Barry Metz 07/26/15

Jesus is Better than Angels Hebrews 1:5-2:4

We continue in the book of Hebrews this morning. Do you remember what we said the theme of the book was? “Jesus is Better.”

It’s worth asking and answering the question, “Why is the author of Hebrews so wild about Jesus?” Well Jesus is a good topic to be wild about! But beyond that it’s also believed that his Jewish Christian readers were being tempted to leave the teaching about Jesus and return to their Jewish roots. And so the book of Hebrews was written to urge them that such a course—leaving Jesus-- would be fatal.

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This morning it’s “Jesus is Better Than Angels.” Now in the new-age-oriented world we live in, angels have become very popular. The Longview Public Library currently has more than 200 books that feature angels in some way or another. And the Library of Congress lists around 2000 titles in print that feature angels in some way.1

And this fascination with angels is not new. A Time Magazine article written some twenty years ago highlighted the arrival of angel-mania…

“In the past few years (angels) have lodged in the popular imagination, celestial celebrities trailing clouds of glory as they come. There are angels-only boutiques, angel newsletters, angel seminars,…A Time poll indicates that most Americans believe in angels. Harvard Divinity School has a course on angels; Boston College has two. Bookstores have had to establish angel sections…In Publisher’s Weekly’s ‘Best Seller’ list five of ten paperback books are about angels.”2

Why the popularity with angels? Consider these possibilities…

“Angels are popular today because they allegedly offer humankind a form of spirituality that (doesn’t) involve commitment to God or the laws of God.”

Another author puts it more bluntly, “For those who choke too easily on God and His rules...the angels are the handy compromise, all fluff and meringue, kind, non-judgmental. And they are available to everyone like aspirin.”

Finally it’s been suggested that “Angels too easily provide a temptation for those who want a ‘fix’ of spirituality, without bothering with God Himself.”3

Well all of that raises questions for us as we think about the book of Hebrews: “Were the recipients of the book of Hebrews going through their own version of angel mania some 2000 years ago? … Was

1 Justin Langley personal email; The exact count is hard to get, since the catalog lists the same book multiple times, as audio books, electronic books, etc., and this number accounts for items that include "angel" or something similar in the subject information in our catalog database2 Time Magazine, December 27, 19933 TheRealPresence.org; ‘Angel Popularity on the Rise’

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there a spike in angel popularity back then?4 Were first century believers toying with the worship of angels? Or were false teachers teaching that Jesus was subordinate to angels?” 5

Why did the author of the book of Hebrews feel the need to prove that Jesus is better than angels?

And let’s check in with the people of Kilgore Bible Church. Where do we stand? Anybody here struggle with thinking that angels might be better than Jesus? Probably not. In fact I could imagine a bunch of you seeing the sermon title thought to yourself, “Oh great. Here’s another sermon, again answering questions we’re not asking .” (Be assured that we never want to be known for that)

Why does the writer of Hebrews take the time to emphasize that Jesus is better than angels? There is an interesting answer to that question. But it comes when we make the border crossing into Hebrews chapter 2. So we’re not going to answer the question until the end of the message. We’re going to leave the tension associated with that question ringing around the room! But feel free to assign a part of your brain to noodle on the question if you want.

Last week we looked at verses 1-4 in chapter 1. If you have your bible let’s get the rest of chapter 1 in front of us. We’ll pick up in Hebrews 1, verse 4 and read through the end of chapter 1.

As we begin in Hebrews 1:4, the writer is talking about Jesus…

4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,       “You are my Son, 

today I have begotten you”? Or again, 

“I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 

7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, 

and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 

9  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you 

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And, 4 Some scholars have understood the comparison of Christ with the angels in Hebrews 1 to indicate the readers were toying with the worship of angels or, perhaps, a form of errant Christology in which Christ was considered subordinate to an angel. Although speculation concerning angels seemed to present a problem in some New Testament communities (e.g., the church at Colosse) and was known in various Jewish and Gnostic circles, this interpretation misunderstands the author’s intention for the comparison.5 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 72). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 

11  they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 

12  like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. 

But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” 

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand 

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? 

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Now many of our versions typeset the text to make it easy to see that the writer of Hebrews has strung a bunch of Old Testament scriptures together in the argument he makes that Jesus is better than angels.

(By the way…and this is a bit of a rabbit trail… how often does the writer of Hebrews use the Old Testament scriptures? Wouldn’t you guess the number would be high? One author has documented that the author of Hebrews quoted from the Old Testament 38 times, another 29, still another 32….can we keep going? …..another 36, and another 40. What’s going on here? Why is it difficult to get an exact number of times that the author of Hebrews uses the Old Testament? Well there are several ways the author of Hebrews uses the Old Testament and it’s a bit complicated. Just to show you how complicated it is, one author couches his answer this way: “there are 37 quotations from the Old Testament, there are 40 allusions (places where the author alludes to some Old Testament passage), 19 cases where Old Testament material is summarized, and 13 places where an Old Testament name or topic is referred to without reference to a specific context.6 So you can see that it’s a bit complicated to figure out how much the writer of Hebrews uses the Old Testament but we can say with certainty that the writer of Hebrews generously refers to the Old Testament as we would expect. Well we’ve caught the rabbit so let’s move on. )

What about our passage? Well the author has strung together seven Old Testament scriptures in his attempt to show that Jesus is better than angels.

6 Guthrie’s article in the same book, page 919

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If the picture behind me looks like the pearls in a pearl necklace that have come unstrung, then the slide communicates what I’ve intended. Evidently stringing together scriptures was a rabbinic technique in the time when the book of Hebrews was written. The effect was called a ‘chain quotation’ and the desired outcome was to overwhelm one’s listeners so that they couldn’t help but agree with you by the time you were finished7… By the time they were finished you were a bobble head doll…Yes Jesus is Better… I guess we could say it was “Death by bible verses!”

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With the slide up there, let me make two observations. First, notice in the slide that I’ve connected some of the pearls together. It turns out that the author of Hebrews repeatedly considers two Old Testament scriptures together. So looking at the slide and noticing the lines connecting the various pearls, Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 are considered together. And Deuteronomy 32:43 and Psalm 104:4 are considered together. And Psalm 45:6-7 and Psalm 102:25-27 are considered together. So that’s six of the seven Old Testament scriptures right? And then the author closes his argument that Jesus is better than angels by focusing climactically8 with Psalm 110:1 probably the most well-known Messianic psalm. (If you were with us last week when we looked at verses 1-4 of chapter 1, we highlighted the structure of the first four verses and we said that Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 played prominent roles in verses 2 and 3. Now here in these verses that follow that introduction, Psalm 2:7 starts the list of scriptures and Psalm 110:1 ends the list—just more evidence of artfulness in the book of Hebrews )

The second observation has to do with the star in front of Deuteronomy 32:43. Some think the quotation in question there might be from Psalm 97:7 instead so I’ve noted that on the slide.

There’s one other point we should make about these seven passages. When two of the scriptures are considered together, as we’ve said they are, they are considered together on the basis of a word or words that they have in common. These common words between the two shared scriptures are called “catchwords”. And this was a rabbinic technique also. 9 And so as we walk through the Old Testament references and look at the quotes that are considered together, we’ll point out the ‘catchwords’ that are common to the passages that are considered together in each case. In other words when we look

7 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.8 Obrien uses this word9 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 73). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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at Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 together we’ll see that there are words in common between those two passages and we’ll point them out.

With those introductory comments let’s dive in. In verse 5 we come to the first pair of Old Testament scriptures considered together, Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.

And the catchwords common to both Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 involve the word “Son” and the pronouns “I” and “me/ my”10

Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14, considered together, proclaim Jesus’ superiority over angels because of His unique relationship to the Father as a son.11

The author of Hebrews begins in verse 5, For to which of the angels did God ever say….and he’s really making an assertion… “There is no angel to whom God has said …You are my son!”12

We’ll see this same assertion..for to which of the angels did God ever say…. down in verse 13 as a kind of book end for this string of Old Testament scriptures.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? 

Again this is Psalm 2:7.

Now some of you might be thinking ‘Wait a minute! Aren’t angels sometimes called ‘sons of God’ in the Old Testament? The answer is “Yes they are but it’s always collective. No single angel is ever singled out for special status and called ‘the Son of God’ 13

We won’t take the time to turn to Psalm 2, but in its original setting the psalm speaks of the

10 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.11 These words from O’Brien; Guthrie summarizes it like this: Psalm 27 and 2 Sam. 7:14 proclaim the Son’s unique relationship to the Father and His enthronement. (Heb. 1:5)Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 12 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 68). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.13 O’Brien makes this point

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rebellion of the nations and their rulers against God and his Messiah. You probably recognize the first

two verses of Psalm 2… Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against his Anointed, His Messiah.  … why do the nations plot against God and His Messiah? ….He that sits in the heavens laugh!

In the rest of the psalm, the psalmist asserts that this rebellion will be overthrown by the King that God installs on Mt. Zion. And it’s pretty clear that that king is Messiah Jesus. Listen to the king’s words, Psalm 2:7,8 “Yahweh said to me, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you—and today is probably the day that Jesus was enthroned in heaven and openly declared to be the Son of God14-- Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”    What earthly king would receive the ends of the earth as his possession? Only the Messianic king from the line of David, King Jesus.

And in fact the term ‘Son’ implies ‘kingship’ which the next scripture makes clear.

Continuing in verse 5…

Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 

This is a quote from the famous chapter, 2 Samuel 7, where David offers to build God a house and God turns it around and commits to build David an eternal house, really an eternal dynasty. The passage speaks immediately to Solomon, David’s son “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”….but it’s pretty clear that every successive king that comes to the throne in that dynasty is in some sense a “son of God” and that Jesus as the Messiah from the Davidic line is the ultimate Son of God.15

So in summary, these two Old Testament verses, Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14, proclaim Jesus’ superiority over angels because of His unique relationship to the Father as son.16 Jesus is way better than any angel.

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The second pair of texts, Deut. 32:43 (Psalm 97:7) and Psalm 104:4, draw attention to the positive but inferior position and ministry of angels. It’s not that angels have no positive ministry; it’s that the ministry of Jesus is way better.

14 Obrien argues for this.15 Second Samuel 7:14 communicates the words of the prophet Nathan to David, promising that great king that one of his offspring will have an eternal kingdom. The author of Hebrews sees the fulfillment of this prophesy in the person of the exalted Son. Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 68). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.16 These words from O’Brien; Guthrie summarizes it like this: Psalm 27 and 2 Sam. 7:14 proclaim the Son’s unique relationship to the Father and His enthronement. (Heb. 1:5)Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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The catchword in both Deut. 32:43 (Psalm 97:7) and Psalm 104:4 is the word ‘angels’ 17

Look at verses 6 and 7…

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 

7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, 

and his ministers a flame of fire.” 

Again these quotes are from Deut. 32:43 (Psalm 97:7) and Psalm 104:4, respectively.

Look again at the first phrase of verse 6….And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world he says…. 

A couple of questions come to mind when we read this… What does the term ‘firstborn’ mean?18 And on what occasion did God introduce his firstborn Son to the world?

Well we know the term ‘firstborn’ doesn’t indicate anything about Jesus coming into existence. The firstborn son was unique. He had a special place in the heart of his father.19 The title ‘firstborn’ shows up in Psalm 89. There the Son of God is called the firstborn because he exists before all creation and because all creation is his heritage.20 To be called the firstborn was a title of honor and it expressed the priority of rank. So that’s what the term firstborn communicates.

And then when did God introduce his firstborn Son into the world?  At first thought we might suggest—“At the incarnation” But the context strongly suggests that Christ’s enthronement is in view—Jesus’ entrance into the heavenly world at his ascension. This interpretation is confirmed by Hebrews 2:5 where the word ‘world’ is used again…and the world in view is the world to come.

17 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.18 In most of the eight New Testament occurrences of the word, it serves as a title for Christ, expressing his preeminence in the church and the cosmos, and is especially associated with the resurrection (Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18; Heb. 11:23; Rev. 1:5). Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 69). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.19 Guthrie, page 69, e.g., 2 Sam. 13:36–37; 1 Chron. 3:120 FF Bruce, pages 51-69

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So putting it altogether, the angels were commanded to worship the firstborn Son of God when He entered the ‘world to come,’ the true heavenly homeland and opened the way for his other sons to enter this homeland.21 And if the angels were commanded to worship the firstborn Son of God when he entered heaven, then that implies that the Son is superior, He is God22

Well let’s look at verse 7, which is Psalm 104:4

7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, 

and his ministers a flame of fire.” 

This quotation from Psalm 104:4 is different from the others because it doesn’t reference Christ at all. But it does emphasize that the angels are no more than God’s servants. The angels seem to be portrayed as executing the divine commands ‘with the swiftness of the wind and the strength of fire.’23

So these two scriptures considered together, Deut. 32:43 and Psalm 104:4, draw attention to the positive but inferior position and ministry of angels. The things angels spend their time doing show them to be inferior to the Son and the things he spends his time with.

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The third pair of texts-- Ps. 45:6–7 and Psalm 102:25–27—proclaim Jesus’ eternal and unchanging nature and His role in relation to the cosmos.24

The catchwords between the two psalms are various forms of the pronoun “you” and emphasis on the son’s eternal existence25

Look at verse 8 and 9…

8 But of the Son he says, 21 O’Brien22 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 69). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.23 FF Bruce, page 51-6924 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.25 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 

9  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you 

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 

As we said, this is a quote from Psalm 45. Psalm 45 was originally written to celebrate the wedding of a mighty Davidic king. But if you ponder the words here very long at all, you realize that the psalm could only be fulfilled by the ultimate Davidic king, Jesus, the Son.26

The writer of Hebrews sure seems to think this is so. He begins in verse 8 … But of the Son he says… Your throne O God, is forever and ever. What kind of earthly king would be addressed as God? It seems that Jesus is in view, doesn’t it? The Son is called ‘God’ and He’s given an eternal kingdom—your throne is forever and ever! But there’s more. His rule is completely righteous. His rule is marked by perfect justice and righteousness. Again, doesn’t sound like a human to me! And it sure seems like such a king would be superior to angels.

What about the anointing of this king with the ‘oil of gladness’? “His anointing with the oil of gladness may refer to his heavenly joy that is his as the sovereign king of kings.”27

And who are the king’s ‘companions’ whose joy is thus surpassed by his? Is it the angels? Some think so. But others suggest in the context that it’s all the believers the king will bring into God’s family—Hebrews 2, verses 10 and 11, talk of bringing many sons to glory and it’s those he is not afraid to call brothers. 28 So we see here a picture of the king filled with joy because he is present and surrounded by……us, the children he has redeemed. I couldn’t help but think of Zephaniah3:17 “Yahweh is in your midst, a mighty one who will save, he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love”

Our God loves us…. Our God loves us…. Our God loves us.

Well look at verses 10 -12, which is Psalm 102:25-27, and again we’ll see an emphasis on Jesus’ eternality.

10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, 

and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11  they will perish, but you remain; 

they will all wear out like a garment, 12  like a robe you will roll them up, 

like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, 

and your years will have no end.” 26 Hughes, page 3927 Hughes, page 39; O’brien makes the point that the companions could be angels but then goes on to make the point that it’s possible that the companions in view here are the ‘many sons’ (Hebrews 2:10) whom the firstborn son is not afraid to call his brothers. 28 FF Bruce, page 51-69

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If you were to look at Psalm 102 in your bible you’d see that it is addressed to God, to Yahweh. But here in Hebrews the writer of Hebrews applies the psalm to Jesus. Jesus is God. He’s way better than any angel.

These selected verses from the psalm basically tell us that the Son is the Lord over the cosmos--He originated the universe and He will one day terminate it…like a robe you will roll them up. We’ve seen that before. They further tell us that the heavens and earth will perish, but Jesus will remain29

Look at the contrast that the psalmist creates with his words. The heavens and the earth won’t last….vs. 11a they will perish, vs. 11c they will all wear out like a garment, 12a like a robe you will roll them up, 12 b like a garment they will be changed.

But the Son is eternal: vs. 11b you remain, vs. 12c But you are the same, vs. 12 d and your years will remain. 

So in summary then, Psalm 45:6-7 and Psalm 102:25-27, proclaim Jesus’ eternal and unchanging nature and his role in relation to the cosmos. Simply put tThere is no angel like him.

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The climax of the chain occurs with the quotation of Psalm 110:130

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, … we saw this phrase back in verse 5 at the start of the list of scriptures… some bookending or bracketing going on…13 And to which of the angels has he ever said…. And the point is that God never said this to an angel…

“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 

Simply said, Jesus is the messianic king who sits enthroned in the presence of God and there is no angel that can compare to him. No angel has ever been asked to sit in God’s presence. No angel’s every been asked to sit at the right hand of God. Angels are servants of God. In fact the next verse drives that home.

Look at verse 14….

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? 

Angels clearly have their place in God’s redemption story, but it’s not at the Father’s right hand. Verse 14 tells us they are ministering spirits who’ve been assigned to serve “those who are to inherit salvation.”31

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29 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 74). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.30 B&C page 92331 Lane, W. L. (1998). Hebrews 1–8 (Vol. 47A, p. 32). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

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{I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to the Angelology handout inserted in your bulletin. Special thanks to Justin for putting this together.

Let’s look at three questions and their answers…

What are angels? The Bible mentions many different types of heavenly beings….What do angels do? Fundamentally messengers… What cultural ideas about angels does the Bible argue against? Modern culture and non-Christian

religions….}___________

Well where have we been so far? The author of Hebrews has overwhelmed us with a chain quotation of Old Testament verses demonstrating that Jesus is way better than angels. And we have been turned into bobble head dolls nodding our complete agreement…yes Jesus is better than angels.

■Jesus has a unique relationship to the Father as Son; whereas angels are created beings who serve those who will inherit salvation.

■Jesus is God; whereas angels worship Jesus. ■Jesus was involved in creation and will one day bring our cosmos to an end; whereas angels are God’s

servants. ■Jesus, with an eternal throne, sits at the preeminent position in the universe; whereas angels, again,

do his bidding

One writer summarizes where we are like this… “By the end of this string of texts, no one in the author’s audience can doubt the superiority of the Son over the angels.”32

At this point we come to the border of chapter 2 and I promised you that it was here that we would find out why the writer of Hebrews has spent so much time proving that Jesus is better than angels. Let me read verses 1-4 and you see if you can see the answer to that question.

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. 

Do you see the answer? Do you see why the author spent so much time in chapter 1 driving home that Jesus is better than angels? Here it is….

32 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 71). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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If the Mosaic Law, mediated, communicated, delivered through angels… now if you’re like me this may be a new thought….the Mosaic Law was delivered by angels?...we’ll talk about that in a minute…. If the Mosaic Law was delivered by angels and it was binding… it ‘had sanctions that were severe and inescapable’33, then how much more serious would be the neglect of the message proclaimed by the Son of God who is greater than angels?34

If disregard for the law (delivered by angels) brought serious sanctions, then how disastrous it would be to neglect the salvation proclaimed by God’s Son35, since he is way better than angels.

You see that’s what the Jewish believers were tempted to do—to leave Jesus and go back to their Jewish ways. And the writer wants to warn them that such a choice would be disastrous.

Let’s look briefly at the verses…

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard (notice what the writer is saying…. It’s not we must pay attention but we must pay closer attention… in other words it’s time to ramp up our concentration on what we’ve heard… it’s time for us to sit up and engage with what we have heard… it’s time to stop holding lightly the truth and teaching of the gospel36)…. lest we drift away from it.

It seems that these Jewish believers had grown lax in their commitment to Christ and were neglecting the (message about Christ).37

The image of “drifting” is a powerful one. The word, as used here, could signify a host of things…

■ an object that slips away such as a ring that slips off the finger, or… ■ an object that goes in the wrong direction, such as a piece of food that goes into the windpipe, or…. ■a ship drifting, missing a harbor it intended to enter because of strong currents or winds.”2

One writer suggests the word communicates the ‘image of a ship whose anchor had broken loose from the ocean floor and it just dangerously drifted away’38

33 O’Brien34 O’Brien, page 81-9135 O’Brien, page 81-9136 Bruce, F. F. (1990). The Epistle to the Hebrews (Rev. ed., p. 66). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.37 Lane, W. L. (1998). Hebrews 1–8 (Vol. 47A, p. 37). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.38 Westcott as quoted by Hughes, page 48

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Drifting happens all the time to people of faith. C. S. Lewis once pondered, ‘if you examined a 100 people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them had been reasoned out of it by honest argument?’ And then he continued… Do not most people simply drift away’?’39

“Drifting away’ suggests a movement that may be subtle and undetected by those on board. And along with the term ‘neglect’ in verse 3,… 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?...along with the word ‘neglect’ the word ‘drifting’ points to a gradual unthinking movement away from the faith40…. 

And why is it so important that we not drift away? 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

And the word ‘neglect’ means to neglect through apathy or not to care enough about something (1 Tim. 4:14).

What’s he saying? As we said, he’s making an argument from the lesser to the greater. If the message declared by angels (the law) proved to be reliable and accompanied by retribution (or punishment) for those who broke it, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation (through Jesus)

But were angels really mediators of the law? 

We won’t take the opportunity to look at those references but they do seem to say that angels were present, were involved when the law was communicated on Mt. Sinai.

And how great is the salvation that has been proclaimed to us? Look at the middle of verse 3…

39 As quoted by Hughes, page 4840 O’Brien, page 81-91

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It was declared at first by the Lord… Although the gospel had been prophesied in the Old Testament, the beginning of the gospel’s proclamation in clarity and fulfillment came through Jesus, who announced, “The time has come.… The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)… It was declared at first by the Lord… and it was attested to us by those who heard…. In other words the readers were “second generation” Christians, having received that word from “those who heard Jesus.” 4 while God also bore witness….in other words besides just hearing the gospel from those who heard the gospel from Jesus, God also bore witness…How?  by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. 

In other words God entered the “courtroom” of history to corroborate the testimony of those who followed the Lord. But God didn’t simply speak a word of confirmation, he acted in “signs, wonders and various miracles.” ….and by gifts of the Holy Spirit 41

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Where are you spiritually? Are you drifting? The writer of Hebrews tells us exactly what we need to do…

We must pay closer attention to what we have heard. 

Are you regularly giving attention to what you have heard in the gospel? Are you paying the greatest attention to what you have heard? Do you spend time in God’s word daily?

_____________

Robertson McQuilkin—some of you might be familiar with him-- was the president of Colombia Bible College. He retired early to take care of his wife who had Alzheimer’s. In his retirement he worried that he wouldn’t finish strong and he wrote a poem entitled “Let Me Get Home Before Dark”

It’s sundown, Lord. The shadows of my life stretch back into the dimness of the years long spent. I fear not death, for that grim foe betrays himself at last,

thrusting me forever into life: Life with you, unsoiled and free. But I do fear. I fear the Dark Specter may come too soon—

or do I mean, too late? That I should end before I finish or finish, but not well. That I should stain your honor; shame your name, grieve your loving heart.

41 Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (pp. 83–86). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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Few, they tell me, finish well… Lord, let me get home before dark.42

Brothers and sisters we must pay closer attention to what we have heard…lest we drift. 

42 Hughes quotes a part of this poem. The entire poem can be found at http://www.reachoutcolumbia.com/articles/mar08-poetry-mcquilkin/

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