The Two-Edged Sword of Hebrews as Law and Gospel – Hebrews 4:12
In Hebrews 4:12 and twice in Revelation (1:16 and 2:12), the New Testament refers to the Word of God as a two-edged sword. The image may have its roots in PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 149:6 where a two-edged sword is the particularly deadly weapon that God’s people wield against the nations. In both Hebrews and Revelation, the weapon is capable of cutting down the wicked.
Since Martin Luther’s division of the Word of God into law and gospel (or promise), in parts of Protestant Christianity, the image of the Word as a two-edged sword has been used as a metaphor for the law/gospel division. As “law,” the Word kills; that is, it lays bare the distance that human beings are from the perfect will of God and kills self-righteousness and self-justification. As “gospel,” the Word makes alive; that is, it announces the perfect work of Jesus to bring back humanity and all of creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... from separation from God to union with the divine. As God raised up Jesus from the dead, the Word raises up the sinner to a new life in Christ.
Tempted as We Are – Hebrews 4:16
Testing or tempting (the Greek word is the same for both concepts) is a recurrent theme in the New Testament. The gospels record Jesus as having been tempted by Satan or the devil (Mark 1:13 and parallels), as well as by people who hope to discredit him as a teacher (for example, Matthew 16:1). The New Testament also speaks also of human beings being tempted or tested (for example, 1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 6:1).
Hebrews picks up the theme of testing and connects this aspect of Jesus’ own experience with the lived experience of those who follow him. Part of what makes a test bearable is the confidence in the midst of it that one will be able to endure. Hebrews 4:16 has offered this kind of comfort to Christians throughout history. In the midst of testing or temptation, Christians have held onto the news that Jesus knew the same experience in the past and that he keeps faith with them in the present, “a very present help in trouble” (see Psalm 46:1).
Supersessionism and Hebrews
From the first century CE to the present day, debate has continued concerning how God’s work in and through the people of Israel is related to God’s work in and through the church. At least three theories have been put forth. Some argue that the story of Israel and the story of the church are parallel stories of salvationSalvation can mean saved from something (deliverance) or for something (redemption). Paul preached that salvation comes through the death of Christ on the cross which redeemed sinners from death and for a grace-filled life., each embodying works of God’s mercyMercy is a term used to describe leniency or compassion. God's mercy is frequently referred to or invoked in both the Old and New Testaments., but for a distinct group of people. Others have seen the later historical phenomenon (the church) as the fulfillment of the hopes of the first (Israel) or a sign of that fulfillment, which is yet to be realized. Still others see the church as supplanting Israel as God’s chosen people.
This third option–that God has abandoned God’s people Israel for God’s people the church–is called supersessionism. While most biblical scholars reject this view, especially in light of the ApostleDerived from a Greek word meaning "one who is sent," an apostle is a person who embraces and advocates another person's idea or beliefs. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus called twelve apostles to follow and serve him. Paul became an apostle of Jesus... Paul’s argument on behalf of Israel’s lasting redemption in Romans 9-11, the idea of a new covenantBecause Israel had broken the old covenant, the prophet Jeremiah declared that God would establish a new covenant, one that would be written on the heart. The New Testament is often referred to as the New Covenant because Jesus came to fulfill the law and... superseding a previous one has often surfaced in church history and has sometimes been used to justify deadly violence against Jews. Hebrews 8:6-13 may be read to support the theory of supersessionism. “In speaking of ‘a new covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience.,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear” (Hebrews 8:13).
However, the letter nowhere addresses God’s ongoing faithfulness to God’s people Israel. The distinction drawn in Hebrews 8:13 is not between a covenant in which God shows faithfulness to Jews and another covenant in which God shows faithfulness to those who follow Jesus. Rather, Hebrews is distinguishing between a covenant whose signature human activities are external rites and a covenant whose signature human activities flow from a people’s new heart and new spirit. Centuries before, the prophet Jeremiah had made the same distinction between an old covenant and a new one (Jeremiah 31). The writer of Hebrews reiterates Jeremiah’s prophecyProphecy is the gift, inspired by God, of speaking and interpreting the divine will. Prophets such as Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel spoke words of judgment and comfort to the people of Israel on behalf of God. and testifies that this new covenant is the one God has initiated with the letter’s readers.
The Definition of Faith – Hebrews 11:1
One of the “greatest hits” of Hebrews is its word that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). People who know little if anything of the Bible or this letter may recognize this description of faith. In their biblical context, the words offer a kind of topic sentence for what follows in Hebrews 11, namely a recounting of ancestors who endured disappointments and difficulties with trust in God and hope for a better future intact and who died with that hope yet unfulfilled. Their faith is not a suspension of disbelief or retreat into a fantasy utopia. Their actions in the real, and difficult, world reflected their trust in a promise whose fulfillment they did not see. Their witness was to live as if it were true, and thus to live lives that were governed by the promise of God rather than the danger and harm that surrounded them. This passage, then, is not a call to “Just have faith!” but rather to consider what the faith of forebears was able to inspire in their lives, and to follow where they, and Christ, have led.
Hospitality to Strangers – Hebrews 13:2
In the closing chapter of Hebrews, the author exhorts his readers, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). The letter does not say more about this exhortation. Readers have wondered, does the pronoun “some” speak generally, or does it refer to a particular event in which someone offered hospitality to strangers? In the history of interpretation, the “some” has come to be associated with Abraham and Sarah of old. Genesis 18:1-15 begins with the statement that, “The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre,” and then goes on to tell the story of Abraham and Sarah visited by three unnamed strangers. These strangers receive the couple’s hospitality and then tell them that in a year, they will have a son. Sarah, who is well past child-bearing years, laughs. Are Abraham and Sarah the example of hospitality to which the author of Hebrews alludes? Readers have liked to imagine this is the case.
Christ as Unchanging – Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In a letter whose aim is to renew a group of people in danger of drifting from their commitment to the gospel, this verse about Jesus Christ as unchanging functions as a call back to the center of the teaching they know. The author calls them to focus on Christ: “is well for the heart to be strengthened by graceGrace is the unmerited gift of God's love and acceptance. In Martin Luther's favorite expression from the Apostle Paul, we are saved by grace through faith, which means that God showers grace upon us even though we do not deserve it., not by regulations about food” (13:9). Belief and practice at the edges of a community’s life may be important, but they are not central. Central to the Christian faith is the grace of God shown in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The verse itself can be a comfort when it feels as if all that is familiar about one’s family, neighborhood, church, world, or physical body is passing away. When the pace of change in the surrounding culture becomes difficult to adapt to, Christians may quote the verse to console themselves, as if to say, “All else is changing; Jesus Christ is not.”
Christians have sometimes read this verse not so much as a call to keep “first things first,” or to cling to the unchanging commitment of a living Lord to redeem all things, but rather in support of the view that Christians need not address themselves to a changing world. Others disagree. They hear in the testimony of this letter (and this verse) that one of the unchanging things about Jesus Christ is his commitment to redeem a changing world. From this, they conclude that the church must always consider what may need to change about its witness in order to participate in Christ’s unchanging life and ongoing mission.
Graveside Use of Hebrews 13:20-21
The benediction with which the letter to the Hebrews draws to a close (13:20-21) has become the blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God. with which a presiding minister closes the committal service at a graveside or other place where the remains of one who has died are laid to rest. The Book of Common Prayer, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and The United Methodist Book of Worship are three of the hymnals to follow this tradition. The description of God as the One who “brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus” makes this blessing especially appropriate at a time when Christians are burying a loved one.
Jesus as High PriestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus. and Eucharistic PriestA priest is a person who has the authority to perform religious rites. In New Testament times priests were responsible for daily offerings and sacrifices in the temple.
Hebrews is the only book in the New Testament to refer to Jesus as a “high priest,” and it does so more than a dozen times. Hebrews gives us the picture of Christ as offering sacrificeSacrifice is commonly understood as the practice of offering or giving up something as a sign of worship, commitment, or obedience. In the Old Testament grain, wine, or animals are used as sacrifice. In some New Testament writings Jesus' death on the cross as the..., as priests did in ancient temples, though in Christ’s case, the sacrifice he offers is his own body. Christ as one who sacrifices himself on behalf of others is central to multiple New Testament books, including all four Gospels. Hebrews extends the witness to Christ’s sacrificial work elsewhere in the New Testament by setting that work in the context of templeThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... priesthood.
The image of Christ as priest is not as central to Christian art and music as it is to the Book of Hebrews. When the image does appear, Christ is most often pictured at a Eucharist table rather than in a temple setting. For example, the 17th century hymn, “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing,” includes these words:
“Praise we Christ whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast—
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
Alleluia.”
Here, as in Hebrews, Christ offers his body and blood; he is victim even as he is priest. The sacrifice, however, is in the context of the Christian sacrament of HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine Communion.
