I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 1-5.
The writer of Hebrews starts off by addressing a false teaching which exists to this day, that Jesus is just the first of the angels. Actually, this passage contains the most detailed Christology in the Bible and is the primary basis for the doctrine of the Trinity (although there are other New Testament passages which point in that direction).
What does the writer tell us about Jesus?
- He has the same character as God
- Everything is sustained by the power of His command (compare with John 1:1-3)
- He is greater than the angels
- He became flesh and blood (note “became”, not “was”)
- He was greater than Moses
When we take points one and two and combine them with the beginning of the Gospel of John, we get that Jesus was one with God. Point three tells us that angels are a different category of being from Christ, and the arguments the author makes to support this point show us that angles are a different category of being from mankind. The fourth point indicates that, while Jesus was truly human, He was not a human who was elevated to Godhood. Point five follows from the previous points, but needed to be stressed in order to show that, where we see conflict, Jesus’ teachings superseded those of Moses.
If all of that seems rather cerebral to you (and it does to me), the writer explains at the end of this passage why these characteristics of Jesus are important. Jesus faced the same temptations which we did but did not sin. Because He did not sin, He is able to counsel us on how to resist temptation and put sin behind us. Because He faced the same temptations and struggles which we dace, He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and failings. We know that God will have mercy for us because of Christ, and that we will receive grace to face temptation from Christ. The writer describes Jesus’ role as Intermediary between God and man (and between man and God) as being that of heavenly High Priest, but not a priest of the order of Aaron rather a priest of the order of Melchizedek.
The Book of Hebrews is probably the most intellectual of the books of the Bible. It can be hard to understand and the temptation is always there to just gloss over it and move on. However, the writer reminds us that there comes a time when we need to think about the more involved aspects of our faith. As we start to teach others how to be followers of Christ, some of them are going to ask questions which are more difficult. We need to be prepared to answer them. We need to be prepared to deal with questions such as “What makes Jesus different from the angels?”