2025/07/21
205. Issues raised in the Letter to the Hebrews (Chapters 1-2)
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, who was in an age when the New Testament had not yet been compiled into a systematic whole, seems to be trying to somehow explain theoretically Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of faith and the new covenant, based on what he had heard, using the Old Testament. The text contains a separate thread from the topic of priesthood, which we discussed last time, in which the writer develops a remarkable reflection on the theme of faith. So, I would like to pick the issues the writer would have faced in leading his community, and finally, I will try to present the solutions to them.
The writer first clarifies who Jesus, the Son of God, is (cf. Heb 1:1-3), and then explains the difference between the Son and the angels (cf. 1:4-14). The writer is very concerned with the theme of angels. That is because, just as it was an angel who announced the coming of the Son of God to Joseph and Mary, the Hebrews of that time generally believed that angels were intermediaries between God and humans, and that God's revelations were communicated through angels. Therefore, the writer had to carefully argue that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, was essentially superior to angels, despite appearing to be less than an angel. The Book of Revelation begins with the words, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Rev 1:1), which also shows the importance of showing Christ's superiority to angels clearly.
In addition, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?" (Heb 1:14), which is consistent with what the angel himself says in Revelation: "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 19:10) and "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book" (22:9). However, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews urges self-control, continuing, "Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (Heb 2:1), people have a strong tendency to revert to habitual ways of thinking instilled in them by their upbringing.
Considering this, we can well sympathize with the sentiment of the writer when he wrote, "[H]ow shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb 2:3). That is because this salvation was declared not by angels but "at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will" (2:3-4).
Therefore, as the writer says, "For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering" (Heb 2:10), it was only through Jesus, the Son of God, showing himself fulfilling God's will completely through various sufferings before us humans that people, created by God, would be able to accept the fact that they had been made after the likeness of the one "for whom and by whom all things exist," i.e., after God's likeness.
Considering the above, we can say one of the issues that the writer would have faced in leading his community is that people have a strong tendency to revert to habitual ways of thinking instilled in them by their upbringing. Amid this problem, believers "neglect such a great salvation." That is the first issue influencing the Church community.
Maria K.M.
