"Christ Is Faithful" -- Hebrews 3:1-19

The Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle to the Hebrews

In the first two chapters of this epistle, the author of Hebrews has built a very impressive case for the superiority of Jesus Christ to all things.  Jesus, who is the radiance of the glory of God, is the creator of all things.  Yet the same Jesus who is God’s eternal son, now shares our flesh and blood by virtue of his incarnation.  After dying for our sins and being raised from the dead, Jesus  has been given the highest possible honor–he alone sits at God’s right hand.  In the opening chapters of this epistle, the author has demonstrated that Jesus is superior to angels as well as Israel’s priesthood.  As we now move into Hebrews 3, the author begins to make his case that Jesus Christ is superior to Moses, and more importantly, is the mediator of a far better covenant (the New Covenant) than that covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai.

Writing to an unknown church in an unknown city, the unknown author of this epistle is addressing the difficult situation facing the congregation to which he is writing.  Many in this church were Hellenistic Jews (Greek in culture, but Hebrew in theology) who had recently become Christians.  In the face of opposition from their Jewish friends and family, and even perhaps from governing authorities, many in this church had given up on their faith in Jesus Christ and returned to Judaism.  The epistle to the Hebrews is the author’s very pointed warning to those remaining in the church who were considering doing the same thing.  He addresses head-on the gravity of the sin of apostasy, and will continue to do so throughout this letter.

But the author does more than just warn his readers or make threats to them.  In this letter he makes a very powerful case from the pages of the LXX (which Greek-speaking Jews regarded as authoritative), that even in their own Scriptures (the Old Testament) it is clear that Jesus is that one who created the angels, and that one whom the angels worship and serve.  The author not only warns those reading or hearing this not to neglect such a great salvation and to be careful not to “drift away” from Jesus Christ and the gospel, but he also gives them a reason continue in the Christian faith when he describes how Jesus Christ is God’s perfect priest who offers a perfect sacrifice for sin.  This perfect priest has suffered just as we suffer, and Jesus Christ has been tempted in all things, just as we have been tempted.  Therefore Jesus is not only superior to angels, and to the priests of Israel, Jesus is a faithful and merciful high priest who now sits at God’s right hand.

As we move into chapter 3 of Hebrews, we find the author doing two things.  First, he continues to argue for the superiority of Jesus Christ to Moses (in verses 1-6), before he begins an extended discussion (which runs all the way though chapter 10, verse 18) for the superiority of Jesus (and the New Covenant) to that covenant which God made with Israel at Mount Sinai.

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"He Himself Has Suffered" -- Hebrews 2:10-18

The Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle to the Hebrews

The very fact that human priests are themselves sinners raises a number of important questions.  How can sinful priests offer sacrifices that remove the guilt of our sin, unless they first offer sacrifices for themselves?  And any sacrifices they offer–the blood of animals–only temporarily removes the guilt of our sins.  Such sacrifices only delay the judgment of God, and they must be continually repeated by the priests not only for themselves, but also for those on whose behalf they are offered.  It will take a perfect priest offering a perfect sacrifice, if we are to saved from the guilt and power of sin.  This perfect priest is Jesus Christ who has made himself lower than the angels, suffered on the cross and tasted death, was raised from the dead and then ascended on high, before taking his place at God’s right-hand.  And yet, this perfect priest is merciful to us because he himself has suffered and was tempted, just as we suffer and are tempted.

As we continue our series on the Book of Hebrews we come to the second half of the second chapter of this epistle, where the author continues to make his case for the superiority of Jesus Christ.  As the author has shown us from the pages of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is superior to angels.  Jesus is superior to Moses.  And Jesus is superior to the priesthood of Israel.  While in the previous verses, the author has focused upon our Lord’s superiority to angels, in verses 10-18 of Hebrews 2, the author now begins to address a topic he will develop in great detail throughout the balance of this epistle–the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is a much greater priest who offers a much better sacrifice for sin.

Before we turn to our text this morning (vv. 10-18), a bit of review is in order.  The church receiving this letter was very likely a small congregation meeting in a home in a large city (Rome or Alexandria?).  It was composed of mostly Hellenistic Jews (Greek in culture, Hebrew in theology), who had recently converted to Christianity.  A number of these people had come under a great deal of persecution from governing authorities, and from their Jewish friends and families in the synagogues they had ceased attending.  Many, apparently, made professions of faith in Jesus Christ and were baptized, but then sadly renounced both when the persecution became too great. 

The letter was know as the Epistle to the Hebrews is an unknown author’s response to this tragic situation.  Likely written by someone in the Pauline circle, in this epistle the author preaches a sermon (the epistle is in the form of a homily–a written sermon) making a very powerful case that since God has spoken finally and definitely in the person of his son, Jesus Christ, and since Jesus Christ is greater than Moses, angels, and Israel’s priesthood, the New Covenant of which Christ is mediator is superior to the Old Covenant and its types and shadows.  His main point is “why would someone want to return to that which is inferior (the Old Covenant) with a priesthood with perpetual and bloody animal sacrifices which were intended to foreshadow the once-for-all sacrifice for sin, made by Jesus Christ?”

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"Crowned With Glory" -- Hebrews 2:1-9

The Third in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Hebrews

Although we do not know which church received the letter we now know as the Epistle to the Hebrews, we do know that a number of people in that church had renounced their profession of faith in Jesus Christ and returned to Judaism (the religion in which they had been raised).  Apostasy among professing Christians was a real issue facing this church, and the subject raises a number of important questions which the author of Hebrews must address.  Can a Christian lose their salvation?  What is the status of those who make a profession of faith, are baptized, but then fall away?  Having established in the opening chapter that Jesus Christ is the creator and sustainer of all things, the author now exhorts his readers to consider the greatness of that salvation which Jesus has earned for us through his death and resurrection, before Jesus ascended on high, and took his place at God’s right hand.  It is a serious thing to neglect so great a salvation!

As we continue our series on the Book of Hebrews, so far we have discussed the problems surrounding the authorship, destination, and date of the writing of this epistle, and we have covered the author’s principle argument in opening chapter for the superiority of Jesus Christ to Moses, to Israel’s priesthood, and to the angels.  Since it is likely that most of the members of the church receiving this letter were Hellenistic Jews (Greek in culture, Hebrew in theology) who had recently become Christians, as such, they fully accepted the LXX as the word of God.  So, in order to respond to the questions raised by those who had made professions of faith in Jesus Christ and were baptized, but then renounced both, the author cites seven passages from the Old Testament (predominantly from the Psalms) which prove that Jesus is the son of God, and possesses a glory equal to that of the Father.

An undue interest in angels (and even the worship of angels) was a problem in Hellenistic Judaism, and there are hints throughout the New Testament that this was an issue in some of the first Christian churches (Galatians 1, Hebrews 13, Colossians 2).  While acknowledging that angels are God’s messengers, and that they have played a significant role in redemptive history, the author of Hebrews turns to the Old Testament to prove that angels are Christ’s servants, and therefore inferior to the eternal Son of God.  From the pages of the Old Testament, the author demonstrates that Jesus is the creator of all things.  And having created all things, Jesus holds them together, directing them to fulfill their appointed ends.  Jesus is worshiped by the angels, Jesus gives these invisible creatures orders and directives, and Jesus alone sits as God’s right hand.  The author has already made a very impressive case for the deity of Jesus Christ.

As we move into Hebrews chapter two, the author issues his first admonition to this congregation in verses 1-4.  Although angels played a role in Old Testament revelation, given the superiority of Jesus Christ, it is vital that Christians not neglect due consideration of all that Jesus has done for them to save them from the guilt and power of sin.  Then, in verses 5-9, the author reminds believers of Jesus’ humiliation and exaltation, and how both were necessary for Jesus to secure our salvation.

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"Sit At My Right Hand" -- Hebrews 1:1-14

The Second in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Hebrews

We may not know who wrote the Book of Hebrews, but the unknown author’s opening declaration is crystal clear.  God has spoken through the prophets–the Old Testament.  But in these last days (the present era) God has finally and definitely spoken in and through the person of his son, Jesus Christ.  Since Jesus is creator and sustainer of all things, Jesus is superior to Moses. Since Jesus has completed his work of redemption, he is superior to Israel’s priesthood.  Since Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, he possesses a greater name and a greater authority than any angel.  Given the fascination with angels typical of many first century Hellenistic Jews, the author of this epistle must deal with the role of angels in redemptive history, and in doing so, make his case that Jesus Christ is superior to all angelic beings.

This is the second sermon in our new series on the Book of Hebrews.  Last time , we addressed the difficult questions surrounding he authorship, destination, and date of this epistle–so I encourage you to listen to or read the first sermon which is now posted on the church website, or my blog.  We don’t know who wrote this epistle, nor do we know when it was written.  We don’t even know to which church this epistle was originally addressed.  But based upon the contents of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we do know a great deal about the original recipients. 

The author very likely knew the people to whom he is writing, and he was quite familiar with their current situation.  The recipients were Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenistic Jews), who believed that the Old Testament was God’s self-revelation.  They lived in a large city (most scholars think Rome or Alexandria), and probably were a small group meeting in someone’s home.  Many in the church which received this letter were recent converts to Christianity from that type Judaism found throughout the major cities of the first century Mediterranean world.  Not as legalistic as the Judaism found in Palestine (closer the temple, Jerusalem, and home to many Pharisees), the Judaism in which the recipients of this letter were raised and the synagogues in which they worship were probably as much Greek in ethos, as they were Jewish in theology.  This form of Judaism focused upon speculative topics like angels, and made Moses (not Abraham), the center of Old Testament religion.  This kind of Judaism would be as distant from traditional Judaism as mainline Protestant liberalism is from the Protestant Reformation.

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"His Son" -- Hebrews 1:1-14

The First in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Hebrews

We begin a new series on the Book of Hebrews.  Hebrews is an epistle which exalts Jesus Christ, who is superior to Israel’s prophets, superior to the angels, superior to Moses, superior to Aaron and the priests of Israel, and because of whom life in the New Covenant is vastly superior to that under the Old. 

As John Calvin contends, the purpose of this epistle is to explain the offices of Christ and demonstrate how Jesus has fulfilled all the ceremonies of the Jewish law.  As we will see, this is an epistle which was written to Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, some of whom were abandoning their Christian faith and returning to Judaism.  Because Hebrews addresses all of these issues, the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks powerfully to us today.  There are people all around us who come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, but who eventually give up their profession of faith and return to whatever it was that they believed before.  There are also people in our churches who believe all the right things on an intellectual level, but who never do seem to put their profession of faith into action.  There are even those who for a time profess the Reformation doctrine of justification sola fide, but who abandon that confession and convert to Romanism or Orthodoxy.  The Epistle to the Hebrews is a warning and an exhortation to all of us, not to abandon our faith in Jesus Christ.  Not only is Jesus vastly superior to anything or anyone else we might imagine, but to walk away from Christ is to come under his judgment.

As we begin this series, I ask all of you to take some time in the next few weeks and read through this epistle in its entirety, and then do so throughout this series.  It is important to keep the big picture before us, so we don’t bog down in the details.  Hebrews is not an easy book to study because it presupposes that its reader is quite familiar the Old Testament.  Yet because Hebrews is so thoroughly grounded in the Old Testament, it is a vital book for us to know and study.  Hebrews explains to us how we are to understand the Old Testament.  Hebrews is also direct and pointed in its language and its rather stern warnings need to be applied to the right people in the right ways.  The bruised reeds and smoldering wicks among us need to realize that struggling with the assurance of one’s salvation is not something which characterizes apostasy–a theme which is addressed in this letter.  Apostates give up on their profession in Christ–they don’t worry about not having assurance of their salvation, something they never truly had in the first place.  And we need to understand the warnings we find within, and then heed them.

In addressing the superiority of Jesus, the author sets forth the uniqueness of our Lord as the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.  But Christ’s deity is not discussed in the abstract, but in the context of his role as the mediator of a new and better covenant, a covenant which was foretold by all of Israel’s prophets (especially Jeremiah).  Christ’s mediatorial work in which he represents us before our heavenly father, ties together the rich redemptive themes of priesthood, sacrifice, and covenant–all of which are prominent in this epistle.

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"The Great Shepherd of the Sheep" -- Hebrews 13:17-25

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"The Same Yesterday and Today and Forever" -- Hebrews 13:1-16

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“Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant” -- Hebrews 12:18-29

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"The Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith" -- Hebrews 12:1-17

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"Something Better for Us" -- Hebrews 11:32-40

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