Year 2, Week 49, Day 4 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 49, Day 4

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Hebrews 2-4.

Today’s reading covers three chapters of Hebrews. The Book of Hebrews does not indicate who was the human author, but this important Book exhorts believers to not turn from Christ, even as it is filled with reasons for the surpassing worth of Jesus and His superiority to the Old Covenant. Hebrews 2 completes a point began in Hebrews 1, which speaks of Jesus’ superiority over the angels: “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking…But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:5,9). While Christ was made lower than the angels when He became a man, He is raised, ascended, and enthroned at the Father’s right hand. Hebrews 3-4 shifts the comparison between Jesus and the angels to  a comparison between Jesus and Moses. While both Jesus and Moses were faithful to their callings, Hebrews 3 highlights the greater status of Jesus: “For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself” (Hebrews 3:3). Hebrews 4 still has relationship to Moses, but the focus is on the unbelief of the people whom Moses led out of the wilderness and their failure to experience rest because of their unbelief: “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened” (Hebrews 4:1-2). But what Moses was unable to do, Jesus, who is superior can provide a true rest: "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrew 4:9-10).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the warnings that the writer of Hebrew uses as a mean to encourage endurance in trusting in Jesus: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it…how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3a); and “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:12-14). These two warnings are the first two of five warning passages that are woven into the Book of Hebrews. This first warning is the shortest and mildest, but the intensity of the warnings increases with each warning becoming more urgent and severe to avert any notion of defection from Jesus. In fact, the warnings escalate as they suggest a progression of defection as they go from drifting from Jesus (2:1-4), to disbelieving in Jesus (3:12-14), to dullness towards Jesus (5:11-6:8), to despising Jesus (10:26-31), and finally to defying Jesus (12:18-29). The warnings function as the ordained means that God uses to preserve His people in their loyalty to Christ until the end. The warnings are not designed to call on Christians to doubt their inheritance of God’s sworn promises. But the warnings are stated in order to call on Christians to heed God’s urgent counsel against a defection that would lead to destruction. The intent of the warnings is to lead Christians to greater dependence on Jesus.

The first warning is linked to the argument of preceding thought: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (2:1). Hebrews 1 was an introduction to the preeminence of who Jesus is and the greatness of what He has done. Such a Word said about such a Person who successfully completed such a work, demands careful attention. Failure to continue carefully attending to the truth about Jesus, results in drifting. Drifting is a subtle experience; one that initially occurs in largely unnoticed ways. But the image of drifting is especially shocking. Just as the crew on a ship must vigilantly watch lest they slowly get off course never to reach their original destination, so can those who confess Christ drift off course by not continuing to pay careful attention to Jesus through what is stated in the Word about Him. Defecting from Jesus starts in a manner described as drifting. The early stages in the process of defecting from Jesus are somewhat imperceptible. The imagery of drifting suggests that while it is not something that one sets out to actively do; it is the automatic result of not actively doing something. The warning to not drift from Jesus is essentially the call to pay more careful attention to what the Word says. Defection starts with a drift. Drifting from Jesus occurs when one does not “pay much closer attention to what we have heard.” Drifting automatically begins when there is not an intake of God’s Word. The dynamics of one’s relationship with Jesus is tethered to the frequency and extensiveness of one’s reception of the Word. One can certainly study the Scriptures and miss Christ (see John 5:39-40), but one cannot experience true relationship with Christ while neglecting the Word (see John 8:31-32; 14:21).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe