a "merciful and faithful" high priest. He is qualified as high priest to make the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. In 3:1 Jesus is the apostle who brings God's message and "the high priest of our confession" acting as intercessor on our behalf. The image projected by the author is the Day of Atonement. The High Priest stands before the Altar of Holocausts to offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of the altar, sanctuary, himself and the people of Israel.

That Jesus is a high priest greater than all before him is because he is the Son of God who has "passed through the heavens. Our confession of faith in and to him is far greater than any confession before the priest at the Temple altar on Yom Kippur. This is the confession the author urges his readers to hold fast. His title is also based on his humanness, his having suffered and been tempted - yet without sin. Therefore he can be empathetic, comprehending our human condition. It is this human nature of the earthly Christ, now exalted, which makes him approachable as one who offers "mercy and grace" to the petitioner.

The author writes of the similarities and differences between the Temple high priest and Jesus. Both are responsible for that which pertains to God - offering sacrifices for the sins of others. Both have been "subject to weakness" and are able to understand and sympathize with the weakness of others. Neither claimed the position of high priest on their own, seeking their own honor and glorification before others. They were called by God in the same way in which Aaron was called (Exod. 28:1). Here the similarities end. By the time of "Hebrews" the Christian doctrine of Jesus' sinless nature had been established. While the Temple priest offers sacrifice for the sins of all Israel he is also offering it for his own sins. Christ has the advantage by comparison for he is deemed sinless as well as fully human. Also, while he, too, is called by God, it is accompanied with the proclamation from Ps. 2:7 as cited in 5:5b, the same text used by Mark at Jesus' baptism as an attribution of divinity. There is one more and very significant difference. The High Priest of the Temple was selected by the Sanhedrin and he served at their pleasure. In addition, from the time that Rome occupied and essentially ruled in Judea, the Prefect had a hand in the disposition and selection of a High Priest. His position was tenuous and often temporary. Citing Ps. 110:4 the author affirms that Jesus is the High Priest forever: "The Lord swore by an oath and shall not repent, saying, 'You are a Priest unto the eon (forever).'"

By his comparison the author assails any notion that the past is superior to the present. Jesus is no disposable high priest. He is the Son who has "passed through the heavens, gracious and merciful, and able to forgive on behalf of the God who appointed and anointed him. He is the one who in his earthly life offered up "prayers and supplications of submission to God in times of desperation and even fear. These prayers were heard by the God who "saved him from death" (resurrection). In submitting himself to God in obedience he was made perfect through suffering thereby becoming the source of "eternal salvation" for all who have faith.

Hebrews Chapter 5:11-14 Warning against Falling Away - Exhortation

The author begins the last paragraph with an understatement: "We have much to say that is hard to explain." He attributes the difficulty in understanding to the readers having become "dull in understanding." They should be ready and able to teach this understanding of Christ to others by now. Instead they need to be taught the "basic elements of scripture/prophecy" again. Repeating one of Paul's criticisms of the Corinthians, he refers to them as babies who need to be nursed, unable to consume the solid food of God. As infants they are "unskilled in the word of righteousness" (salvation/righteousness through faith in Christ rather than works of the Law). In his last sentence he makes the obvious point that it will be those with a mature faith sharpened by "practice" (piety) that will understand his words and be able to "distinguish good from evil."

His criticism begs the question: How well do we understand scripture? Has our faith been honed on practice, on continuing to be learners who seek understanding? Do we settle for the latest theological/historical fad without discernment? Can we determine what is important for spiritual growth, what is dross and what is precious metal? Being a mature believer cannot be limited to how many Bible verses we can quote or how many doctrines we can check off as acceptable on the clipboard. In fact it is doubtful that either of these exercises adds an iota to our spirituality or our living as Disciples of Christ. As someone has said, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." Oh, yes, that was Jesus, a person who was short on doctrine and long on doing; or as Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try."

(Regarding vss. 5:6b, 10, we will discuss the priesthood "in the order of Melchizedek" with Chapter 7)  

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Interpretive notes:

We should note two phrases which have been open to various interpretations.

1. The "eternal salvation" of vs. 9 does not mean "once saved always saved." Any reading of the New Testament, particularly Paul's and others' letters, will affirm that salvation is conditioned on "holding fast to the first confidence that belongs to hope." The eternal is the realm of God. Therefore eternal salvation is being in the presence of God which cannot be understood by any reference to time as we understand time. By virtue of God's name, YAHWEH, God is timeless and whatever is in God's presence is also timeless. The Greek word for God's time is not "chronos," (chronological or linear). Kairos is usually used when referring to God's time which cannot be measured.

2. In vs. 9 the author writes that through his suffering Jesus was "made perfect." In 4:15b he writes that Jesus was "without sin." The doctrinal debate has centered on whether or not Jesus was always without sin or was he made perfect (without sin) because of his obedience. The idea of Jesus' being continually without sin is found here, in 1 Pet. 2:22 and 1 Jhn. 3:5, the latter two being very late New Testament writings. It does not appear in the Gospels or in Paul. Its source is in Isa. 53.9, the Suffering Servant, a text considered by early Christians as prophetic of Jesus' life and career.