Because Jesus willingly humbled himself, made himself lower than the angels in his incarnation, he suffered unto death on the cross securing for us the grace of God. Jesus even tasted death just as we will. He is now at God’s right hand, having been given that glory which is rightfully his. No doubt, things in our fallen world are not as they should be–the unmistakable evidence of human sinfulness is all around us. The earth groans beneath our feet. But because Christ has accomplished that which is necessary to defeat sin and its consequences (his death and resurrection), and has ascended to the Father’s right hand and is crowned with glory, then he will return just as he promised, and when he does, all things will be in subjection to him.

Background

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 time in 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 the 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.

Angels – Fertile Soil for Speculation

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 at God’s right hand. The author has already made a very impressive case for the deity of Jesus Christ.

Apostasy Is the Issue

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’s humiliation and exaltation, and how both were necessary for Jesus to secure our salvation.

We begin with verses 1-4 of chapter two and the author’s exhortation to the congregation not to neglect the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. Having set forth a series of seven Old Testament verses demonstrating Jesus’s superiority over angels, the author now hones in on his main theological point – the contrast between Old Testament revelation, specifically the giving of the law to Israel at Mount Sinai and the role played by angels in that event, and the superiority of the New Covenant in which God has spoken finally and definitively in the person of his son. If the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, and is no longer in effect, then what reason remains for renouncing Christ and returning to an inferior covenant? There is no reason. This is not only a powerful argument for the deity of Jesus, in arguing in this way the author of Hebrews teaches us how we as Christians should read and understand the Old Testament.

In verse 1, the author switches from spelling out his argument about the superiority of Jesus, to an exhortation to those giving up their faith: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” In this exhortation, we begin to see the issue which concerns the author, and which has motivated him to write this letter. There are people in this church who have heard the gospel, apparently accepted it, but were now “drifting away” from what they heard (in terms of neglecting the content of Christian preaching). But they were also drifting away from their fellow church members (and ceasing to attend Christian worship–Hebrews 10:25 ). Unlike Paul’s two letters to the Corinthian churches, we do not get the sense here that people in this church were behaving like pagans, or that they were claiming to be Christians yet engaging in all sorts of immorality.

Rather, those who are described as “drifting away” have likely come under persecution because of their profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and a number of them are removing themselves from the church, and the community of believers. The nature of the author’s arguments indicate that they were returning to Judaism. And in doing so, they are abandoning the truth that has been proclaimed to them–namely the gospel of Jesus Christ. The author urges them to pay close attention to what they have heard, because if they give it up, they will face the consequences. In other words, this is both a warning of what will happen when professing Christians walk away from Christ, as well as an exhortation for them to persevere in the faith. But the author grounds this warning and exhortation in an extended and powerful argument for the superiority of Jesus Christ.

The Role of Angels

As the author states in verse 2, angels do play a role in redemptive history (including the giving of the law), and the law is indeed an important element of biblical revelation. “For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, . . . every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution?” The Old Testament–if inferior to the superior revelation God has given through Jesus Christ–was nevertheless the word of God. In making this point, the author is calling attention to what are likely the two main pillars undergirding Hellenistic Judaism. The first pillar is the role that angels played in the giving of the law. This is not stated explicitly anywhere in the Old Testament, but it is hinted at in Deuteronomy 33:2: “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.” The reference to the thousands of holy ones is a reference to angels, and in fact, the LXX translates this as “at his right hand were angels with him.”[1]

Even if angels were present when the law was given, they were not mediators of that law, Moses was. Paul speaks to this in Galatians 3:19, when he asks “why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.” Paul raises this point in the context of an argument proving that the promises of the Sinaitic covenant were inferior to those promises which God made to Abraham. To focus so intently upon what angels did or did not do when the law was given was to miss the point.

But missing the main point is what makes speculation about such things as the ministry of angels so unprofitable. Speculation about issues which Scripture doesn’t specifically address (like what angels did when the law was given) is often a convenient excuse to miss the obvious–that the covenant of grace, first promised to Adam, then revealed more fully to Abraham, and then fulfilled in Jesus Christ, has better promises than the works-based covenant revealed at Mount Sinai, which only brought condemnation to the people of God. In other words, missing the obvious allows one to elevate the law above the gospel.

The Role of Moses and the Law

As we have seen, people in this church were likely fascinated with angels, but not much interested in hearing that Jesus Chris was superior to them. Many of their number, apparently, felt that stories about Moses and speculation about the giving of the law were practical and relevant, while the gospel was not. Just as in our own day, people would rather be told what to do, rather than being told that they have to think about what they must believe–especially when it comes to a difficult topic like the identity of Jesus Christ, and the gory details of what Jesus endured on the cross to save us from our sins. The law is easy. It is written on our hearts. This is why “just tell me what to do,” is what people want to hear. But the gospel is difficult. It requires God’s people to both listen and hear. It tells us that Jesus saved us because we can’t save ourselves. In fact, the gospel forces us to change how we think and feel about everything. And that is why people would rather go back to the inferior (the law). It is just plain easier.

As the author points out, the law is grounded in the same blessing-curse principle underlying the covenant of works which God made with Adam during Adam’s time of probation in Eden. Understanding the blessing/curse principle is essential in understanding the Bible. Here is how the blessing/curse principle works. If you obey God’s commandments (perfectly, in thought, in word, and in deed), you will receive the promised blessing. If you disobey the commandment of God (even in the slightest way), you will come under the covenant curses.

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