God has Spoken!
The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts believers not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come by emphasizing the superiority and finality of what God has accomplished in His “Son.” The word “spoken” in Jesus is superior to the earlier and preparatory revelations provided “in the prophets.” The Letter does this by comparing the Levitical system with its incomplete provisions and repeated sacrifices to the “better” priesthood and “once for all” sacrifice of the “Son.”
Thus, the Letter demonstrates the superiority of the Son’s ministry,
priesthood, and sacrifice over the priestly services and repeated animal sacrifices
of the now obsolete Aaronic priesthood and the rituals of the “former
covenant.”
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The Letter does not denigrate God’s past revelations, but it shows by comparison how much the “Word spoken in a Son” surpasses the previous “words” made “in the prophets to the fathers.”
Hebrews is addressed to a congregation
that is experiencing pressure from outsiders. Consequently, some members are
contemplating returning to the local synagogue to avoid persecution and other
difficulties.
- “In many parts and in many ways of old, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets; upon the last of these days, He spoke to us in a Son, Whom he appointed heir of all things, Through whom also he made the ages, Who, being an eradiated brightness of his glory and an exact impress of his being, also, bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, having achieved purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High, By so much becoming better than the angels, by as much as, going beyond them, He inherited a more distinguished name” - (Hebrews 1:1-4).
The Letter begins by contrasting how God spoke in the past
with how He does so now – Partially, “of old” to the “fathers in the
prophets,” but today, definitively “upon these last days to us in a Son.”
It then describes the accomplishments of the “Son” through
several declarations with each prefaced by the relative pronoun “who.” It
includes an allusion to what will become the Letter’s main proof text, Psalm
110:1, 4 (See Studies in the Epistle to the Hebrews by Joseph B.
Rotherham, The Restoration Library, page 21).
Only in the final clause of the long opening sentence does
the Latter identify explicitly who this “Son” is by ending it with the
word “name.” He inherited a “more distinguished NAME.” This
prepares the reader for the next paragraph where the one identified as “Son”
is compared to the “angels” of God.
THESE LAST DAYS
If the discouraged believer returned to the synagogue, he or
she would need to conform to some, at least, of the rituals detailed in the Book
of Leviticus. But that would mean dishonoring the “Son” by whom God
has spoken with great finality. Hence, the severe warnings against apostasy in the
Letter - (Hebrews 2:1-3, 2:15, 6:1-12, 10:25-39).
“Upon THESE LAST DAYS,” that superior “word” has
been “spoken” in one who is a “son.” This “better” revelation
marks the end of one era and the commencement of another and vastly superior
age.
The Greek sentence begins with two adverbs, polumerōs and polutropōs,
both formed with the adjective polus or “much, many.” Polumerōs is
formed with meros or “part,” and polutropōs with tropos
or “manner.” The terms stress different aspects of the past revelation that was
“spoken in the prophets.”
The individual “words” spoken “in the prophets”
were parts of a larger but incomplete whole (“in many parts”). Each was
revealed in a different “way” and at various times. Presumably, the
latter category or “ways” includes prophecies, visions, dreams, and
other forms of inspired communication. God did speak before, but He only
disclosed portions, “glimpses and shadows” of His coming “good things.”
Three contrasts are presented to prove the superiority of this
final “word.” First, God spoke
“of old,” but now, He speaks “upon these last days.” Second, He spoke
to “the fathers, but now, “to us,” namely, to the followers of
Jesus, the Assembly. Third, He spoke “in the prophets,” but now, He is
speaking in one who is “a son.”
The earlier revelations were promissory but incomplete. They did not reveal all that God would do for His children. Therefore, fuller disclosure was required. As the Letter argues, the priestly services and sacrifices of the Aaronic priesthood were incapable of achieving the “purification of sins” and the “cleansing of the conscience” that are so desperately needed by men.
The term “these last days” provides the time element of
this “word” and the era it inaugurated. It began with the death, resurrection,
and exaltation of the “Son.” Afterward, he “sat down” in God’s very
presence where he now intercedes for his people as their “High Priest
forevermore.”
Whatever the Letter means by the term “last days,” the
period began with the exaltation of the “Son” to the “right hand of
the Majesty in High Places” - (Acts 2:17, Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10).
SON AND HEIR
In the Greek sentence, there is no definite article or “the”
before the word “son.” The omission stresses the class or status
of the one who is called “son,” not his identity. The “word” that
God now speaks is by means of ONE WHO IS A SON.
A son is in the closest possible relationship with his father.
That familial closeness emphasizes his elevated status. As the “Son,” he
is superior even to Moses, the greatest of the “prophets.” Therefore, his
“word” is vastly superior to all others by its nature as well as its
content. It is not just one among many inspired words, but one with absolute
and final authority.
The “Son” in whom God now speaks is the one He appointed
as the “heir of all things.” This alludes to the second Psalm, another
key proof text in the Letter. Yahweh promised to give His Son the “nations as
an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth.” But the Letter shortens
and clarifies that original promise so that now he is the heir “of ALL
THINGS” - (Psalm 2:7-8).
This “Son” reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is
the “exact impress” of His very being. Jesus, the “Son,” expresses the very glory and nature of God.
The Letter is not engaging in metaphysical speculation about the nature of God
or His Son. It points to the surpassing greatness of the position he now holds.
Only in His “Son” can His true Divine essence and splendor be revealed
and comprehended.
Thus, the “word” of the Son is superior to all past
revelations. This is especially so in two distinct ways. First, it is the last
word in a long series of prophetic revelations. Second, the “Son” is the
means of this communication and the consummation of those past “words.” Only
in him is the definitive word of Yahweh found and fulfilled.
What preceded the “word spoken in a son” was
preparatory, promissory, and never intended to be God’s final answer. With the
advent of the Nazarene, God has “spoken” decisively and with absolute
finality, and nothing can or will ever be the same again.
