We often evaluate events, positions, experiences, and opportunities by
comparing them with others. We want the best of all the options! Once we find
it we refuse to trade it for anything less. In Hebrews we discover that
everything about Jesus is superior to all else. His grace, His promises, and
even His warnings deserve and demand our utmost attention.
Jesus Christ is the far-superior fulfillment of everything that the Law
of Moses foreshadowed. His character, covenant, priesthood, sacrifice,
salvation, and authority are all infinitely greater than what came before. The
more we appreciate that fact, the more we will determine not to fall away and
be lost, but to fix our eyes on Him and run the race.
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The message of Hebrews is two-fold. Jesus Christ is superior to all else,
so hang on to Him at all costs.
At the end of this post, read Hanging On For Dear Life, which
illustrates this principle quite clearly.
Jesus, God’s “Final
Answer”
Seven Reasons for
His Supremacy
Heb 1:1-4
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions
and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,
whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made
the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation
of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He
had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as
He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
Original Audience
Jewish converts, in danger of falling away.
Heb. 5:11-14 – sluggish, immature.
Heb. 6:10 – working, loving, ministering.
Heb. 10:32-34 – persecuted, mistreated.
Heb. 12:4 – not killed … yet.
Heb. 13:3 – (some) imprisoned.
Destination and Date
First place known: Rome.
First quoted: Clement of Rome (late AD 90s).
“Those from Italy greet you.” Heb. 13:24
(?) Jewish Christians in Rome, suffering under Nero (AD 64-70), tempted
to return to Judaism.
What’s in Hebrews?
A book of evaluation
– “better,” “perfect,” “eternal.”
“Better” (13 times) – Angels (1:4); Hope (7:19); Covenant, Promises
(8:6); Sacrifices (9:23); Possession (10:34); Country (11:16); Life (11:35);
Blood Speaking (12:24)
“Perfect” (14 times) – Not by Levitical priesthood (7:11) or by Law
(7:19) or by animal blood (10:1), but by Christ’s one offering (10:14).
“Eternal” – Salvation (5:9); redemption (9:12); inheritance (9:15);
throne (1:8); priesthood (5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21); Jesus (13:8).
A book of
exhortation.
2:1-4 Don’t drift.
3:7-4:13 Don’t disbelieve.
6:1-8 Don’t drop out.
10:26-29 Don’t disobey.
12:25-29 Don’t defy.
Often a fact, then, “Therefore, let us …”
A book of
examination.
The object, nature, and extent of our faith.
The level of our maturity.
Our perseverance in running the race.
The sins that beset each of us.
Our response to adversity and discipline.
Our preparation for the Day of Judgment.
A book of
expectation.
Israelites – the Promised Land.
Heroes of faith – future home.
Jesus – “for the joy set before Him.”
He shall appear a second time (9:27-28).
A book of
exaltation.
Calls us to worship Jesus Christ, who is …
Greater than angels, who worship Him.
God in the flesh. Our Apostle and High Priest.
The Author, Pioneer, Captain, and Perfecter of our Faith.
Seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High.
What’s in Hebrews?
Alarming, increasingly severe warnings against apostasy. Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that a Christian may abandon his or her faith, be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, and fail to enter God's eternal rest.
Heb 2:1-4
Heb 3:12-13; 4:1-2, 11
Heb 6:4-8
Heb 10:26-31
Heb 12:25-29
Hebrews
Chapter-by-Chapter
1 Greater than Angels – so pay attention!
2 A Man Like Us – therefore our High Priest.
3 More than Moses – learn from Israel’s failure.
4 His Eternal Sabbath Rest – don’t miss it!
5 The Greater High Priest – He saves eternally.
6 Persevere or Perish – don’t fall away!
7 His Melchizedek-Type Priesthood – not of Levi.
8 His Greater Ministry, Covenant, and Promise
9 His Greater Sanctuary and Sacrifice
10 Because He Did, We Must – therefore, let us!
11 Faith: Cause and Effect – trust and obey.
12 The Race: How to Run and Win – do it!
13 Living in Victory: Service and Sacrifice
Hanging
On For Dear Life
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,
so that we do not drift away from it. Heb 2:1
In September, 1987, the New York
Times reported an unusual mid-air incident. It happened on a commuter
flight to Boston from Portland, Maine. The plane, a 15-seat Beechcraft
99, belonged to Eastern Express. The pilot was Henry Dempsey, 46 years
old, of Cape Elizabeth. When he and his co-pilot heard a rattling sound
toward the rear, Dempsey left his partner in the cockpit to go and check it
out.
Suddenly the aircraft hit turbulence. Dempsey leaned against the
rear stairway door, which was hinged at the bottom, and it flew open. That rear
door had not been properly latched prior to take-off.
The co-pilot, Paul Boucher of Lynn, MA, saw that the “door ajar”
indicator light was on and realized something had happened, so he changed
course and flew to the Portland International Jetport. He radioed ahead
to report the emergency.
Thinking that Dempsey had fallen out of the plane, the staff at the jetport control tower requested that a helicopter crew begin a search. “A man called, and said a pilot had been sucked out of a cockpit through an open door and had fallen into the sea,” said William Falk, a Coast Guard duty officer in South Portland.
Thinking that Dempsey had fallen out of the plane, the staff at the jetport control tower requested that a helicopter crew begin a search. “A man called, and said a pilot had been sucked out of a cockpit through an open door and had fallen into the sea,” said William Falk, a Coast Guard duty officer in South Portland.
People assumed that,
when Dempsey was powerfully sucked from the plane, he let go. He did not.
Somehow he managed to grab the outer door ladder of the aircraft and hang
on to it for the longest ten minutes of his life. He tumbled forward,
grabbed the railings as he fell, and lay upside down on the stairs as the plane
cruised at 190 miles per hour at an altitude of 4,000 feet. During the
landing, Dempsey's face was only about 12 inches above the runway.
It took airport
personnel several minutes just to pry his fingers from that ladder.
Dempsey, having suffered cuts and bruises, was treated at a local
hospital and released. He had learned firsthand the vital importance of
hanging on, no matter what pressure he might have allowed to pull him away.
As Priscilla J. Owens wrote: We have an anchor that keeps the
soul Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, Fastened to the Rock which
cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.
Check your grip on Jesus Christ. Read the Word. Pray
fervently. Get involved. Share your faith. As you do, you
will secure your hold, even through forceful turbulence, until you land safely
home by His grace.
