Thread: Hebrews Ch. 1

Sorry, I could not find the forums, move this as needed. I am working on exegeting Hebrews Ch.1. One question I have is why the author is so exhaustive in asserting the supremacy of Christ over angels. Was there something unique going on in the audience community that they were overly preoccupied with the role of angels? Thanks for any help. And if anyone has worked on this text you know it has some difficult midrash to deal with.

Sproul has some very good lectures on this, try his ministrie

I've worked through most of the major commentaries on Hebrews, and can tell you that the majority of the explanation lies in the recipients' interest in things Jewish. There are good indications (like, oh, say, the name of the book!) that the book was written to Jews who knew their Old Testament well. Speculation was rife about angels, and of course Jews' preoccupation with Moses is legendary. So Paul (I think Paul wrote Hebrews) has to prove that Jesus is superior to all these other people.

Lane thanks, it just seems the author goes a little out of proportion with the volume of argument about angels. I am using F.F. Bruce.

Originally Posted by greenbaggins

I've worked through most of the major commentaries on Hebrews, and can tell you that the majority of the explanation lies in the recipients' interest in things Jewish. There are good indications (like, oh, say, the name of the book!) that the book was written to Jews who knew their Old Testament well. Speculation was rife about angels, and of course Jews' preoccupation with Moses is legendary. So Paul (I think Paul wrote Hebrews) has to prove that Jesus is superior to all these other people.

That is consistent with what I've drawn from several commentaries on Hebrews also. Christ is pre-eminent, and tackling the eminence of many near and dear to his audience (I think it is Paul also, but that's another debate). So much of Hebrews is spent on making Christ the object of our affections, admiration and worship, and setting aside the Hebrew order of things which served only to point to Christ.

I think the whole of Chapter 11, even, is used in this way when followed up by Chapter 12:1-4, which I'm studying for my sermon Sunday ... where Paul says, in effect, " yes, we are surrounded by this great assembly of witnesses/martyrs - the great men and women of faith of the Old Covenant. Let us be encouraged by them, and, also (just as they did) cast off the burdens of sin and guilt, and run the race with endurance that is set before us. How, you might think? Not by looking back at them - though they encourage us through their example, but by FIXING OUR EYES ON CHRIST, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Paul in this section has taken the faith example of the Old Covenant saints, and used it for what it's useful for - motivation and exhortation...and then plainly laid before our eyes the PERFECT one, THE beginning and the end, the captain of our salvation. He points us to consider Him, to have confidence in Him, to know that He has secured our good end, and thereby to run with endurance. Christ is set forth as pre-eminent.

In conjunction with the widespread contemporary emphasis that the Mosaic Law was ordained by angels (see, for instance, Gal. 3.19 and Hebrews 2.2), it was necessary to establish that the New Covenant was established by one even greater.

If the word spoken by angels was true, how much more ought we to heed this word which is spoken by he whom the angels themselves are commanded to worship! In an exhortation which had the purpose of establishing the superiority of the NC over the Old in order to maintain the faith of Christians and prevent them from falling back to the Old Testament worship, it was necessary to fully answer all arguments which the Jews brought forth.

Also, as Owen noted, if it is first solidly established that Christ is superior to the very angels, it is much easier to subsequently argue his preeminence over Moses and Aaron.

It seems to me that in this introductory part of Hebrews - which i don't believe was written by Paul - the supremacy of Christ over the angels is a distinction between the glory of that which is created contrasted to the glory of the eternal Son of God.

When i read it my attention is drawn to the nature of God, and the Son of God in particular, an not so much drawn to the angels except to bring a clearer understanding of God's glory.

That emphasis on Christ's superiority over the angels is in part preparatory for the emphasis that will be coming up in chapter 2 on Psalm 8.

2:2 ties the chapters together, and goes a long way towards explaining why he was even concerned with angels.

Thanks so much guys. Question regarding this: 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,

Is there biblical record regarding this "message spoken by angels" ?